Sennacherib 024 (Q003498)
Royal Inscription, Neo-Assyrian, Kuyunjik (Nineveh) · c. 911 BCE–612 BCE
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| Designation | Sennacherib 024 |
|---|---|
| ID | Q003498 |
| Collection | British Museum, London, UK |
| Language | Akkadian |
| Period | Neo-Assyrian · c. 911 BCE–612 BCE |
| Genre | Royal Inscription |
| Find spot | Kuyunjik (Nineveh) |
| Coordinates | 36.3587, 43.1519 |
English translation
By ORACC project rinap/scores · Via Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus (ORACC) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (ORACC)
| Line | English |
|---|---|
| Obverse Column i [0:8] i 1i 1–i 88 | [Sennacherib], great king, [strong] king, [king of the world, king of Assyria], king of [the four quarters (of the world), capable shepherd], favorite of the [great] gods, [guardian of truth who lov]es ju[stice, (i 5) renders assistance, goes to] the aid of [the weak, (and) strives after good deeds, perfect] man, [virile warrior, fore]most of all [rulers, the bridle that controls] the insub[missive, (and) the one who strikes enem]ies [with lightning]: |
| Obverse Column i [8:18] i 99–i 1818 | The god Aššur, the [great] mounta[in, gran]ted to [me unrivalled sovereignty and] made my weapons gr[eater than (those of) all who sit on (royal) dais]es. He made [all] of the black-headed (people) [from the] Upp[er S]ea of the Setting Sun [to] the Lower Sea of the Rising Su[n] bow down at [my] feet. (i 15) Thus did [recalcitrant] rulers come to fear battle with me. While they were abandoning their settlements, they flew away alone like bats (living) in crevices to inaccessible place(s). |
| Obverse Column i [18:26] i 1919–i 2626 | On my first campaign, I brought [about] the defeat of Marduk-apla-iddi[na] (II) (Merodach-baladan), king of Karduniaš (Babylonia), [toge]ther with the troops of (the land) Elam, his allies, in the plai[n of Kish]. In the midst of that bat[tle he abandoned his] ca[mp], fl[ed] alone, [and (thereby) saved his life. I seized the chariots], hors[es, ...] (i 25) ... [...] ... [...] |
| Obverse Column ii [0:4] ii 1'1'–ii 4'4' | ... [... I called it] Kār-Sennac[herib. I settled therein] the people of the lands that [I] had conquer[ed]. I placed (it) under the authority of a eun[uch of mine, the governor of the city Ḫarḫar], and (thus) en[larged my land]. |
| Obverse Column ii [4:9] ii 5'5'–ii 9'9' | [On my return march, I received] a [substantial] payme[nt] from the [distant] Mede[s, of whose land] no[ne of the kings], my ancestors, [had heard mention. (Thus) I made them bow down] to the yo[ke of my lordship]. |
