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Sargon II, appointee of the god Enlil, nešakku-priest of the god Aššur, governor appointed by the gods Nabû and Marduk, built the temple of the gods Nabû and Marduk, his lords, from its foundations to its crenellations for the sake of his life, the well-being of his offspring, the overthrow of this enemies, the success of the harvest of Assyria, and the well-being of Assyria. |
Sargon II, strong king, king of the world, king of Assyria, completely built the temple of the lord, the god Nabû, located inside the city of Nineveh from its foundations to its crenellations for the sake of ensuring his good health and and prolonging his life. |
To the god Nabû, his lord: Sargon II, king of Assyria, presented this object for the sake of his life. |
I threw him, together with his family, his wife, his sons, and his daughters, in iron fetters, and I brought them to Assyria. I set a eunuch of mine as provincial governor over the citizens of that city and made the city part of the territory of Assyria. |
Great gods, managers of heaven and netherworld, whose attack means battle and strife, who appoint rulers (raise the eyes) and name kings, and by whose holy command they place one land over another land and make its ruler greater than other rulers. |
Sargon II, great king, strong king, king of the world, king of Assyria, governor of Babylon, king of the land of Sumer and Akkad, king of the four quarters of the world, favorite of the great gods, |
I continually acted as provider for the cities Sippar, Nippur, and Babylon and I made restitution for the wrongful damage suffered by the people of privileged status, as many as there were of them; I abolished corvée duty for the cities Dēr, Ur, Uruk, Eridu, Larsa, Kullaba, Kissik, and Nēmed-Laguda and gave relief to their people. I restored the exemption from obligations of the city Baltil Aššur and the city Ḫarrān, which had fallen into oblivion in the distant past, and their privileged status that had lapsed. |
With the support of the great gods, I advanced and ruled the people from the Upper Sea to the Lower Sea as if they were one people. From Egypt to the land Musku, I made them bow down at my feet. I dispersed the forces of Ḫumbanigaš (Ḫumban-nikaš I), the Elamite. I destroyed the land Karalla, the land Šurda, the city Kišesim, the city Ḫarḫar, the land Media, and the land Ellipi; I did not spare any of their offspring. I settled in their midst people from the land Ḫatti Syria that I had conquered. I set eunuchs of mine as provincial governors over them and had them pull my yoke. I subjugated the lands Mannea, Andia, and Zikirtu. I counted as booty Urzana, king of the city Muṣaṣir, together with the people of his land and his deities Ḫaldi and Bagbartu. I had the people of the land Urarṭu, to its full extent, wield razors |
Like the Deluge, I overwhelmed the land Hamath to its full extent. I brought their king Iaū-biʾdī (Ilu-biʾdī) to Assyria in bondage, together with his family, his fighting men, and the booty of his land. I conscripted from among them 300 chariots, 600 cavalry, and shield and spear bearers, and I added them to my royal contingent. I settled 6,300 Assyrian criminals in the land Hamath; I set a eunuch of mine as provincial governor over them and imposed upon them the delivery of tribute and payments. |
Upēri, king of Dilmun, whose lair is situated at a distance of thirty leagues in the middle of the Eastern Sea, like that of a fish, heard of the might of the gods Aššur, Nabû, and Marduk and sent a message to do obeisance to me. |
Moreover, seven kings of the land Yāʾ, a region of the land Adnana Cyprus — whose abodes are situated far away, at a distance of seven days journey in the middle of the Western Sea, and the name of whose land, from the distant past, when Assyria was taken over, until now, none of the kings, my ancestors, who preceded me, had ever heard — heard from afar, in the middle of the sea, of the deeds I had been doing in Chaldea and the land Ḫatti. Their hearts then pounded and fear seized them. They brought before me in Babylon gold, silver, and utensils of ebony and boxwood, the treasure of their land, and they kissed my feet. |
