Position in chronology
Sennacherib 205
Translation · reference
High confidence(1) Sennacherib, king of the world, king of Assyria, the one who fashioned image(s) of (the god) Aššur and the great gods, I: I built a house for Aššur-nādin-šumi, my eldest son, and laid its foundation(s) with limestone, stone from the mountains. I had (it) made with the craft of the god Kulla 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/Q004010/
Why it matters
Transliteration
md30-PAP.⸢MEŠ⸣-SU MAN ŠÚ MAN KUR aš-šur / e-piš ⸢ṣa⸣-lam AN.ŠÁR u DINGIR.MEŠ GAL.MEŠ ana-ku / É a-⸢na⸣ maš-šur-MU-⸢MU⸣ GAL DUMU-ia / DÙ-ma ina NA₄.pi-i-⸢li⸣ NA₄ KUR-i / UŠ₈-šú ad-di ina ši-pir dkulla / ⸢ú⸣-še-piš-ma / ú-zaq-qi-ir ḫur-šá-niš
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of Sennacherib, edited by A. Kirk Grayson & Jamie Novotny (RINAP 3, 2012–2014). ORACC text Q004010.
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/Q004010/..
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/Q004010/.
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The earliest historical document in human history.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.