Nebuchadnezzar II 012 (Q005483)
Royal Inscription, Neo-Babylonian, Babylon · c. 626 BCE–539 BCE
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| Designation | Nebuchadnezzar II 012 |
|---|---|
| ID | Q005483 |
| Collection | Louvre Museum, Paris, France; British Museum, London, UK |
| Language | Akkadian |
| Period | Neo-Babylonian · c. 626 BCE–539 BCE |
| Genre | Royal Inscription |
| Find spot | Babylon |
| Coordinates | 32.5350, 44.4258 |
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 [0:14] i 1i 1–i 1414 | Nebuchadnezzar (II), king of Babylon, pious prince, selected by the steadfast heart of the god Marduk, true shepherd who ensures that the sanctuaries of the god Nabû are looked after correctly, the one who pleases their hearts, exalted ruler who is mindful of provisioning Esagil and Ezida daily and (who) constantly seeks out good things for Babylon and Borsippa, the wise (and) pious one who provides for Esagil and Ezida, the foremost heir of Nabopolassar, king of Babylon, am I. |
| Obverse Column i [14:23] i 1515–i 2323 | When the god Marduk, the great lord, the god who created me, steadfastly named me and magnificently commissioned me (to perform) good things for his city Babylon, I myself was constantly present (and) incessant towards the god Marduk, my lord, (and) all day, without ceasing, (my) mind pondered about (things) that were pleasing to him. |
| Obverse Column i [23:29] i 2424–i 2929 | I provided Esagil with silver, gold, precious (and) valuable stone(s), copper, musukkannu-wood, cedar, an abundance of anything that is valuable, leaving nothing (else) to be desired, and made its sheen shine forth like the sun. |
| Obverse Column ii [0:2] ii 1ii 1–ii 22 | I completed Ezida and made (it) shine like the stars (lit. “writings”) of the heavens. |
| Obverse Column ii [2:11] ii 33–ii 1111 | I put Imgur-Enlil and Nēmetti-Enlil, the great walls of Babylon, (back) in order, built the embankment walls of its moat like a mountain with bitumen and baked brick, and surrounded the outskirts of the city (with a wall). I stationed fierce wild bulls of copper and raging mušḫuššu-dragons in its gates and made the city of Babylon become an object of wonder. |
| Obverse Column ii [11:22] ii 1212–ii 2222 | I constantly stove (to do things) for the protection of Esagil and Babylon. I built a great fortification with bitumen and baked brick at the upper enclosure of the gate of the goddess Ištar, from the bank of the Euphrates River up to the gate, along the outskirts of the city. I secured its foundation directly on the apsû, in the water table far below (and) raised its superstructure as high as a mountain. I skillfully the strengthen (Esagil and Babylon’s) protection and established the city of Babylon as a fortress. |
| Obverse Column ii [22:31] ii 2323–ii 3131 | O Marduk, great lord, look upon my handiwork with favor and pleasure and may good things about me be set upon your lips. By your holy command, which cannot be altered, proclaim the prolongation of my days (and) command my (attainment of) very old age. By your exalted command, which cannot be overturned, may I not have enemies nor acquire (any) troublemaker(s). |
