Ashurbanipal 010

(i 1) I, Ashurbanipal, great king, strong king, king of the world, king of Assyria, king of the four quarters (of the world), offspring of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, governor of Babylon, king of the land of Sumer and Akkad, descendant of Sennacherib, king of the world, king of Assyria —

(i 9) The great gods in their assembly determined a favorable destiny as my lot (and) they glorified the mention of my name (and) made my lordship greater than (those of all other) kings who sit on (royal) daises.

(i 14) I completed Eḫursaggalkurkurra, the temple of (the god) Aššur, my lord, (and) I clad its walls with gold (and) silver. I fastened band(s) of silver on tall columns (and) I erected (them) at the Gate of the Abundance of the Lands. I made (the god) Aššur enter into Eḫursaggula and made (him) reside on (his) eternal dais.

(i 21) I (re)built Esagil, the palace of the gods, (and) completed its designs. I brought the deities Bēl (Marduk), Bēltīya (Zarpanītu), the Lady of Babylon, Ea, (and) Mandānu out o[f] Ešarra (and) made (them) en[te]r into Šuanna (Babylon).

(i 27) (As for) the throne-dais, the se[at of] his (Marduk’s) exalted divinity, [I] cast fifty talents of shiny zaḫ[al]û-silver in[to bricks] and (thereby) en[la]rged it.

(i 31) I had a c[a]nopy, which rivals the heavens, made from musukkannu-wood, a durable wood. I clad its pe[rim]eter with thirty-four talents (and) twenty minas of reddish gold (and thereby) reinforced its bonds. I stretched out its covering over the god Ma[r]duk, the great lord, and (thus) secured its roof.

(i 39) (As for) the exalted [chariot], the vehicle of the god Marduk, [the pre-emin]ent one among the gods, the lord of lords, [I com]pleted its feature(s) [with g]old, silver, (and) precious stones. I gave (it) [as a g]ift [to] the god Marduk, the king of the totality of heaven and netherworld, [the one who overwhe]lms my enemies.

(i 46) I skillfully made a [bed of] musukkannu-[woo]d, a durable wood, that is clad with pa[ša]llu-gold (and) studded with [pre]cious stones, as a pleasure bed for the god Bēl (Marduk) (and) the goddess Bēltīya (Zarpanītu) to carry out the wedding (and) to make love. I placed (it) in Ka[ḫil]isu, the bed chamber of the goddess Zarpanītu, which is laden with sexual charm.

(ii 1) I stationed four fierce wild bulls of silver, protectors of my royal path, in the Gate of the Rising Sun (and) in the Gate of Lamma-RA.BI, in gateway(s) of Ezida, which is inside Borsippa.

(ii 7) I decorated Emašmaš (and) Egašankalama with silver (and) gold, (and) filled (them) with splendor.

(ii 9) The goddess Šarrat-Kidmuri, who in her anger had abandoned her inner sanctum (and) had taken up residence in a place not befitting her, relented during the favorable reign (lit. “my favorable reign”) that (the god) Aššur had granted me. To complete (the emblem of) her exalted divinity (and) to glorify her precious cultic rites, she constantly kept sending me (instructions) through dream(s and) message(s) from ecstatics.

(ii 18) I asked the gods Šamaš and Adad and they answered me with a firm “yes.” I refurbished the emblem of her great divinity (and) made her sit upon a throne-dais as (her) eternal abode. I firmly (re)-established her precious cultic ordinances and properly carried out her cultic rites.

(ii 25) For the preservation of my life, [I] set up lion-headed eagles (and) divine emblems in the gateway(s) of Egallamme[s], the temple of the god Nergal of the city Tarbiṣu.

(ii 29) Before my father was born (and) my birth-mother was created in her mother’s wo[mb], the god Sîn, who created me to be king, named me to (re)build Eḫulḫul, saying: “Ashurbanipal will (re)b[uild] that temple [and] (ii 35) make me dwell therein upon [an e]ternal [dais.” The word of the god S]în, which [he had spoken] in distant days, [he n]ow reve[aled to the peo]ple of a later generation. He allowed [the temple of the god Sîn — which] Shalmaneser (III), [son of Ashurnasirpal (II)], a king of the past (who had come) before [m]e, [had b]ui[lt] — to become old and he entrusted (its renovation) to me.

(ii 44) I removed its dilapidated section(s) by the command of the gods Sîn (and) Nusku. I made its structure larger than the one in the days of the past. I built (and) completed (it) from its foundation(s) to its crenellations. Inside it, I built Emelamana, the temple of the god Nusku, the exalted vizier, which no king of the past (who had come) before me had built. I roofed [them] with long beams of cedar. I faste[ned] band(s) of silver on doors of white ceda[r] (and) I fixed (them) in their gateways.

