Esarhaddon 048

(1) When the god Aššur, king of the Igīgū and Anunnakū gods, father of the gods, lord of the lands; the god Anu, the powerful, the foremost, whose spoken order no god can alter; the god Enlil, greatest lord, the one who decrees the fates of heaven and netherworld (and) makes the dwellings secure; the god Ea, the wise, lord of wisdom, creator of (all) creatures, the one who fashions everything, whatever its name; (5) the god Sîn, the one who constantly renews himself, the pure god, the one who determines decisions (and) reveals signs; the god Šamaš, the great judge of the gods, the one who illuminates darkness, whose lordly splendor overwhelms the lands; the god Adad, the canal inspector of heaven and netherworld, the one who brings abundant rains (and) sustains (all) living things; the god Marduk, firstborn son, the Enlil of the gods, the one who has the power to depopulate and (re)settle (a region); [the god Nabû], scribe of the universe, the one who directs the Igīgū and Anunnakū gods (and) who is entrusted with the entire universe; (10) [the god Ner]gal, the almighty, endowed with [strength and power, the one who cap]tures enemies, the Enlil of the vast netherworld; the goddess Agušāya (Ištar), mistress of [war] and battle, the one who starts fighting (and) causes conflict; the Sebitti, valiant gods, who hold bow (and) arrow, whose assault is combat (and) warfare; (and) the great gods, who reside in heaven and netherworld, whose favorable words cannot be changed,

(14) truly selected me, [Esarhaddon], with their pure, upraised eyes, to shep[herd] their [people], they raised [...], they decreed a favorable fate for me, [...], (and) they elevated me to the kingship [(so I could) pla]cate their mood; [... tru]ly they stretched out over me; [...] they truly called my name; they gave me [...] (and) broad [wisdom]; they opened my mind [...] to refurbish the great gods, [...] of the cults.

(22) [Esarhaddon, mighty king, king of] the world, king of Assyria, commander for the god Enlil, priest of the god Aššur, [..., governor of] Babylon, king of Sumer and Akkad, [...], great [... of] the goddess Tašmētu, judicious prince, (25) [...] chosen by the goddess Ištar of Nineveh — the great queen — the one required by the goddes[ses, whom the goddess Ištar of] Arbela selected with her shining, upraised eyes and [...]; king of Subartu, Amurru, the Gutians, (and) widespread Ḫatti; [...], king of the kings of the lands Dilmun, Magan, (and) Meluḫḫa; king of the four quarters; [favorite of the] great [gods; (30) the one who] reveres the word of the gods Aššur, Nabû, (and) Marduk; the one who sustains the sacred things of the gods Enlil, Sîn, Šamaš, (and) Adad; [..., grea]t [...], the one who reveres the great gods; the one who is assiduous towards the shrines of their great divinity; [the king, who from] his childhood until his adulthood, heeded their rule and praised their valor;

(33) the king, during whose reign, the great gods became reconciled towards the shrines of their cult centers (and) returned; the sun of all of the people, the pleasant protection, trusted shepherd, herdsman of the black-headed people, (35) eternal royal seed, precious offspring of Baltil (Aššur), the one required by Ešarra, whose hands are pure, the purification priest who purifies the statues of the great gods; the one who (re)constructed the temple of the god Aššur, (re)built Esagil and Babylon, returned [the] plundered [god]s of the lands to their (proper) place, and made (them) dwell on (their) eternal daises in the shrines of all of the cult centers; who clothed (them) daily in silver (and) gold, (and) (re)confirmed the sattukku (and) ginû offerings in them; the one who completed the rites, (re)confirmed sattukku offerings, (and) gave gifts, great food offerings to all of the temples; (40) [...] who does not fail to make offerings (and) fulfill rites; who observes the days of the god (and) the eššēšu-festival; [the one who] arranged the privileged status of Baltil (Aššur) (and) established freedom for Nippur, Babylon, Borsippa, (and) Sippar; ... [all of the people] who live in them; the one who repaid their losses; who gathered the [scattered] people of [Babylon] (and) (re)settled (them) in peaceful dwellings;

(44) [valiant] warrior, [clothed] with numinous splendor; whom the god Aššur, king of the gods, made take up his weapons to overthrow the enemies of Assyria; light of the (four) quar[ters]; the hero with whom the gods, his helpers, go constantly for the conquest of the enemy; foremost of all rulers; who marched freely from the rising sun to the setting sun and has no rival (therein);

(47) son of [Sennach]erib, [great king], mighty king, king of the world, king of Assyria; descendant of Sargon (II), king of the world, king of Assyria, governor of Babylon, king of Sumer and Akkad; royal descendant of Bēl-bāni, king of Assyria, ancient stock, whose place of ultimate origin is Baltil (Aššur); (and) who(se dynasty) from earliest times, by the command of the god Marduk, (50) (was called) to rule the land and people, all of it, was suitable for kingship, whose governing status was pleasing to the god Aššur, (and) whose food offerings the gods of heaven (and) netherworld desired —

(52) At the beginning of my kingship, in my first year, when the god Aššur, king of the gods, kindly placed me on the throne of my father, the god Anu granted me his crown, the god Enlil his throne, the god Ninurta his weapon, (and) the god Nergal his awesome splendor, good signs were established for me in heaven and on earth concerning the refurbishing of the gods and the (re)building of shrines.

(55) Jupiter shone brightly and came near in Simānu (III) and stood in the place where the sun shines. It reached (its) hypsoma for a second time in the month “Opening of the Door” and stayed in its place.

