Position in chronology
Ashurnasirpal II 057
Translation · reference
High confidence(1) Ashurnasirpal (II), appointee of the god Enlil, vice-regent of (the god) Aššur, son of Tukultī-Ninurta (II), appointee of the god Enlil, vice-regent of (the god) Aššur, son of Adad-nārārī (II), (who was) also appointee of the god Enlil (and) vice-regent of (the god) Aššur: (2) At that time, Emašmaš, the temple of the goddess Ištar of Nineveh, my lady, [which Šam]šī-Adad, vice-regent of (the god) Aššur, a ruler who has come before me, had built, had become dilapidated. I built (and) completed (it) from its foundations to its crenellations (and) decorated (it) mo[re] splendidly than before.…
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/Q004511/
Why it matters
Records Ashurnasirpal II's restoration of the Emašmaš temple at Nineveh, situating him within a chain of vice-regents stretching back to Šamšī-Adad and linking royal piety to political legitimacy.
Transliteration
mAŠ-PAP-A GAR dBAD ŠID AŠ A GISKIM-MAŠ ⸢GAR d⸣BAD ŠID AŠ A 10-ERIM.TÁḪ ⸢GAR⸣ dBAD ŠID AŠ-ma / e-nu-ma é-maš-maš É dINANNA šá URU.NINA NIN-ia [ša mšam]-⸢ši⸣-10 ŠID AŠ NUN DU IGI-ia e-pu-šú / e-na-aḫ-ma TA UŠ₈-šú EN gaba-dib-bi-šú ar-ṣip ú-šék-lil ú-si-im ú-šar-riḫ UGU maḫ-re-e ú-šá-[tir] / ⸢NA₄.NA⸣.RÚ.A al-ṭur ina qé-reb-šú aš-kun [NUN]-ú ⸢EGIR?⸣-ú an-ḫu-su lu-ud-diš-šú MU šaṭ-ra ana KI-šú lu-ter
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 Q004511.
Attribution
Image: BM 123474 (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P422553). source
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/Q004511/.
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The earliest historical document in human history.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.