Tukulti-Ninurta I 23 (Q005859)
Royal Inscription, Middle Assyrian, Tulul al-ʿAqir (Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta) · c. 1400 BCE–1000 BCE
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| Designation | Tukulti-Ninurta I 23 |
|---|---|
| ID | Q005859 |
| Collection | Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin, Germany |
| Language | Akkadian |
| Period | Middle Assyrian · c. 1400 BCE–1000 BCE |
| Genre | Royal Inscription |
| Find spot | Tulul al-ʿAqir (Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta) |
| Coordinates | 35.4964, 43.2686 |
English translation
By ORACC project riao · Via Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus (ORACC) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (ORACC)
| Line | English |
|---|---|
| Obverse [0:26] 11–2626 | Tukultī-Ninurta, king of the universe, strong king, king of Assyria, king of Sumer and Akkad, king of the four quarters, chosen of the gods Aššur and Šamaš, I, attentive prince, the king (who is) the choice of the god Enlil, the one who shepherded his land in green pastures with his beneficent staff, foremost purification priest, designate of the god Anu, the one who with his fierce valor subdued princes (and) all kings, faithful shepherd, desired of the god Ea, the one who has established in victory his names over the four quarters, exalted priest, loved one of the god Sîn, the one who properly administered peoples and habitations with his just scepter, valiant hero, creature of the god Adad who, during his period of sovereignty, made plenteous produce abundant, strong male, favorite of the god Ninurta, the one who controlled all quarters with his strong might, the capable, the ferocious, loved one of the goddess Ištar, who regularly received the tribute of the eastern and western lands; son of Shalmaneser (I), king of the universe, king of Assyria; son of Adad-nārārī (I) (who was) also king of the universe (and) king of Assyria: |
| Obverse [26:55] 2727–5555 | At the beginning of my sovereignty (lit. at the beginning of the throne of my sovereignty), at the beginning of my reign, I uprooted 28,800 Hittite people from Syria (lit. “Beyond the Euphrates”) and led (them) into my land. I conquered the lands of the Papḫu (and) Uqumanu as far as the lands Šarnida (and) Meḫru. Annually I regularly received the tribute of their lands and the produce of their mountains. (As) with a bridle I controlled the lands Katmuḫu, Buššu, Alzu, Madanu, Niḫanu, Alaia, Tepurzu, Purulumzu, (and) the entire land of the extensive Šubaru. I subdued at my feet the kings, their leaders, and imposed (upon them) corvée. With my surpassingly strong might I frequently traversed mighty mountains (and) extremely difficult ranges, the paths of which no other king knew. I cut into their mountains with copper