RECORDS OF THE PAST

BEING
ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS
OF THE
ASSYRIAN AND EGYPTIAN MONUMENTS

PUBLISHED UNDER THE SANCTION
OF
THE SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY

THE present volume of translations of Babylonian and Assyrian inscriptions, in the cuneiform or arrow-headed character, is the first of a series intended to place before the public the important results of the study and interpretation of these and Egyptian monuments, by English and foreign students. The value of these translations, to those interested in Biblical history and archaeology, cannot be estimated too highly by all who have turned their attention to the language, literature, and history of the nations of the East contemporaneous with the Hebrews, and conterminous to the land of Palestine. As many of the texts are of the most remote antiquity, they derive from that fact alone the greatest importance, detailing contemporaneous events which had hitherto escaped notice, been lost, or else imperfectly transmitted by secondary sources. In order to render the volume as popular as possible, and make the information afforded as simple as it can be given, the translations are only accompanied by such notes as are absolutely required to explain intelligibly a few of the more obscure passages. The doubtful portions of the translations are printed in italics, and additional words are indicated by brackets. The translations have been printed as received, and each translator is only responsible for {p.ii} his own portion of the work. In the short introduction placed at the head of each, will be found a notice of where the text exists, and has been published, and if it has been previously translated; but no philological exegesis has been given. Owing to the discrepancies and difficulties which are attendant on the different systems of chronology, it has hot been deemed advisable to give the exact dates B.C. of the documents, but an indication of general period to which each belongs is denoted by the title or heading. The nature of each monument is also mentioned, whether it is inscribed on stone, or a tablet, or cylinder of terra cotta, or object of other material employed for the purpose.

The form of the cuneiform characters varied considerably, according to age, locality, and the hand of the script in which it was inscribed, the oldest mounting to the earliest age of the Babylonian and Assyrian monarchies; this style of writing not having been entirely discontinued at the commencement of the Roman empire.

It has not been possible to arrange the materials in chronological order, but the list appended of the known texts and monuments, will convey to the reader some idea of their relative age, and extent of the literature, of Babylon, Assyria, Egypt, and other Eastern nations of antiquity.

S. BIRCH.

London, December 25, 1873.

THE following Inscription is found upon a Pavement Slab from Nimrud, which was discovered at the edge of the mound between the North-West and South-West Palaces. A lithographed copy of it is contained in the first volume of the "Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia," p. 35, No. 3. The first 25 lines were originally published in the volume of Cuneiform Inscriptions edited by Mr. Layard, p. 70, With {p.2} the exception of the last 6 lines, the Inscription was printed in Bonomi's popular work on Nineveh, p. 339. Its genealogical value is great, and it contains a notice of the founder of the Assyrian Monarchy who is otherwise unknown.

1 The Palace of Rimmon-Nirari, the great king, the powerful king,
2 The mighty king, king of the land of Assyria, the king whom, as his own son, Assur
3 King of the Gods of Heaven has favoured and with the kingdom
4 Of the World has filled
5 His hand. From the great sea
6 Of the Rising Sun¹ to the great sea
7 Of the Setting Sun²
8 His hand has conquered and ruled it
9 Wholly and throughout. The son of Samas-Rimmon,
10 The great king, the powerful king, the mighty king, king of the land of Assyria,
11 King of the World, son of Shalmaneser
12 King of the Four Races,³ who on the land of his foes
13 Laid (his) yoke, and swept (them) like a whirlwind.
14 Grandson of Assur-natsir-pal, the warrior priest,
15 The enlarger of glorious habitations.
16 Rimmon-nirari, the glorious prince, to whose help
17 The gods Assur, Samas (the Sun), Rimmon, and Merodach
18 Have gone, and have enlarged his country
19 (Is) the descendant of the grandson of Tiglath-Adar,⁴ king of Assyria,
_________
1 That is either the Persian Gulf or the Caspian Sea.
2 The Mediterranean.
3 The Four Races was an old title of Syria, which was peopled, according to Gen. x. 23, by Uz and Hul and Gether and Mash.
4 He was the father of Assur-natsir-pal.

20 King of the country of Sumeri and Accad,¹
21 Descendant² of Shalmaneser, the powerful king,
22 The erecter of the Temple of Kharsak-Kurra,³
23 The mountain of the world; descendant
24 Of Bel-sumili-capi, a former king
25 Who went before (me), the founder of the monarchy,
26 Of which for its exaltation from
27 Ancient times Assur has proclaimed the glory.
___________
1 This denoted Babylonia. Sumeri is perhaps the Shinar of Scripture.
2 Literally "offspring of the offspring".
3 This signifies " the mountains of the East," that 'is to say, the highlands of Elam from which the Accadai or "Highlanders" had originally descended.

THIS inscription is valuable from its extreme antiquity. Khammurabi lived before the time of Moses, but how many centuries earlier has not yet been ascertained. His inscriptions are, with one exception, written in the Accadian language which as yet is very imperfectly understood. Very fortunately the Museum at Paris possesses one inscription written in the Babylonian language, and this is the one of which I have here given the translation. It was first translated by Oppert and Menant, and afterwards M. Menant wrote a special work on the subject, entitled Inscriptions de Hammourabi roi de Babylone, traduites et publi'ees avec un commentaire a Pappui par M. Joachim Menant (Paris 1863). This work is accompanied by facsimiles of the inscriptions. I published a version of the inscription in 1863 in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. 20 p. 445 and a somewhat better one in 1865, {p.6} aided by the facsimile, in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Literature, vol. 8, p. 234.

The great importance of this inscription resides, not in the events treated of, but in the language itself: for, we have here the proof that the Babylonian language was the same in the days of Khammurabi as it was a thousand years later in the days of Nebuchadnezzar. There are a few archaisms but they are very trifling. The amount of difference is perhaps as much as exists between the English of Queen Elizabeth's time and that of the present day. How far then must we recede into antiquity, if we wish to find the beginnings of the Semitic tongue! In all the inscriptions which have come down to us we find substantially the same language.

Other languages, and totally different ones, existed at the same time, of which the most important was the Accadian, in which the greater number of Khammurabi's inscriptions are written. That monarch evidently ruled over two races, which lived side by side, or perhaps intermixed, in ancient Babylonia.

Khammurabi the exalted king, the king of Babylon, the king renowned throughout the world: conqueror of the enemies of Marduk: the king beloved by his heart, am I.

The favour of God and Bel the people of Sumir and Accad gave unto my government. Their celestial weapons unto my hand they gave.

The canal Khammurabi, the joy of men, a stream of abundant waters, for the people of Sumir and Accad I excavated. Its banks, all of them, I restored to newness: new supporting walls I heaped up: perennial waters for the people of Sumir and Accad I provided.

The people of Sumir and Accad, all of them, in general assemblies I assembled. A review and inspection of them I ordained every year. In joy and abundance I watched over them, and in peaceful dwellings I caused them to dwell.

By the divine favour I am Khammurabi the exalted king, the worshipper of the supreme deity.

With the prosperous power which Marduk gave me, I built a lofty Citadel, on a high mound of earth, whose summits rose up like mountains, on the bank of Khammurabi river, the joy of men.

To that Citadel I gave the name of the mother who bore me¹ and the father who begot me.

In the holy name of Ri the mother who bore me, and of the father who begot me, during long ages may it last!
____________
1 He named it the fortress of Ri-Marduk, the god and goddess whom he called his father and mother, according to a fantastic custom of which the inscriptions offer many examples.

THE Inscription translated below is engraved upon an Obelisk found in the South-East Palace of Nimrud, the ancient Calah, and now in the British Museum. It is written in archaic characters, which differ greatly from those ordinarily met with on the Assyrian monuments. They are more picturesque than the latter, and were therefore sometimes preferred for the same reason that makes us occasionally adopt the old black-letter type. The Inscription is given in the First Volume of the "Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia," edited by Sir H. Rawlinson and Mr. Norris in 1861, pp. 29-34. It has already been translated by Dr. Oppert in his "Histoire des Empires de Chaldee et d'Assyrie d'apres les monuments" (1865); but the present Translation is the first that has been made into English. Shalmaneser, the father of the king who had the Inscription engraved, was one of the greatest monarchs of the Middle Assyrian Empire. He reigned 35 years, and was a cotemporary of the Israelite {p.10} kings Ahab and Jehu, and of Hazael of Syria. Ahab is mentioned in an Inscription which Shalmaneser caused to be set up at Kurkh, and the names of Jehu and Hazae occur on an Obelisk of Black Marble, adorned with sculptures of tribute-bearers, which occupies a conspicuous place in the British Museum. The reign of Samas-Rimmon lasted 13 years; and the inscription itself gives an account of his successful suppression of a revolt raised by his brother Assur-dayan, which, like that of Adonijah, threatened to deprive Samas-Rimmon of the crown that had been destined for him.

1 To Adar,¹ the courageous lord
2 of mighty chiefs, the lord,
3 the hero of the gods, the roller of the globe of heaven
4 and earth, the urger on of all,
5 the supporter of the Deities of Heaven (and) of rainstorms,
6 the bright one, whose powers
7 are unequalled, chief of the Annunaci,²
8 the most powerful of the gods, the oracle,
9 the high ruler of the Southern Sun,
10 Lord over the force of the whirlwind,
11 who, like the destroying sun, the threshold of the gods
12 crosses, and the regions of the leaders
13 of the gods, who diffuse glory,
14 fills with the abundance of all powers,
15 (and) the strength (of them); First-born of Bel, the servant
16 of the gods, his superiors, offspring of Beth-Eser,³ the son
__________________
1 The name of this god is variously read as Nin-ip, Bar, and Ussur.
2 The Anunnaci, the offspring of Anu or the Sky, had their seat in the Lower world. They are called the Deities of the Earth.
3 Beth-Eser, "The Temple of Uprightness," was the name given to the Temples of Adar.

17 the ruler, who among the fragments of broken diadems
18 launches the arrow, offspring of Bit-Kurt receiver of the instructions of
19 Anu and the Great Goddess, who change not
20 the utterance of his mouth,¹ the mighty chief, the supreme (one), the magnified,
21 Lord of the divine-powers, who the sinews of the hands and feet
22 binds together [and] brings the design to completion,
23 high among the gods, the lord who dwells in Calah,
24 the crown of perfect places,
25 the seat of the Southern Sun;
26 Samas-Rimmon² the mighty king, king of multitudes
27 unequalled (in number), the shepherd of (sacred) places, bearer of the sceptre
28 of the shrines, the descender into all lands, the urger on
29 of all whom from former days
30 the gods have called by name, the protector, the restorer
31 of Beth-Eser he who transgresses not, the roller of the front of Bit-Kur.
32 (As to) whom, for the embellishment of Bit-Kharsak-Kurra (and) the Temples³ of his land
33 his heart is established and his ears exist;
34 the son of Shalmaneser, the king of the Four Races,
35 the opponent of kings of all (countries), the trampler on the world,
36 the grandson of Assur-natsir-pal
37 the receiver of the tribute
38 and the riches of all regions.
_____________
1 Or "the utterance of whose mouth shall never be changed."
2 Samas is the Sun-god. Rimmon is the god of the atmosphere, whose name has been variously read Iva, Ao, Vul, and Bin.
3 The word used here is the Plural of Bit-kur which literally signifies "Temple of the Country."

39 It came to pass that Assur-dayin, the son, in the time of Shalmaneser
40 his father, made war. The overthrow of fealty wickedly
41 he brought about and caused the country to rebel, and made ready
42 battle. The men of the country of Assyria above and below with him
43 he collected, and he fortified the habitable towns. The cities he caused to be counted over, and
44 to make conflict and battle he set his face.
45 The cities of Nisura, Adia, Sibaniba, Imgur-Bel,¹ Issabri,
46 Beth-Imdira, Simu, Sibkhinis, Parnusur, Kipsuna,
47 Kurban, Tidu, Napulu, Capa, Assur,² Huracca,
48 Sallad (?), Khuzirina, Dur-baladh,³ Dariga, Zab,
49 Lubdu, Arapkha,⁴ Arbela, as far as Amida, Tel-Abni,⁵ (and)
50 Khin-makhnu, in all 27 fortified towns with their citadels, which from
51 Shalmaneser, king of the Four Races, my father, had revolted (and)
52 on the side of Assur-dayan, the son, had ranged themselves, by the will of the great gods, my lords,
53 my feet I made them kiss in my first campaign, when to the country of Nahri⁶ (Continued on Column II)
__________
1 Imgur-Bel was the name of the walls of Babylon.
2 Assur, the original capital of Assyria, is the modern Kalah-Shergat.
3 This means "The Fortress of Life."
4 The name of the city has hitherto been read in this way, and the classical Arrapachitis compared with it. It ought, however, to be either Sanakha or Arbanun.
5 That is "The Mound of Stones."
6 Literally "The Country of Rivers." It corresponds with Northern Mesopotamia, the Aram Naharaim of Scripture.

1 I went up. Tribute (in the shape of)
2 horses harnessed to the yoke
3 from all the kings of
4 Nahri I received at the same time.
5 The land of Nahri to its frontiers
6 like shavings I swept.
7 The border of Assyria, which (extended) from the city of Paddira
8 in Nahri as far as
9 Kar-Shalmaneser, near
10 Carchemish, from the country of Zaddi,
11 the border of Accad, as far as
12 Enzi, from the country of Aridi as far as
13 the country of the Sukhi, by the will of Assur, Samas,
14 Rimmon, (and) Istar, the gods, my protectors,
15 with shame of face, my feet
16 kissed. In my second campaign
17 Mulis- Assur, chief of the commanders,
18 a leader skilful in righting, a man of authority,¹
19 with my war-engines and my camp
20 to Nahri I urged on, and
21 sent it forth. Unto the sea of the setting sun he went.
22 Three hundred cities
23 of Khirtsina, the son
24 of Migdi-ara (and) eleven fortresses
25 as well as 200 cities
26 of Uspina he cut off; their fighting men
27 he slew; their spoil, their treasure, their goods,
28 their gods, their sons, (and) their daughters
29 he carried off; their cities he threw down,
_____________
1 Literally "man of command."

30 dug up (and) burned with fire. On his return
31 the fighting men of the country of the Sunbai he slaughtered.
32 A multitude of horses, trained
33 (to) the yoke, belonging to the kings of Nahri,
34 all of them I received. In my third campaign the river Zab
35 I crossed. The country of Tsilar I passed through.
36 To the land of Nahri I went up. The tribute
37 of Dadi of the country of the Khupuscai,¹
38 of Khirtsina, the son of Migdi-ara,
39 of the country of the Sunbai, (of) the country of the Manai,²
40 (of) the country of the Parsuai (and of) the country of the Taurlai,
41 (namely) horses trained (to) the yoke,
42 I received. (As to) the country of the Mi'sai, exceeding fear
43 of Assur my lord overwhelmed them.
44 Before the brightness of my mighty arrows
45 they had fear, and their cities they abandoned.
46 A mountain difficult (of access) they occupied.
47 Three mountain peaks, which like the mist
48 reached unto heaven, over which no bird
49 could find its passage,³ the place
50 as their stronghold they made.⁴ After them I rode.
51 At those mountain peaks I arrived.
52 In a single day like an eagle over them I rushed.
_____________
1 Khupusca lay to the North-East of Assyria, among the mountains of Armenia.
2 The Manai or Mannai, called Minni in the Old Testament, inhabited the neighbourhood of Lake Van in Armenia.
3 Literally "which a bird his crossing came not (to)."
4 Literally "the place of them (i.e. the mountain-peaks) for their stronghold they made."

53 Multitudes of their soldiers I slew: their spoil,
54 their treasure, their goods, their oxen, their asses,
55 their sheep, horses trained (to) the yoke,
56 bulls which (have) two humps¹
57 (and) horns to a countless number from the midst of the mountains I caused to be brought down.
58 Five hundred cities which (were) dependent upon them I threw down, dug up,
59 (and) burned with fire. To the country of Girubbunda² (Continued on Column III)
____________
1 I.e. Camels.
2 Girubbunda lay to the east of the Par'suai, who are probably the Parthians, and to the west of the Medes, at that time considerably eastward of the country afterwards called after their name.

1 I went. The city of Cinaci I cut off,
2 threw down, dug up (and) burned with fire.
3 The country that belonged to Nirisbizida
4 I passed through. The tribute of Titamasca
5 of the city of the Samasai, (and of) Ci-ara of the city of the Kar-'sibutai,
6 (namely) horses trained (to) the yoke, I received.
7 (As to) the country of Girubbunda, all its inhabitants the fear of my lordship
8 and the onset of my mighty battle overwhelmed, and
9 their cities they abandoned. To
10 the city Huras, their fortified stronghold, I went down; and
11 this city I besieged, I captured. The corpses
12 of their warriors, like rubbish I scattered. Their city
13 I laid in heaps; 600 of their warriors I slew.
14 Pirisati their king, with 1,200 of his fighting men
15 into bondage I took. Their spoil, their treasure, their goods,
16 their oxen, their sheep, their horses, property
17 (in) silver, (and) gold mingled with bronze, to
18 a countless amount, I carried off. I pulled down, dug up
19 (and) burned with fire. The tribute of Engur
20 of the city of the Tsibarai I received. An image
21 of my magnified royalty I made.¹ The laws
22 of Assur my lord, the decrees of my ascendancy
23 and the full history of the deeds of my hand, which in
24 the country of Nahri I wrought, upon it
25 I wrote. Into the city of Tsibara,
26 their fortified stronghold in the country of the Girubbundai,
________
1 That is, he had a statue of himself erected.

27 I caused (it) to be brought. To the country of the Matai¹ I went
28 Before the mighty arrows of Assur, and the trial
29 of my terrible battle, which had not rest,
30 they had fear; and their cities they abandoned.
31 To the country of Epitse after them
32 I rode: 2,300 soldiers of Khanatsiruca
33 of the country of the Matai I slew; 140 of his war-carriages
34 I seized. His treasure his goods to a countless amount
35 I brought back to the city Sagbita, the capital. As many as
36 1,200 of his cities I threw down, dug up, (and) burned with fire.
37 On my return the passes of the mountains I made my way through.
38 Munir'suarta of the country of the Araziasai,² together with
39 1,070 of his fighting-men with arrows I slaughtered.
40 (With) their corpses the successive valleys of the high country
41 I filled: their sons, their daughters, their treasure,
42 their goods, their oxen, (and) their sheep the armies
43 of my country as tribute carried away. Their cities I threw down,
44 dug up (and) burned with fire. At that time the tribute
45 of Sirasmi of the country of the Babarurai, of Amakhar
46 of the city of the Kharmis-andai, of Zarisu of the country of the Par'saniyai,
47 of Zarisu of the city of the Khundurai, of Sanisu
48 of the country of the Cipabarutacai, of Ardara
49 of the country of the Ustassai, of Suma of the country of the Cinucai,
___________
1 These are the Medes.
2 The Araziasians are placed by Lenormant in Sagartia.

50 of Tatai of the country of the Ginginai,
51 of Bi'sirain of the country of the Arimai, of Parusta
52 of the country of the Cimarusai, of Aspastatauk
53 of the Huilai, of Amamas of the country of the Cingistilinzakharai¹
54 of Kha's'sikhu of the country of the Matsirausai, of Mamanis
55 of the country of the Luk'sai, of Zabel of the country of the Dimamai,
56 of Sirasu of the country of the 'Singuriai, of Gista
57 of the country of the Abdanai, of Adadanu of the country of the A'satai,
58 of Ur'si of the country of the Ginkhukhtai, of Bara
59 of the country of the Ginzinai, of Aruaof the country of the Cindutausai,
60 of Dirnacus of the country of the Marruai, of Zabanu
61 of the country of the Zuzarurai, of Irtizati of the country of the Ginkhidai
62 of Bazzuta of the country of the Taurlai, of Sua
63 of the country of the Nanikirians (?), of 'Satiriai, (and) of Arta'sirari
64 kings of the country of Nahri all of them, by the will of Assur, Samas,
65 (and) Rimmon, the gods my defenders, a fixed tribute
66 of horses trained (to) the yoke for the future
67 over them I appointed. At that time from the country of Tsilar
68 (and) the land of Edanni as far as the sea of the setting sun, like Rimmon,
69 my storm over them I poured. Exceeding fear
70 into them I infused. In my fourth campaign, (in the month) Si'van²

_____________
1 The latter part of this word seems to be the Assyrian Zakharu "small."
2 Sivan, the 3rd month of the year, answered roughly to our May.

1 (on) the 15th day to Car-Duniyas¹ (my troops) go, and
2 the river Zab I crossed. Between the cities of Zaddi and Zaba
3 fragments of rock I passed. Three fierce lions I slew.
4 The country of Ebikh I passed through. The city of the waters of the Dhurnat² I approached.
5 Exceeding fear of Assur and Merodach, the great gods,
6 my lords, overwhelmed them. My feet they took.³These men
7 I caused to go out, and with their goods (and) their gods to the midst
8 of my own country I brought them. As men of my own country I counted (them).
9 The Dhurnat I crossed in its upper part.⁴ The city Karne,
10 the capital of the country,⁵ as well as 200 towns dependent upon it I threw down, [dug up]
11 (and) burned with fire. The country of Yalman I passed through. The city Diahbina
12 I approached. The fear of Assur overwhelmed the inhabitants. My feet they took.
13 Three thousand cities with their men, their treasure (?) their goods, from the midst
14 of that city I took. The cities of Datebir (and) Iz ... ya
15 which (are) beside the city Ganasuticanu, together with 200 cities
__________
1 Car-duniyas was the name usually given to Lower Chaldea.
2 This river is the Tornadotus of classical geographers.
3 As a token of homage and submission.
4 Or "in its flood."
5 Literally, "its royal city."