| Obverse Column vi [0:6] vi 1'1'–vi 6'6' | [The god Adad (and) the goddess Šala, god]s [of the city Ekallātum whom Marduk-nādin-aḫḫē, king of Ak]kad, [had taken and] br[ought to Babyl]on [during the reign of Tiglath-pil]eser (I), [king of Assyria] — I had (them) [brought out of] Babylon [after 418 years and] I returned them [to the city Ekallātum, th]eir (proper) [place]. |
| Obverse Column vi [6:16] vi 7'7'–vi 16'16' | [I destroyed, devastated, (and) bur]ned [with fire the city, and (its) buildings, from its foundations t]o its crenellations. [I removed bricks] and earth, as much as there was, [from] the inner (and) outer walls, [the temples, (and) the ziggurrat, and] (vi 10´) I threw (it) [into the A]raḫtu [River]. I dug a canal [into the center of that city] and (thus) [lev]eled [their site with water. I destroyed] the outline of its foundations [and (thereby) made] its destruction [surpass that of the] Deluge. [So that in the futu]re, the site of that city [and (its) temples] will be unrecognizable, [I dissolved] it (Babylon) [in water] and annihilated (it), (making it) like a meadow. |
| Obverse Column vi [16:18] vi 17'17'–vi 18'18' | [...] ... who preceded/goes before [...] ... [...] |
Transliteration (ATF)
From Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus (ORACC) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (ORACC default); per-file JSON license fields say: This data is released under the CC0 license (133618)
| Line | ATF | Machine English (draft) |
|---|---|---|
| i | ||
| 1 | {[m}{d}EN.ZU-ŠEŠ.MEŠ-eri-ba] LUGAL GAL ⸢LUGAL⸣ [dan-nu] | |
| 2 | [LUGAL kiš-ša₂-ti LUGAL KUR aš-šur]{ki} LUGAL [kib-rat LIMMU₂-tim] | |
| 3 | [RE.E₂.UM it-pe-šu] ⸢mi⸣-gir DINGIR.⸢MEŠ⸣ [GAL.MEŠ] | |
| 4 | [na-ṣir kit-ti ra-ʾi]-im ⸢mi⸣-[ša₂-ri] | |
| 5 | [e-piš u₂-sa-a-ti a-lik] ⸢tap⸣-pu-ut [a-ki-i] | |
| 6 | [sa-ḫi-ru dam-qa-a-ti] ⸢eṭ⸣-lum [git₂-ma-lum] | |
| 7 | [zi-ka-ru qar-du a-ša₂]-red ⸢kal⸣ [mal-ki] | |
| 8 | [rap-pu la-ʾi-iṭ] ⸢la⸣ ma-[gi-ri] | |
| 9 | [mu-šab-ri-qu za-ma-a]-⸢ni⸣ {d}aš-šur KUR-[u₂ GAL-u₂] | |
| 10 | [LUGAL-ut la ša₂-na-an u₂-šat]-li-ma-an-[ni-ma] | |
| 11 | [UGU gim-ri a-šib pa-rak]-⸢ki⸣ u₂-šar-[ba-a] | |
| 12 | {⸢giš}TUKUL⸣.MEŠ-⸢ia⸣ [ul-tu A].⸢AB⸣.BA e-le-⸢ni⸣-[ti] | |
| 13 | ⸢ša ša₂-lam⸣ {d}UTU-⸢ši⸣ [a-di] ⸢tam⸣-tim šap-li-ti | |
| 14 | ⸢ša⸣ ṣi-it {d}UTU-[ši gim]-⸢ri⸣ ṣal-mat SAG.DU | |
| 15 | u₂-šak-niš še-pu-u₂-[a] u₃ mal-ki [šep-ṣu-ti] | |
| 16 | e-du-ru ta-ḫa-zi da-ad₂-me-šu₂-un | |
| 17 | iz-zi-bu-ma ki-ma ⸢su-tin⸣-ni ni-gi-iṣ-ṣi | |
| 18 | e-diš ip-par-šu₂ a-⸢šar⸣ la ʾa-a-ri | |
