Nebuchadnezzar II NeKA (Q005598)
Royal Inscription, Neo-Babylonian, Nahr el-Kelb · c. 626 BCE–539 BCE
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| Designation | Nebuchadnezzar II NeKA |
|---|---|
| ID | Q005598 |
| Collection | Arkeoloji Müzerleri, Istanbul, Turkey |
| Language | Akkadian |
| Period | Neo-Babylonian · c. 626 BCE–539 BCE |
| Genre | Royal Inscription |
| Find spot | Nahr el-Kelb |
| Coordinates | 33.9561, 35.5989 |
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 [0:9] i' 1'1'–i' 9'9' | I surrounded [Babylon, with a great wall facing towards the e]ast at a distance of [not] less than 4,000] ground [cubits] [from the bank of the Eu]phrates above the city [to the bank of the Eu]phrates below the city. I dug its [foundation ditch], I bounded its [embankment] with bitumen [and] baked brick. |
| Obverse Column i [9:14] i' 10'10'–i' 14'14' | I built at its side [a great wall, mountain high, w]ith bitumen and baked brick. I constructed its [gates] and I set [doors] of cedar wood [overlaid] with bronze. |
| Obverse Column i [14:22] i' 15'15'–i' 22'22' | [In] the borderline of Babylon, [from the Pro]cessional Way on the [banks] of the Euphrates, [as far] as Kish, over a distance of 4 2/3 bēru, I constructed [a great earth]work, and surrounded the city with [mighty wa]ters. [In order to] prevent dike breaks [therein], I bounded its banks [with] bitumen and baked brick. |
| Obverse Column i [22:27] i' 23'23'–i' 27'27' | A second time <in order to reinforce the defences of Babylon> [I constructed a great earthwork] over a distance of [5 bē]ru above Upe as far as Sippar, [from] the bank of the Tigris, [to] the bank of the Euphrates [...]. |
| Obverse Column ii [0:4] ii' 1'1'–ii' 4'4' | [the best] of eve[ry good thing]: a prize bull, [uncastrated]; [(rams) good specimens] of the zuluḫḫû-breed; pasillu-sheep; fat-[tailed] sheep; |
| Obverse Column ii [4:9] ii' 5'5'–ii' 9'9' | a string of fish from the apsû; birds of heaven; geese; ducks; marratu-birds; turtledoves]; voles/bandicoot rat; eggs, the pride of the marsh; |
| Obverse Column ii [9:15] ii' 10'10'–ii' 15'15' | pro[fuse] vegetables, the delight of [the gar]den; rosy fruits, the bounty of the orchard; d[at]es; Dilmun-dates; [dried] fi[gs]; [rai]sins; |
| Obverse Column ii [15:22] ii' 16'16'–ii' 22'22' | [finest] beer-wort; honey; ghee; sweetmeat; milk; the best oil: abundance, plenty, the goodness of the lands; countless beer, wine as if water: |
| Obverse Column ii [22:24] ii' 23'23'–ii' 24'24' | yearly, I constantly passed across in front of them. |
