Ashurbanipal 229
Obverse | ||
Column i | ||
i 1i 1 | (i 1) [I, A]shurbanipal, great king, [strong king, ki]ng of the world, king of Assyria, [king of the] four [quarters (of the world), governor of Baby]lon, (i 5) [king of the land of Sumer and] Akkad; [offspring of Esarh]addon, [king of the world, king of A]ssyria; [descendant of Sennach]erib, [king of the world, king of A]ssyria — | |
i 22 | ||
i 33 | ||
i 44 | ||
i 55 | ||
i 66 | ||
i 77 | ||
i 88 | ||
i 99 | ||
i 1010 | [...] ⸢d⸣U.⸢GUR⸣ | (i 10) [...] the god Nergal [...] my [...]s [... From my childhood until] I became an [a]dult [...] me (and) they [gra]nted me [a broad mind (and) (i 15) allo]wed my [m]ind [to l]ea[rn all of the scriba]l arts. They made the mention of [m]y na[me] greater (and) made my lordship more surpassing than (those of all other) kings [who sit on] (royal) daises. |
i 1111 | [...].⸢MEŠ-ia⸣ | |
i 1212 | ||
i 1313 | [...]-⸢in⸣-ni | |
i 1414 | ||
i 1515 | ||
i 1616 | ||
i 1717 | ||
i 1818 | ||
i 1919 | ||
i 2020 | (i 20) (As for) the sanctuaries of Assyria (and) the land Akka[d] whose foundation(s) Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, [the father who had engendered me, had laid, (but) whose construction he had] not finis[hed, I myself] now [...] | |
i 2121 | ||
i 2222 | ||
i 2323 | ||
i 2424 | ⸢e-nen-na⸣ [a-na-ku ...] | |
Lacuna | ||
i 1'1' | (i 1') [I gave (it) (a chariot)] a[s a gift to the god Marduk, the king of the totality of heaven and netherworld, the one who overwhelms my enemies]. | |
i 2'2' | (i 2') [I] skillfully [made] a b[ed of musukkannu-wood, a durable wood], that [is clad with] p[ašallu-gold (and) studded with] p[recious] stones, as a [pleasure] be[d for the god Bēl (Marduk) (and) the goddess Bēltīya (Zarpanītu)] to carry out the weddin[g (and) to make love. I placed (it)] in Kaḫil[isu, the bed chamber of the goddess Zarpanītu], which [is laden with] sexual [charm]. | |
i 3'3' | ||
i 4'4' | ||
i 5'5' | ||
i 6'6' | ||
i 7'7' | ||
i 8'8' | ||
i 9'9' | ||
i 10'10' | (i 10') [I stationed] four [fierce] wild bulls [of silver], protector[s of my royal path, in] the “Gate of the Ri[sing Sun” (and) in the “Gate of Lamma-RA.BI,” in gateway(s) of Ezida, which is inside Borsippa]. | |
i 11'11' | ||
i 12'12' | ||
i 13'13' | ||
Column ii | ||
ii 1ii 1 | (ii 1) I [completed] the sanctuaries of Assyria (and) [the land Akkad] in their entirety. I decorated the walls of the temples o[f ...] with silver (and) gold, (and) [filled (them) with] splen[dor]. (ii 5) I made regular offerings (and) contributions more [plentiful] than those of [distant] da[ys]. The great gods [looked] with pleasure [upon my good] deed[s]. They made [my] weapons great(er) [...] (and) rendered judgment [...] | |
ii 22 | ||
ii 33 | É.GAR₈.MEŠ É.KUR.MEŠ ⸢šá⸣ [...] | |
ii 44 | ||
ii 55 | ||
ii 66 | ||
ii 77 | ||
ii 88 | ||
ii 99 | ||
ii 1010 | ⸢id⸣-de-e-nu [...] | |
ii 1111 | ⸢it?⸣-ti x [...] | (ii 11) (No translation possible) |
ii 1212 | x x [...] | |
ii 1313 | x [...] | |
ii 1414 | x [...] | |
ii 1515 | ina x [...] | |
ii 1616 | ⸢É?⸣ [...] | |
ii 1717 | lìb-⸢bi⸣-[...] | |
ii 1818 | ⸢LUGAL⸣-[...] | |
Lacuna | ||
ii 1'1' | (ii 1') [they (the god Aššur and the god Nergal) accepted my pra]yer[s (and) listened to the utterance(s) of my lips. I]ndabibi, a s[ervant of his, rebelled against him and] b[rought about his defeat i]n a pitched battle. | |
ii 2'2' | ||
ii 3'3' | ||
