Position in chronology
Sîn-šarru-iškun 01
Translation · reference
High confidence(1) I, Sîn-šarra-iškun, great king, stron[g] king, [king of the world, king of A]ssyria, favored by the deities Aššur, Enlil, (and) Mullissu; pio[us] governor, [...] of Ešarra, humble ruler; chosen by the steadfast hearts of the deities Sîn, Ni[ngal, Šamaš, and Aya; beloved of the deities Marduk, Zarpa]nītu, Nabû, (and) Tašmētu; the one chosen by the goddess Ištar who resides in Nineveh (and) the goddess Ištar who resides in [Arbela, favorite of the gods Nergal] and Nusku; (5) [the one whom (the god) Aššur, the goddess Mul]lissu, and the grea[t] gods, [my lords, steadfastly looked upon am]ong…
Source: Novotny, J. & Jeffers, J. 2018–. The Royal Inscriptions of Ashurbanipal (668–631 BC), Aššur-etel-ilāni (630–627 BC) and Sîn-šarra-iškun (626–612 BC), Kings of Assyria. RINAP 5. University Park, PA: Eisenbrauns. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/rinap/rinap5/Q003862/
Why it matters
Royal titulary of Sîn-šarru-iškun invokes ten deities across the Assyrian and Babylonian pantheons, documenting the deliberate theological diplomacy of the last generation of Sargonid kings before Nineveh fell in 612 BCE.
Transliteration
a-na-ku md⸢EN⸣.ZU-LUGAL-GAR-un LUGAL GAL LUGAL dan-⸢nu⸣ [LUGAL ŠÚ LUGAL KUR] ⸢AN⸣.ŠÁR.KI / ni-iš IGI.II AN.ŠÁR dEN.LÍL dNIN.LÍL ⸢GÌR.NÍTA mut⸣-nen-⸢nu⸣-[ú LÚ.x] x é-šár-ra / ma-al-ku šuk-nu-šu ⸢i⸣-tu-ut kun lìb-bi d30 d⸢NIN⸣.[GAL dUTU u da-a na-ram dAMAR.UTU dNUMUN]-⸢DÙ⸣-tum dAG dPAPNUN / ⸢ni?-šu⸣-ut diš-tar a-ši-bat ⸢URU.NINA⸣ diš-tar a-ši-bat [LÍMMU-DINGIR.KI mi-gir dU.GUR] ⸢ù⸣ dnusku1 / [šá…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Ashurbanipal or a late Sargonid successor, edited by Jamie Novotny & Joshua Jeffers (RINAP 5, 2018–). ORACC text Q003862.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P397676). source
Translation excerpted from Novotny, J. & Jeffers, J. 2018–. The Royal Inscriptions of Ashurbanipal (668–631 BC), Aššur-etel-ilāni (630–627 BC) and Sîn-šarra-iškun (626–612 BC), Kings of Assyria. RINAP 5. University Park, PA: Eisenbrauns. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/rinap/rinap5/Q003862/.
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