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 | {⸢d⸣}na-bi-um-ku-du-ur₂-ri-u₂-ṣu-ur₂ LUGAL KA₂.DINGIR.RA{ki} | |
| 2 | ru-ba-a-am na-a-dam i-tu-ut ku-un li-ib-bi {d}AMAR.UTU | |
| 3 | re-e₂-a-um ki-i-nim | |
| 4 | mu-uš-te-ši-ir aš-ra-a-ti {d}na-bi-um | |
| 5 | mu-ṭi-ib li-ib-bi-šu-un | |
| 6 | iš-ša-ak-ku ṣi-i-ri | |
| 7 | ša a-na zi-in-na-a-ti e₂-sag-il₂ u₃ e₂-zi-da | |
| 8 | u₄-mi-ša-am ti-iṣ-mu-ru-u₂-ma | |
| 9 | ⸢da⸣-am-qa₂-a-ti KA₂.DINGIR.RA{ki} u₃ ba-ar-si₂-pa₃{ki} | |
| 10 | iš-te-ne₂-eʾ-u₃ ka-a-a-nam | |
| 11 | e-em-qa₂ mu-ut-ne₂-en-nu-u₃ | |
| 12 | za-ni-in e₂-sag-il₂ u₃ e₂-zi-da | |
| 13 | IBILA SAG.KAL ša {d}AG-IBILA-u₂-ṣu-ur₂ | |
| 14 | LUGAL KA₂.DINGIR.RA{ki} a-na-ku | |
| 15 | i₃-nu-um {d}AMAR.UTU be-li₂ ra-bi₂-u₃ i-lu ba-nu-u₂-a | |
| 16 | ki-ni-iš ib-ba-an-ni-ma | |
| 17 | da-am-qa₂-a-ti URU-šu KA₂.DINGIR.RA{ki} | |
| 18 | ra-bi-iš u₂-ma-ʾe-er-an-ni | |
| 19 | a-na-ku a-na {d}AMAR.UTU be-li₂-ia | |
| 20 | ka-a-a-na-ak la ba-aṭ-la-ak | |
| 21 | ša e-li-ša ṭa-a-bu | |
| 22 | ud-da-ak-ku la na-pa-ar-ka-a | |
| 23 | i-ta-ma-am li-ib-ba-am | |
| 24 | ⸢i⸣-na KU₃.BABBAR KU₃.GI ni-si₃-iq-ti₃ NA₄.NA₄ šu-qu₂-ru-u₂-tim | |
| 25 | e-ra-a {giš}MES.MA₂.KAN.NA {giš}EREN | |
| 26 | mi-im-ma šu-um-šu šu-qu₂-ru šu-un-du-lam | |
| 27 | la ba-ša-a hi-ši-ih-tim | |
| 28 | e₂-sag-il₂ az-nu-un-ma | |
| 29 | ša-aš-ši-iš u₂-ša-pa-a ša-ru-ru-u₂-šu | |
| ii | ||
| 1 | e₂-zi-da u₂-ša-ak-li-il-ma | |
| 2 | ki-ma ši-ṭe-er-ti₃ ša-ma-mi <u₂-ba>-an-nim | |
| 3 | im-gu-ur₂-{⸢d}EN⸣.LIL₂ u₃ ne₂-me₂-et-ti₃-{d}EN.LIL₂ | |
| 4 | BAD₃.BAD₃ GAL.GAL ša KA₂.DINGIR.RA{ki} uš-te-ši-ir-ma | |
| 5 | ka-a-ri ⸢hi⸣-ri-ti-šu i-na ku-up-ri u₃ a-gur-ri | |
| 6 | ša-da-ni-iš ab-ni-ma | |
| 7 | URU{ki} a-na ki-da-a-nim u₂-ša-as₃-hi-ir | |
| 8 | ri-i-mu e-ri-i e-ek-du-u₂-tim | |
| 9 | u₃ MUŠ.HUŠ.MUŠ.HUŠ še-zu-zu-u₂-tim | |
| 10 | i-na KA₂.GAL.KA₂.⸢GAL⸣-šu u₂-uš-zi-iz-ma | |
| 11 | URU{ki} KA₂.DINGIR.RA{ki} a-na ta-ab-ra-a-tim u₂-še-e-pi₂ | |
| 12 | ni-ṣi-ir-ti₃ e₂-sag-il₂ u₃ KA₂.DINGIR.RA{ki} aš-te-eʾ-e-ma | |
| 13 | i-na tu-ur₂-ri e-li-i ša KA₂.GAL-{d}iš-ta-ar | |
| 14 | iš-tu GU₂ {id₂}BURANUN{ki} a-di me₂-he-ra-at KA₂.GAL | |
| 15 | i-ta-a-at URU{ki} a-na ki-da-a-nim | |
| 16 | ha-al-ṣi ra-bi-tim | |
| 17 | i-na ESIR.UD.DU.A u₃ SIG₄.AL.UR₃.RA ab-ni-ma | |
| 18 | i-ši-is-sa me₂-he-ra-at ap-si-i | |
| 19 | i-na šu-pu₂-ul me₂-e be₂-e-ru-tim u₂-ša-ar-ši-id | |
| 20 | re-e-ši-šu ša-da-ni-iš u₂-za-aq-qi₂-ir | |
| 21 | ma-aṣ-ṣa-ar-tim na-ak-li-iš u₂-da-an-ni-in-ma | |
| 22 | URU{ki} KA₂.DINGIR.RA{ki} a-na ni-ṣi-ir-tim aš-ku-un | |
| 23 | {d}AMAR.UTU be-li₂ ra-bi₂-u₃ | |
| 24 | li-pi₂-it qa₂-ti-ia | |
| 25 | a-na da-mi-iq-tim ha-di-iš na-ap-li-is-ma | |
| 26 | da-am-qa₂-a-tu-u₂-a li-iš-ša-ak-na ša-ap-tu-⸢uk⸣-ka | |
| 27 | i-na pi-i-ka el-lu ša la na-ka-ri | |
| 28 | i-bi₂ a-ra-ku u₄-mi-ia | |
| 29 | qi₂-bi₂ li-it-tu-u₂-ti | |
| 30 | i-na qi₂-bi-ti-ka ṣi-ir-tim ša la šu-pe₂-e-lu | |
| 31 | a-a i-ši na-ki-ri mu-ga-al-li-tu a-a ar-ša-am | |
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.