Position in chronology
Esarhaddon 128
Translation — scholar edition
RINAP 4(1) For the goddess Queen-of-Nippur, ruler of Uzu-mu-a, august, eminent, most splendid of the gods, the goddess Innini, supreme lady who always cares like a mother for the king — her favorite — who makes his reign lengthy (and) bestows on him power and might, queen of Nippur, who dwells in Ebaradurgara, the temple which makes firm the royal abode, the great lady, his lady: (4) Esarhaddon, great king, mighty king, king of the world, king of Assyria, king of the four quarters (of the world), governor of Babylon, king of the land of Sumer and Akkad, selected by the steadfast heart of the god…
Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Assyrian Period, volume 4 — scholar edition (ORACC).
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Why it matters
Attests Esarhaddon's devotion to Ištar of Nippur — here styled Queen-of-Nippur enthroned in Ebaradurgara — documenting Assyrian royal investment in a Babylonian cult centre during his post-conquest reconciliation policy.
Transliteration
a-na dUN.GAL-NIBRU.KI ma-al-kát uzu-mú-a.KI ṣir-ti ti-iz-qar-ti šá-ru-uḫ-tu DINGIR.MEŠ din-nin-ni / GAŠAN šur-bu-tu šá a-na LUGAL mi-ig-ri-šá ba-an-ti-iš it-ta-na-as-ḫa-ru BALA-šú ú-šal-ba-ru i-šar-ra-ku-uš da-na-nu ù li-i-ti / šar-rat NIBRU.KI a-ši-bat é-bára-dúr-gar-ra É mu-kin šu-bat LUGAL-ú-tu GAŠAN GAL-ti GAŠAN-šú / mAN.ŠÁR-ŠEŠ-SUM.NA LUGAL GAL-ú LUGAL dan-nu LUGAL ŠÚ LUGAL KUR aš-šur.KI…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Esarhaddon, edited by Erle Leichty (RINAP 4, 2011). ORACC text Q003357.
Attribution
Image: OIM A32262 (Oriental Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA) — from Nippur (mod. Nuffar) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.earth/artifacts, P450543). 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/Q003357/.
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