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Sargon II 041 (Q006522)

Royal Inscription, Neo-Assyrian, Khorsabad (Dur-Šarrukin) · c. 911 BCE–612 BCE

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DesignationSargon II 041
IDQ006522
CollectionOriental Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA; Iraq Museum, Baghdad, Iraq; British Museum, London, UK; Louvre Museum, Paris, France; unlocated; Oriental Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA; British Museum, London, UK; Louvre Museum, Paris, France; Oriental Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA; Iraq Museum, Baghdad, Iraq
LanguageAkkadian
PeriodNeo-Assyrian · c. 911 BCE–612 BCE
GenreRoyal Inscription
Find spotKhorsabad (Dur-Šarrukin)
Coordinates36.5100, 43.2283

English translation

By ORACC project rinap/scores · Via Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus (ORACC) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (ORACC)

LineEnglish
Obverse [0:1] 11–11Palace of Sargon (II), appointee of the god Enlil, nešakku-priest of (the god) Aššur, strong king, king of the world, king of Assyria, king of the four quarters (of the world), favorite of the great gods;
Obverse [1:7] 22–77who (re)-established the šubarrû-privileges of (the cities) Sippar, Nippur, (and) Babylon, (and) protects the weak among them (lit.: “their weak ones”); who provides food for the destitute (and) made restitution for the wrongful damage suffered by them; who (re)established (5) the privileged status of (the city) Baltil (Aššur) that had lapsed, who abolished corvée duty for (the city) Dēr (and) gave relief to their weary people; (most) capable of all rulers, who extended his protection over the city Ḫarrān and recorded its exemption (from obligations) as if (its people were) people of the gods Anu (and) Dagān;
Obverse [7:12] 88–1212the king, who since the (first) day of his reign, has had no equal and has met no one who could overpower (him) in war or battle; (10) (who) smashed all (enemy) lands as if (they were) pots and put halters on (all) rebels in the four (quarters of the world); (who) set eunuchs of his as governors over them and imposed upon them (the same) tribute (and) payment(s) as if (they were) Assyrians.
Obverse [12:16] 1313–1616With my wide knowledge and broad intelligence that the god Ea (and) the goddess Bēlet-ilī had made greater than those of the kings, my ancestors, (15) (and) in accordance with my heart’s desire, I built a city at the foot of Mount Muṣri, a mountain on the outskirts of Nineveh, and I named it Dūr-Šarrukīn.
Obverse [16:17] 1717–1717I had firmly-founded daises skillfully built inside it for the gods Ea, Sîn, Šamaš, Adad, and Ninurta.
Obverse [17:25] 1818–2525I built a palace using (lit.: “of”) elephant ivory, ebony, boxwood, musukkannu-wood, cedar, cypress, daprānu-juniper, juniper, (and) terebinth (20) to be my royal residence; I fashioned a bīt ḫilāni, a replica of a Hittite palace, at their gates and roofed them with beams of cedar (and) cypress. I erected at their entrances animals made of shining stone in the image of creatures of the mountain and sea and installed doors of cypress (and) musukkannu-wood in their gates. I made its wall as secure as a mountain massif (25) and settled there people of the lands that I had conquered — as many as the god Šamaš shepherded.
Obverse [25:28] 2626–2828The great gods who dwell in heaven (and) netherworld, and the gods who dwell in this city, have granted me the eternal (privilege of) building (this) city (and) growing old in it.

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)