At that time, I had a stele made and I engraved upon it images of the great gods, my lords. I had an image of myself as king stand before them the gods constantly imploring them for the sake of my life. I inscribed upon it the names of the people whom, from the east to the west, I had subjugated to the yoke of my lordship with the support of the gods Aššur, Nabû, and Marduk, my divine helpers. I had it erected beside/facing Mount Baʾil-ḪARri, a mountain that towers above the land Adnana Cyprus. I left for future kings, my descendants, the praises of the great gods, my lords, with whose firm approval I act and have no equal. |
In future days, may a later prince look at my stele and read it. May he praise the names of the great gods, anoint the stele with oil, and offer a sacrifice. May he not change its location. |
As for the one who alters my stele or erases my inscribed name, may the great gods — as many as are mentioned by name on this stele — and the gods who live in the middle of the wide sea curse him angrily and make his name and his descendants disappear from the land. May they not have pity on him. May they reduce his people through famine, want, hunger, and plague. May they make him live in bondage under his enemy and may his enemy govern his land in the sight of his own eyes. |
I dispersed the forces of Ḫumbanigaš (Ḫumban-nikaš I), the Elamite. I destroyed the land of Karalla, the land Šurda, the city Kišesim, the city Ḫarḫar, the land Media, and the land Ellipi, and I imposed the yoke of the god Aššur upon them. I subjugated the land Mannea, |
the valiant man who met Ḫumbanigaš (Ḫumban-nikaš I), king of the land Elam, in battle on the outskirts of the city Dēr and brought about his defeat; ( |
) who deported the people of the land Bīt-Purutaš, whose king, Ambaris, had forgotten the kindness shown to him by Sargon and put his trust in the kings of the lands Urarṭu and Musku; the one with powerful arms, who drove out Mitâ Midas, king of the land Musku, brought back to Assyrian control the fortresses of the land Que Cilicia that had been taken away by the enemy, and expanded its borders; |
I conscripted from among them 200 chariots, 600 cavalry, and shield and spear bearers, and I added them to my royal military contingent. I disregarded the crimes of 6,300 guilty Assyrians, had pity upon them, and settled them in the land Hamath. I imposed on them the same tribute, payments, labor duty, and military service as the kings, my ancestors, had imposed on Irḫulena of the land Hamath. |
May a future prince look at my stele and read my inscribed name. May he then praise the name of the god Aššur, anoint this stele with oil, and offer a sacrifice. The god Aššur will then listen to his prayers. |
I restored the exemption from obligations of the city Baltil Aššur and the city Ḫarrān, which had fallen into oblivion in the distant past, and their privileged status that had lapsed. |
I settled them in the land Hamath. I imposed on them the same tribute, payments, labor duty, and military service as the kings, my ancestors, had imposed on Irḫulena of the land Hamath |
As for the one who alters my good deeds or erases my inscribed name, may the great gods — as many |
as are mentioned by name on this stele — curse him and make his name and his descendants disappear from the land |
the victorious one who is perfect in strength and power and who subjugated the insubmissive Medes; who slaughtered the people of the land Ḫarḫar and enlarged the territory of Assyria; who gathered back together the scattered land Mannea and brought order to the disturbed land Ellipi; who established his kingship over both these lands and made his name glorious; |
The gods Aššur, Nabû, and Marduk, the gods, my helpers, granted me a reign without equal and exalted my good reputation to the heights. |
In accordance with my heart’s desire, I built a city at the foot of Mount Muṣri, a mountain upstream from the city Nineveh, and I named it Dūr-Šarrukīn. I had the gods Ea, Sîn, Šamaš, Nabû, Adad, Ninurta, and their great spouses created inside Ehursaggalkurkurra ("House, the Great Mountain of the Lands") and I installed them inside it on their eternal daises. I built inside it palatial halls using (of) elephant ivory, ebony, boxwood, musukkannu-wood, cedar, cypress, daprānu-juniper, juniper, and terebinth to be my royal residence and |
I had enemy people whom I had captured dwell inside it as safely as in meadowland and I considered it as one of the cult centers of Assyria. |
