Position in chronology
Esarhaddon 040
Translation · reference
High confidence(i' 1) [...] his ally [...] I trusted [...] ... [...] ... in his city (5) [... Abdi]-Milkūti, king of S[id]on, [... were] fixed (and) they were listening [...] Sidon [...] he heard [the mention of] my [na]me [...] overwhelmed him [...] ... [...] ... (ii' 1) ... [...] herald [...] my heart became angry [...] against Abdi-Mi[lkūti ...] (5) not fearing the lord of lord[s ...], who like a bear [...] the lordship of the god Aššur, my lord, [...] to the god Aššur, my lord, [...] the king of Sidon [...] the god Aššur, m[y] lord, ... [...] to appease [his] divine heart [...] awesome [sheen ... I] sent [...]
Source: Leichty, E. 2011. The Royal Inscriptions of Esarhaddon, King of Assyria (680–669 BC). RINAP 4. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/rinap/rinap4/Q003269/
Why it matters
Records Esarhaddon's campaign against Abdi-Milkūti of Sidon (~677 BCE), framing the city's destruction as Aššur's will — direct Assyrian royal testimony to the elimination of a major Phoenician maritime power.
Transliteration
[...] ⸢LÚ⸣.tuk-lat-⸢su⸣ / [...] x ⸢at-ta⸣-kil / [...]-⸢lak⸣ / [...] x DUMU ⸢URU-uš⸣-šú / [... mab-di]-⸢mil⸣-ku-ut-ti MAN URU.⸢ṣi-du-ni⸣1 / [... i-šak]-⸢ka⸣-nu-ma i-⸢šem-ma⸣-a GEŠTU.II-šu-un / [...] ⸢URU⸣.ṣi-du-un-ni / [... zi-kir šu]-⸢mì⸣-ia iš-me-ma / [...] is-ḫup-šu-⸢ú⸣-ma / [...] x [x (x) x] x / x x ⸢LI⸣ [...] / ⸢na⸣-gi-ru [...] / lìb-bi i-⸢gug⸣ [...] / UGU mab-di-⸢mil⸣-[ku-ut-ti ...] / la…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Esarhaddon, edited by Erle Leichty (RINAP 4, 2011). ORACC text Q003269.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P395575). source
Translation excerpted from Leichty, E. 2011. The Royal Inscriptions of Esarhaddon, King of Assyria (680–669 BC). RINAP 4. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/rinap/rinap4/Q003269/.
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The earliest historical document in human history.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.