| Obverse Column ii [24:27] ii' 25'25'–ii' 27'27' | I am Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, [the one who cons]tantly strives for the cities of [all the temples: I] am. |
| Obverse Column ii [27:29] ii' 28'28'–ii' 29'29' | To their important naming, [I am constantly reverential towards Nabû and] Marduk; [...] |
| Obverse Column ii [30:32] ii' 31'31'–ii' 32'32' | I put [my] heart to renew the [ci]ties of the great gods. |
| Obverse Column ii [32:35] ii' 33'33'–ii' 35'35' | For N[ergal, my lo]rd, the one who puts my en[emies in fetters], the [broad] doors of his temple, |
| Obverse Column ii [35:39] ii' 36'36'–ii' 39'39' | [...] 30 [...] east; [...] the 8th day [...]; |
| Obverse Column ii [41:44] ii' 42'42'–ii' 44'44' | (No translation possible) |
| Obverse Column iii [0:2] iii' 1'1'–iii' 2'2' | [I made anew] for Bēl-[ṣarbu, my lord, the Edur]gina [in Baṣ]. |
| Obverse Column iii [3:5] iii' 4'4'–iii' 5'5' | [I bui]lt for Uraš, [my lord], the E-[i]bbi-[Anu] in Dilbat [...]. |
| Obverse Column iii [5:8] iii' 6'6'–iii' 8'8' | [I made ane]w for Lugal-[Marad], my [lord], the Eigi[kalamma, his temple] in Mara[d]. |
| Obverse Column iii [8:12] iii' 9'9'–iii' 12'12' | [I made anew] for Ištar [of Uruk, my lady] the Eanna [in Uruk]. [For Uruk] and the Ea[nna, its temple], [I brought back Al]ad [and Lamma]. |
| Obverse Column iii [12:16] iii' 13'13'–iii' 16'16' | For Ištar of Ag[ade, the exalted lady, the one who s]ets [my enemies against each other], (15') [...] I made and (16') I made extend over it. |
| Obverse Column iii [16:18] iii' 17'17'–iii' 18'18' | [For Šamaš, the Ebab]bar [I bu]ilt [in Larsa]. |
| Obverse Column iii [18:21] iii' 19'19'–iii' 21'21' | [I made anew for Sîn], my [lord], the E[giš]nugal, [his] temple [in] U[r]. |
| Obverse Column iii [21:29] iii' 22'22'–iii' 29'29' | I built anew the cultic places of the [great] gods, who walk at [my si]de. (iii' 25') In joy and celebration, I built the dwelling places for the great gods who live inside of them. (May) the gre[at] gods look (at me)!, may they pray constantly [for my kingship!]. |
| Obverse Column iii [29:31] iii' 30'30'– | Ne[buchadnezzar ...] |
| Obverse Column iv [0:9] iv' 1'1'–iv' 9'9' | [...], Nebuchad[nezzar], the king of Babylon [...], the one who establishes firmly [...] in the lo[wer] sea, |
| Obverse Column iv [9:17] iv' 10'10'–iv' 17'17' | [...] that Mar[duk, my] lo[rd, entrusted me, ...], in al[l the lands ..., (iv 15') ..., the city of] Baby[lon...], to the roof [...] |
| Obverse Column iv [17:26] iv' 18'18'–iv' 26'26' | (No translation possible) |
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' | 4 LIM KUŠ₃] qaq-⸢qar⸣ | |
