Position in chronology
Ashurbanipal 084
Translation · reference
High confidence(i' 1') [it (an eclipse) lasted like this the entire day, (thus signifying) the end of the reign of the king of the land] Elam [(and) the destruction of his land]. (i' 2') [“The Fruit” (the god Sîn) revealed to me his decision], which cannot be chang[e]d. [At that time, a mishap befell him]: His lip became paralyzed and his eye became small. (i´ 5´) [He was not ashamed by thes]e [measures] that the deities Aššur and Sîn, [Šamaš, Bêl (Marduk)], Nabû, Ištar of Nineveh, [Ištar of Arbela, Ninurta], Nusku (and) Nergal had taken against him, [(and) he mu]stered his troops. (i' 8') [During the month…
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/Q003783/
Why it matters
Links a lunar eclipse, divine omens, and the Elamite king's physical affliction — paralyzed lip, diminished eye — to justify Ashurbanipal's campaign: a rare royal text weaving extispicy logic directly into annalistic narrative.
Transliteration
[kal u₄-me uš-ta-ni-iḫ a-na qí-it BALA.MEŠ MAN KUR].⸢ELAM.MA.KI⸣ [ZÁḪ KUR-šú]1 / [ú-kal-lim-an-ni GURUN EŠ.BAR-šú] ša la in-nen-⸢nu-u⸣ / [ina u₄-me-šú-ma mi-iḫ-ru im-ḫur-šu]-⸢ma⸣ NUNDUM-su uk-tam-bil-ma IGI-šú iṣ-ḫi-ir2 / [it-ti ep-še-e-ti an-na-a]-⸢ti⸣ ša AN.ŠÁR u d*15*(erased) d303 / [dUTU dEN] ⸢d⸣AG d15 šá NINA.KI / [d15 šá LÍMMU-DINGIR dMAŠ] ⸢d⸣nusku dU.GUR e-pu-šú-uš / [ul i-ba-áš id]-ka-a…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Ashurbanipal or a late Sargonid successor, edited by Jamie Novotny & Joshua Jeffers (RINAP 5, 2018–). ORACC text Q003783.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P398785). 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/Q003783/.
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The earliest historical document in human history.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.