Nebuchadnezzar II 027 (Q005498)
Royal Inscription, Neo-Babylonian, Babylon · c. 626 BCE–539 BCE
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| Designation | Nebuchadnezzar II 027 |
|---|---|
| ID | Q005498 |
| Collection | University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Louvre Museum, Paris, France; Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin, Germany; Iraq Museum, Baghdad, Iraq; Semitic Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA |
| 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 [0:15] i 1i 1–i 1515 | Nebuchadnezzar (II), king of Babylon, pious prince, favorite of the god Marduk, exalted ruler who is the beloved of the god Nabû, the one who deliberates (and) acquires wisdom, the one who constantly seeks out life, the pious (and) unceasing one, one who brings great gifts into Esagil, the wise (and) pious one who provides for Esagil and Ezida, foremost heir of Nabopolassar, king of Babylon, am I. |
| Obverse Column i [15:29] i 1616–i 2929 | When the god Marduk, the great lord, raised up my head (and) gave me a widespread people to shepherd, I myself was constantly present (and) incessant towards the god Marduk, my lord, (and) [I] constantly sought out the sanctuaries of the god Nabû, his (Marduk’s) true heir, the one who loves my royal majesty, (and) I [consta]ntly pondered about (things) [that] were pleasing to them. |
| Obverse Column i [29:42] i 3030–i 4242 | [At th]at time, I was attentive towards the god Marduk, the supreme one, the mighty one, the exalted one, the venerated [he]ro, [the one who directs] the assembly of [Ig]īgū [and Anun]nakū gods, the great …, the Enlil of the gods, the eminent one, the bright light, the glory of gods, his ancestors, the one who resides in Esagil, the lord of Babylon, the great lord, my lord. |
| Obverse Column ii [0:18] ii 1ii 1–ii 1818 | (As for) Etemenan[ki], the ziqqurrat of Babylon, whose emplacement Nabopolassar, the king of Babylon, the father who engendered me, had had purified through the craft of the exorcist, the wisdom of the gods Ea and Marduk, and whose foundation(s) he had firmly placed on the surface (lit. “breast”) of the netherworld, whose four walls he had raised thirty cubits on the outside with bitumen and baked brick, but whose superstructure he had not risen up (to its summit), I set to work raising the superstructure of Etemenanki to have (its summit) rival the heavens. |