| 19 | i-na maḫ-re-e ger-ri-⸢ia⸣ ša {m}{d}AMAR.UTU-IBILA-SUM.[NA] | |
| 20 | LUGAL {kur}kar₂-{d}dun-ia₂-⸢aš₃⸣ [a]-⸢di⸣ ERIM.ḪI.A ELAM.MA{ki} | |
| 21 | re-ṣi-šu i-na ta-⸢mir⸣-[ti kiš{ki]} aš₂-ta-[kan] | |
| 22 | BAD₅.BAD₅-šu₂ i-na MURUB₄ tam-⸢ḫa⸣-[ri] ⸢šu⸣-a-tu [e-zib] | |
| 23 | ⸢KARAŠ⸣-[su] ⸢e⸣-diš ip-par-[šid-ma na-piš-tuš e-ṭi₂-ir {giš}GIGIR.MEŠ] | |
| 24 | ⸢ANŠE.KUR.RA.MEŠ⸣ [...] | |
| 25 | [...] | |
| 26 | [...] | |
| ii | ||
| 1' | x [...] | |
| 2' | {uru}kar-{m}{d}⸢EN.ZU-ŠEŠ⸣.[MEŠ-SU at-ta-bi ni-bit-su] | |
| 3' | UN.MEŠ KUR.KUR ki-šit-[ti ŠU.II-ia i-na lib₃-bi u₂-še-šib] | |
| 4' | i-na ŠU.II {lu₂}šu-⸢ut⸣ [SAG-ia {lu₂}EN.NAM {lu₂}EN.NAM {uru}ḫar-ḫar] | |
| 5' | am-nu-u₂-ma u₂-[rap-piš ma-a-ti i-na ta-a-a-ar-ti-ia] | |
| 6' | ša {kur}ma-da-a-[a ru-qu-te ša i-na LUGAL.MEŠ] | |
| 7' | AD.MEŠ-ia ⸢ma⸣-[am-man la iš-mu-u₂ zi-kir KUR-šu₂-un] | |
| 8' | man-da-at-[ta-šu₂-nu ka-bit-tu am-ḫur] | |
| 9' | a-na ⸢ni⸣-[ri be-lu-ti-ia u₂-šak-ni-su-nu-ti] | |
| vi | ||
| 1' | {[d}IŠKUR {d}ša-la DINGIR].MEŠ [ša {uru}E₂.GAL.MEŠ] | |
| 2' | [ša {m}{d}AMAR.UTU-SUM-ŠEŠ.MEŠ LUGAL KUR] ⸢URI{ki⸣} [a-na tar-ṣi] | |
| 3' | {[m}tukul-ti-A]-⸢e₂⸣-šar₂-⸢ra⸣ [LUGAL KUR aš-šur{ki]} | |
| 4' | [il-qu-ma a-na KA₂.DINGIR].⸢RA⸣{ki} ⸢u₂⸣-[bil-lu] | |
| 5' | [i-na 4 ME 18 MU.AN.NA.MEŠ ul-tu] KA₂.DINGIR.RA{ki} ⸢u₂-še⸣-[ṣa-am-ma] | |
| 6' | [a-na {uru}E₂.GAL.MEŠ aš₂-ri-šu₂]-nu u₂-ter-šu₂-⸢nu-ti⸣ | |
| 7' | [URU u₃ E₂.MEŠ ul-tu UŠ₈-šu₂ a]-di gaba-dib-bi-šu₂ | |
| 8' | [ap-pul aq-qur i-na {d}GIŠ.BAR aq]-⸢mu⸣ BAD₃ šal-ḫu-u₂ | |
| 9' | [E₂.MEŠ DINGIR.MEŠ ziq-qur-rat SIG₄] ⸢u₃ SAḪAR⸣.ḪI.A ma-la ba-šu-⸢u⸣ | |
| 10' | [as-suḫ-ma a-na {id₂}a]-⸢ra⸣-aḫ-ti ad-di | |
| 11' | [i-na qe₂-reb URU šu-a-tu] ID₂ aḫ-re-e-ma | |
| 12' | [er-ṣe-es-su-nu ina A.MEŠ as]-⸢pu-un⸣ ši-kin uš-ši-šu₂ | |
| 13' | [u₂-ḫal-liq-ma UGU ša a]-⸢bu⸣-bu na-as-pan-ta-šu₂ | |
| 14' | [u₂-ša₂-tir aš₂-šu aḫ-rat u₄]-⸢me qaq⸣-qar ⸢URU⸣ šu-a-tu₂ | |
| 15' | [u₃ E₂.MEŠ DINGIR.MEŠ] ⸢la muš-ši⸣-i | |
| 16' | [i-na ma-a-mi uš-ḫar-miṭ]-⸢su-ma ag-da-mar⸣ u₂-šal-liš | |
| 17' | [...] x-BI a-lik maḫ-ri | |
| 18' | [...] x ⸢LU₂ a⸣-[...] | |
Sources & licences
- Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus (ORACC) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (ORACC default); per-file JSON license fields say: This data is released under the CC0 license (133618) · ORACC project editions, https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/ ; cite the individual project (see texts.extra_json.project)
Cite the original edition and translator. Page generated by Unread Atlas from the public corpus export of 2026-10-11.