Position in chronology
Ashurnasirpal II 130
Translation · reference
High confidence(1) Palace of Ashurnasirpal (II), king of the world, king of Assyria, son of Tukultī-Ninurta (II), king of the world, king of Assyria, son of Adad-nārārī (II), (who was) also king of the world (and) king of Assyria: property of the temple of the god Ninurta.
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/Q004584/
Why it matters
Marks the palace contents of Ashurnasirpal II as sacred property of the god Ninurta, documenting the deliberate entanglement of royal and temple authority at the Assyrian court circa 875 BCE.
Transliteration
É.GAL mAŠ-PAP-A MAN ŠÚ MAN KUR AŠ / A TUKUL-MAŠ MAN ŠÚ MAN KUR AŠ / A 10-ERIM.TÁḪ MAN ŠÚ MAN KUR AŠ-ma / NÍG.GA É dMAŠ
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 Q004584.
Attribution
Image: BM 136400 (British Museum, London, UK) — from Kalhu (mod. Nimrud) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P428497). 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/Q004584/.
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The earliest historical document in human history.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.