| Obverse Column ii [18:44] ii 1919–ii 4444 | I mustered the widespread people whom the god Marduk, my lord, had entrusted to me (and) whom the hero, the god Šamaš, had given me to shepherd, all lands everywhere (and) every single inhabited settlement from the Upper Sea to the Lower Sea, far-off lands, the widespread people of the inhabited world, kings of remote mountains and distant islands that are in the Upper and Lower Seas, whose lead-rope(s) the god Marduk, my lord, placed in my hand to pull his chariot pole, and I imposed corvée-duty on the workmen of the gods Šamaš and Marduk to build Etemenanki. |
| Obverse Column ii [44:61] ii 4545– | (As for) Ur, Uruk, Larsa, Eridu, Kull[ab], Nēmed-[Laguda,] Ugar-Sîn, the entire land of the Lower Sea, from its upper most part to its lower most part, Nippur, Isin, Larak, Dilbat, Marad, Puqudu, Bīt-Dakkūri, Bīt-Amukāni, Bīt-Šillāni, Birāt[u], Dēr, Agade, Dūr-[Šarrukku], Arrapḫa, Laḫī[ru, ...], the entirety of the lands of Ak[kad and Assyria], |
| Obverse Column iii [5:29] iii 66–iii 2929 | kings of Across the Riv[er] (Syria-Palestine), provincial governors of the land of Ḫatti, from the Upper Sea to the Lower Sea, the land of Sumer and Akka[d], al[l of] the land of Subartu (Assyria), king(s) of remote islands that are in the midst of the Upper Sea, king(s) of remote islands that are in the midst of the Lower Sea, (and) governors of the land of Ḫatti, (who are) across the Euphrates River, to the West (lit. “entering of the sun”), dominion over whom I exercise by the word of the god Marduk, my lord, and who bring (beams of) hard cedar from Mount Lebanon to my city, Babylon, |
| Obverse Column iii [29:35] iii 3030–iii 3535 | the entirety of the widespread people of the inhabited world, whom the god Marduk, my lord, had given me, I had them undertake the work on building of Etemenanki and (thereby) imposed corvée-duty on them. |
| Obverse Column iii [35:48] iii 3636– | I filled in its base with a high thirty cubit infill. I plated thick (beams of) cedar (and) large (beams of) musukkannu-wood with bronze and had (them) set up in great numbers. For the god Marduk, my lord, I skillfully built a h[oly] shrine, a [well-adorned] bedroom, as (it was in) distant days, on its summit. |
| Obverse Column iv [9:29] iv 1010–iv 2929 | O Marduk, my lord, the majestic one of the gods, the noble one, by your command the cult centers of the gods are built, their (lit. “its”) brickwork is cut away so that the sukku-shrine will renew constantly renew itself (and) the temple will be completed. By your exalted word, which cannot be altered, may my gištaggû-offering(s) be perfectly executed, may my handiwork be completed, may everything that I have built endure and stay in good repair forever so that I may be sated with its luxuriousness. Like Etemenanki, firm establish the throne of my royal majesty for eternity (and) secure (it) for ever. |
