Nebuchadnezzar II 013 (Q005484)
Royal Inscription, Neo-Babylonian, Babylon · c. 626 BCE–539 BCE
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| Designation | Nebuchadnezzar II 013 |
|---|---|
| ID | Q005484 |
| Collection | Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin, Germany; British Museum, London, UK; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York, USA; Boulaq Museum, Cairo, Egypt; Private collection: anonymous, Paris, France; Clark Collection of Near Eastern Antiquities, Jerusalem, Israel; Arkeoloji Müzerleri, Istanbul, Turkey; Private collection: anonymous, Hamburg, Germany; University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Dadberk Hanin Museum, Istanbul, Turkey |
| 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 [0:5] i 1i 1–i 55 | Nebuchadnezzar (II), king of Babylon, the one who provides for Esagil and Ezida, son of Nabopolassar, king of Babylon, am I. |
| Obverse Column i [5:18] i 66–i 1818 | In order to strengthen the protection of Esagil (so that) no evil doer and murderer can come near Babylon, no arrow (during) battle can come close to Imgur-Enlil, the wall of Babylon, (I did something) that no king of the past had done: In the outskirts of Babylon, I had Babylon surrounded with a fortified wall on the other, eastern bank. I dug out its moat and reached the water table. |
| Obverse Column i [18:33] i 1919– | I saw that emplacement of the embankment that my father had constructed was too narrow (so) I built a stronger wall, which like a mountain cannot be shaken, with bitumen and baked brick and adjoined (it) to the embankment that my father had constructed. I secured its foundation on the surface (lit. “breast”) of the netherworld and raised its superstructure as high as a mountain. |
| Obverse Column ii [2:12] ii 33–ii 1212 | To strengthen the circumference of the wall for a third time, I supported the foundations of the baked-brick wall with a large stanchion at (its) damp course and secured its foundation on the surface (lit. “breast”) of the apsû. I strengthened the protection of Esagil (and) Babylon and (thereby) established the lasting fame of my kingship. |
| Obverse Column ii [12:23] ii 1313–ii 2323 | O Marduk, Enlil of the gods, the god who created me, may my deeds be pleasing in your presence so that I live for a long time. Give me as a gift a life of long days, the attainment of very old age, a firmly secured throne, and a long-lasting reign! |
| Obverse Column ii [23:32] ii 2424–ii 3232 | O Marduk, be the helper upon whom I can rely and by your true command, which cannot be altered, may my weapons (always) be drawn (and) ready (lit. “pointed”) so that they destroy the weapon of the enemy. |
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 | |
| 2 | šar ba-bi-lam{ki} | |
| 3 | za-ni-in e₂-sag-il₂ u₃ e₂-zi-da | |
| 4 | DUMU {d}na-bi-um-IBILA-u₂-ṣu-ur₂ | |
| 5 | šar ba-bi-lam{ki} a-na-ku | |
| 6 | aš-šum ma-aṣ-ṣa-ar-ti e₂-sag-il₂ | |
| 7 | du-un-nu-nim | |
| 8 | le-em-num u₃ ša-ag-gi-šum | |
| 9 | a-na ba-bi-lam{ki} la sa-na-qa₂ | |
| 10 | qa₂-an ta-ha-zi a-na im-gur-{d}EN.LIL₂ | |
| 11 | BAD₃ ba-bi-lam{ki} la ⸢ṭa⸣-he-e | |
| 12 | ša ma-na-a-ma šar ma-ah-ri | |
| 13 | la i-pu₂-šu | |
| 14 | in ka-ma-at ba-bi-lam{ki} | |
| 15 | BAD₃ da-num₂ BA.LA.RI {d}UTU.E₃ | |
| 16 | ba-bi-lam{ki} u₂-ša-as₃-hi-ir₄ | |
| 17 | hi-ri-su ah-re-e-ma | |
| 18 | šu-pu-ul me₂-e ak-⸢šu⸣-ud | |
| 19 | ap-pa-li-is-ma | |
| 20 | ka-ar a-bi-im ik-ṣu₂-ur₂-ru | |
| 21 | qa₂-at-nu ši-ki-in-šu | |
| 22 | BAD₃ da-num₂ ša ki-ma SA.TU.UM | |
| 23 | la ut-ta-aš-šu | |
| 24 | in ESIR.UD.DU.A u₃ SIG₄.AL.UR₃.RA | |
| 25 | ab-ni-ma | |
| 26 | it-ti ka-ar a-bi-im | |
| 27 | ik-ṣu₂-ur₂-ru | |
| 28 | e-se₃-ni-iq-ma | |
| 29 | i-ši-su in i-ra-at ki-gal-lim | |
| 30 | u₂-ša-ar-ši-id-ma | |
| ii | ||
| 1 | re-e-ši-šu sa-da-ni-iš | |
| 2 | u₂-za-aq-qi₂-ir₄ | |
| 3 | i-ta-at BAD₃ a-na du-un-nu-nim | |
| 4 | u₂-ša-al-li-iš-ma | |
| 5 | in-du a-sur-ra-a ra-bi₂-a-am | |
| 6 | iš-di BAD₃ a-gur-ri e-mi-id-ma | |
| 7 | in i-ra-at ap-si₂-⸢i⸣ | |
| 8 | u₂-ša-ar-ši-id te-me-en-šu | |
| 9 | ma-aṣ-ṣa-ar-ti e₂-sag-il₂ | |
| 10 | u₃ ba-bi-lam{ki} u₂-da-an-ni-in-ma | |
| 11 | šu-ma-am da-ri₂-a-am | |
| 12 | ša šar-ru₄-ti-ia aš-ta-ak-ka-an | |
| 13 | {d}AMAR.UTU {d}EN.LIL₂ i₃-li₂ | |
| 14 | i-lu ba-nu-u₂-a | |
| 15 | in ma-ah-ri-ka | |
| 16 | ep₂-še-tu-u₂-a li-id-mi-qa | |
| 17 | lu-la-ab-bi-ir | |
| 18 | a-na da-ri₂-a-⸢tim⸣ | |
| 19 | ba-la-aṭ u₄-mi-im re-e-qu₂-tim | |
| 20 | še-be₂-e li-it-tu-ti | |
| 21 | ku-un-nu ku-su-u₂ | |
| 22 | u₃ la-ba-ri pa-le-e | |
| 23 | a-na ši-ri-ik-tim šu-ur₂-kam | |
| 24 | lu re-ṣi tu-kul₂-ti-ia | |
| 25 | {d}AMAR.UTU at-ta-a-ma | |
| 26 | in qi₂-bi₂-ti-ka ki-it-ti | |
| 27 | ša la na-ka-ri-im | |
| 28 | lu te-bu-u₂ | |
| 29 | lu za-aq-tu | |
| 30 | ka-ak-ku-u₂-a | |
| 31 | ka-ak na-ki-ri-im | |
| 32 | li-me₂-e-su₂ | |
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.