Position in chronology
Sennacherib 136
Translation · reference
High confidence(i 1) Sennacherib, [great] king, [strong king], king of the world, king of Assyria, king of [the four quarters (of the world)], capable shepherd, favorite of the [great] gods, guardian of truth who loves jus[tice], renders assistance, goes to the aid of the w[eak], (and) strives after good de[eds], perfect man, virile warr[ior], foremost of all rul[ers], the bridle that controls the insub[missive], (and) the one who strikes en[emies] with lightning: (i 10) The god Aššur, the [great] mountain, gran[ted to me] unrivalled sovereignty [and] made [my] w[eapons] greater than (those of) all who sit…
Source: Grayson, A.K. & Novotny, J. 2012–2014. The Royal Inscriptions of Sennacherib, King of Assyria (704–681 BC). RINAP 3. University Park, PA: Eisenbrauns. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/rinap/rinap3/Q003941/
Why it matters
Preserves Sennacherib's formal titulary and divine mandate from Aššur, showing how Neo-Assyrian kings encoded cosmic authority — shepherd, warrior, arbiter of justice — directly into the preamble of royal inscriptions.
Transliteration
[m]⸢d⸣EN.ZU-ŠEŠ.MEŠ-SU ⸢LUGAL⸣ [GAL-ú] / [LUGAL dan-nu] ⸢LUGAL⸣ ŠÚ LUGAL KUR aš-šur.KI / LUGAL [kib-rat LÍMMU-tim] RE.É.UM it-pe-šú / mi-gir DINGIR.MEŠ [GAL.MEŠ] na-ṣir kit-ti / ra-ʾi-im ⸢mi⸣-[šá-ri] e-piš ú-sa-a-ti / a-lik tap-pu-ti ⸢a⸣-[ki-i] sa-ḫi-ru dam-qa-[a-ti] / eṭ-lu gít-ma-lum zi-ka-ru ⸢qar⸣-[du] / a-šá-red kal ma-⸢al⸣-[ki] rap-pu la-ʾi-iṭ / la ma-[gi-ri] mu-šab-ri-qu za-[ma-a-ni] /…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Sennacherib, edited by A. Kirk Grayson & Jamie Novotny (RINAP 3, 2012–2014). ORACC text Q003941.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P394586). source
Translation excerpted from Grayson, A.K. & Novotny, J. 2012–2014. The Royal Inscriptions of Sennacherib, King of Assyria (704–681 BC). RINAP 3. University Park, PA: Eisenbrauns. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/rinap/rinap3/Q003941/.
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