| Obverse Column iv [29:41] iv 3030–iv 4141 | O Etemenanki, pray for me, Nebuchadnezzar (II), the king who renovated you. When I completed your construction by the commands of the god Marduk, [O house], speak favorably about (me) to the god Marduk, my lord. May I be stated with walking about in your presence (until) the attainment of very old age (and) may my descendants rule over the black-headed (people) forever. |
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 | ru-ba-a-am na-aʾ-dam | |
| 4 | mi-gi-ir {d}AMAR.UTU | |
| 5 | iš-ša-ak-kam ṣi-i-ri-im | |
| 6 | na-ra-am {d}na-bi-um | |
| 7 | mu-uš-ta-lam a-hi-iz ne-me-qi₂ | |
| 8 | mu-uš-te-eʾ-u₃ ba-la-ṭam | |
| 9 | na-aʾ-dam la mu-up-pa-ar-ku-u₃ | |
| 10 | ba-bi-⸢il⸣ i-gi-se-e ra-bi₂-u₃-tim | |
| 11 | a-na e₂-sag-il₂ | |
| 12 | ⸢e⸣-em-qa₂ mu-ut-ne₂-en-nu-u₂ | |
| 13 | za-ni-in e₂-sag-il₂ u₃ e₂-zi-da | |
| 14 | IBILA a-ša-re-dam ša {d}na-bi-um-IBILA-⸢u₂-ṣu-ur₂⸣ | |
| 15 | LUGAL KA₂.DINGIR.⸢RA{ki} a⸣-[na]-⸢ku⸣ | |
| 16 | i₃-nu-um {d}AMAR.UTU | |
| 17 | be-li₂ ra-bi₂-u₃ | |
| 18 | re-e-ši-ia u₂-ul-lu-u₃ | |
| 19 | ni-ši ra-ap-ša-a-tim | |
| 20 | a-na re-e₂-u₂-tim | |
| 21 | id-di-na-am | |
| 22 | a-na-ku a-na {d}AMAR.UTU be-li₂-ia | |
| 23 | ka-a-a-na-ku la ba-aṭ-la-ku | |
| 24 | a₃-aš-ra-at {d}na-bi-um | |
| 25 | a-pi₂-il-šu ki-i-nim | |
| 26 | na-ra-am šar-ru-ti-ia | |
| 27 | [aš]-⸢te-ne₂⸣-eʾ-a ka-a-a-nam | |
| 28 | [ša] ⸢e⸣-li-šu-nu ṭa-a-bu | |
| 29 | [qa₂-qa₂]-da-a a-ta-mu | |
| 30 | [i₃-nu]-mi-šu a-na {d}AMAR.UTU | |
| 31 | ⸢šu⸣-ur₂-bi-im | |
| 32 | ⸢da⸣-nim ṣi-ri-im | |
| 33 | [qar]-⸢ra⸣-du ka-ab-tu | |
| 34 | [a-šir] ⸢pu⸣-uh₂-ri | |
| 35 | {[d}i]-⸢gi₄⸣-gi₄ | |
| 36 | [u {d}a-nun]-⸢na⸣-ki | |
| 37 | x x (x) x ⸢ra-bu-tim⸣ | |
| 38 | {d}EN.LIL₂ DINGIR.DINGIR ti-iz-qa₃-ru | |
| 39 | nu-u₂-ru na-am-ri-im | |
| 40 | ta-aš-ri-ih-ti i₃-li₂ ab-be₂-e-šu | |
| 41 | a-ši-ib e₂-sag-il₂ EN KA₂.DINGIR.RA{ki} | |
| 42 | be-li₂ ra-bi₂-u₃ be-li₂-ia at-ta-ʾi-id-ma | |
| ii | ||
| 1 | e₂-temen-an-ki zi-qu₂-ur₂-ra-at KA₂.DINGIR.RA{ki} | |
| 2 | ša {d}na-bi-um-IBILA-u₂-ṣu-ur₂ | |
| 3 | LUGAL KA₂.DINGIR.RA{ki} a-bi ba-nu-u₂-a | |
| 4 | i-na ši-pi₂-ir KA.KU₃.GAL₂-u₂-tim | |
| 5 | ne₂-me-qi₂ {d}e₂-a u₃ {d}AMAR.UTU | |
| 6 | a₃-ša-ar-ša ul-li-lu-ma | |
| 7 | in i-ra-at ki-gal-lim | |
| 8 | u₂-ki-in-nu te-me-en-ša | |
| 9 | i-ga-ru-ša er-be-et-ti | |
