Position in chronology
Ashurnasirpal II 028
Translation · reference
High confidence(i 1) To the goddess Šarrat-nipḫi, great lady, foremost in heaven (and) netherworld, queen of all of the gods, the strong one whose weighty command is respected [in the temples], whose form is surpassing among the goddesses, shining countenance who like the god Šamaš, her sibling, thoroughly inspects the circumference of heaven (and) [netherworld], most capable of the Anunnakū gods, offspring of the god Anu, supreme among the gods, counsellor of her brothers, leader, the one who stirs up the seas (and) shakes the mountains, heroine of the Igīgū gods, lady of conflict and battle, without whom…
Source: Royal Inscriptions of Assyria online (RIAo), Munich Open-access Cuneiform Corpus Initiative (MOCCI), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München; in association with the RINAP Project, University of Pennsylvania. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/riao/Q004482/
Why it matters
Transliteration
a-na dGAŠAN-KUR NIN GAL-ti SAG-ti AN-e KI-tim ⸢šar-rat DÙ⸣ DINGIR.MEŠ ge-šèr-tu šá [ina É.KUR].⸢MEŠ⸣ si-kir-šá DUGUD / ina dINANNA.MEŠ šu-tu-rat nab-ni-sa zi-mu nam-ru šá GIM d⸢šá-maš⸣ ta-li-me-šá kip-pa-at AN-e [KI-tim] mit-ḫa-⸢riš⸣ ta-ḫi-ṭa / le-ʾa-at da-nun-na-ki bu-kur-ti da-nim šur-bu-ut DINGIR.MEŠ ma-li-kát PAP.MEŠ-šá a-li-kát maḫ-⸢ri da⸣-li-ḫat [ta]-ma-a-te / mu-na-ri-ṭa-at ḫur-šá-ni…
Scholarly note
Royal inscription of an Assyrian king, published in the Royal Inscriptions of Assyria online project (RIAo). Translation reproduced from the ORACC edition. ORACC text Q004482.
Attribution
Image: Based on A. Kirk Grayson, Assyrian Rulers of the Early First Millennium BC I (1114-859 BC) (RIMA 2), Toronto, 1991. Adapted by Jamie Novotny (2015-16) and lemmatized and updated by Nathan Morello (2016-17) for the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation-funded OIMEA Project at the Historisches Seminar - Abteilung Alte Geschichte of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. The annotated edition is released under the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike license 3.0. Please cite this page as http://oracc.org/riao/Q004482/..
Translation excerpted from Royal Inscriptions of Assyria online (RIAo), Munich Open-access Cuneiform Corpus Initiative (MOCCI), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München; in association with the RINAP Project, University of Pennsylvania. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/riao/Q004482/.
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The earliest historical document in human history.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.