Read Chronology Themes Tablets Engine About

Menu

Read
Chronology
Themes
Tablets
Engine
About

Sumerian · Book

Reading the tablets…

A curated narrative reconstruction of humanity's first great civilization, sourced from the tablets themselves. Open scholarship, beautifully accessible.

The site

About the project The engine Dossiers FAQ Methodology Sources & licensing Provenance & ethics Contact & support

Legal

Privacy policy Terms of use llms.txt Sitemap

Independent scholarship · No academic affiliation · No institutional funding · Tablet imagery attributed per item via CDLI, ETCSL, ORACC, Wikimedia, and public museum collections.

Home
All tablets

The corpus

All tablets.

Every tablet in the corpus — sortable by date, title or period; filterable by theme and period. Use the controls below or change the URL parameters directly.

Search

Sort

Oldest first Newest first Title (A–Z)By period

Theme

Religion & Myth Law Economy Astronomy & Mathematics Daily Life Writing & Literature

Period

Ubaid Uruk Period Early Dynastic Akkadian Empire Ur III · Neo-Sumerian Old Babylonian Old Assyrian Middle Babylonian Middle Assyrian Neo-Assyrian Neo-Babylonian Achaemenid Persian

Source

Editorial Sumerian literature Sumerian royal Assyrian royal Assyrian archives

1,592 of 102,257 tablets · 4 filters activeClear filters

101–150 of 1592

Page 3 / 32

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Shalmaneser I 1004

One of the surviving royal inscriptions of Shalmaneser I, attesting the commemorative and ideological self-presentation of the Middle Assyrian kings at the height of their imperial consolidation.

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle Assyrian

RIAo

Shalmaneser I 1005

Preserves Shalmaneser I's curse formula invoking Aššur against anyone erasing the royal name — direct evidence of how 13th-century Assyrian kings used divine sanction to protect monumental memory.

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Shalmaneser I 1007

One of the surviving royal inscriptions of Shalmaneser I, the Assyrian king who consolidated Middle Assyrian power and reshaped the northern Mesopotamian political map around 1300 BCE.

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Shalmaneser I 19

Attests Shalmaneser I's three-generation royal genealogy — Arik-dīn-ili, Adad-nārārī I, Shalmaneser I — anchoring the mid-thirteenth-century Assyrian dynastic sequence and linking it to Ištar's temple Emašmaš.

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Shalmaneser I 24

Dedicatory formula naming Šalmaneser I as vice-regent of Aššur fixes his ideological programme: royal authority derived from Aššur, exercised in service to Ištar — a pairing central to Middle Assyrian kingship theology.

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

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.

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

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.

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

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.

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Shalmaneser I 35

One of the corpus of royal inscriptions through which Shalmaneser I projected Assyrian royal authority, attesting the titulary 'king of the world' that would define imperial self-presentation for centuries.

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Tiglath-pileser I 04

Tiglath-pileser I's own account of his campaigns frames conquests from Babylon to the Mediterranean as divinely mandated — attesting the theological language Assyrian kings used to legitimize territorial expansion in the early 11th century BCE.

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Tiglath-pileser I 1002

One of the surviving manuscript witnesses to Tiglath-pileser I's royal inscriptions, preserving Assyrian royal ideology and titulary from the height of Middle Assyrian power.

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Tiglath-pileser I 1003

One of the surviving manuscript witnesses to a royal inscription of Tiglath-pileser I, preserving Assyrian royal ideology and titulary from the height of Middle Assyrian imperial power.

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Tiglath-pileser I 13

Documents Tiglath-pileser I's campaigns from the Naʾiri lands to Carchemish and down to Rapiqu, tracing the westward and southward reach of Assyrian military power in the late second millennium BCE.

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Tiglath-pileser I 21

A fragmentary royal inscription of Tiglath-pileser I referencing the 'Great Sea of Amurru' (the Mediterranean) — one of the earliest Assyrian textual claims to have reached the western sea.

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Tiglath-pileser I 24

Brick inscription stamping Tiglath-pileser I's ownership of a Ḫusur River quay wall — evidence that Assyrian royal building programmes extended to urban hydraulic infrastructure, not only temples and palaces.

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Tiglath-pileser I 25

Records Tiglath-pileser I's construction work on the Ḫusur River quay wall at Aššur, attesting royal investment in urban hydraulic infrastructure in the early Assyrian Empire.

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Tiglath-pileser I 26

Records Tiglath-pileser I's construction work on the Ḫusur River quay wall at Aššur, adding a brick-by-brick datum to the archaeology of Assyrian royal building programmes in the late second millennium.

