Position in chronology
Ashurnasirpal II 100
Translation · reference
High confidence(1) [To the god Ea, ...] who decrees the destinies of the lands [...] wise, whose decision is unalterable [..., the great lord, my lord]: (3a) [Ashurnasirpal (II), king of Assyria, son of Tuku]ltī-Ninurta (II), king of Assyria: (4) [I] dedicated (this) stone ḫaltappû [...] for [my] life [so that my days might be long, my years be many, (for) the well-being of] my [seed] (and) my land, (for) the safekeeping of [my] vice-regal throne, [..., for the s]corching of [my enemies], fo[r the destruction of] my dangerous foes, (and) [to make the rulers who oppose me bow down at my feet].
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/Q004554/
Why it matters
Dedicatory inscription to Ea records Ashurnasirpal II consecrating a stone object for divine protection of his reign, throne, and lineage — a concrete illustration of how Neo-Assyrian kings negotiated power through temple patronage.
Transliteration
[a-na dé-a ...] ⸢mu⸣-šim dNAM.MEŠ KUR.[KUR.MEŠ ...] / [... ḫa]-si-su šá NU BAL-u mì-⸢lik⸣-[šu ...] / [...] ⸢GISKIM⸣-MAŠ MAN KUR AŠ a-na TI ⸢ZI⸣.[MEŠ-a GÍD UD.MEŠ-a] / [šúm-ud MU.MEŠ-a SILIM NUMUN.MEŠ]-⸢a⸣ KUR-a PAP GIŠ.AŠ.TI ŠID-⸢ti⸣-[a ...] / [za-i-ri-ia a-na] ⸢qa⸣-me*-e áš-ṭu-ti-a a-⸢na⸣ [ZÁḪ mal-ki.MEŠ KÚR.MEŠ-a] / [a-na GÌR.II.MEŠ-a šuk-nu]-še NA₄.ḫal-tap-pa lu x [...] / [... a]-⸢qiš⸣
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 Q004554.
Attribution
Image: BM 091452 (British Museum, London, UK) — from Kalhu (mod. Nimrud) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P423563). 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/Q004554/.
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