Position in chronology
Ashurbanipal 147
Translation · reference
High confidence(1') [... had conf]ined in priso[n ... he se]nt (them) before me [...] they killed their ... [...] (the god) Aššur and the goddess Ištar (5´) [... fea]r of my lordly majesty [... fil]led with rage [... a servant who bel]onged to me [... kin]gs of the land Elam [...] ...
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/Q007555/
Why it matters
Preserves a fragmentary Ashurbanipal royal inscription invoking Aššur and Ištar to legitimise military action against Elam, attesting the standard Sargonid theology of divine wrath as the engine of imperial conquest.
Transliteration
[... ik]-⸢lu-ú⸣ ina ⸢É ṣi-bit⸣-[ti] / [... ú-še]-bi-la a-di maḫ-ri-ia / [...]-⸢an?⸣-ni-šú-nu i-du-ku / [...] x AN.ŠÁR ù d15 / [... pu]-⸢luḫ⸣-ti EN-ti-ia / [... ina ma]-⸢le⸣-e lib-ba-a-ti / [...] ⸢da?⸣-gíl pa-ni-ia / [...] ⸢MAN⸣.MEŠ KUR.ELAM.MA.⸢KI⸣ / [...] x x x x
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Ashurbanipal or a late Sargonid successor, edited by Jamie Novotny & Joshua Jeffers (RINAP 5, 2018–). ORACC text Q007555.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P426160). 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/Q007555/.
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