In the face of my advance (before me), Marduk-apla-iddina II (Merodach-Baladan) gathered together the inhabitants of his cities (his inhabited cities) and the gods dwelling in them and brought them into the city Dūr-Yakīn. He then strengthened its enclosure walls and, moving back a distance of ten nindanu from the front of its main wall, he made a moat two hundred cubits wide. He made it one and a half nindanu deep and reached ground water. He cut a channel from the Euphrates River, thereby making its water flow into its 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 (between rivers) like a crane and assembled his military camp. |
At the command of the gods Aššur, Nabû, and Marduk I had a causeway constructed (trodden down) across his canals and I caught him, together with his fighting 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 surroundings of his city with them. The city Dūr-Yakīn — his treasure house — and the cities Iqbi-Bēl, Kapru, Bit-Zabidāya, Šāt-iddina, Zarāti, Raqqatu, Ekuššu, Ḫursaggalla, Dūr-Bēl-āliya, Dūr-Enlil, Bīt-Qiblāte, Nēmed-Sîn, Limītu, and Mād-akālša, a total of fifteen fortified cities, together with the settlements in their environs, I turned into ruin mounds. I carried off as booty at the same time both the people — young and old — who lived in the district and the gods who helped them; I did not allow a single person to escape. |
Marduk-apla-iddina II (Merodach-Baladan), king of Chaldea, who against the will of the gods had come down to the territory of the land of Sumer and Akkad and appropriated for himself the kingship of Babylon, turned to Ḫumbanigaš (Ḫumban-nikaš I), the Elamite, for aid. He put his trust in the sea and its surging waves and withheld his audience gift. |
I mustered the numerous troops of Assyria and crossed the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers, as well as innumerable small streams. Like the Deluge, I overwhelmed the Chaldeans to their (lit.: its) full extent. In the face of my advance (before me), Marduk-apla-iddina gathered together the inhabitants of his cities (his inhabited cities) and the gods dwelling in them and brought them into the city Dūr-Yakīn. He then strengthened its enclosure walls and, moving back a distance of one measuring rope 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 into its 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 (between rivers) like a crane and assembled his military camp. |
At the command of the gods Aššur, Nabû, and Marduk I had a causeway constructed (trodden down) across his canals and I caught him, together with his fighting 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 surroundings of his city with them. The city Dūr-Yakīn — his treasure house — and the cities Iqbi-Bēl, Kapru, Bīt-Zabidāya, Šāt-iddina, Zarāti, Raqqatu, Ekuššu, Ḫursaggalla, Dūr-Bēl-āliya, Dūr-Enlil, Bīt-Qiblāte, Nēmed-Sîn, Limītu, and Mād-akālša, a total of fifteen fortified cities, together with the settlements in their environs, I turned into ruin mounds. I carried off as booty at the same time both the people — young and old — who lived in the district and the gods who helped them; I did not allow a single person to escape. |
As for the citizens of the cities Sippar, Nippur, Babylon, and Borsippa who through no fault of their own had been held captive in them the fifteen cities, 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 reassigned to them the citizens 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, Kullaba, Kissik, and Nēmed-Laguda. Moreover, I returned their gods that had been carried off as booty to their cult centers and I restored their regular offerings that had been discontinued. |
I restored the land Bīt-Yakīn and reorganized its administration. I settled there people of the land of Kummuḫu 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 Babylon, and another eunuch of mine, the governor of the Gambulu tribe. |
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 great 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, obsidian, lapis-lazuli, banded agate, |
Together with his allies and his battle troops, he pitched his royal tent in a bend of the river (between rivers) like a crane and assembled his military camp. |
I settled there people from the land Kummuḫu 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 Babylon, and another eunuch of mine, the governor of the Gambulu tribe. |
The gods Aššur, Nabû, and Marduk, the gods, my helpers, granted me a reign without equal and exalted my good reputation to the heights. |
To the goddess Aya, his lady: Sargon II, king of Assyria, presented this object for the sake of his life. |
May the god Marduk, great lord, look upon this work of mine with pleasure and may he grant a long life to Sargon, the prince who provides for him. May his reign be as firm as the foundation of Babylon. |