16 that (are) dependent on them I conquered: 330 of their soldiers I slew:
17 Their spoil, their treasure, their goods, (and) their gods I carried off: their plantation,
18 I cut down: their towns I threw down, dug up (and) burned with fire. The men who from, the face
19 of my mighty arrows fled, into a city in the midst of (their other) cities, their fortified (stronghold,)
20 entered. That city I besieged,. I captured. Five hundred of their soldiers I slew. Their spoil,
21 their treasure, their goods, their gods, their oxen (and) their sheep I carried off. The city
22 I threw down, dug up, (and) burned with fire. As to all the land of Accad, which before the fear
23 of my terrible arrows (and) the trial of my mighty battle, which cessation had not,
24 had fear, and into the city of Dur-Papsukul (?) the capital, which like a crag in the river
25 in a flood of waters was situated [so that] for the attack of my army
26 it [was] not good, (and into) 447 cities round about (it) had entered,
27 that city in my passage I captured. Thirteen thousand
28 of its fighting-men with arrows I slew. Their dead bodies
29 like water I scattered. Their city I demolished. The ranks
30 of their warriors into heaps I heaped.
31 Three thousand lives with a measuring-line I took: its royal divan, the treasures of its palace,
32 the guards of its high altar, the amazons of its high altars, its stores,
33 its goods, its gods, of its high altar, to a countless number,

34 from the midst of that town I carried off. The ranks of its warriors,
35 like flocks of birds,¹ to the armies of my country
36 yielded. That city I pulled down, dug up (and) burned with fire.
37 Merodach-baladhsu-ikbi to the strength of his troops
38 trusted, and the country of Chaldea, the country of Elam, the country of Zimri,
39 (and) the country of Arumu, with their numerous troops to a countless amount,
40 summoned together. To make conflict and battle against me he came.
41 Over against Ahdaban, in the neighbourhood of the city of Dur-Papsukul (?) a fortified town,
42 where he marshalled his troops, with him I fought. A destruction of him I made.
43 Five thousand of the ranks of (his) men I destroyed. Two thousand lives in the hands I took.
44 One hundred of his chariots, 200 of his war-carriages, his royal pavilion, (his) divan, (and)
45 his camp I seized
__________
1 I think a character has fallen out of the text here. Otherwise we must translate (with Norris) "as if by destiny."

THE INSCRIPTION ON BELLINO'S CYLINDER,
COMPRISING THE FIRST TWO YEARS OF THE
REIGN OF SENNACHERIB
TRANSLATED BY
H. F. TALBOT, F.R.S., ETC.

THIS inscription is preserved in the British Museum. It was published, by Layard, in the first volume of the British "Museum Inscriptions," plate 63. An admirable facsimile of it was made by Bellino, and engraved by the care of Grotefend, in "Abhandlung der k. Ges. d. Wissensch, zu Gottingen."

{p.24} In 1866 I presented a translation of it to the Royal Society of Literature, which is printed in their Transactions (vol. viii. p. 369).¹
________
1 I had made a previous attempt in 1860 (Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. xviii. p. 76).

1 Sixty-three inscribed lines¹ [written] in the seventh month of the year whose eponym was Nebo-liha, prefect of Arbela.
2 SENNACHERIB, the great king, the powerful king, the king of Assyria, the king unrivalled, the pious monarch, the worshipper of the great gods.
3 The protector of the just: the lover of the righteous:
4 The noble warrior, the valiant hero, the first of all kings, the great punisher of unbelievers, who are breakers of the holy festivals.
5 Ashur, the great Lord, has given to me an unrivalled monarchy. Over all princes he has raised triumphantly my arms.
6 In the beginning of my reign I defeated Marduk Baladan, king of Babylonia, and his allies the Elamites, in the plains near the city of Kish.
7 In the midst of that battle he quitted his camp, and fled alone: he escaped to the city of Gutzumman: he got into the marshes full of reeds and rushes, and so saved his life.
8 The chariots, wagons, horses, mules, camels, and dromedaries, which in the midst of the battle he had abandoned, were captured by my hands.
9 I entered rejoicing into his palace in the city of Babylon: I broke open his royal treasury: gold and silver: vessels of gold and silver: precious stones of every kind: goods and valuables, and much royal treasure,
___________
1 Some words here follow, in praise of the king, whose meaning is uncertain.

10 his wife: the men and women of his palace: the noblemen: and those who ranked first among all his men of trust, and were clothed with the chief authority in the palace, I carried off, and I counted them as a spoil.
11 I marched after him to the city Gutzumman, and I sent off my soldiers to search through the marshes and reeds. Five days they moved about rapidly, but his hiding place was not discovered!
12 In the power of Ashur, my lord, 89 large cities, and royal dwellings in the land of Chaldea, and 820 small towns in their neighbourhood I assaulted, captured, and carried off their spoils.
13 The Urbi [Arabians], Aramaeans, and Chaldseans who were in the cities of Erech, Nipur, Kish, Harris-kalama, and Tiggaba, and the people of the cities which had been in rebellion I carried away, and I distributed them as a spoil.
14 Belibus, the son of a Rabbam, who was prefect (?) of Suanna¹ city, who as a young man had been brought up in my palace, I placed over them as king of Leshan and Akkadi.
15 During my return, the tribes of the Tuhamuna, Rihi-khu, Yadakku, Hubudu, Kipri, Malikhu, Gurumu, Hubuli, Damunu,
16 Gambulu, Khindaru, Ruhuha, Bukudu, Khamranu, Hagaranu, Nabatu, and Lihutahu (Aramaeans all of them, and rebels), I completely conquered.
17 208,000 people, male and female: 7,200 horses and mules; 11,173 asses; 5,230 camels; 80,100 oxen; 800,600 sheep; a vast spoil, I carried off to Assyria,
18 In the course of my expedition I received the great tribute of Nebo-bil-zikri, chief of Ararat: gold, silver, meshukan wood of great size, mules, camels, oxen and sheep.
____________
1 Suanna was the name of a part of Babylon, accounted sacred.

19 The people of the city Khirimmi, obstinate enemies, who from old times had never bowed down to my yoke, I destroyed with the sword. Not one soul escaped.
20 That district I settled again. One ox, ten sheep, ten goats (?) (these twenty beasts being the best of every kind), I appointed [as a sacrifice\ to the gods of Assyria, my lords, in every township.¹
21 In my second expedition, Ashur, the lord, giving me confidence, I marched against the land of the Kassi and Yatsubi-galla,² obstinate enemies, who from old times had never submitted to the kings, my fathers.
22 Through the thick forests and in the hilly districts I rode on horseback, for I had left my two-horse chariot in the plains below. But in dangerous places I alighted on my feet, and clambered like a mountain goat.
23 The city of Beth-Kilamzakh, their great city, I attacked and took. The inhabitants, small and great, horses, mules, asses, oxen, and sheep, I carried off from it and distributed them as a spoil.
24 Their smaller towns without number I overthrew, and reduced them to heaps of rubbish. A vast building, which was their Hall of Assembly, I burnt with fire, and left it in ruins.
25 I rebuilt that city of Beth-Kilamzakh, and I made it into a strong fortress. Beyond former times I strengthened it and fortified it. People drawn from lands subdued by my arms I placed to dwell within it.
26 The people of Kassi and Yatsubi-galla, who had fled away from my arms, I brought down from the mountains, and in the cities of Kar-Thisbe and Beth-Kubitti I caused them to dwell.
_________
1 Into the conquered country he introduced the Assyrian worship, and of course made due provision for the support of the priests, and sacrifices to the gods.
2 I.e. 'Men of great stature.' Name of a tribe.

27 In the hands of my general, the prefect of Arrapkha, I placed them. A stone tablet I made: I wrote on it the victories which I had gained over them, and within the city I set it up.
28 Then I turned round the front of my chariot, and I took the road to the land of Illipi. Before me Ispabara their king abandoned his strong cities, and his treasuries, and fled to a distance.
29 All his broad country I swept like a mighty whirlwind. The city Marupishti, and the city Akkudu, his royal residences, and 34 great cities, with numberless smaller towns in their neighbourhood,
30 I ravaged, destroyed, and burnt them with fire. I cut down their woods. Over their corn fields I sowed thistles. In every direction I left the land of Illipi a desert.
31 The inhabitants, small and great, male and female, horses, mules, asses, oxen, and sheep beyond number, I carried off, and sent them away until none were left.
32 The strong cities of Sisirta and Kummakhli, and the smaller towns in their neighbourhood, together with the whole province of Beth-Barrua, I cut off from his land, and added them to the empire of Assyria.
33 I established the city of Ilinzash to be the royal city and metropolis of that province. I abolished its former name, and I gave it the name of the city of Sennacherib.
34 During my return I received a great tribute from the distant Medians, who, in the days of the kings, my fathers, no one had ever heard even the name of their country; and I made them bow down to the yoke of my majesty.
35 In those days, Nineveh, the exalted city, the city beloved by Ishtar: within which dwells the worship of all the gods and goddesses,

36 The ancient timin¹ of its palace, those of old time had stamped its clay with sacred (?) writing, and repeated it in the companion-tablets.
37 A splendid place, a storehouse of every kind, and a treasury for all their jewels and regalia, they erected within it.
38 Of all the kings of former days, my fathers who went before me, who reigned before me over Assyria, and governed the city of Bel (i.e. Nineveh),
39 And every year without fail augmented its interior rooms, and treasured up in them all their revenues which they received from the four countries,
40 Not one among them all, though the central palace was too small to be their royal residence, had the knowledge, nor the wish to improve it.
41 As to caring for the health of the city, by bringing streams of water into it, and the finding of new springs, none turned his thoughts to it, nor brought his heart to it.
42 Then I, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, by command of the gods, resolved in my mind to complete this work, and I brought my heart to it.
43 Men of Chaldea, Aram, Manna, Kue, and Cilicia, who had not bowed down to my yoke, I brought away as captives, and I compelled them to make bricks.
44 In baskets made of reeds which I cut in the land of Chaldea, I made the foreign workmen bring their appointed tale of bricks, in order to complete this work.
45 The former palace, of 360 measures long, adjoining the gardens of the Great Tower: 80 measures wide, adjoining the watchtower of the temple of Ishtar: 134 measures wide,
_____________
1 The timin was the clay tablet or cylinder deposited in (he foundation stone, or sometimes at the four corners of a building. It was regarded with peculiar reverence. So the Hebrews appear to have regarded the "corner stone." It was intended to remain for ever. If found by a subsequent king, it was to be read with reverence, and restored to its former place.

adjoining the watchtower of the house of worship: and 95 measures wide, .... ¹
46 Which the kings, my fathers, who went before me had built for their royal residence, but had not beautified its front.
47 The river Tibilti² had ruined the brickwork of it when it ravaged the quays of the central city.³ The trees of its gardens had been burnt for firewood years ago.
48 For a long time this river had undermined the front of the palace. In the high water of its floods it had made great rents in the foundations, and had washed away the timin.
49 That small palace I pulled down, the whole of it. I made a new channel for the river Tibilti, I regulated its water, I restrained its flow.
50 Within its old limits I walled up its stream. The low platform⁴ I raised higher, and paved it firmly with stones of great size, covered with bitumen, for a space of 354 measures in length, and 279 in breadth.⁵ That space I elevated above the waters, and restored it to be again dry ground.
51 1700 measures long: 162 measures wide, on the upper side towards the north: 217 measures wide in the centre,
_____________
1 The scribe has left this line unfinished, from its length, notwithstanding that he wrote the letters as close together as possible. He might have continued it in the following line, but would not do so. This is a clear proof that the sense was sometimes sacrificed to beauty of writing.
2 Perhaps another name for the Tigris, meaning "The Stream of Fertility." Most of the rivers appear to have had fanciful or poetical names, a list of which is given in 2R, plate 51. We there read that the Euphrates was called, "Life of the Land;" and the Tigris, "Babilat Nukhsi," or " Stream of Gladness," etc., etc.
3 The old palace is called in the Bull inscription, "The Palace of the Central City." See 3 R, 13, line 4 of the second column.
4 The old palace being pulled down, its platform remained, but so low as to be nearly on a level with the neighbouring river.
5 This measurement is added from another account (Layard's Inscriptions, plate 38, line 16, confirmed by the Bull inscription, Layard, plate 62, line 23).

52 386 measures wide, on the lower side towards the south, fronting the river Tigris, I completed the mound, and I measured the measure.
53 The timin of old times had not been forgotten, owing to the veneration of the people.¹ With a layer of large stones I enclosed its place, and I made its deposit secure.
54 The written records of my name, 160 fathoms of bas-reliefs, I sculptured in the palace, but the lower part of the wall, next to the ground, I left to be filled up in future times.
55 Afterwards I resolved to have more tablets carved. I sculptured twenty fathoms of them in addition to the former ones, so that I formed 180 fathoms of them altogether.
56 The enclosure itself I increased beyond what it was in former days: above the measure of the former palace I enlarged it, and I liberally augmented its dwellings,²
57 And its fine buildings of ivory, dan wood, ku wood, meshukan wood, cedar wood, cypress wood, and pistachio wood. And in the midst I placed my royal residence, the palace of ZAKDI' NU ISHA.³
58 Around it I planted the finest of trees, equal to those of the land of Khamana, which all the knowing prefer to those of the land of Chaldea.
59 By my care I caused the uprising of springs in more than forty places in the plain: I divided them into irrigating canals for the people of Nineveh, and gave them to be their own property.
__________
1 This does not seem to contradict what was said before (line 48) that the old timin was washed away: for its memory may have survived in the traditions of the people, and a new copy may have been deposited in the platform of Sennacherib's palace.
2 The palace enclosure contained many separate building's, appropriated to various uses, and some of them were, perhaps, the dwellings of the great officers of state.
3 ... HAS NOT AN EQUAL.

60 To obtain water to turn the flour mills, I brought it in pipes from Kishri to Nineveh, and I skilfully constructed water-wheels.
61 I brought down the perennial waters of the river Kutzuru,¹ from the distance of half a Kasbu² into those reservoirs, and I covered them well.³
62 Of Nineveh, my royal city, I greatly enlarged the dwellings. Its streets, I renovated the old ones, and I widened those which were too narrow. I made them as splendid as the sun.
63 In future days, if one of the kings, my sons, whom Ashur shall call to the sovereignty over this land and people; when this palace shall grow old and decay,
64 Shall repair its injuries, shall see the written record of my name, shall raise an altar, and sacrifice a male victim, and shall then replace it in its place: Ashur will hear and accept his prayers.
___________
1 Still called the Khausser.
2 Three miles and a half.
3 In the East it is essential to keep wells covered.

INSCRIPTION OF SENNACHERIB: CONTAINING
THE ANNALS OF THE FIRST EIGHT YEARS OF HIS REIGN
FROM
AN HEXAGONAL CLAY PRISM FOUND AT NINEVEH IN 1830,
AND NOW IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM
TRANSLATED BY H. FOX TALBOT

PUBLISHED in the first volume of Sir H. Rawlinson's British Museum inscriptions, plates 37 to 42. I presented a translation of it to the Royal Asiatic Society in October 1859, which was published in their Journal, vol. xix, p. 135. I have understood that a translation has since been published in France by M. Oppert, but I have not seen it.

I commence the present translation with the Third Campaign, the war with Hezekiah, because the history of the {p.34} first two campaigns is the same as on the Bellino Cylinder which I have already translated in this volume. It is for the most part a verbatim copy of it, which therefore I need not give again. But since these two inscriptions were written at an interval of several years, and by different scribes, we see that yearly Annals must have been published by Authority, to which the scribes were expected closely to adhere.

One remarkable deviation however occurs. In the Bellino cylinder we read that Belibus, a young nobleman, was made King of Babylonia, but in the later Annals this is struck out It is evident that Belibus had proved a failure.

This interesting inscription is usually called the Taylor cylinder, from the name of its former possessor.

34 IN my Third Campaign to the land of Syria I went.
35 Luliah¹ king of Sidon (for the fearful splendour
36 of my majesty had overwhelmed him) to a distant spot
37 in the midst of the sea fled. His land I entered.
38 Sidon the greater, Sidon the lesser,
39 Beth-Zitti,² Sarepta, Makalliba,
40 Usu, Akziba,³ Akku,⁴
41 his strong cities, and castles, walled
42 and fenced; and his finest towns (for the flash of the weapons
43 of Ashur my lord had overcome them) made submission
44 at my feet Tubaal upon the throne
45 over them I seated. A fixed tribute to my Majesty,
46 paid yearly without fail, I imposed upon him.
47 Then Menahem king of Ussimiruna
48 Tubaal king of Sidon
49 Abd-iliut king of Arvad
50 Uru-milki king of Gubal
51 Mitinti king of Ashdod
52 Buduel king of Beth-Ammon
53 Kammuz⁵-natbi king of Moab
54 Airammu⁶ king of Edom
___________
1 Elulaeus of classical authors.
2 I.e., the city of Olives.
3 Achzib of Joshua xix. 29. Ecdippa of classical authors.
4 Accho of the Book of Judges i. 31. Akka of the Arabs. The modern St. Jean d'Acre.
5 Kammuz (or Chemosh) was the chief god of the Moabites.
6 Perhaps the same name as Hiram.

55 the kings of the west country, all of them
56 .... their great presents and wealth
57 to my presence brought, and kissed my feet
58 And Zedek king of Ascalon
59 who had not bowed down to my yoke, the gods of his father's house, himself,
60 his wife, his sons, his daughters, his brothers, the race of his father's house
61 I carried off and brought them to Assyria.
62 Sarludari son of their former king Rukipti
63 over the men of Ascalon I placed a fixed gift
64 of offerings to my majesty I imposed on him
65 In the course of my expedition, the cities of Beth-Dagon¹
66 Joppa, Banai-barka² and Hazor,³
67 cities of Zedek, which to my feet
68 homage had not rendered, I attacked, captured, and carried off their spoils.
69 The chief priests, noblemen, and people of Ekron
70 who Padiah their king (holding the faith and worship
71 of Assyria had placed in chains of iron, and unto Hezekiah
72 King of Judah had delivered him, and had acted towards the deity with hostility:
73 these men now were terrified in their hearts. The kings of Egypt
74 and the soldiers, archers, chariots, and horses of Ethiopia,
75 forces innumerable, gathered together and came
_________
1 Beth-Dagon in Judah is probably meant. Josh. xv. 41.
3 Named in Joshua xix. 45.
3 Hazor in Naphthali, Josh. xix. 36, seems too far north: perhaps Hazar Shual is meant.

76 to their assistance. In the plains of Altaku¹
77 in front of me they placed their battle array: they discharged
78 their arrows: with the weapons of Ashur ray lord, with them
79 I fought, and I defeated them.
80 The chief of the chariots and the sons of the king of Egypt,
81 and the chief of the chariots of the king of Ethiopia, alive
82 in the midst of the battle my hands captured. The city of Altaku
83 and the city of Tamna² I attacked captured and carried off their spoil.

___________
1 Eltekon of Josh. xv. 59.
2 Timnah was in Judah near Ekron. Joshua xv. 10. Its name signifies "The South": it was near the south border of Palestine.

1 THEN I drew nigh to the city of Ekron. The chief priests
2 and noblemen, who had committed these crimes, I put to death:
3 on stakes all round the city I hung their bodies:
4 the people of the city who had done likewise, together with their wives
5 to slavery I gave. The rest of them
6 who had not been guilty of faults and crimes, and who sinful things against the deity
7 had not done, to reward them I gave command. Padiah

8 their king from the midst of Jerusalem
9 I brought out, and on a throne of royalty over them
10 I seated. Tribute payable to my majesty
11 fixed upon him. And Hezekiah
12 King of Judah, who had not bowed down at my feet
13 Forty six of his strong cities, his castles, and the smaller towns
14 in their neighbourhood beyond number
15 with warlike engines¹......
16 .........
17 I attacked and captured. 200,150 people small and great, male and female,
18 horses, mares, asses, camels, oxen
19 and sheep beyond number, from the midst of them I carried off
20 and distributed them as a spoil. He himself, like a bird in a cage, inside Jerusalem
21 his royal city I shut him up: siege-towers against him
_______________
1 Several of these are named, but they cannot at present be identified.

