Position in chronology
Sennacherib 197
Translation · reference
High confidence(1) Sennacherib, king of Assyria, the one who fashioned image(s) of (the god) Aššur [and the great gods, I: With baked bricks] from a (ritually) pure kiln, I had the tikātu-house of the courtyard (where) the pedest[als of the Igīgū gods] (stand) in rows, made anew and I [raised (it) as high as a mountain].
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/Q004002/
Why it matters
Transliteration
md30-PAP.MEŠ-SU MAN KUR aš-šur DÙ-ìš (over erasure?) ṣa-<lam> AN.⸢ŠÁR⸣ [u DINGIR.MEŠ GAL.MEŠ ana-ku] / É ti-ka-⸢a?-ti šá⸣ KISAL sa-ad-ru man-⸢za⸣-[az dí-gì-gì ina a-gúr-ri]1 / UDUN KÙ-ti eš-šiš ú-⸢še-piš-ma ú⸣-[zaq-qir₆ ḫur-šá-niš]
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Sennacherib, edited by A. Kirk Grayson & Jamie Novotny (RINAP 3, 2012–2014). ORACC text Q004002.
Attribution
Image: Created by A. Kirk Grayson, Jamie Novotny, and the Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Assyrian Period (RINAP) Project, 2014. Lemmatized by Jamie Novotny, 2013. The annotated edition is released under the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike license 3.0. Please cite this page as http://oracc.org/rinap/Q004002/..
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/Q004002/.
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The earliest historical document in human history.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.