picks (and) widened their impassable paths. I did battle with forty kings of the lands Nairi (and) brought about the defeat of their army. (Thus) I became lord of all their lands. I fastened bronze clasps to the necks of those same kings of the lands Nairi (and) brought them to Ekur, the great mountain, the temple of my support, into the presence of the god Aššur, my lord. I made them swear by the great gods of heaven (and) underworld (and) levied upon them tribute and impost forever. |
| Obverse [55:68] 5656–6868 | With the support of the gods Aššur, Enlil, and Šamaš, the great gods, my lords, (and) with the aid of the goddess Ištar, mistress of heaven (and) underworld, (who) marches at the fore of my army, I approached Kaštiliašu, king of Karduniaš (Babylonia), to do battle. I brought about the defeat of his army (and) felled his warriors. In the midst of that battle I captured Kaštiliašu, king of the Kassites, (and) bound I brought him as a captive into the presence of the god Aššur, my lord. (Thus) I became lord of Sumer and Akkad in its entirety. |
| Obverse [68:84] 6969–8484 | I brought under one command the lands Mari, Ḫana, Rapiqu, and the mountains of the Aḫlamu, the lands Ḫargamuš, Muqanaš, Bit-Makki, Bit-Qulla, Akriaš, Sikkuri, Ḫuzuš, Turnasuma, Ḫaššilluna, Šāda, Sappani, Turṣinuḫlia, Duri, Uzamiia, Ḫarnapḫi, Kurdišše, Ulaiaš, Ulmuiaš, Ḫussauš, Ezauš, Damnauš, Arinni, Birite, Arrapḫi, Kurbata, Agališna, Šadappa, Kamzikla, Kammaraš, Elurê, Kammenza, Albadâ, Sikapda, (and) Šabila. They regularly brought the tribute of their land and the produce of their mountains into my presence. |
| Obverse [84:87] 8585–8787 | The prince who accepts their gifts, the shepherd who has charge over them, and the herdsman who properly administers them, I: |
| Obverse [87:108] 8888–108108 | At that time the god Aššur, my lord, requested of me a cult center on the bank opposite my city, the desired object of the gods, and he commanded me to build his sanctuary. At the command of the god Aššur, the god who loves me, I built before my city, Aššur, a city for the god Aššur on the opposite bank, beside the Tigris, in uncultivated plains (and) meadows where there was neither house nor dwelling, where no ruin hills or rubble had accumulated, and no bricks had been laid. I called it Kār-Tukultī-Ninurta. I cut straight as a string through rocky terrain, I cleared a way through high difficult mountains with stone chisels, I cut a wide path for a stream which supports life in the land (and) which provides abundance, and I transformed the plains of my city into irrigated fields. I arranged for regular offerings to the god Aššur and the great gods, my lords, in perpetuity from the fish (lit. “produce”) of the water of that canal. |