22 I constructed. The exit of the great gate of his city, to divide it¹
23 He had given command. His cities which I plundered, from his kingdom
24 I cut off, and to Mitinti king of Ashdod
25 Padiah king of Ekron, and Izmi-Bel
26 King of Gaza I gave them. I diminished his kingdom.
27 Beyond the former scale of their yearly gifts
28 their tribute and gifts to my majesty I augmented
29 and imposed them upon them. He himself Hezekiah
30 the fearful splendour of my majesty had overwhelmed him:
31 The workmen, soldiers, and builders
32 whom for the fortification of Jerusalem his royal city
33 he had collected within it, now carried tribute
34 and with thirty talents of gold, 800 talents of silver; woven cloth,
35 scarlet, embroidered; precious stones of large size;
36 couches of ivory, moveable thrones of ivory, skins of buffaloes,
37 teeth of buffaloes, dan wood, ku wood, a great treasure of every kind,
38 and his daughters, and the male and female inmates of his palace, male slaves
39 and female slaves, unto Nineveh my royal city
40 after me he sent; and to pay tribute
41 and do homage he sent his envoy.
42 IN my Fourth Campaign, Ashur my lord gave me confidence.
_____________
1 "To divide, or unloose, what is chained together," is the sense of the term according to Fürst. It means, I think, that Hezekiah had commanded the drawbridge to be raised.

43 I assembled my numerous army: to the city of Beth-Yakina
44 to advance I gave command. At the commencement of my expedition
45 of Suzubi the Chaldean, dwelling within the marshes
46 in the city Bittutu I accomplished the defeat.
47 He himself, for the fury of my attack overwhelmed him,
48 lost heart, and like a bird fled away alone
49 and his place of refuge could not be found. I turned round the front of my chariot
50 and took the road to Beth-Yakina
51 He himself, Merodach-Baladan whom in the course
52 of my first campaign I had defeated
53 and had cut to pieces his army, the noise of my powerful aims
54 and the shock of my fiery battle he now fled from
55 The gods, rulers of his land, in their Arks he collected, and in ships
56 he transported them, and to the city of Nagiti-Rakkin
57 which is on the sea coast, like a bird he flew. His brothers, the seed of his father's house
58 whom he had left on the seashore, and the rest of the people of his land
59 from Beth-Yakina within the marshes and morasses
60 I brought away and distributed them as slaves, Once more his cities I destroyed
61 overthrew them and left them in heaps of ruins. To his protector
62 the king of Elam I caused terror
63 On my return, Ashur-nadin-mu my eldest son,
64 brought up at my knees, I seated upon the throne of his kingdom:

65 all the land of Leshan and Akkad I entrusted to him.
66 IN my Fifth Campaign the people of Tocharri
67 Sharum, Ezama, Kipsu, Kalbuda,
68 Kua and Kana, who like the nests of eagles
69 on the highest summits and wild crags of the Nipur mountains
70 had fixed their dwellings, refused to bow down to my yoke.
71 At the foot of Mount Nipur I pitched my camp:
72 with native guides who had kissed my feet [submitted]
73 and a band of my soldiers who were irregulars,
74 I, like the leader Bull, took the front of them.
75 In the, in the mountain valleys, and through flooded lands
76 I travelled in my chariot : but in places which for my chariot were dangerous
77 I alighted on my feet; and like a mountain goat among the lofty cliffs
78 I clambered up them. Where my knees
79 took rest, upon a mountain rock I sat down,
80 and water, cold even to freezing, to assuage my thirst I drank.
81 To the tops of the mountains I pursued them
82 and completely defeated them. Their cities I captured;

1 I CARRIED off their spoils ; I ravaged, destroyed, and burnt them with fire.
2 Then I turned round the front of my chariot, and against Maniah
3 King of Ukku, chief of the rebellious Dahae, I marched
4 by ways which had never been opened, lofty summits, where by reason of
5 the rocky mountains, no former king

6 had ever penetrated, of all those who reigned before me.
7 At the foot of Anara 1 and Uppa, fortified hills,
8 I pitched my camp; but I myself in my travelling Chair
9 together with my light soldiery
10 into their narrow gorges with precaution I entered
11 and laboriously I climbed up to the tops of the high mountains.
12 He himself, Maniah, the multitude of my army
13 saw, and abandoned Ukku his royal city
14 and fled to a distance. I besieged Ukku and captured it:
15 I carried off its spoils: every kind of goods and wealth,
16 the treasures of his palace, from the midst of it
17 I brought out and distributed them as a spoil. And cities
18 belonging to that province I captured. Men, cattle,
19 oxen and sheep, from the midst of them
20 I carried off: and I ravaged, destroyed and burnt them with fire.
21 IN my Sixth Campaign, the rest of the men of Beth-Yakina
______________
1 Probably the Aornos of the Greeks, besieged long afterwards by Alexander the great.

22 who from before my powerful arms like birds
23 had fled away, the gods who rule over their land into their Arks
24 had collected, the great sea of the Rising Sun¹
25 had crossed over, and in a city just opposite, in the land of Elam had placed
26 their dwellings. In Syrian ships I crossed the sea:
27 the cities of Nagitu, Nagitu-Dihubina, Khilmu,
28 Billatu, and Reshpan, cities of
29 Elam, I captured. The men of Beth-Yakina and their gods
30 and the men of Elam I carried away. Not even a remnant of them was left.
31 In ships I embarked them: to the other side
32 I caused them to cross: and I made them take the road to Assyria.
33 The cities in those provinces I ravaged, destroyed
34 and burnt with fire. I reduced them to ruins and rubbish.
35 In my return, Suzub the Babylonian
36 who to the sovereignty of the lands of Leshan and Accad
37 had restored himself, in a great battle
38 I defeated him, I captured him alive
39 strong chains of iron I placed on him: and to Assyria
40 I carried him off. The king of Elam who had encouraged him
41 and come to his assistance, I defeated
42 I dispersed his expedition and cut to pieces his army.
43 IN my Seventh Campaign, Ashur the lord gave me courage.
44 I advanced against Elam. The cities of Beth-Khairi
______________
1 The Persian Gulf.

45 and Raza, cities of the Assyrian empire
46 which, in the days of my father, the Elamite had seized by violence
47 in the course of my advance I captured and carried off their spoils:
48 soldiers devoted to me I placed within them
49 and restored them to the Assyrian empire.
50 In the hands of the governor of the fortress of Dur-el-ki I placed them
51 Then I destroyed the cities of Bubi, Dunni-Shemesh, Beth-Ritsiah,
52 Beth-Aklami, Duru, Kaltitsulaya,
53 Silibta, Beth-Assutsi, Kar-Mibasha,
54 Beth-Gitsi, Beth-Katpalani, Beth-Imbiah
55 Kamanu, Beth-Arrabi, Buruta,
56 Dinta-sha-Zuliah, Dinta-
57 sha-Antarbit-Karsa, Karrislaki, Rabaya,
58 Rassu, Akkabarina, Til-Ukhuri,
59 Kamran, Naditu, with the other cities of the gate (or Entrance)
60 of Beth-Bunaki. Til-Khumbi, Dinta-
61 sha-Dumian, Beth-Ubiah, Baiti-lishir,
62 Tagab-lishir which is the city of the Nakindati,
63 Massut the lower, Sarkudiri, Zalisha-tarbit,
64 Beth-Akhi-adanna, and Iltimarba. All these large cities, thirty-four in number
65 and smaller towns in their neighbourhood
66 beyond number, I attacked and captured, and carried off their spoils,
67 I ravaged, destroyed them, and burnt them with fire.
68 The smoke of their burning like a mighty cloud
69 obscured the face of high heaven. When he heard of the capture
70 of his cities, Shadu-Nakhunda king of Elam was struck
71 with terror; into the rest of his cities he threw garrisons:
72 he himself abandoned Madakta his royal city
73 and towards Khaidala which is among high mountains
74 he took the road. To the city Madakta, his royal city,
75 "Advance!" I commanded. In the month of December a terrible storm
76 arrived, a vast cataract poured down,
77 rains upon rains, and snow, caused the torrents to burst forth.
78 Then I quitted the mountains. I turned round the front of my chariot
79 and I took the road to Nineveh. In those same days
80 by the will of Ashur my lord, Shadu-Nakhunda

1 king of Elam, did not complete three months [more of life]
2 on a day which was not fated for him¹ he was violently put to death.
3 After him Umman-Minan who was no friend to religion and law,
4 his brother illegitimate, sat upon his throne.
5 IN my Eighth Campaign, after Suzub had escaped,
6 the children of Babylon, wicked devils,² the great gates of their city
7 hoisted up,³ and hardened their hearts to make war
8 Suzub the Chaldaean, Lidunnamu

9 a man who had no education, Kilpan prefect
10 of Lakhiri a refugee from Arrapkha,
11 and a band of dissolute men around him he assembled
12 He entered among the marshes, and made there a hiding place:
13 then, to collect more men, he went back by himself
14 and passed into Elam, over the bounds and frontiers,
15 then, with the men and women who were with him
16 from Elam he returned rapidly, and entered the city of Suanna.⁴
17 The men of Babylon, in their folly, upon the throne
18 seated him, and the crown of Leshan and Accad bestowed upon him.
19 The treasury of the Great Temple they opened. The gold and silver
_________
1 Viz,, in the course of nature.
2 This is a literal translation.
3 Lifted the drawbridges.
4 Suanna was the most sacred part of Babylon.

20 of Bel and Zarpanita and the wealth of their temples they brought out
21 and to Umman-Minan king of Elam who had
22 no right to it, they sent it as a bribe:
23 (saying) "Collect thy army! strike thy camp!
24 "make haste to Babylon! stand by our side!
25 swear to help us!" Then he, the Elamite,
26 whom in the course of my former campaign into Elam
27 I had captured his cities and reduced them to ruins,
28 showed that he had no sense: he accepted the bribe.
29 He assembled his army in his camp. His chariots and wagons
30 he collected. Horses and mares he harnessed to their yokes:
31 the nations Parzush, Anzan, Pasiru, Illipi,
32 and the men of Yashan, Lakabri, Karzun,
33 Dummuku, Zulai, and the city of Samuna
34 (who was the son of Merodach Baladan); and the cities Beth-Adini, Beth-Amukkan,
35 Beth-Kutlan, Beth-Salatakki, Lakhiru,
36 Bukudu, Gambuli, Kalatu, Ruhua,
37 Ubuli, Malaku, Rapiku,
38 Khindaru and Damunu, a vast host of allies
39 he led along with him. They assembled themselves, and the road
40 to Babylonia they took. They rushed upon Babylon.
41 Unto Suzub the Chaldaean, king of Babylon
42 they approached and met him. They united their armies
43 Then, as a mighty swarm of locusts 1 covers the face of the earth
44 in destroying multitudes they rushed
____________
1 See chapter 2 of the prophet Joel, where this fine simile of a destroying-army is also found.

45 against me. The dust of their feet like a mighty cloud
46 as they drew nigh to me, the face of heaven
47 darkened before me. In the city of Khaluli¹
48 which is on the bank of the Tigris they drew out their battle array
49 The front of my fenced camp they seized, and discharged their arrows.
50 Then I to Ashur, the Moon, the Sun, Bel, Nebo, Nergal,
51 Ishtar of Nineveh, and Ishtar of Arbela, the gods my protectors
52 that I might conquer my powerful enemies I prayed unto them.
53 My earnest prayers they heard, and came
54 to my assistance. From my heart I vowed a thank-offering for it. ........
55 ...................
56 In my great War Chariot
57 (named) "Sweeper away of enemies," in the fury of my heart
58 I drove rapidly: my great Bow
59 which Ashur gave me, in my hand I took:
60 with greaves of showy workmanship I enclosed my legs;
61 and rushing on the whole army of those wicked enemies
62 in crowded confusion I crushed them together, and like the god Im² I thundered.
63 By command of Ashur the great lord, my lord, both to my side and front
______________
1 This account of the battle of Khaluli is the most elaborate that has yet been found in the Assyrian annals.
2 Im was the god of the sky. He wielded the thunderbolt, like the Jupiter Tonans of the Latins.

64 as it were fiery darts¹ against my enemies I hurled.
65 In the arms of Ashur my lord, and the shock of my battle
66 furious, I .....
67 The hostile troops with the revolving blades²
68 I overthrew: their dead bodies I rolled over
69 in the mire. Khumban-undash an engineer
70 whom the king of Elam had made general of his army,
71 (had) his liberation for a great ransom. His chief officers,
72 who wore gold handled daggers, and with rings
73 heavy of bright gold encircled their legs,
74 like a herd of sleek oxen of abundant fatness
75 eagerly I attacked and defeated them.
76 Their heads I cut off, like victims,
77 their highly worked decorations I tore off with derision.
78 Like the fall of a great shower, their rings and bracelets
79 I cast down upon the earth in a lofty heap.
80 My faultless horses yoked to my chariot
81 through the deep pools of blood stepped slowly.
82 Of my chariot, as it swept away the slain and the fallen,
83 with blood and flesh its wheels were clogged.
84 The heads of their soldiers, like urkiti
85 I salted, and into great wicker baskets I stuffed them.³
______________
1 Frequently spoken of. Some composition like Greek fire was employed in war.
2 His chariot wheels were armed with iron scythes so I understand the passage. See 2 Maccabees xiii. 2, and Xenophon's Anabasis.
3 To be sent to Nineveh, doubtless, and there exposed on the walls as trophies of his victory.

1 ..................
2 The bracelets I cut off from their hands
3 The rings heavy of gold, of beautiful workmanship, I took off from their feet
4 ...............
5 the gold and silver handled daggers from their girdles I took.
6 The rest of the Chiefs, and Nebo-zikir-iskun
7 son of Merodach-Baladan who from my battle
8 had fled, but had rallied their forces, alive
9 in the battle my hands seized them. The chariots
10 and horses, whose drivers in the great battle
11 had been killed,
12 ran away by themselves, in multitudes.
13 I returned when the fourth hour of the night was past,
14 and stopped the slaughter. He himself, Umman-Minan
15 king of Elam, and the kings of Babylon, and the princes
16 of Chaldsea who had come with him, by the tumult of my battle
17 were overwhelmed: they abandoned their tents
18 and to save their lives, the dead bodies of their own soldiers they trampled underfoot
19 and fled like frightened birds who had lost all heart.
20 In double numbers they crowded into their chariots,
21 set off, and fled away to their own dominions.
22 My chariots and horses I despatched after them,
23 and those fugitives who fled for their lives
24 wherever they came up with them, they put them to the sword.
25 In the course of those days, after that the Central palace of Nineveh

26 for my royal residence I had finished,
27 and had filled it with beauties to the admiration of mankind,
28 (I turned to) the Kurili palace, which for the lodging of a garrison,
29 the care of horses, and for other needs of every kind
30 the kings my fathers, who went before me, had made
31 Its mound had never been finished; of its small building
32 the fabric had never been repaired: for a long time
33 its timin had been lost: its foundations were laid bare: its summits had fallen down.
34 That palace I pulled down the whole of it.
35 A great quantity of earth from the low lying fields
36 and outskirts of the city, in baskets I took, and upon it
37 I added what was left of the ruins of the former palace:
38 then with the earth of the low grounds which I took from the river side,
39 I completed the mound. Two hundred fathoms
40 altogether, I extended its wall. In a prosperous month
41 and on a lucky day, upon that mound, with the skilfulness of my mind
42 a Palace of stone and cedar wood in the building style
43 of the land of Syria, and a Palace of the lofty architecture of Assyria
44 which beyond the former one was much finer, larger,
45 and more beautiful, in the year of the Eponymy of my great bow bearer
46 the master of my arms, for my royal dwelling I began to build.

47 Long beams of cedar wood, the growth of the land of Khamanu
48 and its lofty mountains, I laid as a roof over them.
49 doors of liari wood, inlaid with shining brass
50 I framed, and I fitted them to the gates
51 Of the white stone which in the district
52 of Balada is found, great bulls and lions
53 I made, and I placed them right and left
54 of the gates. For the reception of royal guests¹ (destined it), and also for the care
55 of horses, mules, cattle, flocks,
56 chariots, wine presses to make wine,
57 bows and arrows, and every kind of implement of war,
58 harnesses of horses and mules
59 which had great strength, and were trained to the yoke.
60 The courts of the building I enlarged greatly
61 That palace from its foundations to its summit
62 I built and finished. The written records of my name
63 I placed within it. In future days,
64 under the kings my sons, whom Ashur and Ishtar
65 unto the sovereignty of this land and people shall call
66 their names; when this Palace shall grow old
67 and decay, the future King who shall repair its injuries,
68 who shall see the written records of my name,
69 who shall build an altar, sacrifice a male victim, and replace it in its place,
70 Ashur and Ishtar will receive his prayers
__________
1 In fact, another inscription (R. 44, 68), says "that all the kings of Phoenicia came there at the same time."

71 The destroyer of my writings and my name
72 may Ashur, the great lord, the father of the gods, deliver him to his enemies,
73 his sceptre and his throne take away from him, and destroy his life!
74 In the month of Adar, day the twentieth, in the eponymy of Bel-silal-ani
75 prefect of Karkamish.

THE text of Cylinder A of Assurbanipal is compiled from a terra cotta cylinder found by Mr. Loftus in the North Palace, Kouyunjik, and the fragments of several duplicate cylinders from the same place. All these inscriptions are now in the British Museum.

A copy of this text was published in the Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia, Vol. iii, p, 17-26.

Translations of parts of the Egyptian campaigns were published by Sir H. C. Rawlinson, in the "Transactions of the Royal Society of Literature" Vol. vii. 137; and by M. Oppert, in his "Memoire sur les rapports de l'Egypte {p.56} et l'Assyrie, dans Fantiquite eclaires par Fetude des texts Cuneiformes;"¹ and the complete text of the Cylinder, accompanied by an interlinear transcription and translation, was published by Mr. G. Smith in his "History of Assurbanipal."
_____________
1 Accompanied by parts of the texts.

1 I AM Assurbanipal, the progeny of Assur and Beltis,
2 son of the great king of Riduti,¹
3 whom Assur and Sin the lord of crowns, from days remote,
4 prophesying his name, have raised to the kingdom,
5 and in the womb of his mother, have created him to rule Assyria.
6 Shamas, Vul, and Ishtar, in their supreme power,
7 commanded the making of his kingdom.
8 Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, the father my begetter,
9 the will of Assur and Beltis the gods his protectors praised,
10 who commanded him to make my kingdom.
11 In the month lyyar the month of Hea, lord of mankind,
12 on the 12th day, a fortunate day, the festival of Bel;
13 in performance of the important message which Assur,
14 Beltis, Sin, Shamas, Vul, Bel, Nebo,
15 Ishtar of Nineveh, Sarrat-Kitmuri,²
16 Ishtar of Arbela, Ninip, Nergal, and Nusku had spoken,
17 he gathered the people of Assyria, small and great,
__________
1 Riduti is the name of the north palace Kouyunjik.
2 Kitmuri was a temple at Nineveh.

18 and of the upper and lower sea;
19 to the consecration of my royal sonship,
20 and afterwards the kingdom of Assyria I ruled.
21 The worship of the great gods I caused to be offered to them,
22 I confirmed the covenants.
23 With joy and shouting
24 I entered into Riduti the palace,
25 the royal property of Sennacherib, the grandfather my begetter,
26 the son of the great king, who ruled the kingdom within it,
27 the place where Esarhaddon, the father my begetter,
28 within it grew up, and ruled the dominion of Assyria.
29 and the family increased .......
30 ..............
31 I Assurbanipal within it, preserved
32 the wisdom of Nebo, all the royal tablets,
33 the whole of the clay tablets, all there were, their subjects I studied.
34 I collected arrows, bows, carriages, horses,
35 chariots, their furniture and fittings. By the will of the great gods
36 who I proclaimed their laws,
37 they commanded the making of my kingdom,
38 the embellishing of their temples they entrusted to me,
39 for me they exalted my dominion, and destroyed my enemies.
40 The man of war, the delight of Assur and Ishtar,
41 the royal offspring am I.
42 When Assur, Sin, Shamas, Vul, Bel, Nebo, Ishtar of Nineveh,
43 Sarrat-Kitmuri, Ishtar of Arbela, Ninip, Nergal, and Nusku

44 firmly seated me on the throne of the father my begetter,
45 Vul poured down his rain, Hea feasted his people,
46 fivefold¹ the seed bore in its ear,
47 the surplus grain was two-thirds, the crops were excellent,
48 the corn abundant, my face was pleased with the raising of the harvest,
49 the cattle were good in multiplying,
50 in my seasons there was plenty, in my years famine was ended.
51 In my first expedition to Makan²
52 and Milukha³ I went. Tirhakah king of Egypt and Ethiopia,
53 of whom, Esarhaddon king of Assyria, the father my begetter, his overthrow had accomplished;
54 and had taken possession of his country; he Tirhakah,
55 the power of Assur, Ishtar, and the great gods my lords
56 despised, and trusted to his own might.
57 Of the kings and governors, whom in the midst of Egypt,
58 the father my begetter had appointed; to slay, plunder,
59 and to capture Egypt, he came against them;
60 he entered, and sat in Memphis, the
61 city which the father my begetter had taken, and to the boundaries
62 of Assyria had added. I was going in state in the midst of Nineveh,
______________
1 Variant reading: fourfold.
2 Makan supposed to be Egypt.
3 Milukha supposed to be Merre.

