Position in chronology
Sîn-šarru-iškun 04
Translation · reference
High confidence(1') [... the] Tigr[is Ri]ver [... who]s[e s]ite [... which ...] bui[lt ... I bui]lt (and) com[pleted (it) ... I] filled [...]
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/Q003865/
Why it matters
Attests Sîn-šarru-iškun's building activity along the Tigris in the final decade of the Assyrian Empire, adding fragmentary but direct epigraphic evidence to a reign otherwise poorly documented in royal inscriptions.
Transliteration
[...] (blank) [...] / [...]-bi [...] / [...] ⸢ÍD.IDIGNA⸣ [...] / [...] ⸢šu⸣-bat-⸢su?⸣ [...] / [...] e-pu-[šu ...] / [... ar]-⸢ṣip⸣ ú-⸢šak⸣-[lil ...] / [... ú]-⸢mal⸣-li [...] / [...] x [...]
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Ashurbanipal or a late Sargonid successor, edited by Jamie Novotny & Joshua Jeffers (RINAP 5, 2018–). ORACC text Q003865.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P451960). 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/Q003865/.
Related tablets
Related sources
The earliest historical document in human history. Before this, we have lists, accounts, and dedications. Here, for the first time, a ruler tells us what happened — with names, places, and consequences.
The oldest surviving law code in human history. The principle that the state — not the wronged family — defines and enforces justice begins here.
Not the first law code, but the most complete and the most famous. Inscribed on a black diorite stele over two meters tall, displayed in a public place — law made visible, law made monumental.