Position in chronology
Esarhaddon 1016
Translation · reference
High confidence(1') ... [...] ... [...] perfect [lambs] that had no [black] spo[ts ...] I did not impart (it) to the [wise] diviners, [(but rather) I wrote (it) on a tablet, put (it) in an envelope], (5′) sealed (it), (and) gave (it) to them. I did not sl[eep all night ... I] waited for the shining lord of lor[ds, the god Šamaš, ... To ob]tain (correct) decisions, han[ds were raised (praying) ... I pray]ed to Šamaš and Adad (and) [made] skilled [diviners kneel down before them]. (r 1) Until they had assigned a station (and) inspected ... [...] I was reverent with supplicating lips [...]. The Igīgū gods took counsel and decid[ed ...] encouraging, propitious [omen]s [... (rev. 5) ...] ... the gods Šamaš and Adad ... [...] ... will rule the land ... [...] ... [...]
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/Q003388/
Why it matters
Esarhaddon records sealing a secret divination query in an envelope before consulting Šamaš and Adad — a rare first-person royal account of the procedural safeguards used to prevent diviners from tailoring omens to please the king.
Transliteration
⸢ZAG⸣ [...] / ⸢UB?⸣ ŠE? ⸢TÚ?⸣ [...] x x [... UDU.SILA₄.MEŠ] / ⸢šuk⸣-lu-lu-te ⸢šá⸣ la i-šu-u ⸢ti-rik⸣ [ṣu-ul-me ...] / ⸢ul⸣ ú-pat-ti šá DUMU.MEŠ LÚ.ḪAL.⸢MEŠ⸣ [pal-ka-a ḫa-si-sún ina ṭup-pi áš-ṭur e-ri-im] / ⸢ab-ri⸣-<im> a-din-šú-nu-ti ul aṣ-[lul kal mu-ši ...] / [ú]-⸢qa⸣-aʾ-a nam-ru EN EN.⸢EN⸣ [dUTU ...] / [a-na] ⸢šu⸣-te-šur de-e-ni ni-iš qa-⸢ti⸣ [na-ši-ma ...] / [ú-ṣal]-⸢li⸣ dUTU u dIŠKUR…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Esarhaddon, edited by Erle Leichty (RINAP 4, 2011). ORACC text Q003388.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P400267). 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/Q003388/.
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The earliest historical document in human history.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.