ii 4'4' | [m]⸢tam-ma-ri⸣-tu MAN KUR.ELAM.MA.KI ⸢ša⸣ [UGU ni-kis SAG.DU] | (ii 4') (As for) Tammarītu, the king of the land Elam wh[o had] s[poken insolent wor]d(s) [on account of the cutting off of the head of Teum]m[an — which a low-ranking sol]die[r of my army had cut off — saying: “Will they cut off the he]ad of the king of [the land Elam in his (own) land, in the assembly of his] troops?” [He spoke (again): “Moreover, how could Ummanigaš] kiss [the ground (ii 10´) before a messenger of Ashurbani]pal, king of A[ssyria?” On account of] th[ese words that he had slanderously uttered, (the god) Aššur and the god Nergal] attacke[d him and (then) Tammarītu, his brothers], his [fa]mily, (and) the seed of [his] fat[her’s] house, [together with eighty-five noble]s who march at his side, (ii 15´) fled to me [from In]dabibi, and (then) [grasped] the feet of my royal majesty. |
ii 5'5' | ||
ii 6'6' | ||
ii 7'7' | ||
ii 8'8' | ||
ii 9'9' | ||
ii 10'10' | [ina pa-an LÚ.A KIN šá mAN.ŠÁR-DÙ]-⸢A⸣ MAN KUR ⸢AN⸣.[ŠÁR.KI] | |
ii 11'11' | ||
ii 12'12' | ||
ii 13'13' | ||
ii 14'14' | ||
ii 15'15' | ||
ii 16'16' | ||
Column iii | ||
iiiiii | Lacuna | |
iii 1'1' | [...] x | (iii 1') [... fled to the city Dūr-Und]āsi. [He cr]ossed the [Idide] Riv[er] and pr[epared himse]lf to fight with me. |
iii 2'2' | ||
iii 3'3' | ||
iii 4'4' | ||
Column iv | ||
iv 1iv 1 | (iv 1) With the support of (the god) Aššur and the god Nergal, I advanced and marched against Ummanaldašu (Ḫumban-ḫaltaš III), the king of the land Elam. In the course of my campaign, I conquered the city Dūr-Undāsi, a royal city of his. | |
iv 22 | ||
iv 33 | ||
iv 44 | ||
iv 55 | (iv 5) I crossed that river and conquered fourteen cities, his royal residence(s), and smal[l(er)] settlements, which were without number, together with twenty villages in the district of the city Ḫunnir, (which is) on the bo[rder of the city] Ḫidalu. I destroyed (and) [demolished] the city Baš[imu and the villages in its envir]ons. | |
iv 66 | ||
iv 77 | ||
iv 88 | ||
iv 99 | ||
iv 1010 | ||
iv 1111 | ||
iv 1212 | (iv 12b) [As for the people living inside them, I a]nni[hilated them. ...] | |
iv 1313 | ⸢ka?-mar?⸣-[šú-nu áš-kun ...] | |
Lacuna | ||
Column v | ||
v 1v 1 | (v 1) [Paʾê, who had exercised dominion over] the land Elam [in opposition to] Ummanaldašu (Ḫumban-ḫaltaš III), [thought about the awe-inspiring brilliance of the] fierce [weapons of (the god) Aššur and the god Nergal that] (v 5) they had poured [over the land Elam, (not) once (or) twice, (but) thrice, and he beca]me disheartened. He fled to me [from the land Ela]m and [grasped the fee]t of my royal majesty. | |
v 22 | ||
v 33 | ||
v 44 | ||
v 55 | ||
v 66 | ||
v 77 | ||
v 88 | (v 8) [(As for) Ummanaldašu (Ḫumban-ḫaltaš III)], the king of the land Elam, [who] had fled [from] the weapon of (the god) Aššur (and) (v 10) [who had taken to] the mountain(s), he returned [from the mountain(s)], his [place of] refuge, and [he entered the city Madakt]u, a city [that] | |
v 99 | ||
v 1010 | ||
v 1111 | ||
v 1212 | ||
Lacuna | ||
v 1'1' | x [...] | (v 1') (No translation possible) |
v 2'2' | x [...] | |
v 3'3' | x [...] | |
v 4'4' | x [...] | |
v 5'5' | x [...] | |
v 6'6' | x [...] | |
v 7'7' | x [...] | |
Lacuna | ||
v 1''1'' | (v 1'') [I fastened] band(s) of silver [on doors of white cedar], who[se] fragr[ance is sweet], (and) I fixed (them) in [its gateways]. | |
v 2''2'' | ||
v 3''3'' | ||
