Position in chronology
Ashurbanipal 125
Translation · reference
High confidence(A 1') [...] ... [... saying: “Grasp the feet of Ashur]banipal, king of [Assyria, and conquer your enemies through the mention of his name.” On the (very) day] he saw [thi]s [dream, he sent his mounted messenger to inquire about my well-being. (As for) this dream that he had seen, he sent (a message about it) by the hands of a messenger of his and he reported (it) to me. From the da]y that he grasp[ed the feet of my royal majesty, he conquered the Cimmerians, who were disturbing the people of his land, (A 5´) had never fea]red [my] ancestors, [and, with regard to me, had not grasped the…
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/Q003824/
Why it matters
A Lydian ruler dreams that Ashur commands him to grasp Ashurbanipal's feet — and then defeats the Cimmerians: one of the clearest surviving texts linking Assyrian royal ideology to a foreign vassal's military success.
Transliteration
[...] x x x [...] / [... mAN.ŠÁR]-DÙ-A MAN ⸢KUR⸣ [AN.ŠÁR.KI ...] / [... an-ni]-⸢tú?⸣ e-mu-ru [...] / [... u₄]-⸢me⸣ ša iṣ-ba-[tú ...] / [... la ip-tal]-la-ḫu AD.⸢MEŠ⸣-[ia ...] / [... d]⸢NIN⸣.LÍL TA ŠÀ ⸢LÚ⸣.[EN.URU.MEŠ ...] / [... ta]-mar-ti-šú ⸢ka⸣-[bit-ti ...] / [... URU.šá-pi-i-d]⸢EN⸣ URU tukul-ti KUR.[gam-bu-li ...] / [... DUMU].⸢MEŠ⸣ mdEN-⸢BA-šá⸣ x [...] / [...] (traces) [...] / [...] (traces)…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Ashurbanipal or a late Sargonid successor, edited by Jamie Novotny & Joshua Jeffers (RINAP 5, 2018–). ORACC text Q003824.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P452569). 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/Q003824/.
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