Chapter 00 · 1400 – 1077 BCE

Middle Assyrian

Aššur's first imperial expansion.

~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

Shalmaneser I 25

“(1) Belonging to the temple of the god Aššur. Shalmaneser (I), king of the world, son of Adad-nārārī (I), [(who was) also] king of the world, [made (it) at his tākultu].”

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/Q005813/

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~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

Shalmaneser I 26

“(1) [Belonging to the temple of the god Ašš]ur. Shalmaneser (I), vice-regent of the god Aššur, son of [Adad-nār]ārī (I), (who was) also vice-regent of the god Aššur, [made (it)] at [his] tākultu.”

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/Q005814/

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~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

Shalmaneser I 27

“(1) [Belonging to the temple of the god Aššur. Belonging to] the third tākultu of Shalmaneser (I), the overseer. [Shalmaneser (I), son of] Adad-nārārī (I), (and) son of Arik-dīn-ili, (who was) also the overseer, made (it).”

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/Q005815/

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~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

Shalmaneser I 28

Labels a brick from the Courtyard of Emblems, giving Shalmaneser I's filiation through Adad-nārārī I — architectural epigraphy that anchors the physical layout of a 13th-century Assyrian royal precinct.

“(1) [Palace of] Shalmaneser (I), [..., son of] Adad-nārārī (I), [...] Assyria: (brick) belonging to the Courtyard of Emblems.”

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/Q005816/

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~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

Shalmaneser I 29

“(1) Shalmaneser (I), appointee of the god Enlil, vice-regent of the god Aššur, restorer of Emašmaš, temple of the goddess Ištar, his lady, in Nineveh.”

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/Q005817/

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~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

Shalmaneser I 30

“(1) Palace of [Shalmaneser], king of the world, king of [Assyria], son of Adad-nārārī (I), [...]”

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/Q005818/

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~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

Shalmaneser I 31

Royal titulary of Shalmaneser I asserting universal kingship through patrilineal descent from Adad-nārārī I — documenting the dynastic legitimation formula at the height of Middle Assyrian imperial consolidation.

“(1) Palace of Shalmaneser (I), king of the world, son of Adad-nārārī (I), (who was) also king of the world.”

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/Q005819/

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~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

Shalmaneser I 32

A royal titulary inscription of Shalmaneser I attesting the hereditary claim 'king of the world' (šar kiššati) through his father Adad-nārārī I, documenting the ideological continuity of Middle Assyrian imperial self-presentation.

“(1) Palace of Shalmaneser (I), king of the world, son of Adad-nārārī (I), king of the world.”

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/Q005820/

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