Position in chronology
Esarhaddon 2003
Translation · reference
High confidence(i 1') [I, Zakūtu/Naqīʾa, (...) wife of Sennacherib, king of the world, king of Assyria], [daug]hter-in-law of [Sarg]on (II), king of the world, king of [Assyria], (i 5′) mother of Es[arh]addon, king of the world (and) king of Assyria; the gods Aššur, Sî[n], Šamaš, Nabû, and Marduk, [Ištar of Ninev]eh, (and) [Ištar of Arbela], (ii 1') ...[ ... who] flattened [his foes and] fastened lead-ropes on the kings of the [four] quarters — (ii 6') He (Esarhaddon) gave to me as my lordly share the inhabitants of conquered lands, foes plundered by his bow. I made them carry hoe (and) basket, and they…
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/Q003405/
Why it matters
Issued in the voice of Naqīʾa-Zakūtu, Esarhaddon's mother, this inscription is a rare case of an Assyrian queen mother publicly claiming a share of war spoils and directing conquered peoples to corvée labour in her own name.
Transliteration
[LUGAL KUR aš-šur].⸢KI⸣ / ⸢kal⸣-lat ⸢m⸣[MAN?]-⸢GI.NA⸣ / ⸢LUGAL⸣ kiš-⸢šá⸣-ti / ⸢LUGAL⸣ KUR [aš]-⸢šur⸣.KI / ⸢AMA⸣ maš-[šur]-⸢PAP⸣-AŠ / ⸢LUGAL⸣ kiš-⸢šá⸣-ti / ⸢LUGAL⸣ KUR aš-šur.⸢KI⸣-ma / ⸢d⸣aš-šur ⸢d30 d⸣UTU / ⸢dAG u dAMAR.UTU⸣ / [d15 šá] ⸢NINA⸣.KI / [d15 šá LÍMMU]-⸢DINGIR⸣.KI / x x [...]1 / is-pu-nu-[ma] / LUGAL.MEŠ šá ⸢kib-rat LÍMMU⸣ / id-du-u / ṣer-re-e-⸢tú⸣ / UN.MEŠ KUR.KUR / ki-šit-ti /…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Esarhaddon, edited by Erle Leichty (RINAP 4, 2011). ORACC text Q003405.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P394645). 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/Q003405/.
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