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Tukulti-Ninurta I 1005

A royal inscription of Tukulti-Ninurta I preserved across multiple manuscript witnesses, attesting the Assyrian court's scribal practice of copying and circulating royal commemorative texts.

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Tukulti-Ninurta I 33

Attests Tukulti-Ninurta I's claim to universal kingship and his construction of Ištar's temple at Nineveh, linking royal legitimacy directly to divine patronage in mid-13th-century Assyria.

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Tukulti-Ninurta I 34

Attests Tukulti-Ninurta I's building work on the Ištar temple at Nineveh, anchoring the cult's royal patronage to the mid-13th century BCE and his dynastic lineage through Shalmaneser I.

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Tukulti-Ninurta I 38

Attests Tukulti-Ninurta I's titulature 'king of the world' and his dynastic claim through Shalmaneser I, anchoring his legitimacy in hereditary succession at the height of Middle Assyrian imperial expansion.

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Adad-narari I 02

(36) (As for) the one who erases my inscribed name and writes his (own) name, or discards my commemorative inscriptions, hands (them) over for destruction, consigns (them) to oblivion, covers (them) with earth, burns (them) with fire, throws (them) into the water, puts (them) in a Taboo House where there is no visibility, or because of these curses he incites a stranger, a foreigner, a malignant enemy, (a man who speaks) another language, or anyone else (to do any of these things), or conceives of and does anything (injurious), (48) may the god Aššur, the exalted god, the one who dwells in…

Religion & Myth·Writing & Literature

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Adad-narari I 03

(1) Adad-nārārī (I), king of the world, strong king, king of Assyria, son of Arik-dīn-ili, king of Assyria, son of Enlil-nārārī, (who was) also king of Assyria. (4) When Šattuara, king of the land Ḫanigalbat, rebelled against me and committed hostilities, I seized him by the command of (the god) Aššur, my lord, the one who comes to my aid, and the great gods who decide in my favor, and I brought him to my city, Aššur. I made him take an oath and allowed him to return to his land. Annually, as long as (he) lived, I regularly received his audience gift within my city, Aššur. (15) After his…

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Adad-narari I 04

(37) At that time, the ... of the city Taidu had become dilapidated and I removed its dilapidated section(s). I restored it. I built (it) from its foundations to its crenellations. Moreover, I deposited my commemorative inscriptions (therein). (42b) In the future, may a future ruler, when that building becomes old and dilapidated, renovate its dilapidated section(s) (and) return my inscribed name to its place. [(The god) Aššur] will (then) listen to his prayers. (46) (As for) the one [who alters] my inscription and [my] name, may Aššur, my lord, [overthrow] his kingship. May the [goddess]…

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Adad-narari I 05

(12) At that time, (as for) the wells [in] uncultivated [fields], which [...] before three wells [...] I added [...]. Beside [..., I built (it) from its [foundations to its crenellations. Moreover, I deposited my] commemorative inscriptions (therein).

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Adad-narari I 07

(35) At that time, the Step Gate of the temple of the god Aššur, my lord, which is opposite the Gate of the Oath of the God of the Land and the Gate of the Judges, (and) which was built (some time) ago, had become dilapidated, sagged, and shook. I cleared that site (and) reached its foundation pit. I built (it) with limestone and mortar from the city Ubasê. I restored it. Moreover, I deposited my monumental inscription (therein). (45) In the future, may a future ruler, when that site becomes old and dilapidated, renovate its dilapidated section(s) (and) return my monumental inscription (and) m…

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Adad-narari I 08

(24) (As for) the facing (of the quay wall), which faces the (Tigris) River from the entrance of the upper city, at the Ea-šarru Gate, to the entrance of the lower city, at the Tigris Gate, which through the (action of the river’s) water had become dilapidated and whose limestone and baked brick flood(s) had eroded away, I repaired that facing using bitumen and baked brick. I made (it) the thickness of four and one half bricks. I faced the back of it using limestone and mortar from the city Ubasê. Moreover, I deposited my monumental inscription (therein). (32) In the future, may a future…

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Adad-narari I 09

(1) Adad-nārārī (I), king of the world, strong king, king of Assyria, son of Arik-dīn-ili, king of Assyria, son of Enlil-nārārī, (who was) also king of Assyria. (5) (As for) the facing (of the quay wall), which faces the (Tigris) River, which through the (action of the river’s) water had become dilapidated and flood(s) had eroded away its limestone and baked brick, I repaired that facing using bitumen and baked brick.I made (it) the thickness of four and one half bricks. I faced the back of it using limestone and bitumen mortar. [I deposited my commemorative inscriptions (therein]. (15b) May…

