Position in chronology
Sennacherib 160
Translation · reference
High confidence(1) Sennacherib, king of Assy[ria], the one who fashioned image(s) of (the god) Aššur and the great gods: (2) [Through] divination, at the command of the gods Šamaš and [Adad, I built] the akītu-house of the steppe for the [qerītu]-festival, which had been forgotten for a long time. I named it [Eabb]augga, “House (where) Tiāmat Is Put to Death.” I named its cella Edubduba[bba, “House that Makes] the Host of Tiāmat [Trem]ble.” (5) [Through] the craft of the deity Ninagal [and] my own expertise, I had a gate of reddish bronze made that is entirely (one single) metal b[and]. Acco[rding to] the…
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/Q003965/
Why it matters
Attests Sennacherib's construction of an akītu-house for a festival whose rites had lapsed, naming its cella after Tiāmat's defeat — linking live royal cult revival directly to the Babylonian creation myth.
Transliteration
md30-PAP.MEŠ-SU MAN KUR aš-[šur].⸢KI⸣ e-piš ṣa-lam AN.ŠÁR ù DINGIR.MEŠ GAL.MEŠ / ⸢É⸣ a-ki-it EDIN šá ⸢EZEN⸣ [qé-re-ti] ⸢šá ul⸣-tu UD.MEŠ SÙ.MEŠ im-ma-šu-u / [ina] ⸢bi-ri⸣ qí-bit dUTU u d[IŠKUR DÙ-uš? é-(a)-ab?]-⸢ba?⸣-ug₅-ga É ka-mu-u ⸢tam?-tim⸣ MU-šú am-bi1 / MU É pa-pa-ḫi-šú é-dùb-⸢dùb-ab⸣-[ba É mu-ri?]-⸢ib?⸣ ki-ṣir tam-tim ni-bit-su az-kur2 / ⸢KÁ⸣.GAL ZABAR ḪUŠ.A šá ma-la a-ga-⸢sa⸣-[lak-ki ina]…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Sennacherib, edited by A. Kirk Grayson & Jamie Novotny (RINAP 3, 2012–2014). ORACC text Q003965.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P393885). 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/Q003965/.
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The earliest historical document in human history.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.