| 2' | [ne₂-si-iš] NU TE-e | |
| 3' | [iš-tu GU₂ pu₂]-ra-ti el URU | |
| 4' | [a-di GU₂ pu₂]-ra-ti ša₂-pal URU | |
| 5' | [BAD₃ da-num₂ BAL].RI {d}⸢UTU⸣.E₃ {d}⸢UTU⸣.E₃ | |
| 6' | [TIN.TIR]{ki} u₂-šal-me | |
| 7' | [hi-ri-is]-⸢su ah⸣-re-e-ma | |
| 8' | [ki-bi]-⸢ir⸣-šu₂ ina kup-ri | |
| 9' | [u₃] ⸢a⸣-gur-ri ak-ṣur-ma | |
| 10' | [BAD₃ da-num₂] ⸢ina⸣ kup-ru u a-gur-ri | |
| 11' | [ša-da-niš] ina GU₂-šu₂ ab-nim | |
| 12' | [KA₂.GAL].MEŠ-⸢šu₂⸣ u₂-[rak]-ki-is-ma | |
| 13' | {[giš}IG].MEŠ {giš}EREN ZABAR | |
| 14' | [u₂-hal-lip]-ma er-te-te-ši-na-ti | |
| 15' | [i-na] ki-sur-re-e ba-⸢bi-lu⸣{ki} | |
| 16' | [iš-tu ma]-⸢aš⸣-da-hu ša₂ [GU₂] pu₂-ra-ti | |
| 17' | [a-di] ⸢qe₂⸣-reb ⸢kiš⸣{ki} 4 2/3 KASKAL.GID₂ A.ŠA₃ | |
| 18' | [ši-pi₂-ik e]-⸢pe⸣-ri aš-⸢tap⸣-pak-ma | |
| 19' | [mi-li me]-⸢e⸣ URU uš-tal-me | |
| 20' | [aš-šum] bu-<tuq>-ti <qe₂-er-ba-šu> [la] šub-ši-i | |
| 21' | [i-na] kup-ru u a-gur-ri | |
| 22' | [ki]-bi-ir-šu₂-nu ak-ṣur <a-na ma-aṣ-ṣar-ti TIN.TIR{ki} du-un-nu-nim> | |
| 23' | [aš]-ni-ma el UH₂{ki} | |
| 24' | a-di ZIMBIR{⸢ki⸣} | |
| 25' | [iš-tu] GU₂ {id₂}IDIGNA | |
| 26' | [a-di] GU₂ pu₂-ra-ti | |
| 27' | 5 KASKAL].⸢GID₂⸣ A.ŠA₃ | |
| 28' | [...] | |
| 29' | [...] | |
| 30' | [...] | |
| ii' | ||
| 1' | [SAG] ⸢mim⸣-[me₂-e-a da-am-qa₂] | |
| 2' | ⸢GU₄⸣.MAH [ŠU.DU₇] | |
| 3' | zu-lu-he-e [SIG₅-ti] | |
| 4' | pa-si-lu gu-[uk-ka-al]-lu | |
| 5' | is-ih KU₆ [ap]-si-[i] | |
| 6' | MUŠEN ša₂-⸢me-e⸣ [kur]-ku₈ | |
| 7' | ⸢UZ⸣.[TUR{mušen]} | |
| 8' | ŠEŠ{mušen} [TU.KUR₄{mušen]} | |
| 9' | u₂-šum-[mi] ⸢NUNUZ⸣ [si-mat ap-pa-ri] | |
| 10' | ar₂-qa de-[šu-ti] | |
| 11' | la₂-la₂-a ⸢mu⸣-[sa]-⸢re⸣-[e] | |
| 12' | in-ba ru-šu₂-ti | |
| 13' | šu₂-mu-⸢uh⸣ ṣip-pa-ti | |
| 14' | ⸢ZU₂.LUM.MA⸣ as₃-ne₂-e | |
| 15' | {giš}⸢PEŠ₃⸣ [HAD₂.A {giš]}⸢GEŠTIN⸣ HAD₂.A | |
| 16' | {kaš}DIDA [SIG₅]-⸢ti⸣ | |
| 17' | LAL₃ I₃.NUN mu-ut-ta-⸢qu₂⸣ | |
| 18' | ši-iz-⸢bi⸣ ul ša₂-am-nu | |
| 19' | ⸢ṭuh⸣-di ⸢HE₂.GAL₂⸣.[LA] | |
| 20' | du-muq ⸢ma⸣-[ti]-⸢tan⸣ | |
| 21' | se-e-ra-⸢aš la⸣ ni-⸢bi⸣ | |
| 22' | ma-miš₂ {giš}GEŠTIN | |
| 23' | šat-ti-ša₂-am ina IGI-šu₂-⸢ni⸣ | |
| 24' | e-te-et-ti-iq | |
| 25' | {d}MUATI-NIG₂.DU-u₂-ṣu-ur₂ | |
| 26' | MAN ba-bi-lu{ki} ⸢mu⸣-[uš]-⸢te⸣-um | |
| 27' | ma-ha-[zi] ša₂ [gi-mi-ir E₂.KUR.RA a-na]-ku | |
| 28' | ana zi-ki-ir-⸢šu₂-nu⸣ kab-ti | |
| 29' | ⸢pi⸣-[it-lu-ha-ak {d}AG u₃] {d}⸢AMAR⸣.UTU | |
| 30' | ⸢ŠEŠ⸣ [...] ⸢TI ŠU⸣ | |
| 31' | ana te-diš-ti [URU].⸢URU⸣ DINGIR GAL.GAL | |
| 32' | na-⸢ša₂-an-ni⸣ [li]-ib-ba | |
| 33' | ana {d}⸢NE₃⸣.[ERI₁₁.GAL be]-li₂-[ia] | |
| 34' | ka-[su-u₂ i-di za-ʾi]-⸢i⸣-ri-ia | |
| 35' | {⸢giš}IG⸣.{[giš}IG KA₂] ⸢E₂⸣-šu₂ | |
