[Sargon (II), great king, strong king, king of the world, king of Assyria, governor of Babylon, king of the land of Sumer] and [Akkad, ki]n[g of the four quarters (of the world)], favorite of the great gods [...].

The gods Aššur, Nabû, (and) [Marduk granted me] a reign without equal [and] exalted my [good] reputation t[o the heights].

[I continually acted] as provider for (the cities) Sippar, Ni[ppur, Babylon, and Borsippa, (and) I made restitution for the wrongful damage suffered] by [the people of privileged status, as many as there were (of them); (...)]

Too poorly preserved to allow translation.

I made splen[did ...] 177 tale[nts ...] 730 talents and 22[(+)] sh[ekels of pure zaḫalû-silver] for work on Eḫ[ursaggalkurkurra], the sanctuary of (the god) Aššur [... I made (it) shine l]ike daylight [(...)]. With 16 ta[lents (...)] shin[ing gold (...)] ... [...]

Lacuna

[...] ... [... Mitatti of the land Ziki]rtu [...] and [...] of [the land ...]namu, (ii 5) [... of the land Mann]ea [...] them [...] I settled them [... the l]and Missi, the land Andia, [...] of [the land ...] (ii 10) [... I deport]ed and [...] I made pass and [...] I imposed [(the payment of) su]bstantial [tribute ... Bag-dāti] of the land Uišdiš

Lacuna

[...] ... [... th]eir substantial [booty ...] I brought [to Ass]ryia. [...] I reorganized. (ii 5´) [...] I changed [its name] and [...] the city Kār-AN...RI [...] the city Kār-Šarrukīn [...] ... [...] my [...]s ... I settled. (ii 10´) [...] ... [...] ... [...] I considered them. [... I] caused to be made and [... (the god) A]ššur, my lord, (ii 15´) [... of] the land Mannea [...] ... [...] I erected. [...] cities [...] ... [...]

Lacuna

[...] the city Tarui, the city Tarmakisa [...] nine fortresses [... i]n their environs [...] of Ursâ (Rusâ)], (iii 5) the [Urarṭ]ian, I conquered and [...] I plundered. [...] their fortresses [...] I seized. [...] I stationed [the]re. (ii 10) [...] I led [...] ... [... the lan]d Zaranda [...]

Lacuna of about 21 lines

[I took away] subst[antial] booty and I destroyed, [demolished, (and) bu]rned that city down [with fire]. I caused there to be lamentation throughout the land Urarṭu, t[o] its [fu]ll [extent]. His own fear(s) fell upon their ruler [Ursâ (Rusâ)], and he brought an end to [his] life with the iron dagger from his belt.

ruling

(As for) Daltâ of the land Ellipi, a submissive subject who pulled my [yo]ke, five of his districts revol[ted] against him and withheld (iii 45) their annual payment of tribute to (the god) Aššur, my lord. I overwhelmed those districts as with a bird trap. I conquered their fortified city Ḫubaḫna, together with 25 settlements and their countless [villages], (iii 50) and [I in]flicted a defe[at upon them. I brought] to the land of Assy[ria] 33,600 people, 11,600[(+) ...] mules (and) donkeys as substantial boo[ty from them].

In the course of [my] ca[mpaign ... I received] from 45 city rulers of the [powerful] Med[es] 8,609 horses [...]

Lacuna

I took to Assyria. [(...)] I restored and I re[organized (the administration of)] that land. I [settled] there people of the land Bīt-Yakīn that [I had] c[onquered. (iv 5) I set] a eunuch of mine ov[er them, named him] field marshal of the [left (wing of the army) (lit.: “field marshal of the house [of the left]”), and ...] I conscripted [...] chariot(s) [... 1],500 ca[valry, (iv 10) ...] bow[men], (and) 10,000 shie[ld (and spear)] bearers [(...)] from among them and added (them) [to] my royal [(military) contingent].

ruling

[Pis]īri(s) of the city Carchemish sinned [against] the treaty (sworn) by the great gods and (as a result) I brought him [to A]ssyria, together with his wife, his sons, his daughters, [(his) family], (and) the (other) offspring of his father’s house. I set [a eun]uch of mine as governor [over the people] who lived in the city Carchemish and (iv 20) considered them [a]s people of Assyria. I conscripted [from] among them [... chario]t(s), 500 cavalry [... (and) ...] foot soldiers, and I added (them) [to] my royal (military) contingent.

ruling

(As for) the people of [(the city) Sa]maria who had [altogeth]er come to an agreement with a king [hostile to] me not to do obeisance (to me) [or to br]ing tribute (to me) and (who) had offered battle — [with] the strength of the great gods, my l[ord]s, (iv 30) I foug[ht] them [and] counted [as] booty 47,280 people, together with [their] chariots and the gods who helped them. I conscripted two hundred chariots from among them into [my] royal (military) contingent and settled (iv 35) the remainder of them in Assyria. I restored the city Samaria and made (it) greater than before. I brought there people from the lands that I had conquered. I set a eunuch of mine as provincial governor over them and considered them as people of Assyria.

