Chapter 00 · 1400 – 1077 BCE
Middle Assyrian
Aššur's first imperial expansion.
~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Adad-narari I 31
Stamps Adad-nārārī I's ownership of a labūnu-house forecourt: one of the earliest Assyrian royal building inscriptions asserting the "king of the world" titulary that would define imperial rhetoric for centuries.
In plain English
A palace brick belonging to Adad-nārārī I, king of the world, son of Arik-dīn-ili, king of Assyria, and grandson of Enlil-nārārī, also king of Assyria. The inscription identifies the brick as belonging to the forecourt of the labūnu-house.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“(1) Palace of Adad-nārārī (I), king of the world, son of Arik-dīn-ili, king of Assyria, son of Enlil-nārārī, (who was) also king of Assyria: (brick) belonging to the forecourt of the labūnu-house.”
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/Q005768/
Read the full tablet entry~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Adad-narari I 33
In plain English
This is Adad-nārārī I's palace inscription. He identifies himself as king of the world, son of Arik-dīn-ili king of Assyria, and grandson of Enlil-nārārī, also king of Assyria. The brick on which this is written belonged to the house of the red šudutinnu.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“(1) Palace of Adad-nārārī (I), king of the world, son of Arik-dīn-ili, king of Assyria, son of Enlil-nārārī, (who was) also king of Assyria: (brick) belonging to the house of the red šudutinnu.”
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/Q005770/
Read the full tablet entry~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Adad-narari I 34
In plain English
This is the palace of Adad-nārārī I, king of the world and son of Arik-dīn-ili, king of Assyria. The inscription marks the brick as belonging to the red šudu(tin)nu.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“(1) Palace of Adad-nārārī (I), king of the world, son of Arik-dīn-ili, king of Assyria: (brick) belonging to the red šudu(tin)nu.”
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/Q005771/
Read the full tablet entry~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Adad-narari I 35
Records Adad-nārārī I's renovation of the processional avenue at Aššur's temple, anchoring the physical expansion of Assyrian royal piety to a specific monarch at the dawn of the Middle Assyrian kingdom.
In plain English
Adad-nārārī I, vice-regent of the god Aššur and son of Arik-dīn-ili — who held the same title before him — had a facing applied to the processional avenue of the Abaru Forecourt in the temple of Aššur.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“(1) Adad-nārārī (I), vice-regent of (the god) Aššur, son of Arik-dīn-ili, (who was) also vice-regent of (the god) Aššur, applied a facing to the processional avenue of the Abaru Forecourt of the temple of (the god) Aššur, his lord.”
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/Q005772/
Read the full tablet entry~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Adad-narari I 36
In plain English
This is the palace of Adad-nārārī I, king of the world, son of Arik-dīn-ili, king of Assyria, and grandson of Enlil-nārārī, also king of Assyria. The inscription ends with a reference to the Abaru — the Forecourt — but the preceding text is lost.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“(1) Palace of Adad-nārārī (I), king of the world, son of Arik-dīn-ili, king of Assyria, son of Enlil-nārārī, (who was) also king of Assyria: [...] of the Abaru (Forecourt).”
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/Q005773/
Read the full tablet entry~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Adad-narari I 37
In plain English
This is a brick from the palace of Adad-nārārī I, king of the world and son of Arik-dīn-ili, king of Assyria — made for the temple of Bēlet-šamê.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“(1) Palace of Adad-nārārī (I), king of the world, son of Arik-dīn-ili, king of Assyria: (brick) belonging to the temple of Bēlet-šamê.”
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/Q005774/
Read the full tablet entry~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Adad-narari I 38
In plain English
This brick belongs to Adad-nārārī I, king of the world and son of Arik-dīn-ili, king of Assyria, and was made for the Courtyard of Emblems in his palace.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“(1) Palace of Adad-nārārī (I), king of the world, son of Arik-dīn-ili, king of 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/Q005775/
Read the full tablet entry~1300 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
Adad-narari I 39
Marks Adad-nārārī I's construction of a quay wall at the palace canal: physical evidence of royal infrastructure investment at Aššur in the early Middle Assyrian period.
In plain English
This brick belonged to the facing of the quay wall at the mouth of the palace canal — made for Adad-nārārī I, king of the world and son of Arik-dīn-ili, king of Assyria.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“(1) Palace of Adad-nārārī (I), king of the world, son of Arik-dīn-ili, king of Assyria: (brick) belonging to the facing (of the quay wall) at the mouth of the canal of the palace complex.”
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/Q005776/
Read the full tablet entry