63 and one came and repeated this to me;
64 over these things
65 my heart was bitter and much afflicted;
66 by the command of Assur and the goddess Assuritu,
67 I gathered my powerful forces,
68 which Assur and Ishtar had placed in my hands,
69 to Egypt and Ethiopia I directed the march.
70 In the course of my expedition, 22 kings
71 of the side of the sea and the middle of the sea, all
72 tributaries dependent on me,
73 to my presence came and kissed my feet.
74 Those kings ....
75 on sea and land their roads I took,
76 the level path .....
77 for the restoration of the kings and governors
78 who in the midst of Egypt were tributaries dependent on me;
79 quickly I descended and went to Karbanit.
80 Tirhakah king of Egypt and Ethiopia, in the midst of Memphis,
81 of the progress of my expedition heard; and to make war,
82 fighting and battle, to my presence he gathered the men of his army.
83 In the service of Assur, Ishtar, and the great gods, my lords,
84 on the wide battle field I accomplished the overthrow of his army.
85 Tirhakah in the midst of Memphis, heard of the defeat of his army;
86 the terror of Assur and Ishtar overcame him, and
87 he went forward; fear of my kingdom
88 overwhelmed him, and his gods glorified me before my camp.

89 Memphis he abandoned, and to save his life
90 he fled into Thebes. That city I took,
91 my army I caused to enter, and rest in the midst of it.
92 Necho¹ king of Memphis and Sais.
93 Sarludari king of Pelusium.
94 Pisan-hor king of Natho.
95 Paqruru king of Pi-supt.²
96 Pukkimanni-hapi king of Athribis.
97 Nech-ke king of Henins.
98 Petubastes king of Tanis.
99 Unamunu king of Natho.
100 Horsiesis king of Sebennytus.
101 Buaiuva king of Mendes.
102 Sheshonk king of Busiris.
103 Tnephachthus king of Bunubu.³
104 Pukkunanni-hapi king of Akhni.
105 Iptikhardesu king of Pizatti-hurunpiku.
106 Necht-hor-ansini king of Pi-sabdinut.
107 Bukur-ninip king of Pachnut.
108 Zikha king of Siyout.
109 Lamintu king of Chemmis.
110 Ispimathu king of Abydos.
111 Munti-mi-anche king of Thebes.
112 These kings, prefects, and governors,
113 whom in the midst of Egypt, the father my begetter had appointed;
114 who before the advance of Tirhakah
115 their appointments had left, and fled to the desert,
116 I restored; and the places of their appointments
___________
1 Necho was father of Psammitichus I.
2 Mentioned in the stele of Mt. Barkal.
3 See Penub the modern Badnub in the "Inscription of Pianchi" by Canon Cook, p. 17.

117 in their possessions, I appointed them.
118 Egypt and Ethiopia, .which the father my begetter had captured,
119 again I took, the bonds more than in former days
120 I strengthened, and I made covenants.
121 With abundant plunder and much spoil
122 in peace I returned to Nineveh.
123 Afterwards all those kings whom I had appointed,
124 sinned against me; they did not keep the oath of the great gods,

1 the good I did to them they despised,
2 and their hearts devised evil;
3 seditious words they spoke, and
4 evil council they counselled among themselves;
5 thus: "Tirhakah from the midst of Egypt
6 is cut off, and to us our seats are numbered."
7 Unto Tirhakah king of Ethiopia
8 to make agreement and alliance
9 they directed their messengers,
10 thus: "May an alliance by this treaty be established, and
11 we will help each other;
12 the country on the other side we will strengthen, and
13 may there not be in this treaty any other lord."
14 Against the army of Assyria the force of my dominion,
15 which to their aid had been raised, they devised
16 a wicked plot. My generals of this plot
17 heard; their messengers
18 and their dispatches they captured, and saw
19 their seditious work. These kings
20 they took; and in bonds of iron and fetters of iron,
21 bound their hands and feet. The oath of Assur king of the gods
22 took them who sinned
23 against the great (gods); who had sought the good of their hands, and
24 who had given them favours;
25 and the people of Sais, Mendes, Zoan,
26 and the rest of the cities, all with them revolted
27 devised an evil design. Small and great with the sword they caused to be destroyed
28 one they did not leave in the midst.

29 Their corpses they threw down in the dust,
30 they destroyed the towers of the cities.
31 These kings, who had devised evil
32 against the army of Assyria, alive to Nineveh
33 into my presence they brought.
34 To Necho of them,
35 favour I granted him, and a covenant ....
36 Observances stronger than before I caused to be restored, and with him I sent.
37 Costly garments I placed upon him, ornaments of gold,
38 his royal image I made for him, rings of gold I fastened on his feet,
39 a steel sword its sheath of gold,
40 in the glory of my name more than I write I gave him.
41 Chariots, horses, and mules
42 for his kingdom I appointed;
43 my generals as governors,
44 to Egypt with him I sent.
45 The place where the father my begetter, in Sais to the kingdom had appointed him,
46 to his district I restored him;
47 (and) Neboshazban his son in Athribes.
48 Benefits and favours, beyond those of the father my begetter,
49 I caused to restore, and gave to him,
50 Tirhakah to Ethiopia fled;
51 the might of the soldiers of Assur my lord over-whelmed him, and
52 he went to his place of night.¹
53 Afterwards Rudammon, son of his sister,
54 sat on his royal throne.
55 Thebes his fortified city he made, and
56 he gathered his forces
____________
1 I.e. he died.

57 to fight my army, the sons of Assyria;
58 who within Memphis gathered in the midst of ....
59 .... and besieged and took the whole of them.
60 .... came and told me.
61 In my second expedition, to Egypt and Ethiopia
62 I directed the march. Rudammon of
63 the progress of my expedition heard, and that I had crossed over
64 the borders of Egypt. Memphis he abandoned, and
65 to save his life he fled into Thebes.
66 The kings, prefects, and governors, whom in Egypt I had set up,
67 to my presence came, and kissed my feet.
68 After Rudammon the road I took;
69 I went to Thebes, the strong city;
70 the approach of my powerful army he saw, and Thebes he abandoned,
71 and fled to Kipkip. That city¹
72 the whole of it, in the service of Assur and Ishtar my hands took;
73 silver, gold, precious stones, the furniture of his palace, all there was;
74 garments costly and beautiful, great horses,
75 people male and female,
76 two lofty obelisks covered with beautiful carving,
77 ... hundred talents their weight, set up before the gate of a temple,
78 with them I removed, and brought to Assyria.
79 Its spoils unnumbered I carried off. From the midst of Thebes,
80 over Egypt and Ethiopia;
____________
1 Thebes.

81 my servants I caused to march, and
82 I acquired glory. With the tributes
83 peacefully I returned to Nineveh, the city of my dominion.
84 In my third expedition against Bahal king of Tyre
85 ... I went; who my royal will
86 disregarded, and did not hear the words of my lips;
87 towers round him I raised;
88 on sea and land; his roads I took;
89 their spirits I humbled and caused to melt away;
90 to my yoke I made them submissive. The
91 daughter proceeding from his body, and the daughters of his brothers
92 for concubines he brought to my presence.
93 Yahimelek his son, the glory of the country, of unsurpassed renown
94 at once he sent forward, to make obeisance to me.
95 His daughter and the daughters of his brothers,
96 with their great dowries I received.
97 Favour I granted him, and the son proceeding from his body
98 I restored and gave him. Yakinlu
99 king of Arvad, dwelling in the midst of the sea,
100 who to the kings my fathers was not submissive,
101 submitted to my yoke, his daughter
102 with many gifts, for a concubine
103 to Nineveh he brought, and kissed my feet
104 Mugallu king of Tubal, who against the kings my fathers
105 made attacks, the daughter proceeding from his body,
106 and her great dowry, for a concubine

107 to Nineveh he brought, and kissed my feet
108 Over Mugallu great horses
109 an annual tribute I fixed upon him.
110 Sandasarmi of Cilicia,
111 who to the kings my fathers did not submit,
112 and did not perform their pleasure,
113 the daughter proceeding from his body, with many
114 gifts, for a concubine
115 to Nineveh he brought, and kissed my feet.
116 When Yakinlu king of Arvad,
117 had met his death. Azibahal, Abibahal,
118 Adonibahal, Sapadibahal, Pudibahal,
119 Bahalyasup, Bahalhanun,
120 Bahalmaluk, Abimelek, and Ahimelek,
121 sons of Yakinlu, dwelling in the midst
122 of the sea, from the midst of the sea arose, and
123 with their numerous presents
124 came and kissed my feet.
125 Azibahal gladly I received, and
126 to the kingdom of Arvad appointed.
127 Abibahal, Adonibahal, Sapadibahal,

1 Pudibahal, Bahalyasup, Bahalhanon,
2 Bahalmelek, Abimelek, and Ahimelek;
3 costly clothing .... rings
4 in my presence
5 Gyges king of Lydia,
6 a district which is across the sea, a remote place,
7 of which the kings my fathers had not heard speak of name;
8 the account of my grand kingdom in a dream was related to him by Assur, the god my creator,
9 thus: "The yoke
10 (when) in remembrance
11 the day he saw that dream,
12 his messenger he sent, to pray for my friendship.
13 that dream which he saw,
14 by the hand of his envoy he sent, and repeated to me.
15 From the midst of the day when he took the yoke of my kingdom,
16 the Cimmerians, wasters of his people,
17 who did not fear my fathers
18 and me, and did not take the yoke of my kingdom, he captured,
19 in the service of Assur and Ishtar the gods my lords.
20 From the midst of the chiefs of the Cimmerians, whom he had taken,
21 two chiefs in strong fetters of iron, and bonds of iron,
22 he bound, and with numerous presents,
23 he caused to bring to my presence.
24 His messengers whom, to pray for my friendship
25 he was constantly sending, he wilfully discontinued

26 as the will of Assur, the god my creator, he had disregarded;
27 to his own power he trusted and hardened his heart
28 His forces to the aid of Psammitichus (king) of Egypt,
29 who had thrown off the yoke of my dominion, he sent; and
30 I heard of it, and prayed to Assur and Ishtar
31 Thus; "Before his enemies his corpse may they cast, and
32 may they carry captive his attendants." When thus to Assur
33 I had prayed, he requited me. Before his enemies his corpse
34 was thrown down, and they carried captive his attendants.
35 The Cimmerians whom by the glory of my name he had trodden under him;
36 conquered and swept the whole of his country after him his son
37 sat on his throne, that evil work at the lifting up of my hands,
38 the gods my protectors in the time of the father his begetter had destroyed.
39 By the hand of his envoy he sent and took the
40 yoke of my kingdom thus: "The king whom God has blessed art thou;
41 my father from thee departed, and evil was done in his time;
42 I am thy devoted servant, and my people all perform thy pleasure."
43 In my fourth expedition, I gathered my army;
44 against Akhseri king of Minni¹
_________
1 Minni bordered on Armenia.

45 I directed the march.
46 By command of Assur, Sin, Shamas, Vul, Bel, Nebo,
47 Ishtar of Nineveh, Sarrat-Kitmuri,
48 Ishtar of Arbela, Ninip, Nergal, Nusku;
49 into Minni I entered, and marched victoriously;
50 his strong cities and smaller ones, which were without number,
51 to the midst of Izirtu, I took;
52 I threw down, destroyed, and in the fire I burned. People, horses,
53 asses, oxen, and sheep, from the midst of those
54 cities I brought out, and as a spoil I counted.
55 Ahseri of the progress of my expedition heard; and
56 abandoned Izirtu his royal city;
57 to Istatti his castle he fled, and
58 took refuge. That district I took;
59 for fifteen days' journey¹ I laid waste, and
60 the highlands I conquered.
61 Ahseri, not fearing my power,
62 by the will of Ishtar dwelling in Arbela, who from the first had spoken
63 thus: "I am the destroyer of Ahseri, king of Minni."
64 When I had commanded it, it was accomplished. Into the hands of his
65 servants she delivered him, and the people of his country a revolt against him made, and
66 in front of his city his attendants threw down and
67 tore in pieces his corpse. His brothers, his relatives,
68 and the seed of the house of his father, they destroyed with the sword.
69 Afterwards Vaalli his son sat on his throne;
70 the power of Assur, Sin, Shamas, Vul, Bel, Nebo,
________________
1 A day's journey was about fourteen or fifteen miles.

71 Ishtar of Nineveh, Sarrat-Kitmuri,
72 Ishtar of Arbela, Ninip, Nergal, and Nusku,
73 the great gods my lords, he saw, and submitted to my yoke.
74 To preserve his life his hand he opened and besought
75 my power. Erisinni, his eldest son,
76 to Nineveh he sent, and kissed my feet.
77 Favour I granted him, and my messenger for friendship
78 I sent to him. The daughter proceeding from his body
79 he sent for a concubine.
80 The former tribute, which in the time of the kings my fathers
81 they had broken off, he had brought to my presence.
82 Thirty horses, beside the former tribute, I added and fixed upon him.
83 In my fifth expedition, to Elam I directed the
84 march. By the command of Assur, Sin, Shamas, Vul, Bel, Nebo,
85 Ishtar of Nineveh, Safrat-Kitmuri,
86 Ishtar of Arbela, Ninip, Nergal and Nusku;
87 in the month Elul, the month of the king of the gods, Assur,
88 the father of the gods, the glorious prince: like the shock of a terrible storm,
89 I overwhelmed Elam, through its extent.
90 I cut off the head of Teumman, their wicked king;
91 who devised evil. Beyond number I slew his soldiers;
92 alive in hand, I captured his fighting men.
93 Their wives, like bows and arrows,
94 filled the vicinity of Shushan.
95 Their corpses the Ulai,¹ I caused to take,
______________
1 The Ulai is the river mentioned in Daniel.

96 its waters I made to consume like chaft,
97 Ummanigas son of Urtaki, king of Elam,
98 who from the face of Teumman to Assyria
99 fled, and had taken my yoke;
100 with me I brought him to Elam.
101 I seated him on the throne of Teumman.
102 Tammarit his third brother, who with him
103 fled; in Hidalu I appointed to the kingdom.
104 Then the servants of Assur and Ishtar, over Elam
105 I caused to march; I acquired power
106 and glory. On my return
107 against Dunanu the Gambulian,¹ who to Elam
108 trusted; I set my face. Sapibel
109 the fortified city of Gambuli, I took;
110 into that city I entered, its people entirely
111 I carried off. Dunanu and Samgunu,
112 opposers of the work of my kingdom,
113 in strong fetters of iron, and bonds of iron,
114 I bound their hands and feet The rest of the sons of Belbasa,
115 his kin, the seed of his father's house, all there were,
116 Nabonidus and Beledir, sons of Nebozikiresses
117 the tigenna, and the attendants of the father their begetter;

1 with the and Tebe,
2 people of Gambuli, oxen, sheep, asses,
3 horses, and mules; from the midst of Gambuli,
4 carried off to Assyria. Sapibel, his
5 fortified city, pulled down, destroyed, and into the waters I turned.
6 Saulmugina my younger brother; benefits I had given to him, and
7 had appointed him to the kingdom of Babylon and gave him
8 chariots I fixed, and
9 cities, fields and plantations.
10 Tribute and taxes, I caused to return, and more than the father my begetter,
11 did for him. And he these favours
12 disregarded, and devised evil.
13 The yoke of my dominion, he threw off, the benefits
14 strengthener of men
15 over Assyria I ruled.
16 To pray for my friendship ceased, and
17 enemies in ships ... with them,
18 pretending to pray for my friendship;
19 to Nineveh, to my presence he sent them.
20 I am Assurbanipal king of Assyria, to whom the great gods' excellent fame have
21 renowned him. His might in ... and dominion.
22 The sons of Babylon of them in state chairs
23 I set them up; costly garments
24 I placed upon them, rings of gold I fastened on
25 their feet, and the sons of Babylon of them

26 in Assyria they were set up, they were honoured
27 before the giving of my command. And he Saulmugina
28 my younger brother; who did not keep my agreement,
29 the people of Akkad, Chaldea, Aram, and the sea coast,
30 from Aqaba to Babsalimitu,
31 tributaries dependent on me; he caused to revolt against my hand.
32 And Ummanigas the fugitive, who took
33 the yoke of my kingdom, of whom in Elam,
34 I had appointed him to the kingdom; and the kings of Goim,
35 Syria and Ethiopia,
36 which, by command of Assur and Beltis, my hands held;
37 all of them against me he caused to rebel, and
38 with him they set their faces. The people of Sippara,
39 Babylon, Borsippa, and Kutha, broke off the brotherhood,
40 and the walls of those cities his fighting men he
41 Caused to raise; with me they made war,
42 making .... my, from the face of Bel son of Bel,
43 the light of the gods Shamas, the warrior Ninip, he revolted; and
44 he caused to cease .... gift of my fingers,
45 to capture the cities, seats of the gods, of whom their temples
46 I had restored, adorned with gold and silver,
47 and within them had fixed images ; he devised evil.
48 In those days, then a seer in the beginning of the night, slept and
49 dreamed a dream, thus: "Concerning the matter which Sin was arranging, and

50 of them who against Assurbanipal king of Assyria,
51 devised evil. Battle is prepared; a
52 violent death I appoint for them. With the edge of the sword,
53 the burning of fire, famine, and the judgment of Ninip, I will destroy
54 their lives." This I heard, and trusted to the will of Sin
55 my lord. In my sixth expedition I gathered my army;
56 against Saulmugina I directed the march.
57 Within Sippara, Babylon, Borsippa, and Kutha,
58 him and part of his fighting men I besieged, and captured
59 the whole of them in town and country, without number.
60 I accomplished his overthrow. The rest,
61 in the judgment of Ninip, drought and famine
62 passed their lives. Ummanigas king of Elam,
63 appointed by my hand; who the bribe received, and came to his aid.
64 Tammaritu against him revolted, and him
65 and part of his family he destroyed with the sword.
66 Afterwards Tammaritu, who after Ummanigas,
67 sat on the throne of Elam,
68 did not seek alliance with my kingdom. To the help of
69 Saulmugina my rebellious brother,¹ he went and
70 to fight my army, he prepared his soldiers.
71 In prayer to Assur and Ishtar, I prayed;
72 my supplications they received,² and heard the words of my lips.
73 Indabigas his servant, against him revolted, and
74 in the battlefield accomplished his overthrow. Tammaritu king of Elam,
___________
1 Variant: younger brother.
2 Variant: took.

75 who over the decapitated head of Teumman untruth had spoken;
76 which he had cut off in the sight of my army,
77 thus: "I have not cut off the head of the king of Elam
78 .... in the assembly of his army." Again he said:
79 "And Ummanigas only, kissed the ground;
80 in the presence of the envoys of Assurbanipal king of Assyria."
81 For these matters, which he had mocked,
82 Assur and Ishtar turned from him; and Tammaritu
83 his brothers, his kin, the seed of his father's house with eighty-five princes
84 going before him from the face of Indabigas
85 fled, and their bitterness within their hearts
86 raged, and they came to Nineveh.
87 Tammaritu my royal feet kissed, and
88 earth he threw on his hair, standing at my footstool
89 He to do my service himself set,
90 for the giving of his sentence, and going to his help.
91 By the command of Assur and Ishtar, he submitted to my dominion.
92 In my presence he stood up, and glorified the
93 might of my powerful gods, who went to my help.
94 I Assurbanipal, of generous heart,
95 of defection the remover, forgiver of sin;
96 to Tammaritu favour I granted him, and
97 himself, and part of the seed of his father's house within my palace,
98 I placed them. In those days the people of Akkad,
99 who with Saulmugina were placed,
100 and devised evil; famine took them,
101 for their food the flesh of their sons and their daughters,

102 they did eat, and divided the
103 Assur, Sin, Shamas, Vul, Bel, Nebo,
104 Ishtar of Nineveh, the divine queen of Kitmuri,
105 Ishtar of Arbela, Ninip, Nergal and Nusku,
106 who in my presence marched and destroyed my enemies:
107 Saulmugina my rebellious brother,
108 who made war with me; in the fierce burning fire
109 they threw him, and destroyed his life,
110 And the people who to Saulmugina
111 my rebellious brother, he had caused to join,
112 and these evil things did;
113 who death deserved, their lives
114 before them being precious:
115 with Saulmugina their lord,
116 they did not burn in the fire, before the edge of the sword,
117 dearth, famine, and the burning fire, they had fled, and
118 taken refuge. The stroke of the great gods
119 my lords, which was not removed
120 overwhelmed them. One did not flee,
121 a sinner did not escape from my hands,
122 my hands held them. Powerful war chariots,
123 covered chariots, his concubines and

1 the goods¹ of his palace, they brought to my presence.
2 Those men who the curses of their mouth,
3 against Assur my god curses uttered;
4 and against me, the prince his worshipper, had devised evil:
5 their tongues I pulled out, their overthrow I accomplished.
6 The rest of the people alive among the stone lions and bulls,
7 which Sennacherib the grandfather my begetter, in the midst had thrown;
8 again I in that pit, those men
9 in the midst threw. The limbs cut off
10 I caused to be eaten by dogs, bears, eagles,
11 vultures, birds of heaven, and fishes of the deep.
12 By these things which were done,
13 I satisfied the hearts of the great gods my lords.
14 The bodies of the men whom Ninip had destroyed,
15 and who in drought and famine had passed their lives;
16 dogs, bears, ...
17 saturi, burru .... grew fat
18 Their attendants from the midst of Babylon,
19 Kutha and Sippara, I brought out
20 and placed in slavery.
21 In splendour, the seats of their sanctuaries I built.
22 I raised their glorious towers.
23 Their gods dishonoured, their goddesses desecrated
24 I rested in purple and hangings.
25 Their institutions, which they had removed, like in days of old,
______________
1 Variant: furniture.

