Position in chronology
Ashurbanipal 006
Translation · reference
High confidence(i 1') th[ey (the gods) allowed my mind to learn all of the scribal arts]. They glorified the men[tion of m]y [name] (and) made my lordship g[reater] t[han (those of all other) king]s who sit on (royal) da[ises]. (i 5') (As for) the sanctua[ries of A]ssyria (and) the land Akkad whose foundation(s) Esarh[addon], king of Assyria, the father who had engendered me, had laid, but whose construction he had not finished, I myself now completed their work by the command of the great gods, my lords. (i 11') I completed Eḫursaggalkurkurra, the temple of (the god) Aššur, my lord, (and) I clad its walls…
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/Q003705/
Why it matters
Claims Ashurbanipal completed Esarhaddon's unfinished temples — including Eḫursaggalkurkurra at Aššur — framing construction piety as dynastic continuity and divine sanction for his kingship.
Transliteration
[kul-lat ṭup-šar-ru-ti] ⸢ú⸣-[šá-ḫi-zu ka-ra-ši]1 / e-[li LUGAL].⸢MEŠ⸣ a-šib ⸢pa-rak⸣-[ki] / zi-[kir MU]-⸢ia⸣ ú-šar-ri-⸢ḫu⸣ / ú-⸢šar⸣-[bu]-⸢ú⸣ EN-ú-ti / eš-re-⸢e⸣-[ti] ⸢KUR⸣ aš-šur.KI KUR URI.KI / ša mAN.⸢ŠÁR-PAP⸣-[AŠ] LUGAL KUR aš-šur.KI AD ba-ni-ia / tem-me-en-šú-⸢un id⸣-du-ú / la ig-mu-ru ši-pir-šú-un / e-nen-na a-na-ku ina qí-bit DINGIR.MEŠ GAL.MEŠ EN.MEŠ-ia / ag-mu-ra ši-pir-šun /…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Ashurbanipal or a late Sargonid successor, edited by Jamie Novotny & Joshua Jeffers (RINAP 5, 2018–). ORACC text Q003705.
Attribution
Image: OIM A08001 (Oriental Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P392225). 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/Q003705/.
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