| Obverse [108:118] 109109–118118 | At that time I built in my city, Kār-Tukultī-Ninurta, the cult center which I had constructed, a holy temple, an awesome sanctuary for the dwelling of the god Aššur, my lord. I called it Ekurmešarra. Inside it I completed a great ziggurrat as the cult platform of the god Aššur, my lord, and deposited my monumental inscriptions. |
| Obverse [118:124] 119119–124124 | May a later prince, when that ziggurrat and the temple of the god Aššur, my lord, become dilapidated, restore them. May he anoint with oil my monumental inscriptions, make sacrifices, (and) return (them) to their places. (Then) the gods Aššur, Enlil, and Šamaš will listen to his prayers. |
| Obverse [124:146] 125125–146146 | He who does not restore the ziggurrat and the temple of the god Aššur, my lord, but discards my monumental inscriptions and my inscribed name; destroys that ziggurrat by not looking after it, abandoning it, (and) not reconstructing it; conceives of anything injurious (and) puts it into effect to the disadvantage of that ziggurrat and the temple of the god Aššur, my lord: May the gods Aššur, Enlil, and Šamaš, the gods who support me, lead him into distressingly bad circumstances; wherever there is armed conflict may they smash his weapons, bring about the defeat of his army, hand him over to a king who is his enemy, and force him to dwell in captivity in the land of his enemies; may they overthrow his sovereignty (and) destroy his name and his seed from the land. |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | {m}{giš}tukul-ti-{d}nin-urta MAN KIŠ MAN dan-nu | |
| 2 | MAN KUR {d}aš-šur MAN KUR šu-me-ri u₃ ak-ka-di-i | |
| 3 | MAN kib-rat 4-i ni-šit {d}aš-šur | |
| 4 | u₃ {d}ša₂-maš a-na-ku NUN-u₂ na-a-du | |
| 5 | MAN ni-iš IGI.MEŠ {d}EN.LIL₂ | |
| 6 | ša₂ i-na šu-lum ši-be-er-šu | |
| 7 | ir-te-ʾ-u₂ a-bu-riš KUR-su | |
| 8 | i-ši-ip-pu re-eš₁₅-tu-u₂ | |
| 9 | ni-bit {d}a-nim ša₂ i-na me-ziz | |
| 10 | qar-ra-du-ti-šu u₂-še-ek-ni-šu | |
| 11 | NUN-e ka-al MAN.MEŠ re-iu-u₂ | |
| 12 | ki-i-nu me-re-eš₁₅ lib₃-bi {d}e₂-a | |
| 13 | ša₂ UGU kib-rat 4-ta il-tak₃-ka-nu | |
| 14 | MU.MEŠ-šu i-na li-i-ti SANGA-u₂ | |
| 15 | ṣi-ru na-mad {d}30 ša₂ i-na me-šer₃ {giš}GIDRU-šu | |
| 16 | ul-te-še-ru UN.MEŠ u₃ da-ad-mi | |
| 17 | ur-ša₂-nu qar-du li-pit qa-at {d}IŠKUR | |
| 18 | ša₂ i-na BALA.MEŠ MAN-ti-šu u₂-de-šu-u₂ | |
| 19 | nu-huš he-gal-li zi-ka-ru dan-nu | |
| 20 | mi-gir {d}nin-urta ša₂ i-na li-it kiš-šu-ti-šu₂ | |
| 21 | u₂-la-i-ṭu gi-me-er UB.MEŠ-ti | |
| 22 | le-e-u₂ ek-du na-mad {d}INANNA | |
| 23 | ša₂ GUN KUR.KUR ṣi-i-{d}UTU-ši | |
| 24 | u₃ ša₂-lam {d}UTU-ši im-da-ha-ru | |
| 25 | A {d}sal₂-ma-nu-SAG MAN KIŠ MAN KUR aš-šur | |
| 26 | A 10-ERIM.TAH₂ MAN KIŠ MAN KUR {d}aš-šur-ma | |
| 27 | i-na šur-ru {giš}GU.ZA MAN-ti-ia i-na mah-ri-i | |
| 28 | BALA-ia 8 ŠAR₂ ERIM.MEŠ {kur}ha-at-ti-i | |
| 29 | iš-tu e-ber-ti {id₂}pu-rat-te | |