26 in peace I restored and settled.
27 The rest of the sons of Babylon, Kutha,
28 and Sippara, who under chastisement, suffering,
29 and privation had fled;
30 favour I granted them, the saving of their lives I commanded:
31 in Babylon I seated them.
32 The people of Akkad, and some of Chaldea, Aram and
33 the sea; whom Saulmugina had gathered,
34 .... returned to their own districts.
35 They revolted against me. By command of Assur and Beltis
36 and the great gods my protectors, on the whole of them I trampled,
37 the yoke of Assur which they had thrown off, I fixed on them;
38 prefects and rulers appointed by my hand,
39 I established over them.
40 The institutions and high ordinances of Assur and Beltis,
41 and the gods of Assyria, I fixed upon them;
42 taxes and tribute to my dominion,
43 of the country the sum undiminished I fixed on them.
44 In my seventh expedition, in the month Sivan the month of Sin lord of might,
45 eldest son and first of Bel: I gathered my army,
46 against Ummanaldas¹ king of Elam I directed
47 the march. I brought with me Tammaritu king of Elam,
48 who from the face of Indabigas his servant had fled, and
49 taken my yoke. The people of Hilmi, Billati,
50 Dummuqu, Sulai, Lahira and Dibirina,
_______________
1 Ummanaldas was son of Attamitu, commander of the archers; he murdered and succeeded Indabigas.

51 the force of my fierce attack, heard of, as I went to Elam.
52 the terror of Assur and Ishtar my lords, and the fear of my kingdom
53 overwhelmed them. They, their people, their oxen and their sheep,
54 to do my service to Assyria they struck, and
55 took the yoke of my kingdom. Bitimbi the former
56 royal city, the fortress of Elam;
57 which like a wall the boundary of Elam divided,
58 which Sennacherib king of Assyria, the grandfather my begetter,
59 my predecessor, had captured : and he the Elamite,
60 a city in front of the former Bitimbi,
61 another had built, and its wall he had strengthened, and
62 had raised its outer wall Bitimbi
63 he had proclaimed its name: in the course of my expedition I took.
64 The people dwelling in it, who did not come out, and did not pray for
65 alliance with my kingdom, I felled. Their heads I cut off, their lips
66 I tore out, and for the inspection of the people of my country, I brought to Assyria.
67 Imbaappi governor¹ of Bitimbi,
68 the relative of Ummanaldas king of Elam;
69 alive from the midst of that city
70 I brought out and hand and foot in bonds of iron I placed him, and
71 sent to Assyria. The women of the palace, and sons
72 of Teumman king of Elam; whom by the command of Assur,
_________
1 Variant: commander of the archers.

73 In my former expedition I had cut off his head;
74 with the rest of the people dwelling in Bitimbi,
75 I brought out and as spoil I counted. Ummanaldas king of Elam,
76 of the progress of my army, which into Elam entered; heard, and
77 Madaktu his royal city he abandoned, and fled and his mountains ascended.
78 Umbagua¹ who from Elam, from a revolt,
79 to Bubilu had fled, and against Ummanaldas
80 had sat on the throne of Elam: like him also heard, and
81 Bubilu the city the seat .of his dominion he abandoned, and
82 like the fishes took to the depths of the remote waters.
83 Tammaritu who fled and took my yoke,
84 into Shushan I caused to enter, I appointed him to the kingdom.
85 The good I had done to him and sent to his aid, he rejected and
86 devised evil to capture my army.
87 Even he said in his heart thus: "The people of Elam
88 for a spoil have turned, in the face of Assyria.
89 Their ... has been entered and they have carried away
90 the plunder of Elam." Assur and Ishtar who before me² march,
91 and exalt me over my enemies;
92 the heart of Tammaritu hard and perverse they broke, and
93 took hold of his hand, from the throne of his kingdom
94 they hurled him, and overwhelmed him, a second time
95 they subdued him to my yoke.
96 concerning these matters, in vexation was my heart;
___________
1 Variant: Ambagua.
2 Variant: in my presence.

97 which Tammaritu the younger offended.
98 In the glory and power of the great gods my lords,
99 within Elam, through its extent I marched victoriously.
100 On my return, peace and submission
101 to my yoke, I restored to Assyria.
102 Gatudu, Gatuduma, Daeba,
103 Nadiha, Duramnani, Duramnanima,
104 Hamanu, Taraqu, Haiusi,
105 Bittagilbitsu, Bitarrabi,
106 Bitimbi Madaktu, Shushan,
107 Bube, Temaruduksaranni,
108 Urdalika, Algariga,
109 Tubu, Tultubu,
110 Dunsar, Durundasi, Durundasima,
111 Bubilu, Samunu, Bunaki,
112 Qabrina, Qabrinama and Haraba,
113 their cities I captured, pulled down, destroyed,
114 in the fire I burned; their gods, their people,
115 their oxen, their sheep, their furniture, their goods,
116 carriages, horses, mules,
117 and weapons, instruments of war, I carried off to Assyria.
118 In my eighth expedition, by command of Assur and Ishtar,
119 I gathered my army, against Ummanaldas
120 king of Elam I directed the march.
121 Bitimbi, which in my former expedition
122 I had captured, again Rasi, Hamanu,
123 and that district I captured; and he Ummanaldas
124 king of Elam, of the capture of Rasi and Hamanu
125 heard, and fear of Assur and Ishtar going before me

1 overwhelmed him, and Madaktu his royal city
2 he abandoned, and fled to Durundasi.
3 The Itite, he crossed, and that river
4 for his stronghold he fixed,
5 and arranged in ranks to fight me.
6 Naditu the royal city and its district I captured,
7 Bitbunaki the royal city ditto,
8 Hardapanu the royal city ditto,
9 Tubu the royal city ditto,
10 beside all the river, Madaktu the royal city ditto,
11 Haltemas his royal city I captured,
12 Shushan his royal city I captured,
13 Dinsar, Sumuntunas ditto,
14 Pidilma his royal city, Bubilu ditto,
15 Kabinak his royal city ditto.
16 In the service of Assur and Ishtar I marched and went
17 after Ummanaldas king of Elam,
18 who did not submit to my yoke. In the course of my expedition,
19 Durundasi his royal city I captured.
20 My army the Itite in high flood
21 saw, and feared the crossing.
22 Ishtar dwelling in Arbela, in the middle of the night to my army
23 a dream sent, and even told them,
24 thus: "I march in front of Assurbanipal, the king
25 whom my hands made." Over that vision
26 my army rejoiced, and the Itite crossed peacefully.
27 Fourteen cities royal seats, and smaller cities
28 the numbers unknown, and twelve districts

29 which are in Elam, all of them I took,
30 I pulled down, destroyed, in the fire I burned, and to mounds and heaps I reduced.
31 Without number I slew his warriors,
32 with the sword I destroyed his powerful fighting men.
33 Ummanaldas king of Elam
34 in his bitterness fled, and took to the mountain.
35 Banunu and the districts of Tasara
36 all, twenty cities in the districts
37 of Hunnir, by the boundary of Hidalu, I captured.
38 Balimmu and the cities round it,
39 I pulled down and destroyed. Of the people dwelling within them,
40 their misfortune I caused, I broke up their gods,
41 I set at liberty the great goddess of the lord of lords,
42 his gods, his goddesses, his furniture, his goods, people small and great,
43 I carried off to Assyria. Sixty kaspu¹ of ground,
44 by the will of Assur and Ishtar who sent me,
45 within Elam I entered and marched victoriously.
46 On my return, when Assur and Ishtar exalted me
47 over my enemies, Shushan the great city,
48 the seat of their gods, the place of their oracle, I captured.
49 By the will of Assur and Ishtar, into its palaces I entered
50 and sat with rejoicing. I opened also their treasure houses,
51 of silver, gold, furniture and goods, treasured within them;
52 which the kings of Elam the former,
53 and the kings who were to these days,
54 had gathered and made; which any other enemy
_____________
1 A kaspu was about seven miles.

55 beside me, his hands had not put into them,
56 I brought out and as a spoil I counted.
57 Silver, gold, furniture and goods, of Sumir Akkad
58 and Gandunias, all that the kings of
59 Elam, the former and latter, had carried off
60 and brought within Elam; bronze hammered,
61 hard, and pure, precious stones beautiful and valuable,
62 belonging to royalty; which kings of Akkad former ones
63 and Saulmugina, for their aid had paid
64 to Elam: garments beautiful, belonging to royalty,
65 weapons of war, prepared for one to make battle,
66 suited to his hand, instruments furnishing his palaces,
67 all that within it was placed, with the food
68 in the midst which he ate and drank, and the couch he reclined on,
69 powerful war chariots,
70 of which their ornaments were bronze and paint,
71 horses and great mules,
72 of which their trappings were gold and silver, I carried off to Assyria,
73 The tower of Shushan which in the lower part in marble was laid,
74 I destroyed. I broke through its top, which was covered with shining bronze.
75 Susinaq the god of their oracle, who dwelt in the groves;
76 whom any one had not seen the image of his divinity,
77 Sumudu, Lagomer, Partikira,
78 Ammankasibar, Uduran and Sapak;
79 of whom the kings of Elam worship their divinity.
80 Ragiba, Sumugursara, Karsa,
81 Kirsamas, Sudunu, Aipaksina,

82 Bilala, Panintimri, Silagara,
83 Napsa, Nabirtu and Kindakarbu,
84 these gods and goddesses, with their valuables,
85 their goods, their furniture, and priests, and
86 worshippers, I carried off to Assyria.
87 Thirty-two statues of kings, fashioned of silver, gold, bronze
88 and alabaster, from out of Shushan,
89 Madaktu and Huradi,
90 and a statue of Ummanigas son of Umbadara,
91 a statue of Istarnanhundi, a statue of Halludus
92 and a statue of Tammaritu the later,
93 who by command of Assur and Ishtar made submission to me,
94 I brought to Assyria. I broke the winged lions
95 and bulls watching over the temple, all there were.
96 I removed the winged bulls attached to the gates of
97 the temples of Elam, until they were not, I over-turned.
98 His gods and his goddesses I sent into captivity,
99 their forest groves,
100 which any other had not penetrated into the midst,
101 had not trodden their outskirts;
102 my men of war into them entered,
103 saw their groves, and burned them in the fire.
104 The high places of their kings, former and latter,
105 not fearing Assur and Ishtar my lords,
106 opposers of the kings my fathers,
107 I pulled down, destroyed and burnt in the sun.
108 their attendants I brought to Assyria,
109 their leaders without shelter I placed.
110 The wells of drinking water I dried them up,
111 for a journey of a month and twenty-five days the districts of Elam I laid waste,

112 destruction, servitude and drought I poured over them.
113 The daughters of kings, consorts of kings,
114 and families former and latter
115 of the kings of Elam, the governors and
116 citizens of those cities,
117 all I had captured; the commanders of archers, prefects,
118 directors of ..., three horse charioteers
119 chariot drivers, archers, officers,
120 camp followers and the whole of the army, all there was,
121 people male and female, small and great, horses,
122 mules, asses, oxen and sheep,
123 beside much spoil, I carried off to Assyria.

1 The dust of Shushan, Madaktu,
2 Haltemas, and the rest of their cities,
3 entirely I brought to Assyria,
4 For a month and a day, Elam to its utmost extent I swept;
5 the passage of men, the treading of oxen and sheep,
6 and the springing up of good trees I burnt off the fields.
7 Wild asses, serpents beasts of the desert and ugalhus,
8 safely I caused to lay down in them.
9 Nana, who 1,635 years¹
10 had been desecrated, had gone, and dwelt
11 in Elam, a place not appointed to her;
12 and in those days, she and the gods her fathers,
13 proclaimed my name to the dominion of the earth.
14 The return of her divinity she entrusted to me,
15 thus: "Assurbanipal, from the midst of Elam (wicked),
16 bring me out, and cause me to enter into Bitanna."
17 The will commanded by their divinity, which from days remote
18 they had uttered; again they spoke to later people.
19 The hands of her great divinity I took hold of, (and)
20 the straight road rejoicing in heart,
21 she took to Bitanna.
22 In the month Kislev, the first day, into Erech I caused her to enter, and
23 In Bithilianni which she had delighted in,
24 I set her up an enduring sanctuary.
___________
1 The image of the goddess Nana was carried away by Kudur-nanhundi, king of Elam.

25 People and spoil of Elam,
26 which by command of Assur, Sin, Shamas, Vul, Bel, Nebo,
27 Ishtar of Nineveh, the divine queen of Kitmuri,
28 Ishtar of Arbela, Ninip, Nergal and Nusku, I had carried away;
29 the first part to my gods I devoted.
30 The archers, footmen,
31 soldiers and camp followers
32 whom I carried off from the midst of Elam;
33 over the body of my kingdom I spread.
34 The rest to the cities seats of my gods,
35 my prefects, my great men, and all my camp,
36 like sheep I caused to overflow.
37 Ummanaldas king of Elam,
38 who the vigour of the powerful soldiers of Assur and Ishtar had seen;
39 from the mountain, the place of his refuge, he returned and
40 into Madaktu, the city which by command of Assur and Ishtar
41 I had pulled down, destroyed and carried off its spoil;
42 he entered and sat in sorrow, in a place dishonoured.
43 Concerning Nebobelzikri, the grandson of Merodachbaladan;
44 who against my agreement had sinned, and thrown off the yoke of my dominion:
45 who on the kings of Elam to strengthen him had relied,
46 had trusted to Ummanigas, Tammaritu,
47 Indabigas, and Ummanaldas,
48 kings who had ruled the dominion of Elam.
49 My envoy about the surrender of Nebobelzikri,
50 with determination of purpose I sent

51 to Ummanaldas. Nebobelzikri, grandson of Merodachbaladan,
52 of the journey of my envoy who into Elam had entered
53 heard, and his heart was afflicted. He inclined to despair,
54 his life before him he did not regard, and
55 longed for death;
56 to his own armour-bearer he said also
57 thus: "Slay me with the sword."
58 He and his armour-bearer with the steel swords of their girdles pierced through
59 each other. Ummanaldas feared, and the
60 corpse of that Nebobelzikri who benefits trampled on,
61 with the head of his armour-bearer who destroyed him with the sword,
62 to my envoy he gave, and he sent it to my presence.
63 His corpse I would not give to burial
64 more than before his death I returned, and
65 his head I cut off; round the neck of Neboqatizabat
66 the munmakir of Saulmugina
67 my rebellious brother, who with him to pass into
68 Elam had gone; I hung.
69 Pahe who against Ummanaldas,
70 had ruled the dominion of Elam,
71 the terror of the powerful soldiers of Assur and Ishtar,
72 who the first, second, and third time had trampled over Elam
73 covered him, and he trusted to the goodness of my heart,
74 from the midst of Elam he fled and
75 took the yoke of my kingdom.
76 The people, sinners of Bitimbi,
77 Kuzurtein, Dursar,

78 Masutu, Bube.
79 Bitunzai, Bitarrabi.
80 Iprat, Zagar of Tapapa,
81 Akbarina, Gurukirra,
82 Dunnushamas, Hamanu,
83 Kanizu, Aranzese,
84 Nakidati, Timinut of Simami,
85 Bitqatatti, Sakisai,
86 Zubahe, and Tulhunba,
87 who in my former expedition, from the face of the powerful soldiers
88 of Assur and Ishtar fled and
89 took to Saladri, a rugged mountain;
90 those people who on Saladri
91 the mountain fixed their stronghold,
92 the terror of Assur and Ishtar my lords overwhelmed them;
93 from the mountain the place of their refuge they fled and
94 took my yoke; to the bow I appointed them,
95 over the body of my kingdom
96 which filled my hand I spread.
97 In my ninth expedition I gathered my army,
98 against Vaiteh king of Arabia
99 I directed the march, who against my agreement
100 had sinned; the benefits done to him he did not regard, and
101 threw off the yoke of my dominion.
102 When Assur had set him up to perform my pleasure,
103 to seek my alliance his feet broke off, and
104 he ended his presents and great tribute.

105 When Elam was speaking sedition with Akkad, he heard and
106 disregarded my agreement. Of me Assurbanipal,
107 the king, the noble priest, the powerful leader,
108 the work of the hands of Assur, he left me, and
109 to Abiyateh and Aimu, sons of Tehari,
110 his forces with them to the help of
111 Saulmugina my rebellious brother he sent, and
112 set his face. The people of Arabia
113 with him he caused to revolt, and carried away the
114 plunder of the people whom Assur, Ishtar, and the great gods
115 had given me, their government I had ruled,
116 and they were in my hand.
117 By command of Assur and Ishtar my army in the region of
118 Azaran, Hirataqaza,
119 in Edom, in the neighbourhood of Yabrud,
120 in Beth Ammon, in the district of the Hauran,
121 in Moab, in Saharri,
122 in Harge, in the district of Zobah.

1 His numerous fighting men I slew without number, I accomplished
2 his overthrow. The people of Arabia, all who with him came,
3 I destroyed with the sword, and he from the face of the
4 powerful soldiers of Assur, fled and got away
5 to a distance. The tents, the pavilions,
6 their dwellings, a fire they raised, and burned in the flames.
7 Vaiteh, misfortune happened to him, and
8 alone he fled to Nabatea.
9 Vaiteh son of Hazael, brother of the father
10 of Vaiteh son of Birvul, whom the people of his country
11 appointed to the kingdom of Arabia;
12 Assur king of the gods the strong mountain, a decree
13 repeated, and he came to my presence.
14 To satisfy the law of Assur and the great gods
15 my lords, a heavy judgment took him, and
16 in chains I placed him, and with asi and dogs
17 I bound him, and caused him to be kept in the
18 great gate in the midst of Nineveh Nirib-barnakti-adnati
19 and he Ammuladi¹ king of Kedar,
20 brought to fight the kings of Syria,
21 whom Assur and Ishtar the great gods had entrusted to me.
22 In the service of Assur, Sin, Shamas, Vul, Bel, Nebo,
23 Ishtar of Nineveh Sarrat-Kitmuri,
__________
1 Ammuladi was captured by the king of Moab, who sent him to Assyria.

24 Ishtar of Arbela, Ninip, Nergal and Nusku,
25 his overthrow I accomplished. Himself alive with Adiya
26 the wife of Vaiteh king of Arabia,
27 they captured and brought to my presence.
28 By command of the great gods my lords, with the dogs
29 I placed him, and I caused him to be kept chained.
30 By command of Assur, Ishtar, and the great gods my lords,
31 of Abiyateh and Aimu sons of Tehari,
32 who to the help of Saulmugina my rebellious brother
33 to enter Babylon went;
34 his helpers I slew, his overthrow I accomplished. The remainder
35 who into Babylon entered, in want and
36 hunger ate the flesh ,of each other.
37 To save their lives, from the midst of Babylon
38 they came out, and my forces which around Saulmugina
39 were placed, a second time his overthrow accomplished; and
40 he alone fled, and to save his life
41 took my yoke. Favour I granted him and
42 an agreement to worship the great gods I caused him to swear, and
43 instead of Vaiteh or anyone,
44 to the kingdom of Arabia I appointed.
45 And he with the Nabateans
46 his face set, and the worship of the great gods did not fear, and
47 carried away the plunder of the border of my country.
48 In the service of Assur, Sin, Shamas, Vul, Bel, Nebo,
49 Ishtar of Nineveh Sarrat-Kitmuri,
50 Ishtar of Arbela, Ninip, Nergal and Nusku,

51 Nathan king of Nabatea, whose place was remote,
52 of whom Vaiteh to his presence (had) fled;
53 heard also of the power of Assur who protected me:
54 who in time past to the kings my fathers,
55 his envoy did not send, and did not seek
56 alliance with their kingdom ; in fear of the soldiers of Assur
57 capturing .... he tore and sought alliance
58 with my kingdom. Abiyateh
59 son of Teheri did not ... benefits, disregarding the
60 oath of the great gods, seditious words against me
61 he spoke, and his face with Nathan
62 king of Nabatea he set; and their forces
63 they gathered to commit evil against my border.
64 By command of Assur, Sin, Shamas, Vul, Bel, Nebo,
65 Ishtar of Nineveh Sarrat-Kitmuri,
66 Ishtar of Arbela, Ninip, Nergal and Nusku,
67 my army I gathered; against Abiyateh
68 I directed the march. The Tigris
69 and the Euphrates in their flood (strong) peacefully they crossed,
70 they marched, a distant path they took, they ascended
71 the lofty country they passed through the forests,
72 of which their shadow was vast, bounded by trees great and strong,
73 and vines a road of mighty wood.
74 They went to the rebels of Vas, a place and and
75 very difficult, where the bird of heaven had not
76 wild asses they found not in it.
77 100 kaspu of ground, from Nineveh
78 the city the delight of Ishtar, wife of Bel;
79 against¹ Vaiteh king of Arabia
80 and Abiyateh with the forces
__________
1 Variant: after.

