Adad-nerari II 2

(1) [The god Aššur, ...; the god Enlil, ...]; the god [Sîn, king of the lunar disk], lord of brilliance; [the god Šamaš, judge of] heaven and netherworld, commander of all; the god Marduk, sage of the gods, lord of oracles; the god Nin[urta, warrior of] the Igīgū and Anunnakū gods; the god Nergal, perfect one, king of battle; the god Nusku, bearer of the holy scepter, circumspect god; the goddess Mullissu, spouse of the god Enlil, mother of the great gods; (and) the goddess Ištar, foremost in heaven and netherworld, who is consummate in the canons of combat;

(5) the great gods who take firm decisions (and) who decree destinies. They properly created me, Adad-nārārī (II), attentive ruler, [...]. They altered my stature to a lordly stature, rightly made perfect my features and filled my lordly body with wisdom. After the great gods had decreed (my destiny), had entrusted to me the scepter for the shepherding of the people, (and) had raised me above crowned kings (and) placed on my head the royal splendor, they made my almighty name greater than (that of) all lords (and) called me by the important name Adad-nārārī (II), king of Assyria. Strong king, king of Assyria, king of the four quarters (of the world), (and) sun(god) of all people, am I;

(11) son of Aššur-dān (II), appointee of the god Enlil, vice-regent of (the god) Aššur, the one who defeated all of his enemies, son of Tiglath-pileser (II), king of [Assyria], (and) holy offspring of Aššur-rēša-iši (II), martial sovereign (and) trampler of criminals.

(13) At that time, by the edict of the great gods, my kingship (and) dominion were decreed (and) they named me to plunder the possessions of the lands. I am king, I am lord, I am powerful, I am important, I am praiseworthy, I am magnificent, I am strong, I am mighty, I am fierce, I am enormously radiant, I am a hero, I am a warrior, I am a virile lion, I am foremost, I am exalted, (and) I am raging.

(16) Adad-nārārī (II), strong king, king of Assyria, king of the four quarters (of the world), the one who defeats his enemies, am I. The king capable in battle, overwhelmer of cities, (and) the one who scorches the mountains of (foreign) lands, am I. The virile warrior, the one who controls those opposed to him, (and the one) who is inflamed against the evil and wicked, am I. I scorch like the god Gīra, I overwhelm like the deluge, [...], (and) I have no successful opponent.

(19) I am belligerent like ..., I strike the wicked like a fierce dagger, I constantly blow like the onslaught of the wind, (and) I rage like a gale. I uproot (people) like [the hair] of the skin, I overpower like a net, (and) I enclose like a trap. At the mention of my strong name, the rulers of the four quarters (of the world) sway like reeds in a storm. At the onset of my campaign, their weapons melt as though in a furnace.

(23) (I am) the valiant man who marched with the support of the god Aššur, his lord, from the other side of the Lower Zab, the district of the lands Lullumê, Ḫabḫu, (and) Zamua, as far as the passes of the land Namri and who made the wide land Qumanî, as far as the lands Meḫri, Salua, and Urarṭu (Uraṭru), bow down at his feet.

(26) (I am the one who) became lord over the land Katmuḫi, to its full extent, and brought (it) into the boundaries of his land; the conqueror of the land Karduniaš (Babylonia), to its full extent; the one who brought about the defeat of Šamaš-mudammiq, king of Karduniaš (Babylonia), from Mount Yalman to the Turnat River (Diyala). (The region) from the city Laḫīru to Ugār-sallum was added to the border(s) of Assyria. I conquered the land of the city Dēr, to its full extent. I brought back the cities Arrapha (and) Lubdu, fortresses of the Karduniaš (Babylonia), into the border(s) of Assyria.

(30) (I am the one who) yet (for) a fourth time marched to the Naʾiri lands and conquered the interior of the land Ḫabḫu, the cities Naḫur (and) Ašnaku. I (am) certainly (the one who) was constantly traversing the mighty mountains (and) conquered the cities of the land Natbi. I (am) certainly (the one who) destroyed the land Alzi in its entirety (so that it looked) like ruin hills (created by) the Deluge. I (am the one who) took hostages from them (and) imposed upon them tribute and tax. (I am the one who) brought about the defeat of the field troops of the Aḫlamû-Arameans. (I am the one who) received the payment of the land Sūḫu.

(34) (I am the one who) brought (back) the cities Idu (and) Zaqqu, fortresses of Assyria, into the border(s) of his land. (I am the one who recaptured) the cities Arinu, Turḫu, (and) Zaduri, conquered regions that the land Šubria had torn away from Assyria.

(36) (As for) the ancient city Apku, which the kings who had come before me had built, it had become dilapidated and turned into a mound of ruins (lit. “a mound and ruins”). I built (it) anew. I built (and) completed (it) from its foundations to its crenellations. I splendidly decorated (it) more than before. I built a magnificent palace for my lordly majesty inside it.

(39) In the eponymy of Dūr-māti-Aššur (901), I marched to the wide land Ḫanigalbat. Nūr-Adad of the land Temannu, mustered his troops (and) we drew up in battle formation at the city Paʾuzi, (which is situated) at the foot of Mount Kāšiāru. We fought with one another, (but) I brought about his defeat from the city Paʾuz to the city Naṣībīna (Naṣīpīnu). I repulsed his numerous chariots.

