Nabonidus 22 (Q005419)
Royal Inscription, Neo-Babylonian, Sippar · c. 626 BCE–539 BCE
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| Designation | Nabonidus 22 |
|---|---|
| ID | Q005419 |
| Collection | Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York, USA |
| Language | Akkadian |
| Period | Neo-Babylonian · c. 626 BCE–539 BCE |
| Genre | Royal Inscription |
| Find spot | Sippar |
| Coordinates | 33.0592, 44.2538 |
English translation
By ORACC project ribo/babylon7 · Via Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus (ORACC) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (ORACC)
| Line | English |
|---|---|
| Obverse Column i [0:4] i 1'1'–i 4'4' | [the one who makes] sattukku-offerings [abun]dant (and) nindabû-offerings [spl]endid, [so]n of Nabû-balāssu-iqbi, wise [p]rince, am I. |
| Obverse Column i [4:14] i 5'5'–i 14'14' | [Wh]en the god Marduk, the Enlil of the gods, entrusted me [(to) r]ule over his land, I constantly strove (to show) devotion to his divinity (and) I was speaking daily about doing what(ever) is pleasing to him. So that there would be no cu[ltic mistake(s), I was] constantly forem[ost] (in everything I did and) I was co[nstantly] praying devoutly to the great gods. |
| Obverse Column i [14:20] i 15'15'–i 20'20' | At that time, (with regard to) Ebabbar, the awe-inspiring shrine, the residence of the god Šamaš, the judge, <which> is inside Sippar, (which) a king of the past had built (and) raised its superstructure, forty-five years had not (yet) elapsed and its walls had buckled. |
| Obverse Column i [20:23] i 21'21'–i 23'23' | [The ra]mku-priests of Ebabbar tol[d me: “The temple had buck]led.” I did [no]t believe [their report], but (nevertheless) I w[as <worried>]. |
| Obverse Column i [23:25] i 24'24'–i 25'25' | [I sent] citizens of Baby[lon and Borsippa], skill[ed men] |
| Obverse Column ii [0:1] ii 1'1'–ii 1'1' | “He has en[trusted you with building it on its true site].” |
| Obverse Column ii [1:7] ii 2'2'–ii 7'7' | My heart [was afraid (at the thought of)] re[moving Ebabbar; I was worried]. In (my) [night] b[ed, I did not get enough good] sle[ep. (...)] I raised [my] h[ands (and) beseeched] the E[nlil of the gods, the god Marduk]. |
| Obverse Column ii [7:11] ii 8'8'–ii 11'11' | With re[gard to (re)building Ebabbar, I frequently visited] the shri[nes of the gods Šamaš and Adad], the lord[s of divination, and ...] |
| Obverse Column ii [11:15] ii 12'12'–ii 15'15' | (No translation possible) |
| Obverse Column ii [15:21] ii 16'16'–ii 21'21' | hoe(s) [...] I ... [...] I ... [...] In a fav[orable] month, [...] I tore dow[n ...] I mustered [the workmen of the gods Šamaš and Marduk] and |
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' | [mu-ṭah]-⸢hi-id sa-at-tuk-ka⸣ | |
| 2' | [mu]-⸢šar-ri⸣-ih ni-id-be₂-e | |
| 3' | ⸢DUMU⸣ {d}AG-ba-la-at-su-iq-bi | |
| 4' | ⸢ru⸣-ba-a-am e-em-qa₂ a-na-ku | |
| 5' | [i₃]-⸢nu⸣-ma {d}AMAR.UTU {d}EN.LIL₂ DINGIR.DINGIR | |
| 6' | ⸢be⸣-lu-ut ma-ti-šu i-qi₂-pa-an-ni | |
| 7' | ⸢gi⸣-na-a aš-te-ne₂-eʾ-a | |
| 8' | ⸢pu⸣-lu-uh₂-ti i-lu-ti-šu | |
| 9' | ša e-li-šu ṭa-a-bu e-pe-šu | |
| 10' | u₄-mi-ša-am a-⸢ta-mi⸣ | |
| 11' | aš-šum la ba-še-e ⸢hi⸣-[ṭi-ti₃] | |
| 12' | ka-a-a-nam šu-tu-⸢ra⸣-[ku] | |
| 13' | a-na DINGIR.DINGIR GAL.GAL qa₂-[qa₂-da-a] | |
| 14' | šu-te-mu-qa₂-ak-šu-⸢nu⸣-[ti] | |
| 15' | i-nu-šu e₂-babbar-ra ki-iṣ-ṣi ra-aš-bu | |
| 16' | šu-ba-at {d}UTU da-a-a-na | |
| 17' | <ša> i-na qe₂-⸢re⸣-eb ZIMBIR{ki} | |
| 18' | ⸢LUGAL⸣ pa-ni i-pu₂-uš-ma ul-lu-u₂ re-e-ši-šu₂ | |
| 19' | 45 MU.AN.NA.MEŠ la im-la-ma | |
| 20' | ⸢i⸣-qu-pu i-ga-ru-šu | |
| 21' | [ra]-⸢am⸣-ku-ut e₂-babbar-ra i-⸢ta-mu⸣-[nim] | |
| 22' | [i-qu]-⸢up⸣ [E₂] | |
| 23' | [qi₂-bi-it-su-nu] ⸢la⸣ a-qi₂-ip-ma ⸢ra⸣-[ša₂-a-ku <ni-qi₂-it-ti>] | |
| 24' | [u₂-ma-ʾe-er]-⸢ma⸣ DUMU.MEŠ TIN.⸢TIR⸣{[ki]} | |
| 25' | [u₃ bar₂-sipa{ki]} ⸢e-em⸣-[qu-tu] | |
| ii | ||
| 1' | u₂-⸢ša⸣-[ad-gi-il pa-ni-ka] | |
| 2' | a-na ⸢da⸣-[ke-e e₂-babbar-ra] | |
| 3' | lib₃-bi [pa-li-ih ra-ša₂-a-ku ni-qi₂-it-ti] | |
| 4' | i-na ⸢ma⸣-[a-a-al mu-ši-im ul u₂-qa-at-ta-a] | |
| 5' | ši-it-[ti ṭa-ab-tim (...)] | |
| 6' | aš₂-ši ⸢qa⸣-[ti-ia u₂-ṣa-al-la-a] | |
| 7' | {d}⸢EN⸣.[LIL₂ DINGIR.MEŠ {d}AMAR.UTU] | |
| 8' | aš-⸢šum⸣ [e-pe₂-eš e₂-babbar-ra] | |
| 9' | aš₂-⸢ra⸣-[a-ti {d}UTU u₃ {d}IŠKUR] | |
| 10' | EN.[MEŠ bi-ri aš-te-e-ma] | |
| 11' | x [...] | |
| 12' | [...] | |
| 13' | [...] | |
| 14' | [...] | |
| 15' | ⸢ša⸣ [...] | |
| 16' | {giš}AL [...] | |
| 17' | al-x [...] | |
| 18' | uš-te-x [...] | |
| 19' | i-na ITI ⸢šal⸣-[ma ...] | |
| 20' | ad-⸢ka⸣ [...] | |
| 21' | ⸢ad-kam-ma⸣ [...] | |
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.