Ashurbanipal 220

~655 BCE·Neo-Assyrian·Q007628

Translation · reference

High confidence

Lacuna of about 5 or 6 lines (i 1') [governor of B]abylon, king of [the land of Sumer and Akkad; grands]on of Sennacherib, [great] kin[g, strong king, king of the world, king of Assyria; de]scen[da]nt of Sargon (II), gre[at] king, [strong king, king of the world, king of Assyri]a, [governo]r of Babylon, king of the land of S[umer and Akkad] — (i 5') [(The god) Aššur], the father of the gods, [determined] a roya[l] destiny [as my lot] (while I was) in my mother’s womb; [the goddess Mul]lissu, the great mother, nominate[d me] for ruling over the land and people; [the god] Ea (and) (the goddess)…

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/Q007628/

Why it matters

Transliteration

[GÌR.NÍTA KÁ].⸢DINGIR.RA⸣.KI ⸢LUGAL⸣ [KUR EME.GI₇ u URI.KI] / [DUMU] ⸢DUMU⸣ md30-PAP.MEŠ-SU ⸢LUGAL⸣ [GAL LUGAL dan-nu LUGAL ŠÚ LUGAL KUR aš-šur] / ⸢li⸣-ib-⸢li⸣-bi mLUGAL-GI.NA ⸢LUGAL GAL⸣ [LUGAL dan-nu LUGAL ŠÚ LUGAL KUR aš]-⸢šur⸣ / [GÌR].⸢NÍTA⸣ KÁ.DINGIR.RA.KI LUGAL KUR ⸢EME⸣.[GI₇ u URI].⸢KI⸣ / [AN.ŠÁR] AD DINGIR.MEŠ ina lìb-bi AMA-ia ši-mat LUGAL-⸢u-ti⸣ [i-šim? šim-ti?] / [d]⸢NIN⸣.LÍL AMA…

Scholarly note

Royal inscription of Ashurbanipal or a late Sargonid successor, edited by Jamie Novotny & Joshua Jeffers (RINAP 5, 2018–). ORACC text Q007628.

Attribution

Image: Created by Jamie Novotny and Joshua Jeffers, 2015-22. Lemmatized by Joshua Jeffers, 2018-22, for the NEH-funded RINAP Project at the University of Pennsylvania. The annotated edition is released under the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike license 3.0. Please cite this page as http://oracc.org/rinap/Q007628/..
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/Q007628/.

Related tablets

Related sources

~2450 BCE

Stele of the Vultures

The earliest historical document in human history.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.

~2100 BCE

Code of Ur-Nammu

The oldest surviving law code in human history. The principle that the state — not the wronged family — defines and enforces justice begins here.

~1754 BCE

Code of Hammurabi (stele)

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.