Position in chronology
Ashurbanipal 095
Written in modern English
Ummanigaš, king of Elam, forgot Ashurbanipal's goodwill — the lines describing what followed are too damaged to read. Tammarītu, who took the Elamite throne after Ummanigaš, then cut down someone (the name is lost) and came to the aid of Šamaš-šuma-ukīn, Ashurbanipal's hostile brother, rushing weapons to fight against Ashurbanipal's troops. Ashurbanipal responded by appealing to the gods Aššur, Sîn, Šamaš, Adad, Bēl, and Nabû — and the column breaks off there.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — scholar edition
RINAP 5(i 1) Afterwards, [... Ummanigaš (Ḫumban-nikas II)], who forgot my kindness [and ...]. Tamma[r]ītu, who [sat] on the throne of the land Elam aft[er Ummanigaš], cut down [...] and ... [...]. (i 6) Tammarītu, who [sat on the throne of] the land Elam after [Ummanigaš (Ḫumban-nikas II)] (and) who did not inq[uire about the well-being of my royal majesty], came to the aid of Ša[maš-šuma-ukīn — (my) hostile brother] — and [hastily sent his weapons] to fig[ht with my troops]. (i 10) As a result of the supplications that [I had addressed to] the deities Aš[šur, Sîn, Šamaš, Adad, Bēl (Marduk), Nabû],…
Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Assyrian Period, volume 5 — scholar edition (ORACC).
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Why it matters
Chronicles Elamite king Tammarītu's military support for the rebel Šamaš-šuma-ukīn, supplying a rare Assyrian royal account of the political fractures that ignited the Babylonian revolt of 652–648 BCE.
Transliteration
EGIR-nu il-[...] / ša ⸢MUN im⸣-šu-[ma ...] / mtam-ma-⸢ri⸣-tú šá ⸢EGIR⸣ [mum-man-i-gaš ú-ši-bu] / ina ⸢GIŠ⸣.GU.ZA KUR.ELAM.⸢MA⸣.KI x [...] / KUD-is-ma id-da-[...] / mtam-ma-ri-tú ša EGIR [mum-man-i-gaš ú-ši-bu ina GIŠ.GU.ZA] / KUR.e-lam-ti la iš-[a-lu šu-lum LUGAL-ti-ia] / a-na re-ṣu-u-ti md⸢GIŠ⸣.[NU₁₁-MU-GI.NA ŠEŠ nak-ri] / il-lik-am-ma a-na mit-[ḫu-ṣi ERIM.ḪI.A-ia ur-ri-ḫa GIŠ.TUKUL.MEŠ-šú] /…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Ashurbanipal or a late Sargonid successor, edited by Jamie Novotny & Joshua Jeffers (RINAP 5, 2018–). ORACC text Q003794.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.earth/artifacts, P394569). 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/Q003794/.
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