Nebuchadnezzar II 015 (Q005486)
Royal Inscription, Neo-Babylonian, Babylon · c. 626 BCE–539 BCE
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| Designation | Nebuchadnezzar II 015 |
|---|---|
| ID | Q005486 |
| Collection | Iraq Museum, Baghdad, Iraq; 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 [0:6] i 1i 1–i 66 | Nebuchadnezzar (II), king of Babylon, the true shepherd who provides for Esagil and Ezida, foremost heir of Nabopolassar, king of Babylon, am I. |
| Obverse Column i [6:13] i 77–i 1313 | From the Upper Sea to the Lower Sea, the god Marduk gave to me the shepherdship of the lands, all of them, (and) I established the city of Babylon as a fortress in the totality of all lands (and) every single inhabited settlement. |
| Obverse Column i [14:23] i 1414–i 2323 | In order to strengthen the protection of Esagil (so that) no evil doer and murderer can come near Babylon, I heaped up large earthworks from the border of Babylon to the interior of Kish (and) from the opposite side of Kish to Kār-Nergal, a distance of four and two-thirds leagues, and had the city surrounded with far-reaching water. |
| Obverse Column i [23:26] i 2424–i 2626 | In order to prevent dike breaks in them, I constructed their embankment(s) with bitumen and baked brick (to be) strong embankment(s). |
| Obverse Column i [26:33] i 2727– | Above Babylon, (on) the opposite side of Sippar of the god Šamaš, I regularly heaped up large earthen dikes from the bank of the Tigris River to the bank of the Euphrates River, a distance of five and leagues, and had the land for twenty leagues distance surrounded with far-reaching water, like the roiling sea (Tiāmat). |
| Obverse Column ii [4:8] ii 55–ii 88 | In order that those earthen dikes that I set up not be carried away by the battering of the furious waves, I constructed their embankment(s) with bitumen and baked brick (to be) strong embankment(s). |
| Obverse Column ii [8:14] ii 99–ii 1414 | I strengthened the protection of Esagil and Babylon and (thereby) established Babylon as a mountain of life for the people. I did not allow troublemaker(s) to prevent the people living inside it from pulling the chariot pole of the god Marduk, my lord. |
| Obverse Column ii [14:23] ii 1515–ii 2323 | O lord Marduk, look with favor and pleasure upon my deeds and give me as a gift a long life (and) the attainment of very old age. My lord, Marduk, (on) the day(s) that I lift up my (my) hands to you (in prayer), may your mighty weapons, which cannot be withstood, go at my side to cut down my enemies. |
| Obverse Column ii [23:31] ii 2424–ii 3131 | Whoever (you are) in the future, do not alter my work (and) do not change my handiwork. Constantly seek out the way(s) of the gods, be concerned with the strengthening of the protection of the city (Babylon), heap up a wall of earth, remove fallen bricks, surround the land on all sides with far-reaching water, be compassionate towards your land, (and) keep your great god safe. |
