Esarhaddon 098

(1) The god Aššur, father of the gods, who loves my priestly service; the god Anu, the powerful, the foremost, the one who called my name; the god Enlil, lofty lord, the one confirmed my reign; the god Ea, wise one, knowing one, who decrees my destiny; (5) the god Sîn, shining Nannar, the one who makes signs favorable for me; the god Šamaš, judge of heaven and netherworld, the one who provides decisions for me; the god Adad, terrifying lord, the one who makes my troops prosper; the god Marduk, hero of the Igīgū and Anunnakū gods, the one who makes my kingship great; the goddess Ištar, lady of war and battle, who goes at my side; the Sebitti, valiant gods, the ones who overthrow my enemies; (and) the great gods, all of them, who decree destiny (and) give victorious might to the king, their favorite,

(13) Esarhaddon, great king, mighty king, king of the world, king of Assyria, governor of Babylon, king of Sumer (15) and Akkad, king of Karduniaš (Babylonia), (king of) all of them; king of the kings of (Lower) Egypt, Upper Egypt, and Kush; the one who re[veres the] great [gods], maje[stic] [dra]gon; [beloved] of the gods Aššur, Šama[š], Nabû, and Marduk; king of kings, (20) the merciless, the one who curbs the insolent ones, the one who is clothed in splen[dor], fearless in battle, perfe[ct] warrior, merciless in combat, almighty prince, the one who holds the nose-rope of rulers, raging lion, (25) avenger of (his) father, who engendered him; the king, who with the help of the gods Aššur, Šamaš, Nabû, and Marduk, the gods, his helpers, marched freely and (30) attained his wish — he broke all of those disobedient to him (and) rulers unsubmissive to him like a reed in the swamp and trampled (them) underfoot.

(34) The one who provides provisions for the great gods, kn[ows] how to revere the gods and goddesses, (rev. 1) [...] ...; [the one who (re)construct]ed the temple of the god Aššur, completed its ornaments, (re)bui[lt] Esagil and Babylon, restored the rites, (and) who returned the plundered [g]ods of the lands (rev. 5) to their (proper) place from the city Aššur; the king whose food offerings the great gods love and whose priestly service they established [fo]rever [in the tem]ples;

(r 7b) to whose lordship they gave their merciless weapons as a gift; the king, [whom] the lord of lords, the god Marduk, made greater than the kings of the four quarters, (rev. 10) whose lordship he made the greatest; the one who made the lands, all of them, bow down at his feet (and) who imposed tribute and payment on them; the one who conquered his enemies (and) destroyed his foes; the king whose passage is the deluge and whose deeds are a raging [li]on — before he (comes) it is a city, when he leaves it is a tell. The assault of his fierce battle is a blazing flame, a restless fire.

(r 15) Son of Sennacherib, king of the world (and) 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 the eternal line of Bēl-bāni, son of Adasi, founder of the kingship of Assyria, who[se] place of ultimate origin is Baltil (Aššur) —

(r 18b) By the command of the gods Aššur, Šamaš, Nabû, and Ma[rduk, the] great [gods], lords[hip] fell to me. I am mighty, [I am] almighty, I am lordly, I am proud, I am strong, (rev. 20) I am important, I am glorious, (and) [I ha]ve no equal among all of the kings. Chosen by the gods Aššur, Nabû, and Marduk; called by the god Sîn, favorite of the god Anu, beloved of the queen — the goddess Ištar, goddess of everything — (and) the merciless weapon that makes the enemy land tremble, am I. A king, expert in battle and war, the one who slaughters the settlements of his enemies, the one who kills his foes, the one who dissolves his adversaries, the one who makes the unsubmissive bow down, (and) the one who rules over all of the people of the world —

(r 25b) The gods Aššur, Šamaš, Nabû, and Marduk, my lofty lords, whose word cannot be changed, decreed as my destiny an unrivaled kingship. The goddess Ištar, the lady who loves my priestly service, put in my hands a strong bow (and) a mighty arrow, the slayer of the disobedient; she allowed me to achieve my wish and made all of the unsubmissive kings bow down at my feet.

(r 30b) When the god Aššur, the great lord, (wanted) to reveal the glorious might of my deeds to the people, he made my kingship the most glorious and made my name greatest of the kings of the four quarters, made my hands carry a terrible staff to strike the enemy, (and) empowered me to loot (and) plunder (any) land (that) had committed sin, crime, (or) negligence against the god Aššur (rev. 35) (and) to enlarge the territory of Assyria. After the god Aššur and the great gods, my lords, had ordered me to march far along remote roads, (through) rugged mountains (and) great sand dunes, where (one is always) thirsty, I marched safely (and) in good spirits.

(r 37b) As for Taharqa, the king of Egypt and Kush, the accursed of their great divinity, from the city Išḫupri to Memphis, (his) royal city, a march of fifteen days overland, (rev. 40) I inflicted serious defeats on him daily, without ceasing. Moreover, (with regard to) he himself, by means of arrows, I inflicted him five times with wounds from which there is no recovery; and (as for) the city of Memphis, his royal city, within half a day (and) by means of mines, breaches, (and) ladders, I besieged (it), conquered (it), demolished (it), destroyed (it), (and) burned (it) with fire.

(r 43b) I carried off to Assyria his wife, his court ladies, Uš-Anaḫuru, his crown prince, and the rest of his sons (and) his daughters, his goods, his possessions, his horses, his oxen, (rev. 45) (and) his sheep and goats, without number. I tore out the roots of Kush from Egypt. I did not leave a single person there to praise (me). Over Egypt, all of it, I appointed anew kings, governors, commanders, customs officers, trustees, (and) overseers. I confirmed sattukku (and) ginû offerings for the god Aššur and the great gods, my lords, forever. I imposed the tribute and payment of my lordship on them, yearly, without ceasing.

(r 50b) I had a stele written in my name made and I had inscribed upon it the renown (and) heroism of the god Aššur, my lord, (and) the might of my deeds which I had done with the help of the god Aššur, my lord, and my victory (and) triumph. I set (it) up for all time for the admiration of all of (my) enemies.

(r 53b) Whoever takes away this stele from its place and erases my inscribed name and writes his name, covers (it) with dirt, throws (it) into water, burns (it) with fire, or puts (it) in a place where (it) cannot be seen, may the goddess Ištar, lady of war and battle, change him from a man into a woman, and may she seat him, bound, at the feet of his enemy. May a future ruler look upon a stele written in my name, read (it) aloud (while standing) in front of it, anoint (it) with oil, make an offering, (and) praise the name of the god Aššur, my lord.