| 10 | a-na ki-da-a-⸢ni⸣ | |
| 11 | i-na ESIR.UD.DU.A | |
| 12 | u₃ SIG₄.AL.UR₃.RA | |
| 13 | 30 KUŠ₃ u₂-za-aq-qi₂-ru-ma | |
| 14 | la u₂-ul-lu-u₃ re-e-ši-ša | |
| 15 | e₂-temen-an-ki a-na u₂-ul-li-im | |
| 16 | re-e-ši-ša ša-ma-mi | |
| 17 | a-na ši-it-nu-nim | |
| 18 | qa₂-tu₂ aš-ku-un-ma | |
| 19 | ni-ši ra-ap-ša-a-tim | |
| 20 | ša {d}AMAR.UTU be-li₂ | |
| 21 | ia-ti i-qi₂-pa-an-ni | |
| 22 | re-e₂-u₂-si₃-na id-di-nam | |
| 23 | qu₂-ra-dam {d}UTU-šum | |
| 24 | ku-ul-la-at ma-ti-ta-an | |
| 25 | gi-mi-ir ka-la da-ad-mi | |
| 26 | ul-tu ti-a-am-tim | |
| 27 | e-li-tim | |
| 28 | a-di ti-a-am-tim | |
| 29 | ša-ap-li-tim | |
| 30 | MA.DA.MA.DA ru-qa₂-a-tim | |
| 31 | ni-ši da-ad-mi ra-ap-ša-a-tim | |
| 32 | LUGAL.MEŠ ša-di-i ne-su-tim | |
| 33 | u₃ na-gi-i be₂-e-ru-tim | |
| 34 | ša qe₂-re-eb ti-a-am-tim | |
| 35 | e-li-tim | |
| 36 | u₃ ša-ap-li-tim | |
| 37 | ša {d}AMAR.UTU be-li₂ | |
| 38 | a-na ša-da-ad se-er-de-šu | |
| 39 | ṣe₂-ra-at-si-na | |
| 40 | u₂-ma-al-lu-u₃ qa₂-tu-u₂-a | |
| 41 | ad-ka-am-ma um-ma-na-at | |
| 42 | {d}UTU u₃ {d}AMAR.UTU | |
| 43 | i-na e-pe₂-šu e₂-temen-an-ki | |
| 44 | e-mi-id-su-nu-ti tu-up-ši-ik-ku | |
| 45 | uri₂{ki} UNUG{ki} larsa{ki} | |
| 46 | eridu{ki} ⸢kul-aba₄{ki⸣} | |
| 47 | {uru}ne₂-me₂-ed-{⸢d⸣}[la]-⸢gu⸣-da | |
| 48 | {kur}u₂-ga-ar-{⸢d⸣}EN.ZU | |
| 49 | na-ap-ha-⸢ar⸣ KUR ti-a-am-tim ša-ap-li-tim | |
| 50 | iš-tu re-e-ši-ša | |
| 51 | a-di iš-di-ša | |
| 52 | NIBRU{ki} i₃-si-in{ki} | |
| 53 | la-ra-ak{ki} dil-bat{ki} mar₂-⸢da⸣{[ki]} | |
| 54 | {kur}pu-qu-du {kur}⸢E₂-da⸣-[ku-ru] | |
| 55 | {kur}E₂-a-mu-ka-a-nim {kur}E₂-[si-la-a-nim] | |
| iii | ||
| 1 | {kur}bi-ra-⸢a⸣-[tim] | |
| 2 | BAD₃.DINGIR{ki} a-ga-de₃{⸢ki} {uru⸣}[BAD₃-20-GIN{ki]} | |
| 3 | {kur}ar-ra-ap-ha {kur}la-hi-[ri {kur}x x] | |
| 4 | na-ap-ha-ar KUR-ak-⸢ka⸣-[di-im] | |
| 5 | u₃ ⸢MA.DA⸣-{d}[aš-šur{ki]} | |
| 6 | LUGAL.MEŠ ša e-be₂-er-na-⸢a⸣-[ri] | |
| 7 | {lu₂}pi₂-ha-ta-a-⸢tim⸣ | |
| 8 | ša MA.DA-ha-at-tim | |
| 9 | iš-tu ti-a-am-tim e-li-tim | |
| 10 | a-di ti-a-am-tim ⸢ša⸣-ap-li-tim | |
| 11 | MA.DA-šu-me-ri u₃ ak-ka-di-im | |
| 12 | MA.⸢DA⸣-SU.BIR₄{ki} ⸢ka-la-ši⸣-[na] | |
| 13 | LUGAL na-gi-i ne-su-tim | |
| 14 | ša qe₂-re-eb ti-a-am-tim | |
| 15 | e-li-tim | |
| 16 | LUGAL na-gi-i ne-su-tim | |
| 17 | ša qe₂-re-eb ti-a-am-tim | |
| 18 | ša-ap-li-tim | |
| 19 | GIR₃.NITA₂.GIR₃.NITA₂ | |
| 20 | MA.DA-ha-at-tim | |
| 21 | ne₂-be₂-er-ti {id₂}BURANUN{ki} | |
| 22 | a-na e-re-eb {d}UTU-ši | |
| 23 | ša i-na a-ma-at | |
| 24 | {d}AMAR.UTU be-li₂-ia | |
| 25 | be-lu-ut-su-nu a-be₂-lu-ma | |
| 26 | {giš}EREN.MEŠ da-nu₄-tim | |
