Position in chronology
Ashurbanipal 163
Translation · reference
High confidence(1') [Simburu, the herald of the land Ela]m, [heard about] the ad[vance of my troops and became fri]ghtened at [the mention of my name. He] then [came] before [my messenger and] kissed m[y] feet. (4') [Fear] of my royal majesty covered [Umbakidin]u, the herald of the city Ḫidalu; he then cut off [the hea]d of Ištar-Nandi (Šutur-Naḫūndi), the k[in]g of the land Ḫidalu, [...] ... and (then) car[r]ied (it) and cast (it) down [before] my magnates. He then grasped the feet of my royal majesty. (r 1) [Fear of] my lordly majesty covered [Z]inēni, the palace supervisor, (and) GIŠ-TAR-ta[..., ...] of the land Elam, [...] they came here to do obeisance to me. [...] my camp. (r 6) I captured [Dunānu, son of B]ēl-iqīša, [alive. My warriors] th[rew him into iron fette]rs [and]
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/Q007571/
Why it matters
Records Elamite heralds and a provincial governor preemptively delivering a rival king's severed head to Assyrian envoys — concrete testimony to the psychological reach of Ashurbanipal's campaigns into Elam c. 655 BCE.
Transliteration
[msi-im-bu-ru LÚ.NÍMGIR ša KUR.ELAM].⸢MA.KI ma⸣-[lak ERIM.ḪI.A-ia] / [iš-me-ma zi-kir MU-ia ip]-⸢làḫ-ma⸣ ina IGI ⸢LÚ⸣.[A KIN-ia] / [il-lik-am-ma] ⸢ú-na⸣-šiq GÌR.II-⸢ia⸣ / [mum-ba-ki-den]-⸢nu⸣ LÚ.NÍMGIR ⸢šá⸣ URU.ḫi-da-⸢lu⸣1 / [pu-luḫ]-⸢ti⸣ LUGAL-ti-ia ⸢ik-tùm-šu⸣-ma / [SAG].⸢DU⸣ miš-tar-na-an-⸢di LUGAL KUR⸣.ḫi-da-lu / [x x] x x NÍG? KUD-is-ma iš-⸢šam⸣-ma / [ina IGI] ⸢LÚ.GAL⸣.MEŠ-ia id-di-ma iṣ-bat…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Ashurbanipal or a late Sargonid successor, edited by Jamie Novotny & Joshua Jeffers (RINAP 5, 2018–). ORACC text Q007571.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P394119). 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/Q007571/.
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