Sargon II 109

(1') [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 [glo]rious;

(3') [... Since the (first) day of my reign], there has been [no ruler who could equal me] and [I have met no one who could overpower (me) in war or battle. Pisīri(s) of the city Carchemish sinned against the treaty (sworn) by the great gods and] repeatedly wrote in a friendly manner [to Mitâ (Midas), king of the land Musku], and (5´) [held me in contempt. I raised my hand(s) (in supplication) to the god Aššur, my lord, brought him (Pisīris), together wit his family, out (of their city) in bondage, and] showed (them) to the god Aššur. [I carried off as booty gold (and) silver, (along) with the property of his palace and the guilty people of the city Carchemish who (had sided) with him, as well as their possessions, (and)] brought (them) to Assyria. [I conscripted fifty chariot(s), two hundred cavalry, (and) three thousand foot soldiers from among them and] added (them) [to] my [royal (military) contingent].

(8') [(...) I settled people of Assyria in the city Carchemish and ...] made them confident. [... I] had [its (city) wall] built [anew] and raised (it) higher than before. (10´) [...] I brought [(...) the people of the city Carchemish] down [fro]m the city and settled (them) behind it (the city wall). [...] I had [(...) a (military) co]ntingent enter there in order to strengthen (its) garrison. [...] I opened [... fac]ing the Euphrates River and made their heart(s) happy. [... I deported (people of Carchemish and)] (re)settled (them) [in ..., a d]istant [place] on the border of the land Kammanu. [...] I settled in its neighborhood [... (people) who pull the yo]ke of the god Aššur, my lord. [... the A]rameans, the lands Tyre, Egypt, Tabal, and Musku [...]

(16b') [... I heaped up and] made the heavy [li]mestone (blocks) as secure as the base of a mountain. [... In the month Sim]anu, an auspicious month, I established its foundations. [...] I erected [a bīt-ḫilāni, a replica of a] Hittite [pal]ace, in front of its gates. [...] I bound [(...) the doors (...) with ba]nd(s) of copper and installed (them) in their gates.

(20') “[... I caused] the water of the irrigation ditches (and) the murmur of the current [to stop], (saying) “Let him (Pisiris) not irrigate its (Carchemish’s) meadowland(s)” [... The rich fields] of the irrigation [distri]ct became a wasteland (and) turned into desert. [(...) At the great command of the god Aššur, my lord, who] granted me as a gift [the (re)settling of abandoned pasture lands, opening up of unused la]nd, (and) planting of orchards [...] massive [...] I caused water to murmur through its abandoned fields. [...] I established. I made (it) gurgle like an irrigation ditch so that the destitute will not collapse on account of thirst. (25´) [...] I measured the irrigation canal in the environs of the city Carchemish. I made grain grow abundantly in its lush meadowland. [...] ... I piled up grain in immeasurable (quantities) in the granaries in its environs. [...] I planted around it [(...) every type of fruit tree from] all over the world, grapevine(s) fit for royalty, cedar, cypress, (and) juniper, and I made the smell of the city sweeter than the smell of a cedar forest. [...] the grapevine(s) and aromatic plants grew high and the people inside it (Carchemish) continually receive an invitation to well-being. Their faces are (thus) radiant (with joy). [...] I opened up the meadows [in order to ...] and to increase the (number of) offspring of the herds of cattle and sheep (and) goats, and I provided fresh water for irrigation. [...] they had [the p]eople inside it dwell (as safely) as in a meadow; their orchards are covered all over with fruit and its meadowland(s) flourished.

(31') [...] I invited [...], my lords, (and) the deities Karḫuḫa (and) Kubāba, who dwell in the city Carchemish, (to come) into my palace. [...] I offered before them [(...)] strong rams from the (fattening) shed, geese, ducks, (and) birds that fly in the sky (lit. “flying birds of the sky”). [...] I received in Carchemish [... substantial tribute from the lands that I had conquered, from one end] to the other (lit.: “[above] and below”), with the support of the god Aššur, my lord. [(...)] I carried off as booty [ ... of the pal]ace of Pisīri(s), (and) with a radiant face, I presented (them) to them (the gods).

(35') [...] he (the god Aššur?) allowed me to stand in grandiose manner [(...) in triumph and] conquest. [...] enemy [... befo]re (the god) Aššur, I/he asked them [...] I/he caused to enter and they blessed [my] k[ingship ... w]ho makes thei[r] divine majesties happy [...] ... in ... [... (40´)...] ... [...] and on the bank/neck of ... [...] ... superb ... [...] ... their king [...] ... [...]

(45') Palace of Sargo[n]