Position in chronology
Ashurbanipal 185
Translation · reference
High confidence(1) (As for) the city Arbela, the abode of the goddess Ištar, the house of festivals and [joyous celebrations], whose (inner) wall had not been built (and) [whose] o[uter wall] had not been completed since time immemorial: I built its (inner) wall and completed its outer wall. I f[illed (it)] with splendor. (4) (As for) the temple of the goddess Ištar, my lady, I made (it) shine like daylight using silver, gold, (and) copper. I decorated the divine emblems of the gateway(s) of the temple of the goddess Ištar with silver (and) gold and (then) I set (them) up. (6) (As for) the city Milqīʾa, 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/Q007593/
Why it matters
Records Ashurbanipal's rebuilding of Arbela's long-unfinished walls and the silver-and-gold refurbishment of Ištar's temple there — grounding the city's role as Ištar's cultic seat in datable royal construction.
Transliteration
URU.LÍMMU-DINGIR šu-bat diš-tar É i-sin-na-a-ti ⸢ù⸣ [nin-gu-ti?] / ša ul-tu ul-la BÀD-šú la ep-šú la šuk-lu-⸢la šal⸣-[ḫu-u-šú] / BÀD-šú ar-ṣip-ma ú-šak-lil šal-ḫu-u-šú lu-le-⸢e uš⸣-[mal-li] / É dINANNA GAŠAN-ia ina KÙ.BABBAR KÙ.GI URUDU ú-nam-mir GIM u₄-⸢mi⸣ / GIŠ.šu-ri-in-ni KÁ É diš-tar KÙ.BABBAR KÙ.GI ú-za-ʾi-in-ma az-qup1 / URU.mil-qí-a É.GAL EDIN mu-šab diš-tar an-ḫu-us-su ud-diš / É…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Ashurbanipal or a late Sargonid successor, edited by Jamie Novotny & Joshua Jeffers (RINAP 5, 2018–). ORACC text Q007593.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P237924). 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/Q007593/.
Related tablets
Related sources
The earliest historical document in human history. Before this, we have lists, accounts, and dedications. Here, for the first time, a ruler tells us what happened — with names, places, and consequences.
The oldest surviving law code in human history. The principle that the state — not the wronged family — defines and enforces justice begins here.
Not the first law code, but the most complete and the most famous. Inscribed on a black diorite stele over two meters tall, displayed in a public place — law made visible, law made monumental.