Position in chronology
Ashurbanipal 167
Translation · reference
High confidence(1') [I th]rew [Dunānu, son of Bēl-iqīša, the Gambulian, face down] and [s]et up ... [...] over h[im]. (3') I captured [Dunān]u, son of Bēl-iqīša, [ali]ve. My [w]arriors threw him into iron fetters and promptly sent (him) [to Ni]neveh, before me. (7') I, Ashurbani<pal>, king of the world, king of Assyria, [after] I made offerings (to) the goddess Šatru (Ištar of Arbela), [performed] the akītu-festival, [(and) (10´) seized] the reins (of the chariot) of the goddess Ištar, par[ad]ed into (lit. “performed [an ent]ry of”) the city Arbela in (the midst of) celebration [in the company of Dunānu], Samgunu, Aplāya, [and the decapitated head of Teu]mman, the king of the land Elam, [which the goddess Ištar, the Lady, delivered into my hands]. (14') [...]
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/Q007575/
Why it matters
Attests Ashurbanipal's triumphal entry into Arbela with Gambulian and Elamite captives — including Teumman's severed head — framed as a gift of Ištar and staged within the akītu-festival liturgy.
Transliteration
[bu-up-pa-niš as]-⸢ḫu-up-šú-ma AD?⸣ x [...]1 / [az-qu]-pa EDIN-⸢uš⸣-[šú] / [mdu-na]-⸢nu⸣ DUMU mEN-BA-⸢šá⸣ / [bal-ṭu]-us-su ina ŠU.II aṣ-bat / ⸢qu⸣-ra-di-ia bi-re-tú id-du-šú-ma / [a-na] ⸢NINA⸣.KI a-di maḫ-ri-ia ú-šaḫ-mì-ṭu-ni / [a-na]-⸢ku⸣ mAN.ŠÁR-DÙ-<A> MAN ŠÚ MAN KUR AN.ŠÁR.KI / [ul-tu] ⸢UDU⸣.SISKUR.MEŠ dšat-ri aq-qu-u / [e-pu-šú] ⸢i-sin⸣-ni É a-ki-ti / [at-mu-ḫu KUŠ].⸢a-šá⸣-a-ti d15 / [ina ŠÀ…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Ashurbanipal or a late Sargonid successor, edited by Jamie Novotny & Joshua Jeffers (RINAP 5, 2018–). ORACC text Q007575.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P394567). 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/Q007575/.
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