Nebuchadnezzar II 016 (Q005487)
Royal Inscription, Neo-Babylonian, Babylon · c. 626 BCE–539 BCE
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| Designation | Nebuchadnezzar II 016 |
|---|---|
| ID | Q005487 |
| Collection | British Museum, London, UK |
| Language | Akkadian |
| Period | Neo-Babylonian · c. 626 BCE–539 BCE |
| Genre | Royal Inscription |
| Find spot | Babylon |
| Coordinates | 32.5434, 44.4222 |
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, heir of Nabopolassar, king of Babylon, am I. |
| Obverse Column i [5:19] i 66–i 1919 | In order to strengthen the protection of Esagil (so that) no evil doer and murderer can come near 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 raised its embankment(s) as high as a mountain with bitumen (and) baked brick. |
| Obverse Column i [19:24] i 2020–i 2424 | I constructed its broad gates, plated immense doors of cedar with bronze and fixed them (in those gates). |
| Obverse Column i [24:27] i 2525–i 2727 | I checked the outflow(s) of its water and built its embankments with bitumen and baked brick. |
| Obverse Column ii [0:16] ii 1ii 1–ii 1616 | So that no robber (or) sneak thief could enter the outflows of its water, I blocked its outflow(s) with shiny iron. I ...ed (it) with crossbars and ... of iron and reinforced its joint(s). I strengthened the protection of Esagil and Babylon and (thereby) established the lasting fame of my kingship. |
| Obverse Column ii [16:28] ii 1717–ii 2828 | O lord Marduk, look with favor upon my handiwork and give me as a gift a long life. Whenever (I am in) battle and war, O Marduk, be the helper upon whom I can rely. May your fierce weapons, which cannot be withstood, go at my side to cut down my enemies. |
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 | ša ma-na-a-ma šar ma-ah-⸢ri⸣ | |
| 11 | la i-pu₂-šu | |
| 12 | BAD₃ da-num₂ in ka-ma-at ba-bi-lam{ki} | |
| 13 | BA.LA.RI {d}UTU.E₃ {d}UTU.E₃ | |
| 14 | ba-bi-lam{ki} u₂-ša-as₃-hi-ir | |
| 15 | hi-ri-su ah-⸢re-e-ma⸣ | |
| 16 | ki-bi₂-ir₄-ša in ku-⸢up⸣-[ri] | |
| 17 | u₃ a₃-gu-ur₂-ru | |
| 18 | u₂-za-aq-qi₂-ir₄ | |
| 19 | hu-ur₂-sa-ni-iš | |
| 20 | KA₂.GAL.KA₂.GAL-šu ša-ad-⸢la-a-ti⸣ | |
| 21 | u₂-ra-ak-ki-is-⸢ma⸣ | |
| 22 | da-la-a-ti e-re-nim ṣi-⸢ra-a⸣-ti | |
| 23 | si₃-pa-ar-ri u₂-ha-al-li-ip-ma | |
| 24 | u₂-ra-at-ti-ši-na-a-ti | |
| 25 | {id₂}mu-ṣi me-e-šu as₃-ni-⸢iq⸣-ma | |
| 26 | in ku-up-ri u₃ ⸢a₃-gu⸣-ur₂-ru | |
| 27 | ab-na-a su-⸢uk⸣-ki-šu | |
| ii | ||
| 1 | aš-šum in {id₂}mu-ṣe-e me-e-⸢ša⸣ | |
| 2 | ha-ab-ba-a-tim | |
| 3 | mu-ut-ta-ha-⸢li-lum⸣ | |
| 4 | la e-re-⸢bi⸣ | |
| 5 | in pa-ar-zi-il-lum e-⸢lu₄-tim⸣ | |
| 6 | aṣ₃-ba-at mu-ṣa-a-⸢ša⸣ | |
| 7 | in hu-qu gu-ul-la-a-⸢tim⸣ | |
| 8 | pa-ar-zi-il-⸢lum⸣ | |
| 9 | u₂-uš-ši-im-⸢ma⸣ | |
| 10 | u₂-uš-ši-iṭ ri-ki-is-⸢sa⸣ | |
| 11 | ma-aṣ-ṣa-ar-ti e₂-sag-⸢il₂⸣ | |
| 12 | u₃ ba-bi-lam{⸢ki⸣} | |
| 13 | u₂-da-an-ni-in-⸢ma⸣ | |
| 14 | šu-ma-am da-ri₂-a-am | |
| 15 | ša šar-ru₄-⸢ti-ia⸣ | |
| 16 | lu aš-ta-ak-ka-an | |
| 17 | {d}AMAR.UTU be₂-e-⸢la⸣ | |
| 18 | ⸢li⸣-pi₂-it qa₂-ti-⸢ia⸣ | |
| 19 | a-na da-mi-iq-⸢tim⸣ | |
| 20 | na-ap-li-is-⸢ma⸣ | |
| 21 | ba-la-ṭam da-ri₂-a-⸢am⸣ | |
| 22 | a-na ši-ri-ik-⸢ti⸣ šu-⸢ur₂-kam⸣ | |
| 23 | e-ma qa₂-ab-lam u₃ ⸢ta-ha-zi⸣ | |
| 24 | lu re-ṣi tu-kul₂-ti-⸢ia⸣ | |
| 25 | {d}⸢AMAR.UTU⸣ at-ta-⸢ma⸣ | |
| 26 | ⸢ka-ak-ki-ka⸣ e-ez-zu-⸢tim⸣ | |
| 27 | ⸢ša⸣ la im-ma-ah-⸢ha-ru⸣ | |
| 28 | a-na šu-um-qu₂-ut na-ki-⸢ri-ia⸣ | |
| 29 | ⸢li-il-li⸣-ku i-da-a-a | |
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.