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Adad-narari I 10

(35) At that time, (as for) the wall of the New City, which faces the (Tigris) River, which is opposite the tisaru-district, which Puzur-Aššur (III), my ancestor, a king who came before me, had previously built, it was two and one half bricks thick and thirty layers of brick high, had become dilapidated, was in ruin, and eroded by flood(s). I cleared its site (and) reached its foundation pit. I made (it) the thickness of ten bricks using my large brick mold. I laid its foundations on solid bedrock. I built (it) from its foundations to its crenellations. (44b) (As for) the sewers that drain…

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Adad-narari I 11

(1') [At that time], (as for) the facing (of the quay wall), [which (stretches) from] the palace complex [to] the processional avenues, [which] Aššur-uballiṭ (I), my ancestor, had previously built, a ... wadi had broken through and beyond it in the middle, at the top of the orchards of the Inner City. In order to quiet down the rage of the mighty waters, I faced (the area of) the ... wadi using baked brick and bitumen. I installed three drains to carry off the water. I altered (the course of) the water and kept (it) away with baked brick and bitumen ... On the opposite bank ... I widened ...…

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Adad-narari I 12

(r 1') Moreover, [I deposited] my commemorative inscriptions (therein). (r 2') [May] a future ruler, when he renovates that facing (when) it becomes dilapidated or (when he repairs it when) it is eroded by flood(s), renovate its dilapidated section(s) (and) [return my] inscribed [name] and my commemorative inscriptions [to their places]. (l.e. 1') (No translation possible.)

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Adad-narari I 13

(29) At that time, (as for) the great wall of the New City, which (was built on) a mound facing the [open country], which (stretches) from the great wall of the Inner City by the entirety of [the New City], as far as the (Tigris) River, (and) which Puzur-Aššur (III), my ancestor, a king who came before me, had previously built, Aššur-bēl-nišēšu, (who was) also my ancestor, applied a façade to that wall, (but) it again became dilapidated, and Erība-Adad (I), the vice-regent of the god Aššur, (who was) also my ancestor, a king who came before me, applied a facing and façade in different places,…

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Adad-narari I 14

(1) Adad-nārārī (I), appointee of the god Enlil, vice-regent of (the god) Aššur, son of Arik-dīn-ili, appointee of the god Enlil, vice-regent of (the god) Aššur, son of Enlil-nārārī, (who was) also appointee of the god Enlil (and) vice-regent of (the god) Aššur. (4) At that time, (as for) the wall of the Inner City, which my ancestors, the kings who came before me, had previously built (and) which is opposite the large new ziggurat of the god Aššur, my lord, which Arik-dīn-ili, my father, had built, that wall had become dilapidated and I removed its dilapidated section(s) (and) reached its…

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Adad-narari I 15

(1) Adad-nārārī (I), appointee of the god Enlil, vice-regent of (the god) Aššur, son of Arik-dīn-ili, appointee of the god Enlil, vice-regent of (the god) Aššur, son of Enlil-nārārī, (who was) also appointee of the god Enlil (and) vice-regent of (the god) Aššur. (5b) At that time, (as for) the temple of the Assyrian Ištar, my lady, which Ilu-šūma, the vice-regent of (the god) Aššur, my ancestor, the son of Šalim-aḫum — (who was) also vice-regent of (the god) Aššur — had previously built and completed, that temple became dilapidated and Sargon (I), the vice-regent of (the god) Aššur, the son…

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Adad-narari I 16

(33) At that time, (as for) the palace of my city, Aššur, which Aššur-nādin-ahhē (II), the choicest among my ancestors, a king who came before me, had previously built, the wall at the top of the door of the chapel that is opposite the terrace (and) that is inside that palace, inside of which the dais of the god Aššur, my lord, was built and annually the god Aššur, my lord, proceeds to that dais to take up residence, that wall had become dilapidated and I clear away its dilapidated section(s). I (then) renovated (and) restored it. Moreover, I deposited my commemorative inscription (therein).…

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Adad-narari I 17

(1) Adad-nārārī (I), appointee of the god Enlil, vice-regent of the god Aššur, son of Arik-dīn-ili, appointee of the god Enlil, vice-regent of the god Aššur, son of Enlil-nārārī, (who was) also appointee of the god Enlil (and) vice-regent of the god Aššur. (4) At that time, the storehouses of the Gate of the Gods Anu and Adad, my lords, and their [doors], which had been built previously, had become dilapidated. I built th(os)e storehouses from their foundations to their crenellations. I made new magnificent double doors of fir, fastened (them) with bronze bands, (and) installed (them) for…

