Position in chronology
Esarhaddon 044
Translation · reference
High confidence(1) I, Esarhadd[on, ... fav]orite of the god Enlil, pious man, beloved of the god [Marduk and] the goddess Zarpanītu, true shepherd, [... of] the great [god]s, expert governor, [... of the] god Son-of-Bēl (Nabû), (5) judicious ruler, [... shri]nes, the one entrusted with the sattukku offerings, [... of the] daises, the one who brings abundance to the temples, [...] (and) cult centers; the one who (re)confirmed the cereal offerings, [...] everything, wh[o makes] the cult centers shine (and) [comple]tes their rites; (10) the one [who kno]ws the totality of everything, [...] ... everything,…
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/Q003273/
Why it matters
Esarhaddon presents himself as ritual custodian of the great temples — confirming sattukku offerings and restoring cult centers — placing religious legitimacy at the heart of neo-Assyrian royal ideology, ca. 675 BCE.
Transliteration
⸢a-na⸣-ku maš-šur-a-ḫu-i-⸢di⸣-[na ...] ⸢mi-gir⸣ dEN.LÍL / eṭ-lu na-a-du na-ram d[AMAR.UTU u] ⸢d⸣zar-pa-ni-tum / re-é-ú-um ki-i-nu [... DINGIR].⸢MEŠ⸣ GAL.MEŠ / GÌR.NÍTA it-pe-⸢šu⸣ [...] DUMU dEN / mun-tal-ku ma-li-ku [... eš]-⸢re⸣-e-ti / pa-qid-du ⸢sat-tuk-ki⸣ x [...] BÁRA.MEŠ / mu-ṭaḫ-ḫi-⸢id⸣ É.KUR.⸢MEŠ⸣ x [...] ma-ḫa-zi / ⸢mu⸣-kin ⸢nin⸣-da-bé-e [...] ka-lá-ma / ⸢mu-nam⸣-mir ma-⸢ḫa⸣-zi…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Esarhaddon, edited by Erle Leichty (RINAP 4, 2011). ORACC text Q003273.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P394392). 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/Q003273/.
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