Position in chronology
Sennacherib 137
Translation · reference
High confidence(i 1') [...] they flew away [a]lone [...] to [inaccessible] place(s). (i 3') [On my] first [campaign], I brought about [the defeat of] Marduk-apla-iddina (II) (Merodach-baladan), king of Kar[duniaš (Babylonia), together with the troop]s of (the land) Elam, [his] al[lies, in the pla]in of Kish. [In the midst of] that [batt]le he abandoned [his camp, fl]ed [alone], and (thereby) [saved] his life. [I seized the chariots, horse]s, wagons, (and) [mules that] he had abandoned [in the thick of battle].
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/Q003942/
Why it matters
Sennacherib's own account of his first campaign records the rout of Merodach-baladan II at Kish (~703 BCE), corroborating Biblical notices of Babylonian–Elamite resistance to Assyrian expansion.
Transliteration
[...] (traces) [...] / [e]-diš ip-pa-ar-šú a-⸢šar⸣ [la ʾa-a-ri]1 / [i-na] ⸢maḫ⸣-re-e-ia [ger-ri-ia]2 / [ša md]⸢MES⸣-A-SUM.NA LUGAL KUR.⸢kár⸣-[ddun-ía-àš] / [a-di ERIM.ḪI].⸢A⸣ ELAM.MA.KI re-[ṣi-šú] / [i-na ta-mir]-⸢ti⸣ kiš.KI áš-ta-⸢kan⸣ [BAD₅.BAD₅-šú] / [i-na MURUB₄ tam-ḫa]-⸢ri⸣ šu-a-tu e-zib [KARAŠ-su] / [e-diš ip-par]-⸢šid⸣-ma na-piš-⸢tuš⸣ [e-ṭí-ir] / [GIŠ.GIGIR.MEŠ ANŠE.KUR.RA].⸢MEŠ⸣ GIŠ.ṣu-um-bi [ANŠE.KUNGA.MEŠ] / [ša i-na qit-ru-ub ta-ḫa-zi] ⸢ú-maš-ši-ru⸣ [ik-šu-da]3
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Sennacherib, edited by A. Kirk Grayson & Jamie Novotny (RINAP 3, 2012–2014). ORACC text Q003942.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P399415). 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/Q003942/.
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The earliest historical document in human history.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.