I had the awesome radiance of (the god) Ašš[ur], my lord, overwhelm the people of Egypt and the Arabs. At the mention of my name, their hearts (iv 45) pounded (and) their arms grew weak. I opened up a sealed-off [harbor] district of Egypt, mingled [to]gether [the people] of Assyria and Egypt, and [allowed (them) to eng]age in trade.

ruling

[Kiakk]i of the city Šinuḫtu, [who had put his trust in M]itâ, king of the land Musku, [stopped (his delivery of)] t[ribut]e (and) payment(s) and [with]held his audience gift. [I coun]ted him [as booty, together with the people of] his city, his chariots, [...], his [daughter]s, [...].

Lacuna

Lines 1–12 not preserved

[... he] seized [... I] gave him [and ...] to his aid. I seated him [on the throne of (Ḫullî)], his [father], and entrusted to him ..., (along) with the land Ḫilakku. I then brought order to his disturbed land. (v 20) However, that (man), a Hittite who did not protect justice, sent a messenger to Ursâ (Rusâ), the Urarṭian, and Mitâ, king of the land Musku, about taking away territory of mine. I took in bondage to Assyria (v 25) Amris (Ambaris), king of the land Bīt-Purutaš, together with the offspring of his father’s house (and) the nobles of his land, (along) with one hundred of his chariot(s). (v 30) I had the lands Bīt-Purutaš (and) Ḫilakku dwell (as safely) as in a meadow. I set a eun[uch of m]ine as provincial governor over them and considered them as people of A[ssyria].

For a second time, I brought about [the defe]at of Mitâ, king of the land Musku, in his (own) wide district and [I (then) rest]ored to their former st[atu]s the cities Ḫarru[a] (and) Ušnanis, fortress[es of the ci]ty Que, which he had taken away [by] for[ce] in the past.

ruling

[(As for) Tar]ḫun-azi of the city [Meli]d (and) [T]arḫu-lara of the city [Ma]rqasa, to whose disturbed kingdom(s) I had brought order and (v 45) the whole of whose extensive lands I had entrusted to them, those (men), evil Hittites, did not remember my good deeds but (rather) sent (messages) hostile to Assyria to Mitâ, king of the land Musku. They held (Assyria/me) in contempt.

Angrily, I mustered the numerous troops of Assyria and, like a fog, overwhelmed extensive districts (v 55) within the lands Kammanu (and) Gurgum, together with settlements in their environs. I brought to Assyria Tarḫun-azi of the land Kammanu (and) (v 60) Tarḫu-lara of the land Gurgum, together with their wives, their sons, their daughters, gold, silver, property, (and) possessions, the treasure of their palaces, (v 65) (along) with substantial booty from their lands. I reorganized (the administration of) those lands. I settled there people who had lived in the eastern (part of) my land (v 70) [that] I [had con]quered, [S]utians, bowmen, (and) fighting [men]. I set [a eu]nuch of mine as provincial governor [over the]m [and] imposed [the yoke of m]y [lordship] upon t[hem ...] ... [...]

Lacuna

Lines 1–12 not preserved

[...]

ruling

[Marduk-ap]la-iddina (II) (Merodach-Ba­la­dan), the k[in]g of Chaldea, [who ag]ainst the will of the gods had come down t[o] the territory of the land of Sumer and Akkad and had appropriated for himself the kingship of Babylon, turned to Ḫumbanigaš (Ḫumban-nikaš I), the Elamite, for aid. He put his trust in the sea (and its) surging waves and withheld his audience gift.

I mustered the numerous troops of (the god) Aššur and crossed the Tigris (and) Euphrates Rivers, as well as innumerable small streams. Like the Deluge, I overwhelmed (vi 25) the Chaldeans to their (lit.: its) full extent. In the face of my advance (lit.: “before me”), Marduk-apla-iddina gathered together the inhabitants of his cities (lit.: “his inhabited cities”) and the gods dwelling in them, and (vi 30) brought (them) into the city Dūr-Yakīn. He strengthened its enclosure walls (and), moving back a distance of ten nindanu from in front of its main wall, he made a moat two hundred cubits wide; he made (the moat) one and a half nindanu deep and reached ground water. He cut (vi 35) a channel from the Euphrates River, (thereby) making (its water) flow (in)to its meadowland. He flooded its fields, where battles (are fought), and made crossing difficult. Together with his allies (and) (vi 40) his battle troops, he pitched his royal tent in a bend of the river (lit.: “between rivers”) like a crane and assembled his (military) camp.