81 of the Nabateans, they went
82 They marched and went in the month Sivan, the month of Sin
83 the eldest son and first of Bel,
84 the twenty-seventh day, on the festival of the lady of Babylon,
85 the mighty one of the great gods.
86 From Hadatta I departed;
87 in Laribda a tower of stones,
88 over against lakes of water; I pitched my camp,
89 My army the waters for their drink desired, and
90 they marched and went over arid ground, a place very difficult,
91 to Hurarina near Yarki,
92 and Aialla in Vas, a place remote,
93 a place the beast of the desert was not in,
94 and a bird of heaven had not fixed a nest
95 The overthrow of the Isammih, the servants
96 of Adarsamain, and the Nabateans
97 I accomplished. People, asses, camels,
98 and sheep, their plunder innumerable; I carried away.
99 Eight kaspu of ground my army
I00 marched victoriously, peacefully they returned, and
101 in Aialli they drank abundant waters;
102 from the midst of Aialli to Quraziti.
103 six kaspu of ground, a place arid and very difficult,
104 they marched and went The worshippers of Adarsamain,
105 and the Kidri of Vaiteh,
106 son of Birvul¹ king of Arabia, I besieged;
107 his gods, his mother, his sister, his wife, his kin,
108 the people in the midst all, the asses,
__________
1 Variant: Birdadda.

109 camels, and sheep;
110 all in the service of Assur and Ishtar my lords
111 my hands took. The road to Damascus
112 I caused their feet to take. In the month Ab, the month of Sagittarius
113 daughter of Sin the archer; the third day, the festival
114 of the king of the gods, Merodach, from Damascus
115 I departed. Six kaspu of ground in their country all of it.
116 I marched, and went to Hulhuliti.
117 In Hukkuruna, the rugged mountain,
118 the servants of Abiyateh son of Tehari of
119 Kedar I captured; his overthrow I accomplished,
120 I carried off his spoil. Abiyateh and Aimu,
121 sons of Tehari, by command of Assur and Ishtar my .lords,
122 in the midst of battle alive I captured in hand.
123 Hand and foot in bonds of iron I placed them,

1 with the spoil of their country I brought them
2 to Assyria. The fugitives, who from the race of my soldiers
3 fled, ascended and took to
4 Hukkuruna the rugged mountain.
5 In Laanhabbi ......
6 .......

[Lines 7-25 are lost, only the following ends of eight lines remain: a ... e ... strong, b ... and ... camels, c ... g, d ... them h]

26 oxen, sheep, asses, camels
27 and men, they carried off without number.
28 The sweeping of all the country through its extent,
29 they collected through the whole of it.
30 Camels like sheep I distributed and
31 caused to overflow to the people of Assyria
32 dwelling in my country. A camel
33 for half a shekel, in half shekels of silver, they valued in front of the gate;
34 the spoil in the sale of captives among the strong
35 which were gathered in droves,
36 they bartered camels and men.
37 Vaiteh and the Arabians,
38 who my agreement
39 who from the face of the soldiers of Assur my lord,
40 fled and got away;
41 Ninip the warrior destroyed,
42 in want and famine their lives were spent, and

43 for their food they eat the flesh of their children.
44 With a curse mud of the earth
45 in the house of Assur father of the gods ... them
46 Assur, Sin, Shamas, Vul, Bel, Nebo,
47 Ishtar of Nineveh, Sarrat-Kitmuri,
48 Ishtar of Arbela, Ninip, Nergal, Nusku,
49 camels strong, oxen and sheep,
50 more than seven the sacrificers sacrificed, and
51 for eating they did not eat their carcases.
52 The people of Arabia one to another, addressed each other
53 thus: "Concerning the number of these
54 evil things which happened to Arabia,
55 because the great agreements with Assur we have not regarded;
56 and we have sinned against the benefits of Assurbanipal,
57 the king, the delight of the heart of Bel."
58 Beltis the consort of Bel,
59 the guardian of divinity;
60 who with Anu and Bel in dominion
61 is established: pierced my enemies with horns of iron.
62 Ishtar dwelling in Arbela, with fire clothed;
63 drought upon Arabia poured down.
64 Dabara the warrior, mourning caused and
65 destroyed my enemies.
66 Ninip fierce, the great warrior,
67 the son of Bel; with his mighty arrows
68 destroyed the life of my enemies.
69 Nusku the glorious messenger, sitting in dominion;
70 who by command of Assur and Beltis ....
71 The archer, the goddess of
72 my forces preceded, and place of my kingdom,

73 the front of my army took and
74 destroyed my enemies.
75 The stroke ... Assur, Ishtar,
76 and the great gods my lords,
77 who in making war, went to the help of
78 my army Vaiteh heard of, and
79 over these things feared, and
80 from Nabatea I brought out, and
81 in the service of Assur, Sin, Shamas, Vul, Bel, Nebo,
82 Ishtar of Nineveh Sarrat-Kitmuri,
83 Ishtar of Arbela, Ninip, Nergal and Nusku,
84 .... him, and sent him to Assyria.
85 who to capture my enemies
86 ... fought By command of Assur and Beltis
87 with a mace which was grasped by my hand,
88 the flesh coming out of him, his son,
89 in sight of his eyes I struck down.
90 With the dogs I did not place him,
91 in the gate of the rising sun, in the midst of Nineveh,
92 which Nirib-parnakti-adnati¹ is called its name;
93 I caused to keep him chained,
94 to exalt the will of Assur Ishtar and the great gods
95 my lords. Favour I granted him, and saved his life.
96 On my return Hosah,
97 which by the side of the sea has its place, I captured.
98 The people of Hosah, who to their prefects
99 were not reverent, and did not give the tribute,
100 the gift of their country, I slew. Amongst the people
101 unsubmissive, chastisement I inflicted.
102 Their gods and their people I carried off to Assyria.
__________
1 The name of the eastern gate of Nineveh.

103 The people of Akko unsubmissive I destroyed.
104 Their bodies in the dust I threw down; the whole of the city
105 I quieted. The rest of them I brought
106 to Assyria, in rank I arranged, and
107 over my numerous army,
108 which Assur strengthened, I spread
109 Aimu son of Tehari, with Abiyateh
110 his brother had risen, and with my army had made war.
111 In the midst of battle, alive in hand I captured;
112 in Nineveh the city of my dominion his skin I tore off.
113 Ummanaldas king of Elam,
114 whom from of old Assur and Ishtar my lords
115 had commanded to make submission to me;
116 by command of their great divinity who were unchanged,
117 afterwards his country against him revolted, and
118 from the face of the tumult of his servants which they made against him,
119 alone he fled and took to the mountain.
120 From the mountain, the house of his refuge,
121 the place he fled to,
122 like a raven I caught, and

1 alive I brought him to Assyria.
2 Tammaritu, Pahe and Ummanaldas,
3 who after each other ruled the dominion of Elam;
4 whom, by the power of Assur and Ishtar my lords,
5 I subjugated to my yoke. Vaiteh
6 king of Arabia, of whom, by command of Assur and Ishtar, his overthrow
7 I had accomplished; from his country I brought him to Assyria.
8 When to ... sacrifices and libations I had offered up
9 in Masmasu, the seat of their power,
10 before Beltis, mother of the great gods,
11 beloved wife of Assur, I had made to the gods of
12 Idkid. To the yoke of my war chariot
13 I caused to fasten them, and to the gate of the temple
14 they drew it. On my feet I made invocation,
15 I glorified their divinity, I praised
16 their power, in the assembly of my army; of Assur, Sin,
17 Shamas, Vul, Bel, Nebo, Ishtar of Nineveh
18 Sarrat-Kitmuri, Ishtar of Arbela,
19 Ninip, Nergal and Nusku, who the unsubmissive to me,
20 subjugated to my yoke, and in glory
21 and power established me over my enemies.
22 Saduri, king of Ararat; who the kings his fathers
23 to my fathers had sent in fellowship.
24 Again, Saduri, the mighty things
25 for which the great gods had caused renown to me, heard, and

26 like a son to his father, he sent to my dominion;
27 and he in these words sent
28 thus: "Salutation to the king my lord."
29 Reverently and submissively his numerous presents
30 he sent to my presence.
31 Now Riduti, the private palace of Nineveh,
32 the grand city, the delight of Ishtar;
33 which Sennacherib king of Assyria, the grandfather my begetter
34 built for his royal seat;
35 that Riduti in my days
36 became old, and its chamber-walls decayed.
37 I, Assurbanipal, the great king, the powerful king,
38 king of nations, king of Assyria, king of the four regions,
39 within that Riduti grew up.
40 Assur, Sin, Shamas, Vul, Bel, Nebo, Ishtar of Nineveh Sarrat-Kitmuri,
41 Ishtar of Arbela, Ninip, Nergal and Nusku,
42 my royal sonship
43 ... their good protection,
44 .... over me
45 fixed, when on the throne of the father my begetter I sat.
46 They were made (?).... and many people
47 my hands
48 me within it.
49 On my couch at night my
50 in ..............
51 that mastaku .......
52 the great gods its renown have heard ... good,
53 its decay ... to enlarge it

54 .... the whole of it I destroyed.
55 .... Fifty tipki the building its sculpture
56 .... the work of the mound I completed.
57 Before the temples of the great gods my lords
58 I worshipped. ... Of that mound
59 its sculpture I did not cut down its top.
60 In a good month and a prosperous day, upon that mound its
61 foundation I placed, I fixed its brickwork.
62 In biris and kamis its face I ....
63 I divided in three ...
64 in chariots of Elam,
65 which by command of the great gods my lords
66 I carried off; to make that Bitriduti,
67 the people of my country in the midst, took its bricks.
68 The kings of Arabia who against my agreement sinned
69 whom in the midst of battle alive I had captured in hand,
70 to make that Bitriduti
71 heavy burdens caused them to carry, and
72 I caused them to take ....
73 building its brickwork ....
74 with dancing and music ....
75 with joy and shouting, from its foundation to its roof
76 I built. More than before
77 I extended ....
78 beams and great planks from Sirara
79 and Lebanon, I fixed over it
80 Doors of forest trees, their wood excellent,
81 a covering of copper I spread over, and hung in its gates.
82 Great columns of bronze.

83 at the sides of the gates
84 That Riduti, my royal seat,
85 the whole of it I finished, entirely
86 I completed. Plantations choice,
87 for the glory of
88 my kingdom I planted like walls.
89 Sacrifices and libations precious I poured out to the gods my lords.
90 With joy and shouting I completed it,
91 I entered into it in a state palanquin.
92 I after days, among the kings my sons,
93 whomever Assur and Ishtar to the dominion of the country and people
94 shall proclaim his name;
95 when this Riduti becomes old and
96 decays, its decay he shall repair,
97 the inscription written of my name my father's and my grandfather's,
98 the remote descendant who .... may he see, and
99 an altar may he raise, sacrifice and libations may he pour out,
100 and with the inscription written of his name may he place;
101 may the great gods all in this inscription named,
102 like me also, establish to him
103 power and glory.
104 Whoever the inscription written of my name,
105 my father's and my grandfather's, shall destroy,
106 and with his inscription shall not place,
107 Assur, Sin, Shamas, Vul, Bel, Nabu,
108 Ishtar of Nineveh, Sarrat-Kitmuri,
109 Ishtar of Arbela, Ninip, Nergal and Nusku,
110 a judgment equal to the renown of my name, may they pass on him.

a Month Elul, 28th day,
b eponym Shamasdainani, prefect of Babylon.
__________
1 The eponyms were annual officers, after whom the years were named.

INSCRIPTION OF DARIUS ON THE ROCK AT BEHISTUN
TRANSLATED BY
SIR H. RAWLINSON, K.C.B., D.C.L., ETC.

THE great triumphal tablet of Darius Hystaspes, exhibiting the figures of the victorious king and his attendants and of ten vanquished Chiefs, and accompanied by a record in three languages, which extends to nearly a thousand lines of Cuneiform writing, is engraved on the face of a precipitous rock at Behistun¹ near the town of Kermanshah on the Western frontiers of Media.

The inaccessibility of the Sculptures, which are at the height of at least 400 feet above the plain, had deterred all the early Persian travellers from attempting to copy the Inscriptions. At length however Major Rawlinson, who was employed on military duty in the province, succeeded {p.108} in scaling the rock in the autumn of 1835; and between that period and the close of 1837 when his services were transferred to Teheran, having repeatedly visited the spot, he contrived to make a copy of a considerable portion of the Arian version of the record. During the two following years he was busily employed in decyphering and translating the portion which he had thus copied, and his various letters on the subject were read before the Royal Asiatic Society on January 4, 1840, as reported in the Athenaeum, No. 639, p. 79. An interval of inaction now occurred, as Major Rawlinson was summoned to take part in the Afghan war; but in 1843 he returned to Baghdad, and in the summer of the following year he once more visited Behistun; and on this occasion as he was furnished with ladders, he completed his copy of the Arian text, and also recovered considerable portions both of the Scythic and Semitic versions.

The long expected Memoir on the Arian or Persian text of the great Behistun Inscription was completed in 1845, and was published in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society for 1846. There were still however some passages in the Arian text which required verification and completion, while of the other versions especially of the Semitic version, the value of which as a key to the {p.109} decypherment of the independent Inscriptions of Assyria and Babylonia was becoming daily more apparent large portions were entirely uncopied, so that one more visit to the Behistun rock was deemed indispensable. This was accordingly accomplished in 1848, when Major Rawlinson not only obtained a large list of emendations and restorations of the published Arian text, but also carried off his most valuable trophy in a complete set of paper casts of the entire Scythic and Semitic versions, so far as the writing—could be at all distinguished on the rock.

In the following year Major Rawlinson returned to England and published the latest results of his labours, the corrections of the Persian text appearing in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society under date Feb. 1, 1850, and the Semitic text being given at length with an analysis in the 14th volume of the Journal early in the ensuing year.

On returning to Baghdad at the close of 1851, Major Rawlinson handed over his casts of the Scythic version to Mr. E. Norris, the well known Oriental scholar, who published from them an independent translation of the great Behistun Inscription in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society for 1852.

The translation which here follows is based upon Major Rawlinson's original reading of the Arian text as published {p.110} in 1846, but it also includes his emendations of 1850, and is further strengthened by additions from Mr. Norris's Scythic Memoir of 1852, while in a few instances advantage has been taken of Monsieur Jules Oppert's matured dissection of the Semitic version published in 1858, to give greater completeness to the record.

The translation given by Professor Rawlinson in his Herodotus Vol. ii. p. 590, has also been compared, and German criticism has occasionally furnished an improved reading.
___________
1 To Βαγίστανο όρος of the Greek; i.e. Baz-istan or "Place of the God."

1 I am Darius, the great King, the King of Kings, the King of Persia, the King of the provinces, the son Hystaspes, the grandson of Arsames, the Achaemenian.
2 Says Darius the King: My father was Hystaspes; of Hystaspes the father was Arsames; of Arsames the father was Ariyaramnes; of Ariyaramnes the father was Teispes; of Teispes the father was Achaemenes.
3 Says Darius the King: On that account we are called Achaemenians; from antiquity we have descended; from antiquity those of our race have been kings.
4 Says Darius the King: There are eight of my race who have been kings before me, I am the ninth; for a very long time¹ we have been kings.
5 Says Darius the King: By the grace of Ormazd I am king; Ormazd has granted me the empire.
6 Says Darius the King: These are the countries which belong to me by the grace of Ormazd I have become king of them Persia, Susiana, Babylonia, Assyria, Arabia, Egypt, those which are of the sea,² Sparta, Ionia, Media, Armenia, Cappadocia, Parthia, Zarangia, Aria, Chorasmia, Bactria, Sogdiana, Gandara, the Sacae, the Sattagydes, Arachosia, and Mecia, in all twenty-three countries.
7 Says Darius the King: These are the countries which belong to me; by the grace of Ormazd they have become subject to me they have brought tribute to me. That which has been said unto them by me, both by night and by day it has been performed by them.
____________
1 Or, in a double line.
1 I.e., the Islands of the Mediterranean.

8 says Darius the King: Within these countries whoever was good, him have I cherished and protected; whoever was evil, him have I utterly destroyed. By the grace of Ormazd these countries have obeyed my laws. As to them it has been said by me, thus has it been done by them.
9 Says Darius the King: Ormazd granted me the empire. Ormazd brought help to me so that I gained this empire. By the grace of Ormazd I hold this empire.
10 Says Darius the King: This (is) what was done by me, before I became king. He who was named Cambyses¹ the son of Cyrus of our race, he was here king before me. There was of that Cambyses a brother named Bardes; he was of the same father and mother as Cambyses. Afterwards Cambyses slew this Bardes. When Cambyses slew Bardes it was not known to the state that Bardes was killed. Then Cambyses proceeded to Egypt. When Cambyses had gone to Egypt, the state became wicked; then the lie became abounding in the land, both in Persia and in Media, and in the other provinces.
11 Says Darius the King: Afterwards there was a certain man, a Magian, named Gomates. He arose from Pissiachdda, the mountain named Arakadres, from thence; on the 14th day of the month Viyakhana² then it was that he arose. To the state he thus falsely declared: "I am Bardes the son of Cyrus, the brother of Cambyses." Then the whole state became rebellious; from Cambyses it went over to him, both Persia and Media, and the other provinces. He seized the empire; on the 6th day of the month Garmapada,³ then it was he thus seized the empire. Afterwards Cambyses, killing himself died.
12 Says Darius the King: The empire, of which Gomates, the Magian, dispossessed Cambyses, that empire
____________
1 Kabujiya.
2 The I2th month.
3 The 5lh month.

had been in our family from the olden time. After Gomaes the Magian had dispossessed Cambyses of Persia and Media and the dependent provinces, he acted with his own party (?) he became king.
13 Says Darius the King: There was not a man, neither Persian, nor Median, nor any one of our family, who could dispossess of the empire that Gomates the Magian. The state feared him exceedingly. He slew many people who had known the old Bardes; for that reason he slew the people "Lest they should recognize me that I am not Bardes the son of Cyrus." There was not any one bold enough to say aught against Gomates the Magian until I arrived. Then I prayed to Ormazd; Ormazd brought help to me. On the l0th day of the month Bagayadish¹ then it was, with my faithful men I slew that Gomates, the Magian and the chief men who were his followers. The fort named Sictachotes, in the district of Media, named Nisaea, there I slew him; I dispossessed him of the empire. By the grace of Ormazd I became king; Ormazd granted me the sceptre.
14 Says Darius the King: The empire that had been wrested from our race, that I recovered, I established it in its place; as in the days of old² thus I did. The temples which Gomates the Magian had destroyed, I rebuilt; I reinstituted for the state the sacred chants and (sacrificial) worship, and confided them to the families which Gomates the Magian had deprived of those offices. I established the kingdom in its place, both Persia and Media, and the other provinces; as in the days of old; thus I restored that which had been taken away. By the grace of Ormazd I did this. I laboured until I had established our family in its place as in the days of old. I laboured, by the
_________
1 The 1st month.
2 Or with a few men.

grace of Ormazd, (in order) that Gomates the Magian might not supersede our family.
15 Says Darius the King: This is that which I did after that I became king.
16 Says Darius the King: When I had slain Gomates the Magian, then a certain man, named Atrines, the son of Opadarmes, he arose; to the state of Susiana he thus said: "I am King of Susiana." Then the people of Susiana became rebellious; they went over to that Atrines; he became King of Susiana. And a certain man, a Babylonian, named Nadinta-belus the son of Ænares, he arose. The state of Babylonia he thus falsely addressed: "I am Nabochodrossor, the son of Nabonidus." Then the entire Babylonian state went over to that Nadinta-belus. Babylon became rebellious. He seized the government of Babylonia.
17 Says Darius the King: Then I sent to Susiana; that Atrines was brought to me a prisoner. I slew him.
18 Says Darius the King: Then I proceeded to Babylon against that Nadinta-belus, who was called Nabochodrossor. The forces of Nadinta-belus held the Tigris; there they had come, and they had boats. Then I divided my army; one portion I supplied with camels; the other I mounted on horses (?); Ormazd brought help to me; by the grace of Ormazd I succeeded in passing the Tigris. Then I entirely defeated the army of that Nadintabelus. On the 27th day of the month of Atriyatiya¹ then it was that we thus fought.
19 Says Darius the King: Then I marched against Babylon. When I arrived near Babylon, the city named Zazna, upon the Euphrates, there that Nadinta-belus who was called Nabochodrossor, came with a force before me
________
1 The 9th month.

offering battle. Then we fought a battle. Ormazd brought help to me; by the grace of Ormazd, I entirely defeated the force of Nadinta-belus. A part of the army was driven into the water; the water destroyed them. On the 2nd day of the month Anamaka,¹ then it was that we thus fought the battle,
________
1 The 10th month.

[End of Column No. I, which extends to ninety-six lines, and the writing of which is generally in good preservation.]