For the god Marduk, the great lord, his lord: Sargon II, king of the land of Assyria, king of the world, governor of Babylon, king of Sumer and Akkad, constructed anew the city wall Imgur-Enlil and the city wall Nēmet-Enlil for the sake of his life and made them shine like daylight. |
For the goddess Ištar, mistress of the lands, most eminent of the gods, most valiant of the goddesses, |
At that time, the great lord, the god Marduk, granted excellent judgment to Sargon II, king of Assyria, king of the world, governor of Babylon, one who was chosen by the god Asari, and increased his intelligence. |
He Sargon directed his attention to renovating the abandoned cult centers and sanctuaries of all the gods of the land Akkad. He was assiduous toward the sanctuaries of Eanna, the abode of the goddess Ištar, mistress of the lands, his lady. With regard to the outer wall of Eanna in the lower courtyard, he tore down its parapet and laid bare its foundation. |
With entreaties, prayers, and expressions of humility he Sargon laid its foundations anew and he made its foundation as secure as a mountain on the breast of the netherworld. With the craft of the god Kulla, the master builder, and with the help of craftsmen who know their trade, he raised its top with ritually pure bricks and completed its construction. He made it superior to what had been there before and carried out the plans correctly. |
On account of this, may the goddess Ištar, mistress of the lands, look upon this work happily and may she bestow a long life on Sargon, king of Assyria, king of the world, governor of Babylon, the king who provides for her. May she say good things about him before the god Marduk, king of the gods. May she go with him as his helper in strife and battle. |
May he shatter the weapons of his enemies and may he achieve whatever he wants. May he make all the rulers who are not submissive to him bow down at his feet. By the command of the goddess Ištar, beloved of the lord of the gods, may he increase his good fortune. May long life, happiness, and gladness be bestowed on him and may his reign be long. May he make the foundation of his throne secure for future days and may he govern all regions of the world. |
May he constantly exercise the rule over the people who are of privileged status and have šubarrû-privileges granted by the great gods. During his reign may those ones with šubarrû-privileges not become disordered. May he take away their negligence and erase their sin. Let turmoil be anathema to them and may he make their hearts rejoice. Like the foundations of Uruk and Eanna, may their foundations be firm. |
Sargon II, great king, king of the world, king of Babylon, king of the land of Sumer and Akkad, commander of Assyria and of all Amurru, had the outer enclosure wall, the courtyard of Eanna, the narrow gate, and the regular gate built. |
For the goddess Inanna, lady of Uruk, who dwells in Eanna, the august, supreme lady, his lady: Sargon II, king of the world, governor of Babylon, king of Sumer and Akkad, shepherd of the land of Assyria, had baked bricks made and made the processional way of Eanna shine like daylight. |
For the lady, the goddess Inanna, mistress of the lands, his lady: Sargon II, strong king, king of Babylon, king of the world, king |
just shepherd, one to whom the gods Aššur and Marduk granted a reign without equal and whose reputation these gods exalted to the heights; |
To the goddess Damkina, his lady: Sargon II, king of Assyria, presented this object for the sake of his life. |
Sîn-aḫu-uṣur, grand vizier and favorite brother of Sargon II, king of the world, king of Assyria, governor of Babylon, king of the land of Sumer and Akkad, favorite of the great gods, completely constructed this house from its foundations to its crenellations. He invited the great gods who dwell in Assyria and in this city to come inside it, and he offered before them pure sacrifices. In their steadfast, pure hearts they continually blessed Sargon and spoke that which is good concerning Sîn-aḫu-uṣur, his favorite brother. |
most powerful of the gods, who does not pardon those who are evil, who dwells in Ešaḫul ("House of the Happy Heart") that is inside the city Mēturna (Mê-Turnat), the great lord, his lord: |