At the command of the gods Aššur, Nabû, (and) Marduk, I had a causeway constructed (lit.: “trodden down”) across his canals and I caught him, together with his fighting men, like a flying eagle in a net. I spread out like malt (spread for drying) the corpses of his vanguard and of the Aḫlamû, the people of the steppe who go at his side, and I filled the surroundings of his city (with them). (vi 50) The city Dūr-Yakīn — his treasure house — (and) the cities Iqbi-Bēl, Kapru, Bīt-Zabidāya, Šāt-iddina, Zarāti, Raqqatu, Ekuššu, Ḫursaggalla, (vi 55) Dūr-Bēl-āliya, Dūr-Enlil, Bīt-Qiblāte, Nēmed-Sîn, Limītu, (and) Mād-akālša, (a total of) fifteen fortified cities, together with the settlements in their environs, I turned into (ruin) mounds. I carried off as booty at the same time (vi 60) (both) the people — young (and) old — who lived in the district and the gods who helped them; I did not allow a (single) person to escape.

(As for) the citizens of (the cities) Sippar, Nippur, Babylon, (and) Borsippa who through no fault of their own had been held captive in them (the fifteen cities), I put an end to their imprisonment and let them see the light (of day). (With regard to) their [fi]elds, which long ago, while the land was [in] disorder, the Sutians (vi 70) [had taken] away and appropriated for their own, I struck down (those) [Sut]ians, the people of the steppe, with the sword. [I (re)assign]ed to them (the citizens) their [territories], (whose boundaries) had been forgotten (and) fallen into disuse [during the troubled] period in the land. [I (re)-established the freedom (from obligations) (vi 75) of (the cities) Ur, Uru]k, Eridu, Larsa, [Kullaba, Kissik, (and) Nēme]d-Laguda. [Moreover], I returned [their gods that had been carried off as booty to] their [cult centers] and [restor]ed [their regular offerings that had been discontinued].

[I restored the land Bīt-Yakīn and] reorga[nized (its administration) ...] ... [... (the god) Aš]šur, my lord [...] a eunuch of mine [...] ... [...] ... [...]

ruling

[...]

Lacuna

Lines 1–6 not preserved

blue turquoise, [green turquoise], ... [of banded agate (and)] muš[šaru-stone ...], (vii 10) copper, tin, iron, l[ead, ...] skilled [...], blue-purple wool, [red-purple wool], garments with multi-colo[red trim and linen (garments)], boxwood, cedar, cy[press, (and) every kind of aromatic], (vii 15) the products of Mount Amanus, who[se scent(s) are pleasant — from the beginning of my reign] until (my) fourth year, I pr[esented (these things) as gifts] to the deities Marduk, Zarpan[ītu, Nabû, Tašmētu], and the (other) gods who dwell [in the cult centers] of the land of Sumer and Akkad.

Aḫundāra (Ḫundāru), king [of Dilmun, who(se) lair] is s[ituated at a distance of thirty leagues] in the middle of the E[astern] Sea, like (that of) a fish, [heard of] the might of the gods Aššur, Na[bû, (and) Marduk and] brought me his tribute.

Moreover, [seven kings] (vii 25) of the land Yāʾ, a reg[ion of the land Yadnana (Cyprus)] — who[se] abode(s) are si[tuated] far away, at a distance of seven days (journey) [in the middle of the] Western [Sea], (and) the n[ame of] who[se land], from the dist[ant] past [until now], none (vii 30) of the kings, [my] ance[stors], neither in Assyria nor in the land Kar[duniaš (Babylonia)], had ever heard — [from afar], in the middle of the sea, [heard] of the deeds I had been doing in Chal[dea and the land Ḫatti (Syria)]. (vii 35) Their hearts [then] pounded (and) fe[ar] fell upon them. They brought before me in Babylon gold, silver, (and) utensils of ebony (and) boxwood, product(s) of their land, and they kissed [my] feet.

I had inscribed upon a stele (the record of) the victorious conquest(s) that I had personally achieved over all [my] enem[ies] by the strength of the great gods and I left (it) for all ti[me] in the land Yāʾ, a region of the land Yadnana.

ruling

At that time, the ancient roads for going to Babylon, the cult center of the Enlil of the god[s] (Marduk), were not open; [their] tra[ck(s)] were not fit (for travel). It was a desert region through which passage had been blocked for a [long] time. (vii 50) Journey through it was very difficult and no pathways were laid out. Thorny-plants, thistles, and (brushwood) thickets encroached upon impassable paths. Lions (vii 55) and jackals took cover in them and gamboled about like lambs. Arameans (and) Sutians — tent-dwellers, fugitives, criminals, (and) thieves (lit.: “son(s) of thieves”) — (vii 60) had set up their abodes in that desert region and had made passage through it desolate. (With regard to) the settlements there that had long ago turned into wastelands, there were neither irrigation ditches nor furrows on their meadowland; (vii 65) (the area) was covered over with cobwebs. Their rich fields had turned into wasteland. Their meadowlands no longer heard (lit.: “were deprived of”) the sweet (harvest) song. Grain had ceased to grow (lit.: “been cut off”). I chopped down the brushwood thickets and (vii 70) set fire to the thorny plants (and) thistles. I struck down the thieving Arameans (lit.: “Arameans, son(s) of thieves”) with the sword. I slaughtered (lit.: “brought about their defeat”) the lions and wolves. I occupied the territory of what had previously been wasteland ... and established people from the host[ile] countries that I [had con]quered ... [ins]ide them.