Position in chronology
Sennacherib 158
Translation · reference
High confidence(1') [... f]or oracl[es ... May] the Igīgū gods ... [...] May the Anunnakū gods reverently [look after] the skillfully crafted things that [I ...] in [...]. (5') [The Ta]blet of Destinies, the bond of supreme pow[er], dominion over the gods of heaven and netherw[orld], sovereignty over the Igīgū and Anu[nnakū] gods, [the se]cret of the heavens and the netherwo[rld, the b]ond of the cover of the heavens (lit. “Anu”) and the netherworld (Ganzer), the lead-rope of ma[nkind, wh]ich (the god) Aššur, king of the gods, took in his hand and held [at his breast — a re]presentation of his form, a…
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/Q003963/
Why it matters
Attests Sennacherib's elevation of Aššur by transferring to him the Tablet of Destinies — a theological maneuver that repositioned the Assyrian city-god as supreme ruler over both Igīgū and Anunnakū, displacing Marduk's traditional cosmic authority.
Transliteration
[a]-⸢na te-re-ti?⸣ [...] / ⸢d⸣í-gì-gì AB x [...] / ⸢a⸣-na nik-la-ti-ia šá qé-reb x [...] / ⸢d⸣a-nun-na-ki pal-ḫiš ⸢li⸣-[qu?-lu?] / ⸢DUB⸣ NAM.MEŠ ri-kis dEN.LÍL-ú-[ti] / be-lu-ut DINGIR.MEŠ šá AN-e ù er-⸢ṣe⸣-[ti] / LUGAL-ú-ut dí-gì-gì ù da-⸢nun⸣-[na-ki] / ⸢pi⸣-riš-ti šá-ma-mu ù èš-⸢maḫ⸣-[(ḫi)] / ⸢mar⸣-kás er-mi a-nu u ga-an-zèr ṣer-ret ⸢te⸣-[né-še-ti?] / ⸢šá⸣ AN.ŠÁR LUGAL DINGIR.MEŠ qa-tuš-šú…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Sennacherib, edited by A. Kirk Grayson & Jamie Novotny (RINAP 3, 2012–2014). ORACC text Q003963.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P238626). 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/Q003963/.
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