Ashurbanipal 223 (Q007631)
Royal Inscription, Neo-Assyrian, Kuyunjik (Nineveh) · c. 911 BCE–612 BCE
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| Designation | Ashurbanipal 223 |
|---|---|
| ID | Q007631 |
| 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/rinap5 · Via Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus (ORACC) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (ORACC)
| Line | English |
|---|---|
| Obverse Column iii [0:5] iii 36'36'–iii 40'40' | Wording (of the inscription) that was erased from the bed (and) the throne of the god Bēl (Marduk), which were deposited in the temple of (the god) Aššur, (and that of the inscription) written upon (them) in the name of Ashurbanipal. Simānu (III), the twenty-seventh day, eponymy of Awiānu (655), th[ey were returned t]o Ba[byl]on [(...)]. |
| Obverse Column iv [0:6] iv 1'1'–iv 6'6' | [...] ... [...] ... [..., O l]ord, being furious (and) relenting, [destroying (and) c]reating, (and) depopulating (and) (re)populating (regions) [are] in your hands. (iv 5´) (As for) Esagil, the terrifying cella, the seat of [your] supreme pow[er, you command]ed your beloved king to restore you[r] divine work. |
| Obverse Column iv [6:10] iv 7'7'–iv 10'10' | I, Ashurbanipal, king of Assyria, your pious servant; [son of E]sarhaddon, king of Assyria; (grand)son of Sennacherib, king of Assyria; [who reve]res the command of your great divinity, who is assiduous towards your places (of worship) and your daises, who carries out in full your cultic rites, (and) who placates your mood: |
| Obverse Column iv [10:19] iv 11'11'–iv 19'19' | I completed [Esa]gil. I decorated the replica of the apsû, the palace of your lordly majesty, with [g]old, making (it) shine like daylight. [I mad]e the exalted chariot of the king of the gods (Marduk), the vehicle of the lord of lords. [I skillfully made a bed of] [m]usukkannu-[woo]d, a durable wood, (as) a pleasure bed, (iv 15´) [that is c]lad with [pašallu-gold] (and) studded with precious stones, [...] whose sid[e]s are surrounded with [...] ... [...] it was truly set up [fo]r the god Marduk (and) the godde[ss Zarp]anītu, the de[ities who l]ove each other. [To preserve] my [li]fe (and) prolong my days, I presented (these objects) as a gift (to them). |
| Obverse Column iv [19:24] iv 20'20'–iv 24'24' | [When] they perform [the m]arriage rites (and) enter the house of lovemaking, may both gods speak about my [...] to each other, (and) may they bless my kingship [with] their holy [p]ronouncement(s), which cannot be altered. May they let me, the one who is assiduous towards their places (of worship), achieve my heart’s [d]esire. May they flatten my enemies (for me), the one who fulfills their heart’s wish. |