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 | LUGAL KA₂.DINGIR.RA{ki} | |
| 3 | re-e₂-a-um ki-i-nim | |
| 4 | za-ni-in e₂-sag-il₂ u₃ e₂-zi-da | |
| 5 | IBILA a-ša-re-du ša {d}na-bi-um-IBILA-u₂-ṣu-ur₂ | |
| 6 | LUGAL KA₂.DINGIR.RA{ki} a-na-ku | |
| 7 | iš-tu ti-a-am-tim e-li-tim | |
| 8 | a-di ti-a-am-tim ša-ap-li-tim | |
| 9 | MA.DA.MA.DA ka₃-la-ši-na | |
| 10 | ša {d}AMAR.UTU be-li₂ RE.E.UM-si-na ia-ti i-di₃-nam | |
| 11 | i-na ku-ul-la-at ma-ti-ta-an | |
| 12 | gi-mi-ir ka-al da-ad-mi | |
| 13 | URU{ki} KA₂.DINGIR.RA{ki} a-na ni-ṣi-ir-tim aš-ku-un | |
| 14 | aš-šum ma-aṣ-ṣa-ar-ti₃ e₂-sag-il₂ du-un-nu-nim | |
| 15 | le-em-num u₃ ša-ag-gi-šu | |
| 16 | a-na i-ta-a-at KA₂.DINGIR.RA{ki} la sa-na-qa₂ | |
| 17 | iš-tu pa-aṭ KA₂.DINGIR.RA{ki} | |
| 18 | a-di qe₂-re-eb kiš{ki} | |
| 19 | iš-tu me₂-eh-ra-at kiš{ki} | |
| 20 | a-di ka-a-ri {d}NE₃.ERI₁₁.GAL | |
| 21 | 4 2/3 KASKAL.GID₂ qa₂-qa₂-ri mi-ši-ih-tim | |
| 22 | ši-pi₂-ik SAHAR.HI.A ra-bi₂-u₃-tim aš-ta-ap-pa-ak-ma | |
| 23 | me₂-e da-nu₄-tim URU{ki} uš-ta-al-mi | |
| 24 | aš-šum bu-tu-uq-tim qe₂-er-ba-šu-un la šu-ub-ši-i | |
| 25 | ka-a-ri da-num₂ i-na ku-up-ri u₃ a-gur-ri | |
| 26 | ak-ṣu₂-ur₂ ki-bi-ir-šu-un | |
| 27 | e-la-an KA₂.DINGIR.RA{ki} me₂-he-ra-at ZIMBIR{ki} {d}UTU | |
| 28 | iš-tu GU₂ {id₂}IDIGNA a-di GU₂ {id₂}BURANUN{ki} | |
| ii | ||
| 1 | 5 KASKAL.GID₂ qa₂-qa₂-ri mi-ši-ih-tim | |
| 2 | ši-pi₂-ik SAHAR.HI.A ra-bi₂-u₃-tim aš-ta-ap-pa-ak-ma | |
| 3 | me₂-e da-nu₄-tim ki-ma gi-pi₂-iš ti-a-am-tim | |
| 4 | a-na 20 KASKAL.GID₂ qa₂-qa₂-ri MA.DA uš-ta-al-mi | |
| 5 | aš-šum i-na ta-ak-ki-ip-ti₃ a-ge-e me₂-e e-ez-zu-u₂-tim | |
| 6 | ši-pi₂-ik SAHAR.HI.A šu-nu-tim la nu-us-si-i | |
| 7 | ka-a-ri da-num₂ i-na ku-up-ri u₃ a-gur-ri | |
| 8 | ak-ṣu₂-ur₂ ki-bi-ir-šu-un | |
| 9 | ma-aṣ-ṣa-ar-ti₃ e₂-sag-il₂ u₃ KA₂.DINGIR.RA{ki} u₂-da-an-ni-in-ma | |
| 10 | a-na ša-di-im na-pi₂-iš-ti₃ ni-ši-ma | |
| 11 | KA₂.DINGIR.RA{ki} aš-ku-un | |
| 12 | ni-šim a-ši-ib li-ib-bi-šu | |
| 13 | a-na ša-da-du se₃-er-de-e {d}AMAR.UTU be-li-ia | |
| 14 | mu-ga-al-li-tim la u₂-ša-ar-ši | |
| 15 | {d}AMAR.UTU be-li₂ e-ep-še-e-tu-u₂-a a-na da-mi-iq-tim | |
| 16 | ha-di-iš na-ap-li-is-ma | |
| 17 | ba-la-ṭam da-ra-a | |
| 18 | še-be₂-e li-it-tu-u₂-tim | |
| 19 | a-na ši-ri-ik-tim šu-ur₂-kam | |
| 20 | u₄-um qa₂-ta a-na-aš-šu-ka be-li₂ {d}AMAR.UTU | |
| 21 | kak-ki-ka da-nu₄-tim ša la im-ma-ah-ha-ru | |
| 22 | a-na šu-um-qu₂-ut na-ki-ri-ia | |
| 23 | li-il-li-ku i-da-a-a | |
| 24 | ma-na-ma i-na a₃-ah-ra-a-tim | |
| 25 | e-ep-še-e-tu-u₂-a e te-e-ni | |
| 26 | li-pi₂-it qa₂-ti-ia e tu-na-ak-ki-ir | |
| 27 | a-la-ak-ti₃ i₃-li₂ ši-te-eʾ-e | |
| 28 | ma-aṣ-ṣa-ar-ti₃ URU{ki} du-un-nu-nim šu-du-ud li-ib-bu-um-ma | |
| 29 | se-er-hi SAHAR.HI.A šu-pu-uk mi-qi₂-it-ti₃ a-gur-ri šu-us-se₂-e | |
| 30 | me₂-e da-nu₄-tim šu-ta-as₃-hi-ir MA.DA | |
| 31 | ta-ga-am-mi-il MA.DA-ka tu-ša-al-la-am ra-ba DINGIR-ka | |
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.