| 27 | ul-tu {kur}la-ab-na-nim | |
| 28 | a-na URU-ia KA₂.DINGIR.RA{ki} | |
| 29 | i-ba-ab-ba-lu-nim | |
| 30 | na-ap-ha-ar ni-ši da-ad-mi | |
| 31 | ra-ap-ša-a-tim | |
| 32 | ša {d}AMAR.UTU be-li₂ ia-ti iš-ru-kam | |
| 33 | i-na e-pe₂-šu e₂-temen-an-ki | |
| 34 | du-ul-lum u₂-ša-aṣ-bi-it-su-nu-ti-ma | |
| 35 | e-mi-id-su-nu-ti tu-up-ši-ik-ku | |
| 36 | i-ši-id-su 30 KUŠ₃ | |
| 37 | ta-am-la-a za-aq-ri-im u₂-ma-al-li | |
| 38 | {giš}EREN.MEŠ pa-ag-lu-tim | |
| 39 | {giš}MES.MA₂.KAN.NA ra-bi₂-u₃-tim | |
| 40 | ZABAR u₂-ha-al-li-ip-ma | |
| 41 | ⸢ma⸣-diš aš-⸢ta-ak⸣-ka-an | |
| 42 | x [...] uš-ši-šu | |
| 43 | [...] da-nu₄-tim | |
| 44 | [... u₂]-⸢ša⸣-al-bi-iš-ma | |
| 45 | [...] ⸢a⸣-na ši-i-pi₂ | |
| 46 | [... {giš}ta-al]-⸢lum⸣ giš-ka₂-na-ku | |
| 47 | [...] x LAL₂ | |
| 48 | [...] x ṣu₂-lu-lam | |
| 49 | [...] x x x-tim | |
| 50 | [...] x x | |
| 1' | [...] ⸢da⸣-num₂ pa-ar-zi-il-lam | |
| 2' | [u₂-ša-ar]-ši-id ri-ki-is-su-un | |
| 3' | [e₂]-⸢temen-an⸣-ki pi₂-ti-iq-ša ka-⸢la⸣-[mu] | |
| iv | ||
| 1 | [i-na ESIR.UD.DU].⸢A u₃⸣ SIG₄.⸢AL⸣.[UR₃.RA] | |
| 2 | [e-pu₂-uš u₂-ša-ak-li-il-ma] | |
| 3 | [...] | |
| 4 | ki-iṣ-ṣi-im e-[el-lu] | |
| 5 | ma-aš-ta-⸢ak⸣ ta-ak-ne₂-[e] | |
| 6 | ki-ma ša u₄-mi ul-lu-u₂-[tim] | |
| 7 | a-na {d}AMAR.UTU be-li₂-⸢ia⸣ | |
| 8 | i-na re-e-ši-šu | |
| 9 | na-ak-li-iš e-pu-uš | |
| 10 | {d}AMAR.UTU be-li₂ ša-ga-pu-ur₂ i₃-li₂ mu-ut-ta-al-lum | |
| 11 | i-na qi₂-bi-ti-ka | |
| 12 | ma-ha-zi i₃-li₂ ib-ba-an-ni | |
| 13 | ip-pa₂-at-ti-iq | |
| 14 | li-ib-na-at-sa | |
| 15 | u₂-ta-ad-da-aš su-uk-kam | |
| 16 | uš-ta-ak-la-al e₂-kur-ra | |
| 17 | i-na a-ma-ti-ka ṣi-ir-ti | |
| 18 | ša la i-šu-u₂ na-ka-ri | |
| 19 | li-iš-li-im-ma giš-tag-ga-a-a | |
| 20 | li-iš-ta-ak-li-il | |
| 21 | li-pi₂-it qa₂-ti-ia | |
| 22 | mi-im-mu-u₂ e-te-ep-pu-šu li-ku-un-ma | |
| 23 | ga-du ul-la li-bu-ur₂-ma | |
| 24 | la-la-a-šu lu-uš-bi | |
| 25 | ki-ma e₂-temen-an-ki | |
| 26 | ku-un-nu a-na ṣa-a-ti | |
| 27 | ku-us-si šar-ru-ti-ia | |
| 28 | šu-ur₂-ši-id | |
| 29 | a-na u₄-mi da-ri₂-u₂-ti | |
| 30 | e₂-temen-an-ki a-na ia-ti | |
| 31 | {d}na-bi-um-ku-du-ur₂-ri-u₂-ṣu-ur₂ | |
| 32 | LUGAL mu-ud-di-ši-ka ku-ur₂-ba | |
| 33 | ⸢e⸣-nu-ma i-na qi₂-bi₂-a-⸢ti⸣ {d}AMAR.UTU | |
| 34 | u₂-ša-ak-li-lu | |
| 35 | ši-pi₂-ir-⸢ka⸣ | |
| 36 | E₂ a-na {d}AMAR.UTU be-li₂-ia | |
| 37 | da-mi-iq-tim ti-iz-ka-ar | |
| 38 | ⸢ma⸣-ah-ri-ka a-ta-al-lu-ku lu-uš-bi | |
| 39 | ⸢še⸣-be₂-e li-it-tu-ti | |
| 40 | [li]-pu-u₂-a a-na da-ri₂-a-tim | |
| 41 | [ṣa-al]-ma-at qa₂-qa₂-di li-be₂-e-lu | |
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.