PN, governor of the land Na’iri and eunuch of Sargon II, king of Assyria, made this object by the craft of the gods Ninzadim and Ninkura out of a block of lapis-lazuli hewn from its mountain quarry and he set it up for the sake of ensuring his good health, prolonging his days, his happiness, capturing his enemies, the absence of relentless illness, and making his heart joyful. |
, who gives shares of the food offerings to the gods of heaven and netherworld, the ruler of the black-headed people, who assigns the scepter of men, |
who has a cunning mind, circumspect, highest among the gods, whose supreme lordship induces awe in heaven and netherworld, |
, Sargon, king of Assyria, king of the world, the prince, his (Marduk’s) protégé, the pious vizier who reveres his (Marduk’s) divine majesty, the governor appointed by the god Enlil, the king |
To the goddess Ištar who dwells in the city Arbela, his lady: Aššur-dūr-pāniya, the governor of the city Kār-Shalmaneser, presented this stele for the sake of ensuring his good health. |
To the god Adad, the canal inspector of heaven and netherworld, the great lord, his lord: Bēl-iddin set up and presented this stele for the sake of ensuring his good health. |
Sennacherib, great king, strong king, king of Assyria, unrivalled king, pious shepherd who reveres the great gods, guardian of truth who loves justice, renders assistance, goes to the aid of the weak, and strives after good deeds, perfect man, virile warrior, foremost of all rulers, the bridle that controls the insubmissive, and the one who strikes enemies with lightning: |
The god Aššur, the great mountain, granted to me unrivalled sovereignty and made my weapons greater than those of all who sit on royal daises. |
At the beginning of my kingship, after I sat on the lordly throne and took command of the population of Assyria amid obedience and peace, Marduk-apla-iddina II (Merodach-baladan), king of Karduniaš Babylonia, an evil foe, a rebel with a treacherous mind, an evildoer whose villainous acts are true, sought friendship with Šutur-Naḫundu (Šutruk-Naḫḫunte II), an Elamite, by presenting him with gold, silver, and precious stones; then, he continuously requested reinforcements. |
To the land of Sumer and Akkad, he (Šutur-Naḫundu) sent to his (Marduk-apla-iddina’s) assistance Imbappa, his field marshal, together with the massed body of his troops, Tannānu, his third man, ten unit commanders, including Nergal-nāṣir, a Sutian who is fearless in battle, 80,000 archers and lancers, and the 850 wagons and horses that were with them. |
Moreover, he, the evil Chaldean, evildoer, and offspring of murder, gathered together Uruk, Larsa, Ur, Eridu, Kulaba, Kissik, and Nēmed-Laguda, the lands of the Bīt-Yakīn, Bīt-Amukāni, Bīt-Ašillāni (Bīt-Šillāni), Bīt-Saʾalli, and Bīt-Dakkūri, all of the Chaldeans, as many as there were; on the banks of the Tigris River, the Tuʾumuna, Riḫiḫu, Yadaqqu, Gibrê, and Maliḫu Malaḫu; on the banks of the Surappu River, the Gurumu, Ubulu, Damunu, Gambulu, Hindaru, Ruʾuʾa, and Puqudu; on the banks of the Euphrates River, the Ḫamrānu, Ḫagarānu, Nabatu, and Liʾtaʾu — insubmissive Arameans who did not know fear of death; Nippur, Dilbat, Marad, Kish, Ḫursagkalama, Babylon, Borsippa, and Cutha, all of Karduniaš Babylonia and prepared them for battle. |
When they reported his (Marduk-apla-iddina’s) evil deeds to me, Sennacherib, the attentive man of the steppe, I raged up like a lion and ordered the march into Babylon to confront him. He (Marduk-apla-iddina), the very image of an evil gallû-demon, heard about the advance of my expeditionary force, then he reinforced their companies with horses and Elamite, Aramean, and Chaldean archers, together with Nergal-nāṣir and ten unit commanders of the king of the land Elam who did not know fear of death, and the countless forces who were with them. He brought their contingents together in Cutha and had them keep watch at outposts for the approach of my expeditionary force. |
I put my yoked teams in order. On the twentieth day of the month Šabāṭu XI, like a powerful wild ox, I took the lead of my troops from Baltil Aššur, but I did not wait for the main force of my army, nor did I wait for the rear guard. I sent my chief eunuch and my provincial governors to Kish ahead of me, saying: "Take the road to Marduk-apla-iddina II (Merodach-baladan), but do not be careless about putting a strong watch on him!" |
He (Marduk-apla-iddina) saw my provincial governors, then came out of the Zababa Gate with all of his forces and did battle with my magnates in the plain of Kish. The enemy prevailed over my magnates in the thick of battle and they my magnates were unable to withstand him. They sent their messenger to me in the plain of Cutha for help. |