(57b) In order to triumph (and) to show overpowering strength, he (the god Marduk) revealed to me good omen(s) concerning the (re-)entering of Esagil. The stars of heaven stood in their positions and took the correct path (and) left the incorrect path. Every month, the gods Sîn and Šamaš together, (60) at their appearance, answered me with a firm ‘yes’ concerning the renewing of the gods, the completion of the shrines of cult centers, the lasting stability of my reign, (and) the securing of the throne of my priestly office.

(61b) At that time, I, Esarhaddon, king of the world, king of Assyria, the one selected (and) chosen by the god Aššur, the one required by the great gods, with the broad wisdom (and) vast comprehension that the sage of the gods, the prince, the god Nudimmud (Ea), gave to me, (and) through the great wisdom that the gods Aššur and Marduk imparted to me (lit. “opened my ears”) for refurbishing the great gods, (65) I prayed to the divinity of the god Aššur, king of the gods, and the great lord, the god Marduk, with raised hands, prayers, and expressions of humility, (saying):

(66) “With whom, O great gods, will you continually send me to create gods and goddesses, difficult work (performed) in an inaccessible place? (Can I undertake) the renovation work with people who are deaf (and) blind, who do not know themselves (and) whose future is (still) undecided? The creation of gods and goddesses is in your hands, so build yourselves a cella for your majestic divinity! [What]ever is in your heart, let it be done! Through the unalterable (words) spoken by your lips, (70) give the skilled craftsmen, whom you ordered to perform this work, sublime knowledge like the god Ea, their creator, and teach them the skills (needed). By your exalted command, let them make all of their handiwork succeed (while doing) the work of the god Ninšiku.”

(72b) I kneeled reverently (seeking) the judgment of the gods Šamaš and Adad, and I stationed diviners to (ascertain) their true decisions. I had an extispicy performed concerning (the selection of the) use of the workshop in Baltil (Aššur), Babylon, or Nineveh, and I placed (before the diviners) separate lists of craftsmen who should do the work and be allowed to enter the secret place. (75) The omens were unanimous: they answered me with a firm ‘yes,’ (and) told me (it should be) in Baltil (Aššur), (my) dynastic city, the residence of the father of the gods, the god Aššur. They indicated to me the workshop to use (and) the craftsmen to perform the work. Through truthful, trustworthy portents, diviners told me to perform that work, (saying) thus: “Do (it) quickly, pay attention, (and) be careful! Do not procrastinate! You should not turn your attention to anything else!” I trusted their immutable, firm ‘yes,’ and I felt confident.

(79b) In a favorable month, on a propitious day, in Šabāṭu (XI), the favorite month of the god Enlil, (exactly) as they (the gods) wished, I entered the workshop where the renovations (would be done) and I brought carpenters, jewelers, copper smiths, seal cutters, skilled craftsmen, who know the secrets, into the temple that the gods Šamaš and Adad had selected by divination, (and) I installed them (there).

(82b) (As for) red gold, an ore from its mountain which nobody had (yet) cast into a work of art, (and) countless precious stones, that have not (yet) seen (the light of) day, the creation of the mountains where the god Ea greatly decreed their fate to be the radiance for the artwork of lordship, I had (them) greatly prepared and delivered to their (the craftsmen’s) pure hands for the shrines of the great gods, [my] lords, [and] for the ornamentation of their divinity. I had an artfully (designed) crown, which is befitting the lordship (85) of the god Aššur, king of the gods, my lord, made of red gold and precious stones, and I restored it. The god Aššur, the great lord, accepted magnanimously that crown, (which is) clothed in splendorous radiance, full of dignity, radiating a glow, (and) wrapped in brilliance, and his spirit was pleased (and) his countenance shone.

(87) The gods Bēl, Bēltīya, Bēlet-Bābili, Ea, (and) Mandānu, the great gods, were truly created in Ešarra, the temple of their progenitor, and they grew beautiful in figure. I sumptuously adorned their features with red ṣāriru-gold, the creation of Mount Arallu (and) an ore from its mountain. I adorned their necks and covered their chests with magnificent ornaments (and) precious jewelry, all that the great lord, the god Marduk, had in mind (and) that the queen, the goddess Zarpanītu, wanted. They fashioned images of their great divinity more artfully than before (and) greatly adorned them. They provided (them) with awe-inspiring vigor (and) made (them) shine like the sun.

(91) I made anew a seat of everlasting musukkannu-wood together with a footstool, covered with red gold, for the goddess Tašmētu, the great lady, who lives in Eumuša, the cella of the god Marduk, which is in Babylon. I refurbished the god Amurru, the one who cleanses heaven and netherworld, the one who purifies Esagil, (and) who lives in Enamtaggadua. I renewed the gods Abšušu (and) Abtagigi, who live in Egišḫurankia, the temple of the divine lady of Nineveh, and all of the gods (and) goddesses (that) the gods Aššur and Marduk ordered (me to), and I returned (them) to their (proper) places: I returned the gods Great-Anu, Šarrat-Dēri, Niraḫ, Bēlet-balāṭi, Kurunītum, Sakkud of the city Bubê, (and) Mār-bīti to Dēr, their city; (95) I returned the goddess Uṣur-amāssa, the one who gives counsel, the intercessor, to Uruk, her city; (and) I returned the god Šamaš of Larsa to Larsa (and) the gods Ḫumḫumiya, Šuqamuna, (and) Šimaliya [to] Sippar-Aruru.

(96b) I mustered all of my workmen from Karduniaš (Babylonia) in its entirety, and I made them to take up hoe (and) basket. I had (them) make bricks in brick[molds] of ivory, ebony, boxwood, (and) musukkannu-wood. I mixed mortar with fine oil, honey, ghee, kurunnu-wine, muttinnu-wine, (and) mountain beer.