| 30 | as-su-ha-ma a-na ŠA₃ KUR-ia u₂-ra-a | |
| 31 | {kur}pap-hi-i {kur}u₂-qu-ma-ni-i a-di {kur}šar-ni-da | |
| 32 | {kur}me-eh-ri qa-ti lu ik-šud | |
| 33 | GUN KUR.KUR-šu-nu u₃ hi-ṣi-ib hur-ša₂-ni-šu-nu | |
| 34 | MU-šam₃-ma lu am-da-har {kur}kat-mu-hi | |
| 35 | {kur}bu-uš-še {kur}al-zi {kur}ma-da-ni {kur}ni-ha-ni | |
| 36 | {kur}a-la-ia {kur}te-pur₁₃-zi {kur}pu-ru-lum-zi | |
| 37 | si-hir₂-ti {kur}šu-ba-ri-i DAGAL-ta i-na rap-pi | |
| 38 | lu-la-iṭ MAN.MEŠ ša₂-pi-ri-šu-nu a-na GIR₃.MEŠ-ia | |
| 39 | u₂-šek₂-niš₂ u₃ tup-ši-ka e-mi-id | |
| 40 | KUR.MEŠ-i dan-nu-ti ki-ṣir šap-ša₂-qi | |
| 41 | ša₂ MAN ia-um-ma ar-ha-te-šu-nu la i-du-u₂ | |
| 42 | i-na li-it kiš-šu-ti-ia šu-tur-ti | |
| 43 | i-te-ti-iq-ma hur-ša₂-ni-šu-nu | |
| 44 | i-na ak-kul₂-la-at e-ri-i lu-pe-ṣi-id | |
| 45 | ar-ha-te-šu-nu la pe-ta-te uš-pel₂-ki-ma | |
| 46 | it-ti 40-a MAN.MEŠ KUR.KUR na-i-ri | |
| 47 | i-na qe₂-reb ta-ha-zi lu am-da-ha-aṣ | |
| 48 | a-bi-ik-tu um-ma-na-te-šu-nu aš₂-ku-un | |
| 49 | kul₂-la-at KUR.KUR-šu-nu a-bel₂ MAN.MEŠ KUR.KUR na-i-ri | |
| 50 | ša₂-tu-nu i-na be-re-et ZABAR GU₂.MEŠ-šu-nu | |
| 51 | ar-pi-iq a-na e₂-kur KUR-i GAL-i | |
| 52 | E₂ tu-kul₂-ti-ia a-na ma-har {d}aš-šur | |
| 53 | EN-ia lu-bi-la-šu-nu-ti ni-iš DINGIR.MEŠ | |
| 54 | GAL.MEŠ ša₂ AN-e KI-ti u₂-tam-mi-šu-nu-ti | |
| 55 | GUN u₃ ta-mar-ta a-na u₄-um ṣa-a-ti | |
| 56 | UGU-šu-nu aš₂-ku-un i-na {giš}tukul-ti {d}aš-šur | |
| 57 | {d}BAD u₃ {d}ša₂-maš DINGIR.MEŠ GAL.MEŠ EN.MEŠ-ia | |
| 58 | i-na re-ṣu-ti ša₂ {d}INANNA NIN AN KI | |
| 59 | i-na pa-ni um-ma-na-te-ia il-li-ku | |
| 60 | it-ti {m}kaš-til-a-šu MAN {kur}kar-du-ni-aš | |
| 61 | a-na e-peš tuq-ma-ti as-ni-iq | |
| 62 | a-bi-ik-tu um-ma-na-te-šu aš-ku-un | |
| 63 | muq-tab-li-šu u₂-še-em-qit₂ | |
| 64 | i-na qe₂-reb tam-ha-ri ša₂-a-tu {m}kaš-til-a-šu | |
| 65 | MAN kaš-ši-i qa-ti ik-šud | |
| 66 | šal-lu-su u₃ ka-mu-su a-na ma-har {d}aš-šur | |
| 67 | EN-ia u₂-bi-la KUR šu-me-ri u₃ ak-ka-di-i | |
| 68 | a-na pa-aṭ gim-ri-ša₂ a-bel₂ | |
| 69 | {kur}ma-a-ri {kur}ha-na {kur}ra-pi-qu | |
| 70 | u₃ ša-da-an ah-la-mi-i {kur}HAR-ga-muš | |
| 71 | {kur}mu-qa-na-aš₂ {kur}E₂-ma-ak-ki {kur}E₂-qu-ul-la | |
| 72 | {kur}ak-ri-aš₂ {kur}si-ik-ku-ri {kur}hu-zu-uš | |
| 73 | {kur}tur-na-su-ma {kur}ha-aš₂-ši-lu-na {kur}ša₂-a-da | |
| 74 | {kur}sa-ap-pa-ni {kur}tur-ṣi-nu-uh-li-a {kur}du-ri | |
| 75 | {kur}u₂-za-mi-ia {kur}HAR-nap-hi {kur}kur-di-iš-še | |
| 76 | {kur}u₂-la-ia-aš₂ {kur}ul-mu-ia-⸢aš₂⸣ | |
| 77 | {kur}hu-us-sa-uš {kur}e-za-a-uš | |
| 78 | {kur}da-am-na-uš {kur}a-ri-in-ni | |
| 79 | {kur}bi-ri-te {kur}ar-rap-hi {kur}kur-ba-ta | |
| 80 | {kur}a-ga-liš-na {kur}ša₂-da-ap-pa {kur}kam₂-zi-ik-la | |
| 81 | {kur}kam₂-ma-ra-aš₂ {kur}e-lu-re-e {kur}kam₂-me₂-en-za | |
| 82 | {kur}al-ba-da-a {kur}si-kap-da {kur}ša₂-bi-la šu-nu | |
| 83 | pa-a 1-en lu ul-taš-kin₂-šu-nu GUN KUR.KUR-šu-nu | |