1 Says Darius the King: Then Nadintabelus with a few horsemen fled to Babylon. Then I proceeded to Babylon; I both took Babylon and seized that Nadinta-belus. Afterwards I slew that Nadinta-belus at Babylon.
2 Says Darius the King: Whilst I was at Babylon these are the countries which revolted against me: Persis, Susiana, Media, Assyria, Armenia, Parthia, Margiana, Sattagydia, and Sacia.
3 Says Darius the King: A certain man named Martes, the son of Sisicres; a city of Persia, named Cyganaca, there he dwelt¹ he rose up; to the state of Susiana he thus said: "I am Imanes, King of Susiana."
4 Says Darius the King: When I sent to Susiana then the Susians, fearing from me, seized that Martes; and the chief of their own men slew him.
5 Says Darius the King: A certain man named Phraortes, a Median, he rose up; to the state of Media he thus said: "I am Xathrites, of the race of Cyaxares." Then the Median people, which were at home (?) revolted against me. They went over to that Phraortes; he became King of Media.
6 Says Darius the King: The army of Persians and Medes that was with me, that army remained faithful to me.¹ Then I sent forth these troops. Hydarnes by name, a Persian, one of my subjects, him I appointed their leader. I thus addressed them: " Go forth and smite that Median State which does not acknowledge me." Then that Hydarnes marched with his army. When he reached Media, a city of Media named Marusia there he engaged the Medes. He who was leader of the Medes could not at all resist
__________
1 Or, that (army) was few in number.

him. (?) Ormazd brought help to me; by the grace of Ormazd, the troops of Hydarnes entirely defeated the rebel army. On the 27th day of the month Anamaka¹ then it was that the battle was thus fought by them. Afterwards my forces remained at Kapada, a district of Media, until I myself arrived in Media.
7 Says Darius the King: Then Dadarses by name, an Armenian, one of my servants, him I sent to Armenia. I thus said to him: "Go forth; the rebel state that does not obey me, smite it." Then Dadarses marched. When he reached Armenia, then the rebels, having collected, came before Dadarses arraying their battle. Zoza by name, a village of Armenia, there they engaged. Ormazd brought help to me; by the grace of Ormazd, my forces entirely defeated that rebel army. On the 8th day of the month, Thurawahara² then it was a battle was thus fought by them.
8 Says Darius the King: For the second time the rebels, having collected, returned before Dadarses arraying battle. The fort of Armenia named Tigra, there they engaged. Ormazd brought help to me; by the grace of Ormazd, my troops entirely defeated that rebel army. On the 18th day of the month of Thurawahara² then it was that the battle was thus fought by them.³
9 Says Darius the King: For the third time the rebels having assembled, returned before Dadarses arraying battle. A fort of Armenia named Uhyama there they engaged. Ormazd brought help to me; by the grace of Ormazd, my forces entirely defeated the rebel troops. On the 9th day of the month Thaigarchish⁴ then it was a battle was thus fought by them. Afterwards Dadarses waited for me there until I reached Media.
_____________
1 The 10th month.
2 The 2nd month.
3 Dadarses slew 546 of the rebels and took 520 of them prisoners.
4 The 3rd month.

10 Says Darius the King: Then he who was named Vomises, a Persian, one of my servants, him I sent to Armenia. Thus I said to him: "Go forth, the rebel state which does not acknowledge me, smite it." Then Vomises marched forth. When he had reached Armenia, then the rebels, having assembled, came again before Vomises to do battle. A district of Assyria named Atchidu there they engaged. Ormazd brought help to me; by the grace of Ormazd, my forces entirely defeated that rebel army. On the 15th day of the month Anamaka¹ then it was a battle was thus fought by them.²
11 Says Darius the King: For the second time the rebels having assembled, came before Vomises in battle-array. The district of Armenia, named Otiara, there they engaged. Ormazd brought help to me; by the grace of Ormazd, my forces entirely defeated that rebel army. In the month Thurawahara, at the full moon (?), then was a battle fought by them.³ Afterwards Vomises remained in Armenia, waiting for me, until I reached Media.
12 Says Darius the King: Then I departed from Babylon; I proceeded to Media. When I reached Media, a city of Media, named Gundrusia, there that Phraortes, who was called King of Media, came with an army before me in battle-array. Then we joined battle. Ormazd brought help to me; by the grace of Ormazd, I entirely defeated the forces of Phraortes. On the 25th day of the month of Adukana⁴ then it was we thus fought the battle.
13 Says Darius the King: Then that Phraortes, with a few horsemen, fled from thence to the district of Media, named Rhages. Subsequently I despatched forces in pursuit, by whom Phraortes was taken and brought before me.
__________
1 The 10th month.
2 They slew of the enemy 2024.
3 They slew of the enemy 2045 and took 1559 of them prisoners.
4 The 4th month.

I cut off both his nose and ears and his tongue, and I scourged him (?). He was held chained at my door; all the kingdom beheld him. Afterwards at Ecbatana, there I crucified him; and the men who were his chief followers at Ecbatana, within the citadel I executed them.
14 Says Darius the King: A certain man, named Sitratachmes, a Sagartian, he rebelled against me. To the State he thus said: "I am the King of Sagartia. I am of the race of Cyaxares." Then I sent forth an army of Persians and Medians. A man named Tachmaspates, a Median, one of my subjects, him I appointed their leader. Thus I addressed them: "Go forth, the State which is in revolt, and does not acknowledge me, smite it." Then Tachmaspates marched with his army. He fought a battle with Sitratachmes. Ormazd brought help to me; by the grace of Ormazd, my troops entirely defeated the rebel army, and took Sitratachmes, and brought him before me. Then I cut off his nose and his ears, and I scourged him (?). He was kept chained at my door. All the kingdom beheld him. Afterwards I crucified him at Arbela.
15 Says Darius the King: This is that (which) was done by me in Media.
16 Says Darius the King: Parthia and Hyrcania revolted against me; they declared for Phraortes. Hystaspes, who was my father, the Parthian forces rose in rebellion against him. Then Hystaspes with a few troops marched forth. Hyspaostisa, a town of Parthia, there he engaged the rebels. Ormazd brought help, by the grace of Ormazd, Hystaspes entirely defeated the rebel army; on the 22nd day of the month of Viyakhna,¹ then it was the battle was thus fought by them.

[End of Column II, which extends like the preceding to ninety-six lines.
The writing is a good deal injured by a fissure in the rock which extends the whole length of the tablet.]

1 Says Darius the King: Then I sent from Rhages a Persian army to Hystaspes. When that army reached Hystaspes, he marched forth with those troops. The city of Parthia named Patigrapana, there he fought with the rebels. Ormazd brought help to me; by the grace of Ormazd, Hystaspes entirely defeated that rebel army. On the 1ist day of the month Garmapada,¹ then it was the battle was thus fought by them.²
2 Says Darius the King: Then the province submitted to me. This is what was done by me in Parthia.
3 Says Darius the King: The province named Margiana, that revolted against me. A certain man named Phraates, the Margians made him their leader. Then I sent to him one who was named Dadarses, a Persian, one of my subjects, and the Satrap of Bactria. Thus said I to him: "Go forth; attack that province which does not acknowledge me." Then Dadarses marched with his forces; he joined battle with the Margians. Ormazd brought help to me; by the grace of Ormazd my troops entirely defeated the rebel army. On the 23rd day of the month Atriyatiya³ then it was the battle was thus fought by them.⁴
4 Says Darius the King: Then the province submitted to me. This is what was done by me in Bactria.
5 Says Darius the King: A certain man named Veisdates; a city named Tarba, in the district of Persia, named Yutiya, there he dwelt. He rose up a second time; to the state of Persia he thus said: "I am Bardes, the son of Cyrus." Then the Persian forces, which were at home being removed (?) from connexion with me, (?) they revolted
____________
1 The 5th month.
2 He slew of them 6560 and took 4182 prisoners.
3 The 8th month.
4 Dadarses slew 4203 of the enemy and took 6562 prisoners.

against me. They went over to that Veisda'tes; he became king of Persia.
6 Says Darius the King: Then I sent forth the Persian and Median forces which were with me. Artabardes by name, one of my servants, him I appointed their chief. Another Persian force accompanied me to Media. Then Artabardes, with his troops, marched to Persia. When he reached Persia, a city of Persia named Racha, there that Veisdates, who was called Bardes, came with a force against Artabardes to do battle. Then they joined battle. Ormazd brought help to me; by the grace of Ormazd, my troops entirely defeated the army of Veisdates. On the 12th day of the month Thurawahara¹ then it was the battle was thus fought by them.
7 Says Darius the King: Then that Veisda'tes, with a few horsemen fled from thence to Pissiachada. From that place, with an army, he came back to do battle against Artabardes. The mountain named Parga, there they fought. Ormazd brought help to me; by the grace of Ormazd, my troops entirely defeated the army of Veisdates. On the 6th day of the month of Garmapada² then it was that the battle was thus fought by them. Both that Veisdates they took, and also they took the men who were his principal adherents.
8 Says Darius the King: Then that Veisdates, and the men who were his chief followers, at a town of Persia named Chadidia, there I impaled them.
9 Says Darius the King: That Veisdates, who was called Bardes, he sent troops to Arachotia, against a man named Vibanus, a Persian, one of my servants and Satrap of Arachotia, and he appointed a certain man to be their leader. He thus addressed them: "Go forth; smite
_____________
1 The 2nd month.
2 The 5th month.

Vibanus, and that state which obeys the rule of King Darius." Then those forces marched which Veisdates had sent against Vibdnus, to do battle. A fort named Capiscanes, there, they fought an action. Ormazd brought help to me; by the grace of Ormazd, my troops entirely defeated the rebel army. On the 13th day of the month Anamaka¹ then it was the battle was thus fought by them.
10 Says Darius the King: A second time, the rebels having assembled, came before Vibanus, to do battle. The district named Gadytia, there they fought an action. Ormazd brought help to me; by the grace of Ormazd, my troops entirely defeated the rebel army. On the 7th day of the month Viyakhna² then it was the battle was thus fought by them.
11 Says Darius the King: Then that man who was the leader of those troops which Veisdates had sent against Vibanus, that leader with a few horsemen fled away. A fort of Arachotia, named Arshada, the native place (?) of Vibanus, he retired to that place. Then Vibanus with his troops marched in pursuit. There he took him, and slew the men who were his chief followers.
12 Says Darius the King: Then the province submitted to me. This is what was done by me in Arachotia.
13 Says Darius the King: Whilst I was in Persia and Media, for the second time the Babylonians revolted against me. A certain man named Aracus, an Armenian, the son of Handitus, he rose up; a district of Babylon named Dobana, from thence he arose; he thus falsely proclaimed: "I am Nabochodrossor, the son of Nabonidus." Then the Babylonian state revolted against me; it went over to that Aracus; he seized on Babylon; he became King of Babylonia.
__________
1 The 10th month.
2 The 12th month.

14 Says Darius the King: Then I sent troops to Babylon. A Median of the name of Intaphres, one of my servants, him I appointed their leader. Thus I addressed them: "Go forth, smite that Babylonian state, which does not acknowledge me." Then Intaphres with his force marched to Babylon. Ormazd brought help to me; by the grace of Ormazd Intaphres took Babylon. On the 2nd day of the month Markazana^l then Aracus, who said "I am Nebochodrossor" was seized and brought to me with his principal followers. Then I made a decree that Aracus and his principal followers should be put to death in Babylon.
_____________
1 The 8th month.

1 Says Darius the King: This is what was done by me in Babylonia.
2 Says Darius the King: This is what I have done. Under the favour of Ormazd, have I always acted. As the kings revolted against me, I fought nineteen battles. By the grace of Ormazd, I smote them, and I made nine kings captive. One was named Gomates, the Magian; he was an impostor: he said, "I am Bardes, the son of Cyrus;" he threw Persia into revolt. One, an impostor, was named Atrines, the Susian: he thus said, "I am the king of Susiana;" he caused Susiana to revolt against me. One was named Nadinta-belus a native of Babylon; he was an impostor: he thus said, "I am Nabochodrossor, the son of Nabonidus;" he caused Babylonia to revolt. One was an impostor named Martes, a Persian: he thus said, "I am Imanes, King of Susiana;" he threw Susiana into rebellion. One was named Phraortes, a Median; he spake lies: he thus said, "I am Xathrites, of the race of Cyaxares;" he persuaded Media to revolt. One was an impostor named Sitratachmes, a native of Sagartia: he thus said, "I am the King of Sagartia, of the race of Cyaxares;" he caused Sagartia to revolt. One was an impostor named Phraates, a Margian: he thus said: "I am the King of Margiana;" he threw Margiana into revolt. One was an impostor named Veisdates, a Persian: he thus said, "I am Bardes, the son of Cyrus;" he headed a rebellion in Persia. One was an impostor named Aracus, a native of Armenia; he thus said, "I am Nabochodrossor, the son of Nabonidus;" he threw Babylon into revolt.
3 Says Darius the King: These nine kings I have taken in these battles.
4 Says Darius the King: These are the provinces

which became rebellious; the God .... created lies, that they should deceive the state; afterwards the God Ormazd delivered the state into my hand. As it was desired by me, thus the God Ormazd did.
5 Says Darius the King: Thou, whoever may be king hereafter, exert thyself to put down lying; the man who may be a liar, him entirely destroy. If thou shalt thus observe my country shall remain entire.
6 Says Darius the King: This is what I have done. Under the favour of Ormazd, have I always acted. Thou whoever hereafter mayest peruse this tablet let not that which has done by me seem to thee to have been falsely recorded.
7 Says Darius the King: Ormazd is my witness, (?) that this record (?) I have throughout faithfully executed.
8 Says Darius the King: By the grace of Ormazd. there is much else that has been done by me that upon this tablet has not been inscribed; on that account it has not been inscribed, lest he who might hereafter peruse this tablet, to him the many deeds (?) that have been done by me elsewhere, should seem to have been falsely recorded. (?)
9 Says Darius the King: Those who have been kings before me, by them it has not been done as by me at all times under the favour of Ormazd.
10 Says Darius the King: Be it known to thee, my successor, that which has been done by me, thus publicly, on that account that thou conceal not. If thou conceal not this edict but publish it to. the world, Ormazd shall be a friend to thee, and may thy offspring be numerous, and mayest thou be long lived.
11 Says Darius the King: If thou shalt conceal this record and not publish it to the world may Ormazd be thy enemy, and mayest thou be childless.
12 Says Darius the King: This is what I have done;

under the favour of Ormazd, I have always acted. Ormazd has brought help to me, and the other gods which are.
13 Says Darius the King: On that account Ormazd brought help to me, and the other gods which are, (because) that I was not wicked, nor was I a liar, nor was I a tyrant, neither I nor any of my race. I have obeyed the laws and the rights and customs, I have not violated (?) Whoever laboured for my family, him have I cherished and protected he who was hostile to me him have I utterly destroyed.
14 Says Darius the King: Thou who mayest be king hereafter, the man who may be a liar, or who may be an evil doer (?), do not befriend him; cast him out into utter perdition. (?)
15 Says Darius the King: Thou whosoever hereafter mayest behold this tablet which I have inscribed, and these figures, beware lest thou injure them; as long as thou livest, so long shalt thou preserve them.
16 Says Darius the King: If thou shalt behold this tablet, and these figures, thou shalt not injure; but shalt preserve them as long as my seed endures, (then) may Ormazd be a friend to thee, and may thy offspring be numerous, and mayest thou be long lived; and that which thou mayest do may Ormazd bless for thee in aftertimes.
17 Says Darius the King: If seeing this tablet and these figures, thou shalt injure them, and shalt not preserve them as long as my seed endures, then may Ormazd be thy enemy, and mayest thou be childless; and that which thou mayest do, may Ormazd curse it for thee.
18 Says Darius the King: These are the men who alone were there when I slew Gomates, the Magian, who was called Bardes. These alone, are the men who were my assistants. Intaphernes by name, the son of Veispares a Persian; Otanes by name, the son of Socris a Persian; Gobryds by name, the son of Mardonius, a Persian; Hy- {p.127} darnes by name, the son of Megabignes a Persian; Megabyzus by name, the son of Dadoes a Persian; Ardomanes by name, the son of Osoces a Persian.
19 Says Darius the King Thou who mayest be king hereafter remember to show favour to the descendants of these men (?)

[End of Column IV, which contains ninety-two lines, the greater part lamentably injured.]

Of the thirty-five lines which compose a supplementary half column, divided into 6 Paragraphs, it is impossible to give a complete translation, one side of the tablet being entirely destroyed. From such portions as are decypherable it appears to contain an account of two other revolts; one in Susiana, conducted by a man named imim; and the other by Saku'ka, the chief of the Sacse, who dwelt upon the Tigris.

Darius employed Gubaruwa (Gobryas) the Persian, against the former rebel, and he marched in person against the latter, having previously returned from Media to Babylon. The details of the campaigns cannot be recovered, but they both terminated successfully.

The inscription then concludes with further thanksgivings to Ormazd, and injunctions to the posterity of Darius to preserve uninjured the memorial of his deeds.

The events described in the supplemental column must have taken place during the process of engraving the preceding record, and after the tablet containing the sculptured figures was finished. By a further smoothening of the face of the rock, Darius was enabled to add the Sacan Saku'ka, whom he had defeated in person, to his exhibition of captive figures, but there was no room on the tablet for the figure of the Susian rebel, who was discomfited by his lieutenant Gobryas.

Translation of the detached Inscriptions which are appended to each of the Figures exhibited on the Upper Triumphal Tablet.

Above the head of Darius is an inscription of eighteen lines, containing an exact copy of the four first paragraphs of Column L, which have been already given. The writing {p.129} is perfect, and the portions, therefore, of the lower tablet which have been effaced, can be determinately restored. It is needless to repeat the translation.
B. Tablet attached to the prostrate figure on which the victor king tramples:
"This Gomates, the Magian, was an impostor; he thus declared, 'I am Bardes, the son of Cyrus. I am the King.'"
C. Adjoining the first standing figure:
"This Atrines was an impostor; he thus declared, 'I am King of Susiana.'"
D. Adjoining the second standing figure:
"This Nadinta-belus was an impostor; he thus declared, 'I am Nabochodrossor, the son of Nabonidus; I am King of Babylon.'"
E. Adjoining the third standing figure:
"This Phraortes was an impostor; he thus declared, 'I am Xathrites, of the race of Cyaxares; I am King of Media.'"
F. Above the fourth standing figure:
"This Martes was an impostor; he thus declared, 'I am Imanes, the King of Susiana.'"
G. Adjoining the fifth standing figure:
"This Sitratachmes was an impostor; he thus declared, I¹ am King of Sagartia, of the race of Cyaxares.'"
H. Adjoining the sixth standing figure:
"This Veisdates was an impostor j he thus declared, 'I am Bardes, the son of Cyrus. I am the King.'"
_________
1 The Arian legend is engraved on the body of the figure.

I. Adjoining the seventh standing figure:
"This Aracus was an impostor; he thus declared, 'I am Nabochodrossor, the son of Nabonidus. I am the King of Babylon.'"
J. Adjoining the eighth standing figure:
"This Phraates was an impostor, he thus declared, 'I am the King of Margiana.'"
K. Above the ninth or supplemental figure with the high cap:
"This is Sakuka, the Sacan.'"

THE charms translated below will illustrate the superstition of the Assyrians and Babylonians. Like the Jews of the Talmud they believed that the world was swarming with noxious spirits who produced the various diseases to which man is liable, and might be swallowed with the food and the drink that support life. They counted no less than 300 spirits of heaven and 600 spirits of earth. All this, with the rest of their mythology, was borrowed by the Assyrians from the primitive population of Babylonia, who spoke an agglutinative language akin to the dialects {p.132} of the Finnic or Tatar tribes. The charms are written in this ancient language, but Assyrian translations are appended in a column to the right of the tablet. The legends are lithographed in the "Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia!' vol. ii, plates 17 and 18.

May the noxious spirit of the neck, the neck-spirit of the desert, the neck-spirit of the land, the neck-spirit of the sea, the neck-spirit of the river, the noxious cherub of the city, the noxious wind, from the man himself (and) the clothing of the body be driven forth; from the noxious neck-spirit may the king of heaven preserve, may the king of earth preserve.

From the burning spirit of the entrails which devours the man, from the spirit of the entrails which works evil, may the king of heaven preserve, may the king of earth preserve.

From wasting, from want of health, from the evil spirit of the ulcer, from spreading quinsey of the gullet, from the violent ulcer, from the noxious ulcer, may the king of heaven preserve, may the king of earth preserve.

From sickness of the entrails, from sickness of the heart, from the palpitation of a sick heart, from sickness of bile, from sickness of the head, from noxious colic, from the agitation of terror, from flatulency¹ of the entrails, from
__________
1 Literally " opposition."

noxious illness, from lingering sickness, from nightmare, may the king of heaven preserve, may the king of earth preserve.

From the sweeper-away of buildings, from the robber, from an injured face, from an injured eye, from an injured mouth, from an injured tongue, from injured lips, from an injured nose, may the king of heaven preserve, may the king of earth preserve.

From the cruel spirit of the head, from the strong spirit of the head, from the head-spirit that departs not, from the head-spirit that goes not forth, from the head-spirit that will not go, from the noxious head-spirit may the king of heaven preserve, may the king of earth preserve.

From the poisonous spittle of the mouth¹ which is noxious to the voice, from the phlegm which is destructive to the ...., from the pustules of the lungs, from the pustules of the body, from the loss of the nails, from the removal (and) dissolving of old excrement, from the skin which is stripped off, from the recurrent ague of the body, from the food which hardens in a man's body, from the food which returns after being eaten, from the drink which is exhaled after drinking, from death by poison, from the swallowing of the mouth which is exhaled, from the unreturning wind from the desert, may the king of heaven preserve, may the king of earth preserve.
_________
1 That would be consumption.

