Tukulti-Ninurta I 23

(1) Tukultī-Ninurta (I), king of the world, strong king, king of Assyria, king of Sumer and Akkad, king of the four quarters (of the world), chosen of the gods Aššur and Šamaš, am I, attentive ruler, the king (who is) the choice of the god Enlil, the one who shepherded his land in green pastures with his beneficent staff, foremost purification priest, designate of the god Anu, the one who with his fierce valor subdued rulers (and) all of the kings, true shepherd, desired of the god Ea, the one who has established in victory his names over the four quarters (of the world), exalted priest, loved one of the god Sîn, the one who properly administered peoples and settlements with his just scepter, valiant hero, creature of the god Adad who, during his period of kingship, made plenteous produce abundant, strong male, favorite of the god Ninurta, the one who controlled all (four) quarters (of the world) with his strong might, the capable, the ferocious, loved one of the goddess Ištar, who regularly received the tribute of the lands of the rising and setting sun; son of Shalmaneser (I), king of the world, king of Assyria; (and) son of Adad-nārārī (I), (who was) also king of the world (and) king of Assyria.

(27) At the beginning of my kingship (lit. “at the beginning of the throne of my kingship”), at the beginning of my reign, I uprooted 28,800 Hittites from Across the Euphrates River (Syria-Palestine) and led (them) into my land. I conquered the lands Papḫû (and) Uqumanî, as far as the lands Šarnida (and) Meḫri. Annually, I regularly received the tribute of their lands and the produce of their mountains.

(34b) (As) with a bridle, I controlled the lands Katmuḫi, Bušše, Alzi, (A)madani, Niḫani, Alaya, Tepurzi, Purulumzi, (and) the entirety of the wide land Šubarû. I made the(ir) kings, their commanders, bow down at my feet. Moreover, I imposed (upon them) corvée.

(40) With my surpassingly strong might, I frequently traversed mighty mountains (and) extremely difficult ranges, (on) the paths that no other king (before me) had known. I cut into their mountains with copper picks (and) widened their impassable paths. I did battle with forty kings of the Naʾiri lands (and) brought about the defeat of their army. I became the lord of all of their lands. I fastened bronze clasps to the necks of those (same) kings of the Naʾiri lands (and) brought them to Ekur, the great mountain, the temple of my support, into the presence of the god Aššur, my lord. I made them swear by the great gods of heaven (and) netherworld (and) levied upon them tribute and impost forever.

(56b) With the support of the gods Aššur, Enlil, and Šamaš, the great gods, my lords, (and) with the aid of the goddess Ištar, the lady of heaven (and) netherworld (who) marches before of my army, I approached Kaštiliašu, the king of Karduniaš (Babylonia), to do battle. I brought about the defeat of his army (and) struck down his warriors. In the midst of that battle, I captured Kaštiliašu, the king of the Kassites. I brought him bound as a captive into the presence of (the god) Aššur, my lord. I became the lord of Sumer and Akkad to its full extent.

(69) I brought under one command the lands Mari, Ḫānu, Rapiqu, and the mountains of the Aḫlamû, the lands Ḫargamuš, Muqanaš, Bīt-Makki, Bīt-Qulla, Akriaš, Sikkūru, Ḫuzuš, Turnasuma, Ḫaššilluna, Šāda, Sappani, Turṣinuḫlia, Dūru, Uzamiya, Ḫarnapḫi, Kurdišše, Ulayaš, Ulmuyaš, Ḫussauš, Ezāuš, Damnauš, Arinnu, Birūtu, Arrapḫa, Kurbata, Agališna, Šadappa, Kamzikla, Kammaraš, Elurê, Kammenza, Albadâ, Sikapda, (and) Šabila. They regularly brought the tribute of their land and the produce of their mountains into my presence.

(85b) The ruler who accepts their gifts, the shepherd who has charge over them, and the herdsman who properly administers them, am I.

(88) At that time, the god Aššur, my lord, requested of me a cult center on the bank opposite my city, the desired object of the gods (the city Aššur), and he commanded me to build his sanctuary. At the command of the god Aššur, the god who loves me, I built before my city, Aššur, a city for the god Aššur on the opposite bank, beside the Tigris River, in uncultivated plains (and) meadows, where there was neither house nor dwelling, where no ruin hill(s) or earth had accumulated, and no bricks had been laid. I called it Kār-Tukultī-Ninurta.

(100b) I cut straight as a string through rocky terrain, cleared a way through high difficult mountains with stone chisels, cut a wide path for a stream that supports life in the land (and) that provides abundance, (and) transformed the plains of my city into irrigated fields. From the produce of the waters of that canal, I arranged for eternity the ginû-offerings the god Aššur and the great gods, my lords.

(109b) At that time, in my city, Kār-Tukultī-Ninurta, the cult center that I had constructed, I built a holy temple, an awesome sanctuary for the abode of the god Aššur, my lord. I called it Ekurmešarra. Inside it, I completed a great ziggurat as the cult platform of the god Aššur, my lord. Moreover, I deposited my commemorative inscriptions (therein).

(119) May a future ruler, when that ziggurat and the temple of the god Aššur, my lord, become dilapidated, renovate their dilapidated section(s). May he anoint my commemorative inscriptions with oil, make offerings, (and) return (them) to their places. The gods Aššur, Enlil, and Šamaš will (then) listen to his prayers.

(125) (As for) the one who does not renovate the dilapidated section(s) of the ziggurat and the temple of the god Aššur, my lord, but discards my commemorative inscriptions and my inscribed name, destroys that ziggurat by not looking after it, abandoning it, (and) not repairing it, conceives of anything injurious (and) puts it into effect to the disadvantage of that ziggurat and the temple of the god Aššur, my lord, may the gods Aššur, Enlil, and Šamaš, the gods who support me, lead him into distressingly bad circumstances. Wherever there is armed conflict, may they smash his weapons, bring about the defeat of his army, hand him over to a king who is his enemy, and force him to dwell in captivity in the land of his enemies. May they overthrow his kingship (and) make his name and his seed disappear from the land.