Sennacherib 155 (Q003960)
Royal Inscription, Neo-Assyrian, Kuyunjik (Nineveh) · c. 911 BCE–612 BCE
Open in the reader & map →See it among all tablets
| Designation | Sennacherib 155 |
|---|---|
| ID | Q003960 |
| 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/rinap3 · Via Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus (ORACC) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (ORACC)
| Line | English |
|---|---|
| Obverse [0:3] o 1'1'–o 3'3' | [...] ... [...] did not know, moa[t(s) ... the one who makes brickwork structures (lit. “the craft of the god Kulla”) secure, from buildings for the living to tombs be]fitting the dead (made) from l[imestone, ...]: |
| Obverse [3:6] o 4'4'–o 6'6' | [(The god) Aššur], the one who regulates the Igīgū and Anunnakū gods, the father of al[l of the gods, ...] made [my weapons] gre[ater than (those of) al]l who sit on (royal) daises. [... From] from the Upper Sea of the Setting [Sun to the Lower Sea of the Rising Sun] he made [(all of) the rulers of the (four) qua]rters (of the world) bow down at my feet and th[ey (now) pull my yoke]. |
| Obverse [6:13] o 7'7'–o 13'13' | [At that time, Nineveh, the] exalted [cult cent]er, ... [... who]se site had become too small, the outstanding city [...] ... and which in former days, its site [no] one [...] ... Egalzagdinu[tukua (the “Palace Without a Rival”) ...] ... [... Moreover, its people did not know artificial irrigation, but] had [their eyes] turn[ed for rain (and) showers from the sky. ...] |
| Reverse [0:1] r 1'1'–r 1'1' | [...] I provided irrigat[ion annually for the cultivation of grain and sesame]. |
| Reverse [1:5] r 2'2'–r 5'5' | [(To) a later ruler, one of the kings, my descendants, who del]iberates (the matter) [in (his) heart but is not able to believe (it) (and) says “How did he have this canal dug] out [with (only) these few men?”: I swear] by the god Aššur, my [great] god, [that I dug out this canal with (only) these men. Moreover], I completed [the work on it within one year] (and) three months; [... was completed (and) I finished its excavation]. |
| Reverse [5:9] r 6'6'–r 9'9' | [In order to open] that canal, [I sent] an exorcist (and) [a lamentation singer and ... Carnelian, lapis lazuli], muššāru-stone, pappardilû-stones, [precious] stone[s, turtles (and) tortoises whose likeness(es) are cast in silver (and) gold, aromatics], (and) fine oil, I gave [as gifts] to the god Ea, [the lord of underground waters, cisterns, and ..., (and to) the god Enbilulu, the inspector of canals, (and) the god Enʾeʾimdu, the lord of] dike(s) and canal(s). [I prayed to the great gods; they heeded my supplications and ma]de [my] hand[iwork] prosper. |