v 4''4'' | (v 4'') When the god Nergal takes up residence (on) his [(eternal)] dais inside [..., ...] me, Ashurbanipal, [...], the builder of [this] temple. (vi 1) May he (the god Nergal) tur[n his radiant] fac[e towards me, lengthen] m[y] days, [(and) increase my] yea[rs]. (vi 5) May he [determine as my fate] go[od health (and) happiness]. May he [... (my)] sh[epherdship ... (vi 10) (so that) I may rule] wh[erever I desire (lit. “I say”) (and) a[chieve] wha[tever (lit. “the place”) I strive for]. | |
v 5''5'' | i-ram-mu-u BÁRA [(da-ra-a-ti) (...)] | |
v 6''6'' | ia-a-ti mAN.ŠÁR-DÙ-⸢A⸣ [...] | |
v 7''7'' | ||
Column vi | ||
vi 1vi 1 | ||
vi 22 | ||
vi 33 | ||
vi 44 | ||
vi 55 | ||
vi 66 | ||
vi 77 | re-[é-ú-ti? ...]9 | |
vi 88 | ki-[...] | |
vi 99 | ⸢li⸣-[...] | |
vi 1010 | ||
vi 1111 | ||
vi 1212 | ||
Lacuna | ||
vi 1'1' | (vi 1') Inscribed object for the temple of the god Nergal that (is inside) Cutha. | |
vi 2'2' | ||
Blank | ||
Lacuna |
1The titles for Ashurbanipal’s genealogy are a bit unusual here. In the corpus of this king’s royal inscriptions, the titles GÌR.NÍTA KÁ.DINGIR.RA.KI LUGAL KUR EME.GI₇ u URI.KI “governor of Babylon, king of the land of Sumer and Akkad” are given to Esarhaddon and also to Sargon II (if the king’s genealogy is expanded to include the latter), but not to Ashurbanipal himself (compare, for example, text no. 10 [Prism T] i 1–6). Thus, it is possible that these titles being ascribed here to Ashurbanipal instead of Esarhaddon was a simple scribal oversight that was not corrected. For further discussion of the issue, see Frame, Babylonia pp. 304–306.
2Text nos. 6 (Prism C) i 3´–4´ and 10 (Prism T) i 12–13 instead have zi-kir MU-ia ú-šar-ri-ḫu ú-šar-bu-ú EN-ú-ti/be-lu-ú-ti, “they glorified the mention of my name (and) made my lordship great(er).”
3The translation assumes that the lacuna contained a-na dAMAR.UTU LUGAL kiš-šat AN-e u KI-tim sa-pi-in LÚ.KÚR.MEŠ-ia “to the god Marduk, the king of the totality of heaven and netherworld, the one who overwhelms my enemies”; see, for example, text no. 6 (Prism C) i 36´–37´a.
4[iq-bi?] “[He spoke (again)]”: The prism accounts have šá-ni-ia-a-nu iq-bi “He spoke a second time,” but there does not appear to be enough room at the beginning of the line to include šá-ni-ia-a-nu “second time.”
5d⸢U⸣.GUR “the god Nergal”: Contrary to Borger, BIWA 8o-Heft pp. 401 and 531, the name of the second deity is not Adad (written d⸢IŠKUR⸣), but rather the patron god of Cutha, Nergal (written d⸢U⸣.GUR). This is not a mistake, as suggested by R. Borger, for the name of the goddess Ištar (written d15).
6The translation assumes that e-ru-ub “I entered” appeared in the now-missing lines v 13 or 14.
7These lines seem to parallel text no. 227 rev. 30–36 (but with variation).
8For these lines, compare bu-un-ni-ka šá me-šá-ri šu-ut-ri-ṣa e-li-šú “direct your just countenance upon him” (Frame, RINAP 2 p. 191 no. 18 line 5).
9re-[é-ú-ti?] “[(my)] sh[epherdship]: Conjectural restoration based on text no. 227 rev. 35.
10e-[ma a-qab-bu-u? la-be-el?] “[may I rule] wh[erever I desire (lit. ‘I say’)]”: Or possibly e-[ma al-la-ku ...] “wh[erever I go ...]”; compare text no. 227 rev. 36.
Created by Jamie Novotny and Joshua Jeffers, 2015-22. Lemmatized by Joshua Jeffers, 2018-22, for the NEH-funded RINAP Project at the University of Pennsylvania. The annotated edition is released under the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike license 3.0. Please cite this page as http://oracc.org/rinap/Q007637/.