In my rage, I unleashed a fierce assault on Cutha, then I slaughtered the warriors surrounding its wall like sheep and took possession of the city. I brought out horses, the Elamite, Aramean, and Chaldean archers, the Elamite unit commanders, and Nergal-nāṣir, together with the guilty citizens, and I counted them as booty. |
I raged up like a lion and became furious like the Deluge. With my merciless warriors, I set out for Kish against Marduk-apla-iddina II (Merodach-baladan). Moreover, he, that evildoer, saw the cloud of dust of my expeditionary force from afar and fear fell upon him. He abandoned all of his forces and fled to the land Guzummānu. |
I defeated Tannānu, together with the Elamite, Chaldean, and Aramean troops who had stood by him and had come to his aid, and I scattered his forces. I captured alive Adinu, a nephew of Marduk-apla-iddina II (Merodach-baladan), together with Basqānu, a brother of Iatiʾe, queen of the Arabs, along with their troops. I seized the chariots, wagons, horses, mules, donkeys, camels, and Bactrian camels that he had abandoned during the battle. |
I hastened after him to the land Guzummānu and ordered my warriors into the midst of swamps and marshes. For five days they sought him out, but his hiding place could not be found. I gathered together the rest of his horses and troops, who were weary and who had fled like deer instead of going with him, from the midst of the open country and plain. |
In the course of my campaign, I surrounded, conquered, and plundered the cities Amatu, Ḫauae, Supapu, Nuqabu, Bīt-Sannabi, Qudayyin, Kidrina, Dūr-Ladini, Bitāti, and Bānītu, the land Guzummānu, the cities Dūr-Yanṣuri, Dūr-Abī-Yataʾ, Dūr-Rudumme, Bīt-Raḫê, Ḫapiša, Sadian, Ḫurudu, Ṣaḫrina, Iltuk, Allallu, Marad, Yaqimuna, Kupruna, Bīt-Kudurri, Sūqa-Marusi, altogether 33 fortified cities, fortresses of the land of the Bīt-Dakkūri, together with 250 smaller settlements in their environs; |
the cities Dūr-Appê, Dūr-Tanê, Dūr-Samaʾ, Sarrabātu, Ṣalaḫatu, Dūr-Abdāya, Sappi-ḫimari, Ṣibtu-ša-Makkamê, altogether 8 fortified cities, fortresses of the land of the Bīt-Saʾalli, together with 120 smaller settlements in their environs; |
the cities Sapīya Šapīya, Sarrabānu, Larak, Parak-Marri, Bīt-Ilu-bāni, Aḫudu, Ša-iṣṣur-Adad, Šaḫarratu, Manaḫḫu, Ša-amēlê, Dūr-Aqqīya, Nagītu, Nūr-abīnu, Ḫar-Ṣuarra, Dūr-Rukbi, Danda-Ḫulla, Dūr-Bir-Dada, Bīt-Reʾê, Dūr-Ugurri, Ḫindaina, Dūr-Uayyit, Bīt-Taurâ, Sapḫuna, Bu-ḫarru, Ḫarbat-Iddina, Ḫarbat-Kalbi, Ša-barê, Bīt-Bāni-ilūya, Sulādu, Bīt-Iltama-samaʾa, Bīt-Dīni-ili, Daqala, Ḫameza, Bēlā, Tairu, Kiprānu, Iltaratu, Aqqar-ša-kīna, Sagabatu-ša-Mardukīya, altogether 39 fortified cities of the land of the Bīt-Amukāni, together with 350 smaller settlements in their environs; |
and the cities Bīt-Zabidīya, Larsa, Kulaba, Eridu, Kissik, Nēmed-Laguda, and Dūr-Yakīn, including the city Kār-Nabû, which is on the shore of the Bitter Sea, altogether 8 fortified cities, fortresses of the land of the Bīt-Yakīn, together with 100 smaller settlements in their environs; |
the grand total is 88 fortified cities, fortresses of Chaldea, together with 820 smaller settlements in their environs. |
I let my troops eat the grain and dates in their gardens and their crops in the countryside. I destroyed them, devastated them, and burned them with fire, and turned them into forgotten ruin hills. |
I brought out the auxiliary forces of the Arameans and Chaldeans who were in Uruk, Nippur, Kish, and Ḫursagkalama, together with the guilty citizens, and I counted them as booty. |
I let my army eat the grain and dates in their gardens, the fields they had labored in, and the crops in the countryside, which is their life’s necessity. |
I appointed over them Bēl-ibni, a son of a rab banî and a scion of Šuanna Babylon who had grown up like a young puppy in my palace, as king of the land of Sumer and Akkad. |
On my return march, I defeated all together the Tuʾumuna, Riḫiḫu, Yadaqqu, Ubudu, Gibrê, Maliḫu Malaḫu, Gurumu, Ubulu, Damunu, Gambulu, Ḫindaru, Ruʾuʾa, Puqudu, Ḫamrānu, Ḫagarānu, Nabatu, and Liʾtaʾu, insubmissive Arameans and I plundered them. |
In the course of my campaign, I received a substantial payment from Nabû-bēl-šumāti, the official in charge of the city Ḫararatu: gold, silver, large musukkannu-trees, donkeys, camels, oxen, and sheep and goats. |
