Position in chronology
Ashurbanipal 108
Translation · reference
High confidence(o? i 1') the deities Aššur, [...], Ninurta, Ner[gal, ...] ... [...] One or two columns likely completely missing One or two columns likely completely missing (r? i' 1') [... I advanced and marched] against [Ummanaldašu (Ḫumban-haltaš III), the king of the land Elam who had n]ot bowe[d down to my yoke]. (r? i' 4') [In the c]ours[e of m]y [campaign], I conquered the city Dūr-Undās[i], a royal city of his. (r? i' 5'b) My troops saw the Idide River, a raging torrent (and) were afraid to cross (it). [During the n]ight, the goddess Ištar who resides in Arbela showed a dream to my troops [and] said…
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/Q003807/
Why it matters
Records Ištar of Arbela appearing in a dream to reassure Assyrian troops afraid to ford the Idide River — direct evidence of divine-oracle legitimation woven into Ashurbanipal's Elamite campaign narratives.
Transliteration
AN.ŠÁR ⸢d⸣[...] / d⸢MAŠ d⸣U.⸢GUR⸣ [...] / x x x [...] / [...] x [...] / [ar-de-e-ma al-lik] ṣe-⸢er⸣ [mum-man-al-da-si] / [MAN KUR.ELAM.MA.KI ša] ⸢la⸣ ik-⸢nu⸣-[šá a-na GIŠ.ŠUDUN-ia] / [ina] ⸢me⸣-ti-⸢iq⸣ [ger-ri]-⸢ia⸣ URU.BÀD-⸢m⸣un-da-⸢a-si⸣ / URU LUGAL-u-ti-šú ak-šu-ud ERIM.ḪI.⸢A⸣-ia ÍD.id-id-⸢e⸣ / a-gu-u šam-ru e-mu-ru ip-la-ḫu a-na né-ba-ar-ti / d15 a-ši-bat LÍMMU-DINGIR.⸢KI⸣ [ina] ⸢šat⸣ GE₆…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Ashurbanipal or a late Sargonid successor, edited by Jamie Novotny & Joshua Jeffers (RINAP 5, 2018–). ORACC text Q003807.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P426236). 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/Q003807/.
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