Chapter 07 · 911 – 609 BCE
Neo-Assyrian
Empire, library, terror, scholarship.
~820 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Šamši-Adad V 05
“(1) For the goddess Bēlet-parṣē, his lady: Šamšī-Adad (V), appointee of the god Enlil (and) vice-regent of (the god) Aššur, son of Shalmaneser (III), vice-regent of (the god) Aššur, son of Ashurnasirpal (II) (who was) also vice-regent of (the god) Aššur, dedicated (this) for his life.”
Source: Royal Inscriptions of Assyria online (RIAo), Munich Open-access Cuneiform Corpus Initiative (MOCCI), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München; in association with the RINAP Project, University of Pennsylvania. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/riao/Q004742/
Read the full tablet entry~820 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Šamši-Adad V 06
“(1) For the goddess Bēlet-parṣē, his lady: Šamšī-Adad (V), king of Assyria, son of Shalmaneser (III), king of Assyria. son of Ashurnasirpal (II), (who was) also king of Assyria, dedicated (this) [for] his life.”
Source: Royal Inscriptions of Assyria online (RIAo), Munich Open-access Cuneiform Corpus Initiative (MOCCI), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München; in association with the RINAP Project, University of Pennsylvania. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/riao/Q004743/
Read the full tablet entry~820 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Šamši-Adad V 07
“(1) For the goddess Bēlet-parṣē, his lady: Šamšī-Adad (V), king of Assyria, dedicated (this) for his life.”
Source: Royal Inscriptions of Assyria online (RIAo), Munich Open-access Cuneiform Corpus Initiative (MOCCI), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München; in association with the RINAP Project, University of Pennsylvania. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/riao/Q004744/
Read the full tablet entry~820 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Šamši-Adad V 08
“(1) For the goddess Bēlet-parṣē, [his] lady: [Šamšī-Adad (V)], son of Shalmaneser (III), son of Ashurnasirpal (II), (dedicated this).”
Source: Royal Inscriptions of Assyria online (RIAo), Munich Open-access Cuneiform Corpus Initiative (MOCCI), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München; in association with the RINAP Project, University of Pennsylvania. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/riao/Q004745/
Read the full tablet entry~820 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Šamši-Adad V 09
Asserts Šamšī-Adad V's legitimacy through a three-generation patrilineal chain — Ashurnasirpal II, Shalmaneser III, himself — while claiming the archaic titles 'king of Sumer and Akkad,' anchoring neo-Assyrian imperial ideology in deep Mesopotamian tradition.
“(1) Palace of Šamšī-Adad (V), strong king, king of the world, king of Assyria, king of Sumer (and) Akkad, son of Shalmaneser (III), king of the four quarters (of the world), son of Ashurnasirpal (II), (who was) also king of the world (and) king of Assyria.”
Source: Royal Inscriptions of Assyria online (RIAo), Munich Open-access Cuneiform Corpus Initiative (MOCCI), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München; in association with the RINAP Project, University of Pennsylvania. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/riao/Q004746/
Read the full tablet entry~820 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Šamši-Adad V 10
“(1) Šamšī-Adad (V), king of Assyria, son of Shal[maneser (III), king of Assyria], son of Ashurnasirpal (II), (who was) also king of Assyria: throne [...]”
Source: Royal Inscriptions of Assyria online (RIAo), Munich Open-access Cuneiform Corpus Initiative (MOCCI), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München; in association with the RINAP Project, University of Pennsylvania. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/riao/Q004747/
Read the full tablet entry~820 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Šamši-Adad V 2001
“(1) Property of Ilu-ittīya, eunuch of Šamšī-Adad (V), king of Assyria, the governor of Baltil (Aššur).”
Source: Royal Inscriptions of Assyria online (RIAo), Munich Open-access Cuneiform Corpus Initiative (MOCCI), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München; in association with the RINAP Project, University of Pennsylvania. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/riao/Q004748/
Read the full tablet entry~800 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Adad-nerari III 01
In plain English
This is the palace of Adad-nārārī III — great king, strong king, king of the world, king of Assyria — whom the god Aššur, king of the Igigū gods, chose and entrusted with unrivalled rule from his youth. He conquered and held dominion over everything from the Great Sea of the Rising Sun to the Great Sea of the Setting Sun. He was the son of Šamšī-Adad V, great and strong king of Assyria, grandson of Shalmaneser III, king of the four quarters of the world, who cut down all his enemies and swept them away like a flood. The lineage continues beyond that, but the text breaks off.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“(1) Palace of Adad-nārārī (III), great king, strong king, king of the world, king of Assyria, the king in whose youth (the god) Aššur, king of the Igīgū gods, chose and entrusted him with unrivalled rulership: he conquered and gained dominion over everything from the Great Sea of the Rising Sun to the Great Sea of the Setting Sun; (9b) son of Šamšī-Adad (V), great king, strong king, king of the world, king of Assyria, unrivalled king, (grand)son of Shalmaneser (III), king of the four quarters (of the world), who slew all of his enemies and annihilated (them) like a flood, (great) grandson of…”
Source: Royal Inscriptions of Assyria online (RIAo), Munich Open-access Cuneiform Corpus Initiative (MOCCI), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München; in association with the RINAP Project, University of Pennsylvania. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/riao/Q004749/
Read the full tablet entry