I put to the sword the population of the city Ḫirimmu, a dangerous enemy who since time immemorial had not submitted to the kings, my ancestors, and I did not leave one alive. I reorganized that district and imposed for eternity one ox, ten sheep, ten homers of wine, and twenty homers of dates as his first-fruits offerings for the ginû-offerings to the gods of Assyria, my lords. |
I returned safely to Assyria with 208,000 substantial captives, 7,200 horses and mules, 11,073 donkeys, 5,230 camels, 80,050 oxen, and 800,100 sheep and goats. This is apart from the people, donkeys, camels, oxen, and sheep and goats that all of my troops had carried away and appropriated for themselves. |
Moreover, I put to the sword the soldiers of the enemy, a recalcitrant force who had not submitted to my yoke, and hung their corpses on poles. |
At that time, Nineveh, the exalted cult center, the city loved by the goddess Ištar in which all of the rituals for gods and goddesses are present; the enduring foundation and eternal base whose plan had been designed by the stars (writing) of the firmament and whose arrangement was made manifest since time immemorial; a sophisticated place and site of secret lore in which every kind of skilled craftsmanship, all of the rituals, and the secrets of the lalgar cosmic subterranean water are apprehended; |
in which since time immemorial earlier kings, my ancestors, before me exercised dominion over Assyria and ruled the subjects of the god Enlil, and wherein annually, without interruption, they received an income unsurpassed in amount, the tribute of the rulers of the four quarters of the world; |
The former palace, whose longer side was thirty nindanu and whose shorter side was ten nindanu, which earlier kings, my ancestors, had had constructed, but whose construction they had carried out inexpertly, and alongside of which the Tebilti River had flowed from distant days, caused erosion in its foundations, and shaken its base: |
I tore down that small palace in its entirety and improved the course of the Tebilti River and directed its outflow. |
In a propitious month, on a favorable day, in the hidden depths of its subterranean waters I bonded together strong mountain stone sixty nindanu along its longer side and thirty-four nindanu along its shorter side, then I raised that area out of the water and converted it to dry land. In order to prevent its foundation from being weakened over the passage of time by cresting floods, I surrounded its damp course with large limestone slabs and thereby reinforced its base. Upon them, I filled in a terrace to a height of 160 courses of brick, then added it to the dimensions of the former palace and thus enlarged its structure. |
I had a palace of elephant ivory, ebony, boxwood, musukkannu-wood, cedar, cypress, juniper, and terebinth, a palace that I named Egalzagdunutukua ("The Palace Without a Rival"), constructed thereon as my royal residence. |
I roofed them the rooms of the palace with beams of cedar grown on Mount Amanus, which were brought with difficulty from that distant mountain terrain. I fastened bands of shining bronze on magnificent doors of cypress, whose scent is sweet on opening and closing, and I installed them in their gates. |
For my lordly pleasure, I had a portico, a replica of a Hittite palace, which is called bīt-ḫilāni in the language of the land Amurru, constructed inside them. |
Eight striding lions, standing opposite one another, which were made from 11,400 talents of shining copper, cast by the god Ninagal, and were filled with radiance — upon those lion colossi I installed two identical columns that were cast from 6,000 talents of bronze, together with two large cedar columns, and I positioned cross-beams upon them as a cornice for their gates. |
I expertly fashioned four mountain sheep colossi of silver and bronze, together with mountain sheep colossi of massive mountain stone, and in four directions I had them hold their (the gates’) suitable door bolts. |
I engraved on large limestone slabs images of the enemy settlements that I had conquered. I surrounded their (the palace rooms’) lower courses with them and made them an object of wonder. |
I planted alongside it the palace a botanical garden, a replica of Mount Amanus, which has all kinds of aromatic plants and fruit trees, trees that are the mainstay of the mountains and Chaldea, collected inside it. |
To plant gardens, I subdivided the meadowland upstream of the city into plots of two pānu each for the citizens of Nineveh and I handed them over to them. |