Position in chronology
Esarhaddon 048
Translation · reference
High confidence(1) When the god Aššur, king of the Igīgū and Anunnakū gods, father of the gods, lord of the lands; the god Anu, the powerful, the foremost, whose spoken order no god can alter; the god Enlil, greatest lord, the one who decrees the fates of heaven and netherworld (and) makes the dwellings secure; the god Ea, the wise, lord of wisdom, creator of (all) creatures, the one who fashions everything, whatever its name; (5) the god Sîn, the one who constantly renews himself, the pure god, the one who determines decisions (and) reveals signs; the god Šamaš, the great judge of the gods, the one who…
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/Q003277/
Why it matters
Opens with a seven-god invocation — Aššur through Šamaš — that maps the full Assyrian divine hierarchy, anchoring royal authority in cosmic order at the height of Esarhaddon's empire.
Transliteration
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Esarhaddon, edited by Erle Leichty (RINAP 4, 2011). ORACC text Q003277.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P393794). 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/Q003277/.
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The earliest historical document in human history.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.