Sennacherib 201

~695 BCE·Neo-Assyrian·Q004006

Translation · reference

High confidence

(1) Sennacherib, king of the world, king of Assyria, the one who fashi[oned image(s) of (the god) Aššur] and the great gods: With baked bricks from a (ritually) pure kiln, I [had] the Step Gate [of the Palace in Baltil (Aššur) built] anew [and I] rai[sed (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/Q004006/

Why it matters

Transliteration

[m]⸢d30⸣-PAP.MEŠ-⸢SU MAN⸣ ŠÚ MAN KUR aš-šur ⸢DÙ⸣-[ìš ṣa-lam AN.ŠÁR] / ⸢u DINGIR.MEŠ GAL.MEŠ É?.muš?-la?⸣-lu [šá É.GAL bal-til.KI]1 / ⸢ina a-gúr-ri 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 Q004006.

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/Q004006/..
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/Q004006/.

Related tablets

Related sources

~2450 BCE

Stele of the Vultures

The earliest historical document in human history.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.

~2100 BCE

Code of Ur-Nammu

The oldest surviving law code in human history. The principle that the state — not the wronged family — defines and enforces justice begins here.

~1754 BCE

Code of Hammurabi (stele)

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.