| 36' | ⸢e₂⸣-[mes-lam ...] | |
| 37' | ⸢KU₃.BABBAR⸣ [eb-bi ...] x x [...] | |
| 38' | ⸢as₃⸣-ku-up-[pu ...] x x [...] | |
| 39' | AŠ PA [...] | |
| 40' | 30 PI I₃ [... {d]}UTU.E₃ {d]}UTU.E₃ | |
| 41' | x [...] x UD ME 8 x [...] | |
| 42' | [...] RI ŠA₂ e [...] | |
| 43' | [...] {d}UTU [...] | |
| 44' | [...] x [...] | |
| 45' | [...] | |
| iii' | ||
| 1' | ana {d}LUGAL-⸢ASAL₂⸣ [EN-ia] | |
| 2' | [e₂-dur₂]-gi-⸢na⸣ [i-na ba-aṣ]{⸢ki⸣} [e-eš-ši-iš e-pu-uš] | |
| 3' | [...] x x [x x] x [x x] | |
| 4' | ana {d}⸢uraš⸣ [EN-ia] ⸢e₂⸣-[i]-⸢bi₂⸣-{[d}a-num] | |
| 5' | [ina] dil-⸢bat⸣{ki} [ab]-ni-[ma] | |
| 6' | ⸢ana {d}lugal-mar₂⸣-[da be-li₂]-⸢ia₂⸣ | |
| 7' | ⸢e₂-igi-kalam⸣-[ma E₂-šu] | |
| 8' | ⸢ina⸣ mar₂-[da{ki} e-eš-ši-iš e-pu]-uš | |
| 9' | ana {d}INANNA [UNUG{ki} be-el-ti-ia] | |
| 10' | ⸢e₂-an-na⸣ [ina UNUG{ki} e-eš-ši-iš e-pu-uš] | |
| 11' | [ana UNUG{ki]} u e₂-⸢an⸣-[na E₂]-šu₂ | |
| 12' | {[d]}⸢ALAD⸣ [u {d}LAMMA u₂-te-er] | |
| 13' | ana {d}INANNA a-⸢ga⸣-[de₃{ki} ru-ba-ti ṣi-ir-ti] | |
| 14' | [mu-uš-te-ti]-⸢na⸣-[at na-ki-ri-ia] | |
| 15' | [...] x u₂-[še-piš]-ma | |
| 16' | ⸢u₂⸣-šat-ri-iṣ [e-li-šu] | |
| 17' | [ana {d}UTU e₂]-⸢babbar-ra⸣ [E₂-su] | |
| 18' | [i-na larsa{ki} ab]-ni-[ma] | |
| 19' | [ana {d}EN.ZU be-li₂]-⸢ia₂⸣ | |
| 20' | e₂-[giš]-⸢nu₁₁⸣-gal ⸢E₂⸣-[su] | |
| 21' | [ina] ⸢uri₂⸣{ki} [e-eš-ši-iš e-pu-uš] | |
| 22' | eš-⸢re-e⸣-[ti] DINGIR [GAL.GAL] | |
| 23' | a-li₂-[ku] i-[di-ia] | |
| 24' | eš-šiš [ab]-⸢nu-u₂⸣ | |
| 25' | DINGIR GAL.GAL a-ši-⸢ib⸣ lib₃-⸢bi-šu⸣-[nu] | |
| 26' | ina hi-da-a-ti [u] ⸢ri-ša⸣-ti | |
| 27' | šu₂-bat-⸢su⸣-nu ⸢ab-nim⸣ | |
| 28' | DINGIR GAL.[GAL] IGI.BAR-ma | |
| 29' | lik-⸢ta-ar⸣-ra-bu [a-na šar-ru-ti-ia] | |
| 30' | {d}⸢AG⸣-[ku-du-ur₂-ri-u₂-ṣu-ur₂] | |
| iv' | ||
| 1' | [...] x [x] x [...] | |
| 2' | [...] U₂ ŠAM [...] | |
| 3' | [...] ŠA₂ [x x] NA [...] | |
| 4' | [x] DA/IK HU be-lu-⸢ti⸣ | |
| 5' | [x] KI [x] U₂ ⸢ŠAR⸣ [...] | |
| 6' | {d}MUATI-NIG₂.DU-[u₂]-ṣur | |
| 7' | MAN ba-bi-lu{[ki]} | |
| 8' | mu-kin iš-di ⸢MA⸣.[DA] | |
| 9' | ⸢iš⸣-[tu] ti-amti ⸢ša⸣-[ap-li-ti] | |
| 10' | [...] x [x] x x x [...] | |
| 11' | x x KUR KA x [...] | |
| 12' | ša₂ {d}AMAR.[UTU] ⸢be⸣-[li₂ ...] | |
| 13' | x (x) x BE [...] | |
| 14' | ina kul-⸢la⸣-[at ...] | |
| 15' | x RI KA NI [...] | |
| 16' | [URU]{ki} ba-bi-lu{[ki} ...] | |
| 17' | a-na ṣu₂-lu-⸢li⸣ [...] | |
| 18' | [x] U₂ ŠE ME [...] | |
| 19' | x x ZA GAL.⸢MEŠ⸣ [...] | |
| 20' | x x ŠU₂ [...] | |
| 21' | [x x] x x [...] | |
| 22' | [...] x x [...] | |
| 23' | [...] AN [...] | |
| 24' | [...] NI [x] A | |
| 25' | [...] A A x | |
| 26' | [...] SAG [...] | |
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.