| 84 | u₃ hi-ṣi-ib hur-ša₂-ni-šu-nu a-na mah-ri-ia | |
| 85 | lu it-tar-ru-ni NUN-u₂ ma-hi-ir | |
| 86 | ṭa-te-šu-nu SIPA-u₂ pa-qi-su-nu | |
| 87 | u₃ UTUL mul-te-šir₃-šu-nu a-na-ku | |
| 88 | i-na u₄-mi-šu-ma e-ber-ti | |
| 89 | URU-ia URU ba-it DINGIR.MEŠ {d}aš-šur | |
| 90 | EN ma-ha-za i-ri-ša₂-ni-ma e-peš | |
| 91 | at-ma-ni-šu iq-ba-a a-na si-qir | |
| 92 | {d}aš-šur DINGIR ra-i-mi-ia mu-hur-ti | |
| 93 | URU-ia {d}aš-šur i-ta-at {id₂}{d}IDIGNA | |
| 94 | i-na na-me-e A.GAR₃.MEŠ ar-bu-ti | |
| 95 | a-šar E₂ u₃ šub-tu la ba-šu₂-u₂ | |
| 96 | ti-lu u₃ e-pe-ru la šap-ku-ma | |
| 97 | SIG₄.MEŠ la na-da-at URU {d}aš-šur | |
| 98 | i-na e-ber-ta-a-an lu e-puš₂ | |
| 99 | {uru}kar-{m}{giš}tukul-ti-{d}nin-urta MU-šu | |
| 100 | ab-bi aš₂-ri be-ru-ti ki-ma qe-e | |
| 101 | lu-se-lit pu-šuq hur-ša₂-ni ṣi-ru-ti | |
| 102 | i-na {na₄}pa-li-ši lu-še-ti-iq | |
| 103 | mi-ṭi₂-ir-ta mu-kin₂-na-at ZI-ti | |
| 104 | ma-a-ti a-bi-la-at nu-uh-ši | |
| 105 | uš-pel₂-ka-am-ma qar-bat URU-ia | |
| 106 | a-na tam-ki-ri lu aš-kun i-na hi-ṣi-ib | |
| 107 | A.MEŠ pa-at-ti šu-a-⸢ti gi⸣-na-a | |
| 108 | a-na {d}aš-šur u₃ DINGIR.⸢MEŠ⸣ [GAL].⸢MEŠ⸣ EN.MEŠ-ia | |
| 109 | da-riš lu ar-ku-us₂ i-na u₄-mi-šu-ma | |
| 110 | i-na URU-ia {uru}kar-{m}{giš}tukul-ti-{d}nin-urta | |
| 111 | ma-ha-az ab-nu-u₂ E₂ el-la | |
| 112 | at-ma-na ra-šub-ba a-na šu-bat | |
| 113 | {d}aš-šur EN-ia e-pu-uš | |
| 114 | e₂-kur-me-šar₂-ra MU-šu ab-bi | |
| 115 | i-na qer-bi-šu E₂ si-qur-ra-ta | |
| 116 | GAL-ta a-na ne₂-me-ed {d}aš-šur | |
| 117 | EN-ia u₂-še-ek-lil | |
| 118 | u₃ na-re-ia aš-ku-un | |
| 119 | NUN EGIR e-nu-ma E₂ si-qur-ra-tu | |
| 120 | ši-i u₃ E₂ {d}aš-šur EN-ia | |
| 121 | e-na-hu an-hu-su-nu lu-di-iš | |
| 122 | na-re-ia I₃ lip-šu-uš ni-qa-a | |
| 123 | liq-qi a-na aš-ri-šu-nu lu-ter | |
| 124 | {d}aš-šur {d}BAD u₃ {d}ša₂-maš ik-ri-be-šu | |
| 125 | i-še-em-mu-u₂ ša₂ an-hu-ut | |
| 126 | E₂ si-qur-ra-ti u₃ E₂ {d}aš-šur | |
| 127 | EN-ia la ud-da-šu-ma na-re-ia | |
| 128 | u₃ MU šaṭ-ra u₂-šam₃-sa-ku | |
| 129 | E₂ si-qur-ra-ta ša₂-a-ti | |
| 130 | i-na la a-ma-ri mu-uš-šu-ri | |
| 131 | u₃ la ke-še-ri i-a-ba-tu-ši | |
| 132 | mim₃-ma a-mat le-mut-te i-ha-sa-sa-ni | |
| 133 | a-na pa-ni E₂ si-qur-re-ti | |
| 134 | ša₂-a-ti u₃ a-na pa-ni E₂ {d}aš-šur | |
| 135 | EN-ia u₂-šap-ra-ku {d}aš-šur | |
| 136 | {d}BAD u₃ {d}ša₂-maš DINGIR.MEŠ | |
| 137 | tik-lu-ia i-na ta-ni-hi | |
| 138 | u₃ lu-mu-un lib₃-bi li-ir-te-du-uš | |
| 139 | e-em qa-ab-li u₃ ta-ha-zi | |
| 140 | {giš}TUKUL.MEŠ-šu lu-šab-be-ru | |
| 141 | a-bi-ik-tu ERIM.MEŠ-te-šu liš-ku-nu | |
| 142 | a-na ŠU MAN EN le-mut-ti-šu | |
| 143 | lu-me-el-lu-šu-ma i-na KUR KUR₂.MEŠ-šu | |
| 144 | ka-mi-iš lu-ša₂-ši-bu-uš | |
| 145 | MAN-su lis-ki-pu MU-šu u₃ NUMUN-šu | |
| 146 | i-na ma-a-ti lu-hal-li-qu |
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.