LineATFMachine English (draft)
1E₂.GAL {m}MAN-GI.NA GAR {d}BAD NU.EŠ₃ aš-šur MAN dan-nu MAN ŠU₂ MAN KUR aš-šur{ki}
2MAN kib-rat LIMMU₂-i mi-gir DINGIR.MEŠ GAL.MEŠ ša₂-kin šu-ba-re-e
3ZIMBIR{ki} NIBRU{ki} KA₂.DINGIR.RA{ki} ḫa-a-tin en-šu-te-šu₂-nu
4e-pir a-ke-e mu-šal-li-mu ḫi-bil₂-ti-šu₂-un ka-ṣir
5ki-din-nu-ut bal-til{ki} ba-ṭi-il-tu mu-ša₂-aš₂-ši-ik tup-šik-ki
6BAD₃.AN{ki} mu-šap-ši-ḫu UN.MEŠ-šu₂-un an-ḫa-a-ti le-ʾi DU₃ mal-ki
7ša₂ UGU {uru}ḫar-ra-na AN.DUL₃-la-šu₂ it-ru-ṣu-ma ki-i ṣa-ab {d}a-nim
8{d}da-gan iš-ṭu-ru za-kut-su MAN ša₂ ul-tu u₄-mi be-lu-ti-šu₂
9gaba-ra-a-šu₂ la ib-šu-ma i-na qab-li u₃ ta-ḫa-zi la e-mu-ru
10mu-ne₂-ḫu KUR.KUR DU₃-ši-na ki-ma ḫaṣ-bat-ti u₂-daq-qi-qu-ma ḫa-am-ma-mi
11ša₂ ar-ba-ʾi id-du-u₂ ṣer-re-e-ti {lu₂}šu-ut SAG.MEŠ-šu₂ {lu₂}GAR-nu-ti
12UGU-šu₂-nu iš-tak-ka-nu-ma bil₂-tu ma-da-at-tu₂ ki-i ša₂ aš₂-šu-ri
13e-mid-su-nu-ti i-na me₂-re-ši-ia DAGAL u₃ ḫi-is-sa-at GEŠTU.II-ia
14pal-ka-a-ti ša₂ {d}e₂-a {d}be-let-DINGIR.MEŠ UGU MAN.MEŠ-ni AD.MEŠ-ia
15u₂-ša₂-te-ru ḫa-sis-si i-na bi-bil₂ lib₃-bi-ia i-na GIR₃.II {kur}mu-uṣ-ri KUR-i
16i-na re-bit NINA{ki} URU e-pu-uš-ma {uru}BAD₃-{m}MAN-GIN MU-šu₂ ab-bi
17pa-rak-ki ra-aš₂-du-ti a-na {d}e₂-a {d}30 {d}UTU {d}IŠKUR u₃ {d}nin-urta
18i-na qer-bi-šu₂ nak-liš u₂-šab-ni-ma E₂.GAL ZU₂ AM.SI {giš}ESI {giš}TUG₂
19{giš}MES.MA₂.KAN.NA {giš}ere-IGI {giš}ŠUR.MIN₃ {giš}dap₂-ra-ni {giš}LI {giš}bu-uṭ-ni
20a-na mu-šab MAN-ti-ia ab-ni-ma E₂ ḫi-la-an-ni tam-šil E₂.GAL {kur}ḫat-ti
21i-na KA₂.MEŠ-šin ap-ti-iq-ma GIŠ.UR₃.MEŠ {giš}ere-IGI {giš}ŠUR.MIN₃ u₂-kin
22ṣe-e-ru-šin e-ma-am-mi tam-šil bi-nu-ut KUR-i u₃ tam-tim ša₂ NA₄ BABBAR-e
23i-na ne₂-re-be₂-ti-ši-na ul-ziz-ma {giš}IG.MEŠ {giš}ŠUR.MIN₃ {giš}MES.MA₂.KAN.NA
24u₂-rat-ta-a KA₂.MEŠ-šin BAD₃-šu₂ ki-ma ki-iṣ-rat KUR-i
25u₂-šar-šid-ma UN.MEŠ KUR.KUR mal {d}UTU ir-te-ʾu-u₂ ki-šit-ti
26ŠU.II-ia i-na lib₃-bi u₂-še-šib DINGIR.MEŠ GAL.MEŠ a-ši-bu-ut AN-e
27KI-tim u₃ DINGIR.MEŠ a-ši-bu-ut URU ša₂-a-šu₂ e-peš URU
28šul-bur qer-bi-šu₂ iš-ru-ku-in-ni a-na da-riš

Sources & licences

Cite the original edition and translator. Page generated by Unread Atlas from the public corpus export of 2026-10-11.