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Adad-narari I 18

(1') I built that wall anew. I removed the weak (and) old beams, supports, and lashings (and) installed new beams, supports, and lashings. I made (them) reach between the wall [and] the door. I built the wall of the bakehouse from its foundations to its crenellations. [I] restored it. Moreover, I deposited my monumental inscription (therein). (11') In the future, may a future ruler, when he renovates that wall (when) it becomes dilapidated, return my monumental inscription and my inscribed name to its place. The god Aššur will (then) listen to his prayers. (15') (As for) the one who erases my…

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Adad-narari I 19

(4'b) At [that time, (as for) the wall of the temple of the god Aššur], my lord, which is next to [the towers ...] in which there is a drainage opening, [which is before the orchards] of the upper ... [(...) which flood(s)] had eroded (and) which the kings, [my ancestors who came] before me, previously [... had] built, that wall, [which had been built with] baked brick and bitumen, [(...) had become] dilapidated. I built its foundations [with baked brick] and bitumen. [I ... and] strengthened [...] from its foundations to [its] crenella[tions]. I deposited my commemorative inscriptions and…

Religion & Myth·Writing & Literature

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Adad-narari I 20

(r 1') [...] ... [...] I built [...] with baked brick and bitumen. I strengthened [... from] its foundations [to its crenellations]. I deposited [my commemorative inscriptions and foundation inscriptions (therein)]. (r 7') [May a future ruler], when that wall [becomes dilapidated and] eroded [by flood(s), renovate its dilapidated section(s) (and) return my commemorative inscriptions and] inscribed name to [their places. The god Aššur] will (then) listen to [his prayers].

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Adad-narari I 21

(5'b) At that time, the wall [...], which previously [...] before Enlil-nār[ārī ...] ... [... with the] mighty [weapons] of (the god) Aššur, [my] lord, [... I mustered] my troops with [... and fought against Nazi-Maruttaš, the king] of Karduniaš (Babylonia), in [the city Kār-Ištar] ... [...] that camp [...] mighty, I/he brought [...]. (15'b) [At that time, the ziggu]rat of (the god) Aššur, my lord, [...] the location of which [... had destroyed ...]

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Adad-narari I 22

(55) When I saw the deserted (and) uncultivated areas of ... the city Ta[idu ...] ..., I delineated its area (and) founded a pala[ce insi]de it. I built (it) from its foundations to its crenellations. Moreover, I deposited my commemorative inscriptions (therein). (61) In the future, may a future ruler renovate its dilapidated section(s) (and) return my inscribed name to its place. (The god) A[ššur] will (then) listen to his [p]rayers.

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Adad-narari I 23

(1') [In the future, may a future ruler, when he renovates] that wall [(when) it becomes dilapidated, return my commemorative inscriptions and inscribed name] to their places. [The gods Aššur ...] will (then) listen to [his prayers]. (3'b) [(As for) the one who erases my inscribed name and writes his (own) name or] discards my [commemorative inscriptions, may the gods Aššur ... destroy] him, his army, [and his seed ...].

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Adad-narari I 24

(1') [...] time [...] its [he]ight, from [...] I piled up [ear]th. [...] the summit of the zi[ggurat ...] I deposited [m]y [commemorative inscriptions (therein)]. (4'b) [In the future, may a future ruler, when that ... becomes dilapidated, ... restore my commemorative inscriptions and] my inscribed name to their places. [...]

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Adad-narari I 26

(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: booty from the city Taidu (var. Ir[ridu]).

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Adad-narari I 27

(1) Belon[ging to the temple of the god Aššur]. Belonging to the tākultu (that took place) at the beginning of the reign of Adad-nārārī (I), the overseer.

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Adad-narari I 28

(1) Belonging to the temple of the god Aššur. Adad-nārārī (I), king of Assyria, made (it) during his third (var. fourth) tākultu.

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Adad-narari I 29

(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 terrace.

Writing & Literature

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Adad-narari I 30

(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 courtyard of the goddess Bēlet-ekallim.

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Adad-narari I 33

(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.

Writing & Literature·Religion & Myth

~1300 BCE·Middle AssyrianRIAo

Adad-narari I 34

(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.

Writing & Literature

1 2 3 4…32