Sargon II 086 (Q006567)
Royal Inscription, Neo-Assyrian, Kuyunjik (Nineveh) · c. 911 BCE–612 BCE
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| Designation | Sargon II 086 |
|---|---|
| ID | Q006567 |
| Collection | British Museum, London, UK |
| Language | Akkadian |
| Period | Neo-Assyrian · c. 911 BCE–612 BCE |
| Genre | Royal Inscription |
| Find spot | Kuyunjik (Nineveh) |
| Coordinates | 36.3587, 43.1519 |
English translation
By ORACC project rinap/rinap2 · Via Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus (ORACC) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (ORACC)
| Line | English |
|---|---|
| Obverse [0:6] 1'1'–6'6' | [I mustered the numerous troops of (the god) Aššur and crossed the Tigris (and) Euphrates Rivers, as well as in]numerable small [stream]s. [Like the Deluge, I overwhelmed the Chaldeans to their (lit.: its) full extent. In the face of my advance (lit.: “before me”), Marduk-apla-iddina (II) (Merodach-Baladan)] gathered together [the inhabitants of his cities (lit.: “his inhabited cities”) and the gods dwelling in them], and [brought (them) in]t[o the city Dūr-Yakīn. He strengthened its enclosure walls (and), moving back a distance of ten nindanu from in front of its main wall], he made [a moat two hundred cubits wide]; he [made (the moat)] one and a half nindanu [deep and reached ground water. He cut a channel from the Euphrates River, (thereby) making (its water) flow (in)to it]s [meadowland. He flooded] its fields, where battles (are fought), [and made crossing difficult. Together with his allies (and) his battle troops, he pitched his] royal tent [in a bend of the river (lit.: “between rivers”) lik]e a crane [and assembled his (military) camp]. |
| Obverse [6:9] 7'7'–9'9' | [At the command of the gods Aššur, Nabû, (and) Marduk, I had a causeway] constructed (lit.: “trodden down”) [across his canals] and [I caught] him, together with [his] fight[ing men, like a flying eagle in a net]. I spread out like malt (spread for drying) [the corpses of his vanguard and of the Aḫlamû, the people of the steppe who go at] his [side], and [I filled] the surroundi[ngs of his city (with them). ... together with the settlements in] their [en]virons, I turned into (ruin) mounds. [I carried off as booty at the same time (both)] the people — young (and) o[ld — who lived in the district and the gods who helped them; I did not allow a (single) person to escape]. |
| Obverse [9:14] 10'10'–14'14' | [(As for) the citizens of (the cities) Sippar, Nippur, Babylon, (and) Borsippa who through n]o fault of their own had been held captive in them, [I put an end to] their imprisonment [and let them see the light (of day). (With regard to) their fields, which long ago, while the land was in disorder], the Sutians had taken away and [appropriated] for their own — [I struck down (those) Sutians, the people of the steppe, with the sword]. I restored [to their former status their territories, (whose boundaries)] had been forgotten (and) fallen into disuse during the troubled period in the land. I (re)-established the freedom (from obligations) [of (the cities) Ur, Uruk, Eridu, Larsa, Kullab, Kissik, (and)] Nēmed-Laguda. [Moreover, I returned their gods that had been carried off as booty to their cult centers and] I rest[ored] their [regular] offerings that had been discontinued. |
| Obverse [14:16] 15'15'–16'16' | [I restored the land Bīt-Yakīn and reorganized (its administration)]. I settled there [people from the land K]ummuḫu that I had conquered [and I had (them) occupy its (Bīt-Yakīn’s) abandoned regions. I divided up that land into equal parts and assigned (them) to the authority of a eunuch of mine, the governor of B]abylon, and a(nother) eunuch of mine, the [governor of the Gambulu (tribe)]. |
| Obverse [16:18] 17'17'–18'18' | [Happily, with a joyful heart (and) a radiant face, I] entered [Babylon, the cult center of the Enlil of the gods (Marduk); I grasped hold of] the hands of the gre[at] lord, [the god Marduk, and brought (him) safely along the road to the akītu-house. (With regard to) 154 talents, 26 minas, (and) 10 shekels of red gold, 1,604 talents (and) 20 minas of pure silver], copper [(and) iron in immeasurable quantities ...] |
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' | [...] x x [...] | |
| 2' | [... ID₂].MEŠ TUR.MEŠ la [mi-na ...] | |
| 3' | [...] ⸢u₂⸣-paḫ-ḫir-ma a-⸢na⸣ [...] | |
| 4' | [...] ⸢iš⸣-kun-ma 1 1/2 NINDA u₂-[šap-pil-ma ...] | |
| 5' | [... ta-mir]-⸢tuš⸣ A.GAR₃.MEŠ-šu₂ a-šar mit-ḫu-⸢ṣi⸣ [...] | |
| 6' | [... ki]-⸢ma⸣ {mušen}ku-me₂-e za-ra-tu LUGAL-⸢ti⸣-[šu₂ ...] | |
| 7' | [... u₂]-⸢šak⸣-bi-is-ma ša₂-a-šu₂ ga-du {lu₂}mun-⸢daḫ⸣-[ṣe-šu ...] | |
| 8' | [... i-de-e]-šu ki-ma ŠE.MUNU₆ aš₂-ṭe-e-ma i-ta-⸢at⸣ [...] | |
| 9' | [...] ⸢li⸣-mi-ti-šu₂-un ti-la-niš u₂-še-me UN.MEŠ ṣe-ḫer ⸢ra⸣-[bi ...] | |
| 10' | [...] ⸢la⸣ an-ni-šu₂-nu i-na qer-bi-šu₂-un ka-mu-u₂ ṣi-bit-ta-šu₂-⸢nu⸣ [...] | |
| 11' | [...] {⸢lu₂⸣}su-ti-i e-ki-mu-u₂-ma ra-ma-nu-uš-šu₂-un [...] | |
| 12' | [...] ma-⸢šu-u₂⸣-ti ša ina di-li-iḫ ma-a-ti ib-baṭ-lu u₂-⸢ter⸣ [...] | |
| 13' | [...] {uru}ne₂-med-{d}la-gu-da aš₂-ku-na an-du-ra-ar-[šu₂-un ...] | |
| 14' | [... sat]-⸢tuk⸣-ki-šu₂-nu ba-aṭ-lu-ti u₂-ter [...] | |
| 15' | [... UN.MEŠ {kur]}⸢kum₂⸣-mu-ḫi ki-šit-ti qa-ti-ia qe₂-reb-šu₂ u₂-šar-me-[ma ...] | |
| 16' | [...] ⸢KA₂.DINGIR.RA{ki⸣} u₃ {lu₂}šu-ut SAG-ia {lu₂}[GAR.KUR {lu₂}[GAR.KUR ...] | |
| 17' | [... e]-⸢ru⸣-um-ma ŠU.II EN ⸢GAL⸣-[i ...] | |
| 18' | [...] ⸢URUDU.ḪI.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.