| Obverse Column iv [24:29] iv 25'25'–iv 29'29' | [(But) as for the one who] erases my inscribed name and writes his (own) name, (or) effaces (and) destroys [the m]ention of the king who is assiduous towards the sanctuaries of the god Marduk (and) the goddess Zarpanītu by any crafty device that there is, may the god Marduk, king of the gods, take away his libido (and) make his seed disappear, (and) may the goddess Zarpanītu speak evil about him in the bedroom, the (private) room of the head of the family. |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| iii | ||
| 36' | da-ba-bu ša₂ ina UGU {giš}NA₂ ša₂ ina UGU {giš}GU.ZA ša {d}EN | |
| 37' | ša₂ ina E₂ AN.ŠAR₂ kar-rat-u-ni pa-aš₂-šu-ṭu-u-ni | |
| 38' | MU ša₂ {m}AN.ŠAR₂-DU₃-A ina muḫ-ḫi ša₃-ṭir-u-ni | |
| 39' | {iti}SIG₄ UD.27.KAM lim-mu {m}a-u₂-ia-nu [a]-⸢na KA₂⸣.[DINGIR].⸢RA{ki⸣} | |
| 40' | [(...)] u₂-[ter-(ru)] | |
| iv | ||
| 1' | [...] x x [...] | |
| 2' | [...] x I BAL ⸢LU⸣ [...] | |
| 3' | [...] ⸢be⸣-lum e-ze-zu nap-šu₂-⸢ru⸣ x [...] | |
| 4' | [x (x)] ⸢ba⸣-nu-u šu-ud-du-u šu-šu-bu qa-tuk-⸢ka⸣ [ba-šu-u] | |
| 5' | ⸢e₂⸣-sag-il₂ ku-um-mu ra-aš₂-bu šu-bat {d}EN.⸢LIL₂-u₂⸣-[ti-ka] | |
| 6' | [taq]-⸢bi⸣ a-na LUGAL na-ram-i-ka ud-du-šu₂ šip-ri DINGIR-ti-⸢ka⸣ | |
| 7' | [a-na]-⸢ku⸣ {m}AN.ŠAR₂-DU₃-A MAN KUR aš-šur{ki} re-e-šu₂ mut-nen-nu-ka | |
| 8' | [DUMU {m]}⸢AN⸣.ŠAR₂-PAP-AŠ MAN KUR aš-šur{ki} DUMU {m}{d}30-PAP.MEŠ-SU MAN KUR aš-šur | |
| 9' | [pa]-⸢lih₃⸣ a-mat DINGIR-ti-ka GAL-ti muš-te-eʾ-u aš₂-re-e-ka | |
| 10' | ⸢u₃⸣ BARA₂.MEŠ-ka mu-šal-lim GARZA.MEŠ-ka mu-šap-ši-iḫ kab-<ta>-ti-ka | |
| 11' | [e₂]-⸢sag-il₂⸣ u₂-šak-lil GABA.RI ap-si-i E₂.GAL be-lu₄-ti-ka | |
| 12' | ⸢KU₃⸣.GI u₂-za-ʾi-in u₂-nam-mir GIM u₄-me | |
| 13' | [DU₃]-⸢uš⸣ {giš}GIGIR LUGAL DINGIR.MEŠ ṣir-tu₂ ru-kub EN EN.EN | |
| 14' | {[giš}NA₂] {⸢giš}MES⸣.MA₂.KAN.NA iṣ-ṣi da-re-e ma-a-a-al tak-ne₂-e | |
| 15' | [ša₂ pa-šal-lu] ⸢lit-bu-ša₂⸣-at NA₄.MEŠ ni-siq-ti za-aʾ-na-at | |
| 16' | [...] x ša₂ šu-us-ḫu-ra ⸢i-ta-tu-u-ša₂⸣ | |
| 17' | [...] x [...] x x | |
| 18' | [... a]-⸢na⸣ {d}⸢AMAR.UTU {d⸣}[zar]-⸢pa-ni⸣-tum ⸢DINGIR⸣.[MEŠ mur]-⸢ta⸣-me ke-⸢niš kun⸣-nat | |
| 19' | [a-na TIN] ⸢ZI⸣.MEŠ-ia GID₂ UD.MEŠ-ia a-na ši-rik-ti aš₂-⸢ruk⸣ | |
| 20' | [e-nu-ma] ⸢ḫa-ša₂⸣-du i-šak-ka-nu ir-ru-bu E₂ ru-ʾa-a-me | |
| 21' | [x x (x)]-ia a-na a-ḫa-meš liq-bu-u DINGIR.MEŠ ki-lal-la-an | |
| 22' | [ina] ⸢ṣi⸣-it pi-i-šu₂-nu KU₃ ša la KUR₂-ri lik-ru-bu LUGAL-ti | |
| 23' | ⸢ṣu⸣-me-rat ŠA₃-ia li-šak-ši-du-in-ni ša₂ aš₂-te-ʾa-a aš₂-ri-šu₂-un | |
| 24' | {[lu₂]}⸢KUR₂⸣.MEŠ-ia li-is-pu-nu ša₂ u₂-šal-li-mu bi-bil ŠA₃-šu₂-un | |
| 25' | [ša] ⸢šu⸣-mi₃ šaṭ-ru i-pa-aš₂-ši-ṭu-ma MU-šu₂ i-šaṭ-ṭa-ru | |
| 26' | ⸢zi⸣-kir LUGAL muš-te-eʾ-u aš₂-rat {d}AMAR.UTU {d}zar-pa-ni-tum | |
| 27' | ina mim-ma ši-pir ni-kil-ti ma-la ba-šu₂-u i-sa-pa-nu ib-ba-tu₂ | |
| 28' | {⸢d⸣}AMAR.UTU MAN DINGIR.MEŠ ni-iš ŠA₃-šu₂ le-e-ṭi-ir li-ḫal-liq NUMUN-šu₂ | |
| 29' | {d}zar-pa-ni-⸢tum⸣ ina ur-ši E₂ ḫa-am-mu-ti le-mut-ta-šu₂ lit-tas-qar | |
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.