Position in chronology
Ashurbanipal 075
Translation · reference
High confidence(1') [During the night, in a crafty maneuver, they (Aḫšēri’s troops) approached to] do [battle, to figh]t with m[y] troops. [My battle troops fo]ug[h]t [with them (and)] brought about their defeat. (Over) an area [(the distance of) three leagues march], they filled the wide steppe with their corpses. (5') [By the command of the gods Aš]šur, Mullissu, Sîn, Šamaš, Adad, Bēl (Marduk), Nabû, [Ištar of Ninev]eh, Ištar of Arbela, Ninurta, [Nergal, (and) Nusku, the great gods], my lords, who had encour[aged me], I entered [the land M]annea and ma[rched about triumphantly. In the cours]e of my campaign, [I conquered, destroyed, demolished, (and) burned with fire] the cities A[yusiaš — a fortress (of his)] —
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/Q003774/
Why it matters
Names eleven divine sponsors of Ashurbanipal's Mannean campaign and records a night ambush routed across three leagues of steppe — pinning Assyrian theology of divinely mandated conquest to a specific military engagement.
Transliteration
[ina šat mu-ši ina ši-pir ni-kil-ti a-na] e-⸢peš⸣ [MÈ] / [it-bu-u-ni a-na mit-ḫu]-⸢uṣ⸣ ERIM.ḪI.A-⸢ia⸣ / [ERIM.MEŠ MÈ-ia it-ti-šú-un im]-⸢da-ḫa-ṣu⸣ iš-ku-nu BAD₅.BAD₅-šú-un / [ma-lak 3 KASKAL.GÍD] ⸢A.ŠÀ šal-ma⸣-a-te-šú-nu ú-mal-lu-u EDIN rap-šú / [ina qí-bit AN].ŠÁR d⸢NIN⸣.LÍL d30 dUTU dIŠKUR dEN d⸢AG⸣ / [d15 šá] ⸢NINA⸣.KI d15 šá LÍMMU-DINGIR.KI dMAŠ ⸢d⸣[U.GUR dnusku] / [DINGIR.MEŠ GAL].⸢MEŠ⸣…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Ashurbanipal or a late Sargonid successor, edited by Jamie Novotny & Joshua Jeffers (RINAP 5, 2018–). ORACC text Q003774.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P395620). 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/Q003774/.
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