(42) In the eponymy of Ilu-emūqāya (900), I marched to the land Ḫanigalbat for a second time. I fought with him (Nūr-Adad) at Naṣībīna (Naṣīpīnu). I dyed the countryside red with the blood of his warriors. I entered the city Yaridi (and) I reaped the harvest of his land. I regarded the city Saraku as mine (and) heaped up the barley and straw therein.

(45) In the eponymy of Ninuāya (899), I marched to the land Ḫanigalbat for a third time. I captured the city Ḫuzīrīna. I surrounded (its) wall on all sides. The (people of) the cities at the foot of Mount Kāšiāru, which Mamli of the land Temannu had captured, grasped my feet. I regarded his palaces as mine. At that time, I received a large female monkey (and) a small female monkey, a shipment from the land Bīt-Adini, which is situated on the bank of the Euphrates River.

(49) In the eponymy of Likberū (898), I marched to the land Ḫanigalbat for a fourth time. At that time, Muqquru of the land Temannu broke the oath that (he had sworn to) the great gods and belligerently sought war and battle against me. Trusting in his fortified city, his strong bow, his extensive troops, and the Arameans, he rebelled against me. I mustered my chariotry (and) troops (and then) marched to the city Gidara, which the Arameans call Raqamātu (and) which the Arameans had taken away by force after the time of Tiglath-pileser (I), son of Aššur-rēša-iši (I), king of Assyria, a ruler who had come before me. In my cunning, (55) I placed redoubts around it (the city), (a tactic) which had never been used by (lit. “did not exist among”) the kings, my ancestors. (Although) he had dug a moat around his city, they (the people of Gidara) took fright in the face of my fierce weapons, my raging battle, (and) my strong forces, and I entered the city Raqamātu with force (and) violence. (As for) him (Muqquru), I brought him down from his palace. I personally inspected his property, precious stone(s) of the mountain, chariots, horses, his wives, his sons, (and) his daughters, his valuable booty. I threw him, together with his brothers, in bronze fetters (and) brought (them) to my city, Aššur. (In this manner) I constantly established the victory and strength of (the god) Aššur, my lord, over the land Ḫanigalbat.

(61) In the eponymy of Adad-aḫu-iddina (897), governor of the Inner City (Aššur), I marched to the land Ḫanigalbat for a fifth time. I received the payment of the lands.

(62) In the eponymy of Adad-dān (896), with the rage of my strong weapons I marched to the land Ḫanigalbat for a sixth time. I confined Nūr-Adad of the land Temannu in the city Naṣībīna (and) established seven redoubts around it. I stationed therein Aššur-dēnī-amur, the commander-in-chief. (65) He (Nūr-Adad) had dug a moat, which had not previously existed, in bedrock all around it (the city). He had made (it) nine cubits wide and had dug it down to water level. The wall was next to the moat. I encircled his moat with my warriors like a flame (and) they (the enemy) screamed like children about it. [I laid] traps as strong as the destructive Deluge for him [and] deprived him of grain. By the command of the god Aššur, the great lord, my lord, I carried off from his city his [...], his gold, his property, precious stone of the mountain, his gods, chariots with teams of [horses], ..., (70) a staff, his battle gear, a gold throne, polished gold dishes, decorated [couches with] inlay, weapons, ... arrows, a gold tent befitting his royal majesty, [...] the weight of which I did not determine, and the extensive property of his palace. [Afterwards, ...] ... ascended the throne of his lordly majesty. Within his dais, he slaughtered pure sacrifices, offered oxen, made a libation of the best beer, (and) (75) completed the offering with holy sweet wine of the mountain. He made his offerings and had himself exalted with elaborate praise: “In all of the lands, kings are in sore distress (and) mountains shake!” The king spoke humbly to his nobles: “The young man of (the god) Aššur, praise of his warriorship is exalted. His deeds are of the god Dagān. The king (is the one) who magnifies his praises!” In my presence, I brought back Nūr-Adad, together with his extensive troops, as hostages. I granted cities with people to Assyria (and) counted them.

(80) In this same eponymy, on that campaign of mine on that I brought back in my presence Nūr-Adad of the land Temannu, together with his extensive troops, as captives, I brought him to my land (and) into Nineveh. I mustered (my) chariotry (and) troops. (Over) difficult roads and rugged mountains that were unsuitable for the passage of my chariotry (and) troops, into which none of the kings, my ancestors, had penetrated and wherein no winged bird of the sky flew, I marched to the cities Sikkur (and) Sapānu, which since the time of Tukultī-Ninurta (I) — king of Assyria, (85) son of Shalmaneser (I), (who was) also king of Assyria, a ruler who had come before me — had withheld tax (and) tribute from (the god) Aššur, my lord. I surrounded the cities Sikkur (and) Sapānu (and) I fought with them. I inflicted a major defeat upon them. I brought forth their booty, possessions, property, herds, (and) flocks (and) brought (them) to my city, Aššur. I conquered the cities in the district of the cities Sikkur (and) Sappānu in their entirety. (As for) the remainder of their (inhabitants, who) had fled before my strong weapons, they came down (and) grasped my feet. I received payment from them (and) imposed upon them stringent taxes and dues.