Position in chronology
Ashurbanipal 196
Translation · reference
High confidence(1) [Fo]r (the god) Aššur, k[ing of the gods, ...] who carries out [...] who like the god Šamaš [...] who in the month Ni[san (I) ...] (5) who(m) the king [...] who(m) the deity [...] in [...] to [...]. (10) Taharq[a ...] weapon[s ...]. Again[st the people of Assyria who were inside Egypt, servants who belonged to me, he dispatched his army] to k[ill, rob, (and) plunder (them)]. (14) A [fast] messeng[er came to Nineveh and reported (this) to me. My heart became enraged] about [these] de[eds and my temper turned hot]. I summoned [(my) field marshal (and) governors, together with troops (under)…
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/Q007604/
Why it matters
Records Taharqa's attack on Assyrian personnel stationed in Egypt and Ashurbanipal's furious military response — a rare first-person Assyrian account of the collision between two empires competing for control of the Nile Delta.
Transliteration
[a]-⸢na?⸣ AN.ŠÁR ⸢LUGAL⸣ [DINGIR.MEŠ ...]1 / mut-tab-bil x [...] / ša GIM dUTU [...] / ša ina ITI.⸢BÁRA⸣ [...] / ša LUGAL [...] / ša d?[...] / i-na x [...] / a-na x [...] / ul-[...] / mtar-⸢qu⸣-[u ...] / GIŠ.TUKUL.[MEŠ? ...] / e-⸢li⸣ [UN.MEŠ KUR aš-šur.KI ša qé-reb KUR.mu-ṣur ARAD.MEŠ-ni da-gíl pa-ni-ia] / a-na ⸢da⸣-[a-ki ḫa-ba-a-te šá-la-a-li ú-ma-ʾe-e-ra um-man-šú] / al-la-⸢ku⸣ [ḫa-an-ṭu ina…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Ashurbanipal or a late Sargonid successor, edited by Jamie Novotny & Joshua Jeffers (RINAP 5, 2018–). ORACC text Q007604.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P426290). 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/Q007604/.
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The earliest historical document in human history.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.