(iii 5) In the inner sanctum of the god Sîn, my lord, I stationed two wild bulls of silver, which gor[e] my foes (to death). In a gateway of Eḫulḫul, I (also) stationed two long-haired heroes of ešma[r]û-metal, which gra[sp] divine emblems, keep safe my [r]oyal path, (and) bring in the yield of mountain and sea.

(iii 13) I took the gods Sîn (and) Nusku by the hand, made (them) enter into (their respective temples), (and) made (them) sit on (their) eternal dais(es).

(iii 15) In its entire[t]y, I built (and) completed Edimgalkalama, the temple of Great Anu that is inside (the city) Dēr.

(iii 18) The temple of the deities Sîn, Ningal, Šamaš, (and) Aya that is inside Nineveh (and) which Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, the father who had engendered me, had built, had become old — that temple had become dilapidated and its walls had buckled. I built (and) completed that temple in its entirety (and) I raised up its superstructure. (iii 25) I roofed it with long beams of cypress (and) fixed doors of white cedar, whose fragrance is sweet, in its gateways. After I had thoroughly completed that temple (and) finished its construction, I brought the deities Sîn, Ningal, Nusku, Šamaš, and Aya, [the god]s who support me, inside it and ma[de] (them) dwell (on their) eternal dais(es).

(iii 35b) I built (and) completed the sanctuaries of Assyria (and) the land Akkad in their en[ti]rety. I made every type of temple appurtenance there is from silver (and) gold, (and) I a[d]ded (them) to those of the kings, my ancestors. I made the great gods who support me reside in their exalted inner sanctums. I offered sumptuous offerings before them (and) presented (them) with my gif[ts]. I made regular offerings (and) contributions more plenti[ful] than those of distant [day]s.

(iii 49b) I had statue(s) of [m]y royal maje[sty] skillfully ma[de] from silver, gold, (and) [shi]ny copper through the craft of the deities Ninagal, [Kusibanda], (and) Ninkurra, [and], as constant petitioners for my [l]ife, I installed (them) in their positions before the gods who support me. From my childhood until I became an adult, I was assiduous towards the sanctuaries of the grea[t] gods. Th[ey] required my priestly services (and) they (now) enjoy m[y] giving (them) food offerings.

(iv 8) The god Adad released his rains (and) the god Ea opened up his springs. Year after year, I shepherded the subjects of the god Enl[il] in prosperity (and) with justic[e].

(iv 12) The great gods, who[se] divinity I constantly revered, generously gr<ant>ed me power, virili[ty], (and) outstandi[ng] strength. They placed lands that had not bowed down to m[e] into my hands (and) allowed me to achieve [my] heart’s desire. I marched from the Upper Sea to the Lower Sea, where the kings, my ancestors, had regularly traveled. [At a] distance of one month (and) twenty days (journey) into the midst of the sea and on dry la[nd], (iv 25) I added territory to that of the kings, [my] ance[stors], and [ruled (it)]. I made the people living in those lands bow down to my yoke (and) [imp]osed upon them annual tribute payment. By the command of (the god) Aššur (and) the goddess Mullissu, the kings who sit upon (royal) daises kiss my feet (and) great rulers from (both) east and west are anxious for me to be their ally.

(iv 36) With the support of the [great] gods, my lords, I entered the land Ela[m], brought about their (the Elamites’) defeat countless (times), (and) marched about triumphantly. Ummanaldašu (Ḫumban-ḫaltaš III) became frightened by the assault of my mighty battle array, fled naked, and took to the mountain(s).

(iv 44) I conquered fourteen fortified cities, his royal residence(s), and small(er) settlements, which were without number, together with twenty villages, in the district of the city Ḫunn[ir], (which is) on the border of the city Ḫidalu. I destroyed (and) demolished the city Bašimu and the villages in its environs.

(iv 51b) As for the people living inside them, I annihilated them. I smashed their gods (and thus) placated the mood of the lord of lords. I carried off to Assyria its gods, its goddesses, its possessions, (and) its property, (as well as) people, young and old. I devastated an area of sixty leagues inside the land Elam (and) scattered salt (and) cress over them.

(v 9) (As for) the goddess Nanā<ya>, who 1,635 years (ago) became angry and we[nt] to live [in the land El]am, a place [not befit]ting her, then, at that time (when) she and the gods, her fathers, nominated me for ruling over the lands, she entrusted me with the return of her lordly majesty, saying: “Ashurbanipal will bring me out of the land Elam and make me enter Eanna (again).”

(v 24) The word(s) of their divine command that they had spoken in distant days, they now disclosed to the people of a later generation. I grasped the hand of her great divinity. She took the direct path, which pleases the heart, to Eanna. I made her enter into Uruk and made her dwell on (her) eternal dais in Eḫiliana, which she loves.