| Reverse [9:12] r 10'10'–r 12'12' | [This (sluice) gate of the watercourse opened by itself without (the help) of spade or shovel and] let [an abundance of water] flow through. [...] ... [...] |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| o | ||
| 1' | [...] x x x [...] | |
| 2' | [...] ⸢la⸣ i-du-u ḫi-ri-⸢ṣu⸣ [... mu-šar-šid ši-pir {d}kulla ul-tu₂ ši-pir bal-ṭu-ti] | |
| 3' | [a-di KI.MAḪ] ⸢si⸣-mat mi-tu-tu ina {⸢na₄⸣}[pi-i-li ...] | |
| 4' | [AN.ŠAR₂] ⸢pa-qid {d}i₂⸣-gi₃-gi₃ u {d}a-nun-na-ki AD ⸢DU₃⸣ [DINGIR.MEŠ ...] | |
| 5' | [UGU gim]-⸢ri⸣ a-šib pa-rak-ki u₂-⸢šar⸣-[ba-a {giš}TUKUL.MEŠ-ia ...] | |
| 6' | [ul-tu] tam-tim e-li-ti ša₂ e-reb {[d}UTU-ši a-di tam-tim šap-li-ti ša₂ ṣi-it {d}UTU-ši (gi-mir) mal-ki] | |
| 7' | [ša kib]-⸢ra⸣-a-ti še-pu-u-a u₂-šak-niš-ma i-[šu-ṭu ab-ša₂-a-ni i-na u₄-me-šu-ma NINA{ki]} | |
| 8' | [ma-ḫa]-⸢zu⸣ ṣi-i-ru šu-x [...] | |
| 9' | [šu-bat]-⸢su⸣ ṣu-uḫ-ḫu-rat URU šu-pu-⸢u⸣ [...] | |
| 10' | [x x] x DU₆ u₃ ša₂ u₄-me pa-ni šu-bat-su ma-⸢am⸣-[man ...] | |
| 11' | [...] x x x (x) e₂-gal-zag-di-nu-[tuku-a ...] | |
| 12' | [...] x-de-e-⸢ma⸣ [... u₃ UN.MEŠ-šu₂ A.MEŠ ši-qi la i-da-a-ma a-na zu-un-ni] | |
| 13' | [ti-ik AN-e] ⸢tur⸣-ru-[ṣa IGI.II.MEŠ-šun ...] | |
| r | ||
| 1' | [...] x [...] | |
| 2' | [(...) a-na me₂-reš ŠE.AM u₃ {še}GIŠ.I₃] ⸢u₂⸣-šam-⸢ka⸣-[ra šat-ti-šam NUN ar-ku-u₂ i-na LUGAL.MEŠ-ni DUMU.MEŠ-ia] | |
| 3' | [ša it-ti lib₃-bi uš]-⸢tam⸣-mu-ma a-na qa-⸢a-pi⸣ [la tur-ru i-tam-ma a-ki-i i-na ŠA₃ {lu₂}ERIM.MEŠ an-nu-ti e-ṣu-ti] | |
| 4' | [ID₂ šu-a-tu u₂-šaḫ]-⸢ri⸣ ni-iš {d}aš-šur DINGIR-ia [GAL at-ta-ma-a šum-ma ina ŠA₃ {lu₂}ERIM.MEŠ an-nu-ti ID₂ šu-a-tu la aḫ-ru-u] | |
| 5' | [u₃ i-na MU.AN.NA] 3 ITI la u₂-qat-tu-[u₂ ši-pir-ša₂ ... la ig-gam-ru-u₂ u₂-qat-tu-u₂ ḫi-ru-sa] | |
| 6' | [a-na pa-te-e] ID₂ šu-a-tu₂ {lu₂}MAŠ.⸢MAŠ⸣ {[lu₂}GALA u₂-ma-ʾe-er-ma u₂-šat-...] | |
| 7' | {[na₄}GUG {na₄}ZA.GIN₃] {⸢na₄⸣}MUŠ.GIR₂ {na₄}⸢BABBAR.DILI.MEŠ NA₄⸣.[MEŠ ni-siq-ti BAL.GI{ku₆} NIG₂.BUN₂.NA{ku₆} tam-šil pi₂-ti-iq] | |
| 8' | [KU₃.BABBAR KU₃.GI ŠIM.ḪI.A] ⸢I₃.GIŠ⸣ DUG₃.GA a-⸢na {d⸣}e₂-a [EN nag-bi kup-pi u₃ ta-... {d}en-bi-lu-lu GU₂.GAL ID₂.MEŠ] | |
| 9' | {[d}en-e-im-du EN] ⸢E⸣ u PA₅ u₂-qa-a-a-⸢iš⸣ [qi₂-ša₂-a-ti a-na DINGIR.MEŠ GAL.MEŠ ut-nin-ma su-up-pi-ia] | |
| 10' | [iš-mu-ma u₂]-še-ši-ru li-[pit ŠU.II-ia KA₂ ID₂ šu-a-tu ba-lu {giš}MAR u₃ {giš}MAR.ŠE.RA.AḪ a-na ra-ma-ni-šu] | |
| 11' | [ip-pe-te₉-ma] u₂-šar-da-⸢a⸣ [A.MEŠ ḪE₂.NUN ...] | |
| 12' | [...] x (x) [...] | |
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.