Ashurbanipal 101

~655 BCE·Neo-Assyrian·Q003800

Translation · reference

High confidence

Obverse completely missing (r i' 1') F[rom my childhood until I became an adult], I w[as assiduous towards the sanctuaries of the great gods. They required my priestly services (and)] th[ey (now)] enj[oy my giving (them) food offerings]. (r i' 5') The god Adad [released his] rains (and) the god Ea op[ened up his springs]. Year after year, I shepherded the s[ubjects of the god Enlil in prosperity (and) with justice]. (r i' 9') The great gods, who[se divinity] I [constantly] r[evered], generously gra[nted me] power, [virility, (and) outstanding] strength. (r ii' 1') [I devastat]ed [an are]a [of sixty leagues inside the land Elam (and) scattered salt (and) cress over the]m. (r ii' 5') (No translation possible) One column likely completely missing

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/Q003800/

Why it matters

Claims Ashurbanipal salted sixty leagues of Elamite territory — one of the few royal inscriptions quantifying the deliberate ecological devastation used to permanently disable a conquered region.

Transliteration

⸢ul?⸣-[tu ṣe-ḫe-ri-ia a-di ra-bé-ia] / ⸢áš?⸣-[te-ʾa-a áš-rat DINGIR.MEŠ GAL.MEŠ] / ⸢LÚ?⸣.[šá-an-gu-ti iḫ-šu-ḫu] / ⸢i?-ram?⸣-[mu na-dan zi-bi-ia] / d⸢IŠKUR⸣ ŠÈG.⸢MEŠ⸣-[šú ú-maš-ši-ra] / dé-a ú-⸢paṭ⸣-[ṭi-ra IDIM.MEŠ-šú] / šat-ti-šam-⸢ma⸣ [ina ṭuḫ-di mi-šá-ri] / ar-te-ʾa ⸢ba⸣-[ʾu-lat dEN.LÍL] / DINGIR.MEŠ ⸢GAL⸣.MEŠ ša ⸢ap⸣-[tal-la-ḫu DINGIR-us-su-un] / ⸢dun⸣-nu [zik-ru-u-tu] / e-mu-qí [ṣi-ra-a-ti] /…

Scholarly note

Royal inscription of Ashurbanipal or a late Sargonid successor, edited by Jamie Novotny & Joshua Jeffers (RINAP 5, 2018–). ORACC text Q003800.

Attribution

Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P399348). 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/Q003800/.

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