May Nin-cigal,¹ the wife of Nin-a'su, turn her face towards another place; may the noxious spirit go forth and seize another; may the female-cherub and the female-demon settle upon his body: may the king of heaven preserve, may the king of earth preserve.

May Nebo, the great steward, the recliner [or incubus] supreme among the gods, like the god who has begotten him, seize upon his head; the father of his family may he not injure: may the king of heaven preserve, may the king of earth preserve.

(On) the sick man by means of sacrifices may perfect health shine like bronze; may the Sun-god give this man life; may Merodach, the eldest son of the deep (give him) strength, prosperity, (and) health: may the king of heaven preserve, may the king of earth preserve.
_______________
1 Nin-cig-al, "The Lady of the Mighty Earth," was Queen of Hades and a form of Allat or Istar. She is also identified with Gula or Bahu (the Bohu or "Chaos" of Gen. i. 2), "The Lady of the House of Death," and wife of Hea or Nin-a'su.

THE TRANSLATION of the private Will of Sennacherib may suitably be connected with the following translated specimens of Assyrian traffic and mercantile customs. It is moreover the earliest example of a Will extant. The original document is printed in the third volume of the "Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia" pl. 16, No. 3.

I, Sennacherib, king of multitudes, king of Assyria, have given chains of gold, stores of ivory, a cup of gold, crowns and chains besides, all the riches of which there are heaps, crystal and another precious stone and bird's stone: one and a half manehs, two and a half cibi, according to their weight: to Essarhaddon my son, who was afterwards named Assur-ebil-mucin-pal according to my wish; the treasure of the Temple of Amuk and (Nebo)-irik-erba, the harpists of Nebo.

THE following private contract-tablets will give some idea of the activity of trade and business in Western Asia in the 7th and 8th centuries BC. In consequence of the overthrow of Tyre, Carchemish seems to have become the chief commercial centre of the Eastern world. The clay-tablets are attested by the seal-impressions, or in lieu thereof, by the nail-marks, of the parties to whom they belonged. Several of them have dockets attached, written in the Phoenician character; and these bilingual legends are valuable corroborations of the accuracy of Assyrian decipherment. The tablets here translated will be found in the "Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia," vol. iii, plates 46-50.

Ten shekels of the best silver, (being) chains for Istar of Nineveh, which Billu-baladh, in the presence of Manu-ci-Arbela [here follow 3 seals], has lent on a loan; the silver is to have interest paid upon it at 4 per cent. On the 3rd day of the month the silver has been given. (Dated) 3rd day of the month Sebat, during the eponymy of Rimmon-sallim-ani.¹ The witnesses (were): Khattal-munu, Rahu, Kulduin, Neriglissor, Arakh-Nebo the Serippian, Musezib-Assur, Nebo-sallim-sunu, Khanni, (and) Bil-sadan.

[Then follow two lines and a half of Phoenician, the first of which consists of the proper name, Mannugi-Arbela.]

Two talents of iron, the property of Istar of Arbela, which Mannu-ci-Arbela, in the presence of Samas-akhi-erib, in the month of Ab gives if they are not given back, at 3 per cent, shall be the interest upon them. On the nth day of the month Sivan during the eponymy of Bamba;² before the witnesses: Istar-bab-esses, Kua, Sarru-ikbi, Dumku-pani-sarri, (and) Nabua.

Four manehs of silver according to the standard of Carchemish, which Neriglissar, in the presence of Nebo-sum-iddin, son of Nebo-rahim-baladhi, the Keeper of the Crown, from the city of Dur-Sargon, lends out at 5 shekels of silver per month interest. The 26th day of the month lyyar, during the Eponymy of Gabbaru.³ The witnesses
___________
1 In B.C. 650-640.
2 B.C. 676.
3 B.C. 667.

(were): Nebo-pal-iddin, Nebo-atsib, the holder of the two sceptres, Akhi-ramu, of the same office, Assur-danin-sarri, of the same office, Disi the astronomer, Samas-igur .., Sin mati-kali the executioner, (and) Merodach .... the astronomer.

The seal of Ebed-Istar, the master of the men. The giving-up of Hoshea, his two wives Mih'sa (and) Badia, 'Sigaba, Bel-kharran-cunucci, (and) his two daughters, in all 7 persons, slaves, whom Ebed-Istar has sold; and 'Simadi for 3 manehs of silver has taken. The whole sum hast thou given. The exchange (and) the contract are finished: (there is) no withdrawal. The witnesses (are) Bel-nuri the priest, Amyatehu, 'Sangi, Kat-i'sa (and) 'Sidur. [The name of the 6th witness is not filled in]. The month Tisri; the Eponymy of Dananu.¹

The nail-mark of Sarru-ludari, the nail-mark of Atar-'suru, (and) the nail-mark of the woman Amat-'Suhala, the wife of Bel-duru, the ... , the owner of the house (which) is given up. [Then follow 4 nail marks.] The whole house with its woodwork, and its doors, situated in the city of Nineveh, adjoining the houses of Mannu-ci-akhi and] Ilu-ciya, (and) the property of 'Sukaki he has sold, and Tsillu-Assur the astronomer, an Egyptian, for one maneh of silver (according to) the royal (standard), in the presence of Sarru-ludari, Atar-'suru, and Amat-'suhala, the wife of its owner, has received it. The full sum thou hast given. This house has been taken possession of. The exchange (and)
____________
1 Cir. B.C. 680.

the contract are concluded. (There is) no withdrawal. Whosoever (shall act) feloniously among any of these men who have sworn to the contract and the agreement, which (is) before (our) prince Assur, 10 manehs of silver shall he pay. The witnesses (are): Su'san-kukhadnanis, Murmaza the, Ra'suah the pilot, Nebo-dur-sanin the partitioner of the enemy, Murmaza the pilot, Sinnis-nacarat, (and) Zedekiah. The 16th day of the month Sivan, the eponymy of Zaza¹ of the city of Arpad, before Samas-itsbat-nacara, Latturu, (and) Nebo-sum-yutsur.
_______________
1 B.C. 692.

THE LEGEND OF ISHTAR DESCENDING TO HADES
TRANSLATED BY
H. F. TALBOT, F.R.S., ETC,

THIS very curious Legend is found on a tablet in the British Museum marked K 162.

Some years ago I received a photograph of it, from which I made a translation in 1865, which was published in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Literature, vol. 8, p. 244. But about one third of the tablet had been broken off, which materially damaged the sense. Since that time Mr. G. Smith has discovered in the Museum the missing portion of the tablet, and it is now nearly entire. I published another translation (including this new portion) in the Transactions of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, vol. 2, p. 179 (June 1873) and Mr. Smith has published a translation in the Daily Telegraph of August 19, 1873 in which many difficult passages are cleared up. I have carefully revised these translations and think that the general sense of the Legend is now well established.

ISHTAR was the goddess of Love; answering to the Venus of the Latins and the Aphrodite of the Greeks. {p.142} The object of her descent into the infernal regions was probably narrated in another tablet, which has not been preserved: for no motive is assigned for it here. I conjecture that she was in search of her beloved Thammuz-Adonis who was detained in Hades by Persephone or Proserpine. We may compare the Greek legend, which was as follows, as given by Panyasis (quoted by Apollodorus):

"Aphrodite had intrusted Adonis, who was a very beautiful child, during his infancy to the care of Persephone; but she fell in love with him, and refused to restore him. Upon this Aphrodite appealed to Jupiter, who gave judgment in the cause. He decreed that Adonis should remain for one third of the year in the infernal regions with Persephone: one third of the year in heaven with Aphrodite: the remaining third of the year was to be at his own disposal. Adonis chose to spend it in heaven with Aphrodite."¹The Assyrian legend differs much from this, but yet has some resemblance.
________
1 Creuzer's Symbolik, vol. 2, p. 423.

1 To the land of Hades, the region of (?)
2 Ishtar daughter of the Moon-god San turned her mind,
3 and the daughter of San fixed her mind to go there:
4 to the House of Eternity: the dwelling of the god Irkalla:
5 to the House men enter but cannot depart from:
6 to the Road men go but cannot return.
7 The abode of darkness and famine
8 where Earth is their food: their nourishment Clay:
9 light is not seen: in darkness they dwell:
10 ghosts, like birds, flutter their wings there;
11 on the door and gate-posts the dust lies undisturbed.
12 When Ishtar arrived at the gate of Hades
13 to the keeper of the gate a word she spoke:
14 "O keeper of the entrance! open thy gate!
15 "Open thy gate! again, that I may enter!
16 "If thou openest not thy gate, and I enter not,
17 "I will assault the door: I will break down the gate:
18 "I will attack the entrance: I will split open the portals:
19 "I will raise the dead, to be the devourers of the living!
20 "Upon the living, the dead shall prey!"¹
21 Then the Porter opened his mouth and spoke,
22 and said to the great Ishtar,
23 "Stay, Lady! do not shake down the door!
24 "I will go, and tell this to the Queen Nin-ki-gal."²
______________
1 This very violent language is evidently introduced by the writer of this Legend, in order to justify the subsequent wrath of Proserpine.
2 Nin-ki-gal answers to the Proserpine of the Latins. Her name means "goddess of the great region," i.e. Hades.

25 The Porter entered, and said to Nin-ki-gal,
26 "These curses thy sister Ishtar (utters)¹
27 "blaspheming thee with great curses." [....]
28 When Nin-ki-gal heard this, [....]
29 she grew pale, like a flower that is cut off:
30 she trembled, like the stem of a reed:
31 "I will cure her rage, she said; I will cure her fury:
32 "these curses I will repay to her!
33 "Light up consuming flames! light up blazing straw!
34 "Let her doom be with the husbands who deserted their wives!
35 "Let her doom be with the wives who from their husbands' side departed!
36 "Let her doom be with the youths who led dishonoured lives!
37 "Go, Porter, open the gate for her,
38 "but strip her, like others at other times."
39 The Porter went and opened the gate.
40 "Enter, Lady of Tiggaba² city! It is permitted!
41 "May the Sovereign of Hades rejoice at thy presence!"³
42 The first gate admitted her, and stopped her: there was taken off the great Crown from her head.
43 "Keeper! do not take off from me, the great Crown from my head!"
44 "Excuse it, Lady! for the Queen of the land commands its removal."
45 The second gate admitted her, and stopped her: there were taken off the earrings of her ears.
_________
1 The end of this and several following lines is broken off, which makes the translation uncertain.
2 A principal seat of Ishtar's worship.
3 These words are evidently ironical.

46 "Keeper! do not take off from me, the earrings of my ears!"
47 "Excuse it, Lady! for the Queen of the land commands their removal!"
48 The third gate admitted her, and stopped her: there were taken off the precious stones from her head.
49 "Keeper! do not take off from me, the precious stones from my head!"
50 "Excuse it, Lady! for the Queen of the land commands their removal!"
51 The fourth gate admitted her, and stopped her: there were taken off the small lovely gems from her forehead.
52 "Keeper! do not take off from me, the small lovely gems from my forehead!"
53 "Excuse it, Lady! for the Queen of the land commands their removal!"
54 The fifth gate admitted her, and stopped her: there was taken off the central girdle of her waist.
55 "Keeper! do not take off from me, the central girdle from my waist!"
56 "Excuse it, Lady! for the Queen of the land commands its removal!"
57 The sixth gate admitted her, and stopped her: there were taken off the golden rings of her hands and feet.
58 "Keeper! do not take off from me, the golden rings of my hands and feet!"

59 "Excuse it, Lady! for the Queen of the land commands their removal!"
60 The seventh gate admitted her, and stopped her: there was taken off the last garment from her body.
61 "Keeper! do not take off from me, the last garment from my body!"
62 "Excuse it, Lady! for the Queen of the land commands its removal!"
63 After that mother Ishtar had descended into Hades
64 Nin-ki-gal saw her, and stormed on meeting her.
65 Ishtar lost her reason; and heaped curses upon her.
66 Nin-ki-gal opened her mouth and spoke,
67 to Namtar her messenger a command she gave:
68 "Go, Namtar!" [some words lost]
69 "Bring her out for punishment ... "¹
__________
1 The end of this line is lost, and all the remaining lines of Column I. are similarly mutilated; I will therefore give their meaning in an abridged form. Namtar is commanded to afflict Ishtar with dire diseases of the eyes, the side, the feet, the heart, and the head. The story then says, that after the goddess of Love had descended to Hades, the world so felt the loss of her influence. But as these lines are much broken, and are better preserved in the second Column, where they are repeated, I omit them here.

1 The divine messenger of the gods, lacerated his face before them.¹
2 The assembly of the gods was full,²
3 the Sun came, along with the Moon his father.
4 Weeping he spoke thus unto Hea the king:
5 "Ishtar descended into the earth; and she did not rise again:
6 "and since the time that mother Ishtar descended into Hades,
7 "the bull has not sought the cow, nor the male of any animal the female.
8 "The slave and her master [some words lost]
9 "The master has ceased from commanding:
10 "the slave has ceased from obeying."
11 Then the god Hea in the depth of his mind laid a plan:
12 he formed, for her escape, the figure of a man of clay.³
13 "Go to save her, Phantom! present thyself at the portal of Hades;
14 "the seven gates of Hades will open before thee,
15 "Nin-ki-gal will see thee, and be pleased with thee.
16 "When her mind shall be grown calm, and her anger shall be worn off,
17 "awe her with the names of the great gods!
____________
1 A sign of violent grief in the East. Forbidden in Deut. xiv. i; Lev. xix. 28. The bleeding face betokened a Messenger of Evil News.
2 Line injured: sense doubtful.
3 The original has Assinnu, which I have derived from the Chaldee word Sin "clay." But this is a mere conjecture. The meaning evidently is, that Hea moulded a figure and breathed life into it. Hea was the god to whom all clever inventions were attributed. "Lord of deep thoughts" was one of his most usual titles.

18 "Prepare thy frauds! On deceitful tricks fix thy mind!
19 "The chiefest deceitful trick! Bring forth fishes of the waters out of an empty vessel [....]
20 "This thing will please Nin-ki-gal:
21 "then to Ishtar she will restore her clothing.
22 "A great reward for these things shall not fail.
23 "Go, save her, Phantom! and the great assembly of the people shall crown thee!
24 "Meats, the first of the city, shall be thy food!
25 "Wine, the most delicious in the city, shall be thy drink!
26 "To be the Ruler of a Palace, shall be thy rank!
27 "A throne of state, shall be thy seat!
28 "Magician and Conjuror shall bow down before thee!"
29 Nin-ki-gal² opened her mouth and spoke:
30 to Namtar her messenger a command she gave:
31 "Go, Namtar! clothe the Temple of Justice!³
32 "Adorn the images'! and the altars?
33 "Bring out Anunnak!⁴ Seat him on a golden throne!
34 "Pour out for Ishtar the waters of life, and let her depart from my dominions!"
35 Namtar went; and clothed the Temple of Justice;
36 he adorned the images and the altars;
_____________
1 The present legend was probably a kind of Miracle Play which was actually performed in one of the temples. Juggling- tricks, which have been known in the East from time immemorial (vide Pharaoh's magicians) were probably introduced for the amusement of the audience. Only one is related here, but there may have been many more.
2 The things commanded are now supposed to have been successfully performed.
3 This seems to be the final scene of the Play, representing a magnificent hall or palace.
4 A Genius, who is often mentioned. Here he seems to act the part of a judge, pronouncing the absolution of Ishtar.

37 he brought out Anunnak; on a golden throne he seated him;
38 he poured out for Ishtar the waters of life, and let her go.
39 Then the first gate let her forth, and restored to her the first garment of her body.
40 The second gate let her forth, and restored to her the diamonds of her hands and feet.
41 The third gate let her forth, and restored to her the central girdle of her waist.
42 The fourth gate let her forth, and restored to her the small lovely gems of her forehead.
43 The fifth gate let her forth, and restored to her the precious stones of her head.
44 The sixth gate let her forth, and restored to her the earrings of her ears.
45 The seventh gate let her forth, and restored to her the great Crown on her head¹
____________
1 Her ornaments are restored to her exactly in the reverse order that they were taken off.

NOTE. There are 13 more lines, but they are much broken, and they appear not to relate to the above Legend. At any rate they belong to another Chapter of it which has not been hitherto alluded to. A satisfactory translation of them can therefore hardly be given.

THE following are specimens of the numerous astronomical and astrological reports with which the Libraries of Assyria and Babylonia abounded. The tablets from which the translations are made come from the Library of Assurbanipal: but the larger part of them are merely later editions of works composed for Babylonian kings before the 16th century BC. This is the date of the great astrological work, consisting of 72 tablets or volumes, a small portion of {p.151} which is translated below. The inscription numbered VII. has already been translated by Dr. Oppert. The originals will be found in the "Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia" vol. iii, plates 51, 54, 58, 59, 60, 61. It is much to be regretted that many of the records are in a very fragmentary condition, the first and final lines of the terra cotta being lost.

1 (On) the 6th day of Nisan (March)
2 the day and the night
3 were balanced (i.e. were equal).
4 (There were) 6 hours of day
5 and 6 hours of night
6 May Nebo (and) Merodach
7 to the king my lord
8 be propitious.

1 (On) the 15th day of Nisan
2 the day and the night
3 were balanced.
4 (There were) 6 hours of day
5 and 6 hours of night
6 May Nebo (and) Merodach
7 to the king my lord
8 be propitious.

1 A watch we kept.
2 (On) the 29th day the moon
3 we saw.
4 May Nebo (and) Merodach
5 to the king my lord
6 be propitious.
7 (The report) of Nabu
8 of the city of Assur¹
____________
1 Kileh-Shergat.

1 To the king my lord
2 thy servant Istar-iddina
3 Chief (Astronomer),
4 of the city of Arbela.
5 May there be peace
6 to the king my lord.
7 May Nebo (and) Merodach
8 (and) Istar of Arbela
9 to the king my lord
10 be propitious.
11 On the 26th day
12 a watch
13 we kept. The moon we did not see.
14 In the month Tammuz (June), the 2nd day,
15 during the eponymy of Bel-sunu
16 Prefect of the city of Khindana.

1 (If) the moon the 1st day is seen,
2 the face is steadfast,
3 the heart of the country is good.
4 (If) the moon at its appearance has a halo,
5 the king to supremacy ...
6 ...... goes.
7 (Report of) Nergal-edir.

1 To the king, my lord,
2 thy servant Istar-iddina
3 the Chief
4 of the Astronomers,
5 of the city of Arbela.

6 May there be peace
7 to the king my lord.
8 May Nebo, Merodach
9 (and) Istar of Arbela
10 to the king my lord
11 be propitious.
12 On the 26th day
13 a watch
14 we kept
15 (In) the observatory¹
16 (There was) mist
17 The moon we did not see.
18 (Dated) the month Sebat,² the 1st day
19 during the eponymy of Bel-kharran-sadua.³

1 To the king my lord, thy servant
2 Abil-Istar. Peace
3 to the king my lord. May Nebo (and) Merodach
4 to the king my lord be propitious.
5 Long days, soundness of flesh
6 and joy of heart may the great gods
7 to the king my lord grant (On) the 27th day
8 the moon is fixed. (On) the 28th day,
9 the 29th day (and) the 30th day a watch
10 for an eclipse of the Sun we kept
11 The sun behind the shadow (of the eclipse) did not pass.
12 (On) the 1st day the moon was seen in the day time,
__________
1 Literally "House of Observation."
2 Our January.
3 The report accordingly was sent in to Assurbanipal, as Bel-kharran-sadua was eponym during his reign. The year, according to Mr. Smith.

13 during the month Tammuz current,
14 above the planet Mercury;
15 of which I have already
16 to the king my lord sent this¹
17 account. During the period of 5 days when the moon is called Ami²
18 in the circle of the star Shepherd of the Heavenly Flock
19 it was seen declining.³
20 By reason of rain the horns were not visible
21 very clearly. Thus
22 during this 5 days' period when the moon is Anu
23 in regard to its conjunction to the king my lord
24 I have sent. Thus
25 it extended itself (and) was visible
26 below the star of the Chariot.
27 During the 5 days' period when the moon's course is called Bel⁴ it is fixed;
28 round the star of the Chariot it turned its course.
29 Its conjunction was prevented; but
30 nevertheless its conjunction with Mercury
31 which (took place) during the 5 days' period when the moon is Anu
32 of which I have already to the king my lord
33 sent a special (report)
34 was not prevented.
35 May the king my ford have peace.
______________
1 I.e. a special.
2 I.e. from the 1st to the 5th day.
3 Literally "in the lower part (of the sky)."
4 The orbit of the moon was called Bel from the 10th to the 15th day, though the heavenly body itself was called Hea, the name it bore also from the 6th to the 20th day. It was termed Anu from the 1st to the 5th day.

1 The 15th day the Moon and the Sun
2 with one another are seen.
3 The face is steadfast. The heart of land is good.
4 He possesses the heart of the inhabitants.
5 The gods of Accad
6 to prosperity consign (it).
7 The Moon and the Sun are clear;
8 the king of the land his ears enlarges.
9 (The report) of Ablua.

1 The 15th day, the moon and the sun with (one another)
2 are seen. A strong enemy
3 his arrows against the land lifts up.
4 The great gate of the city the enemy undermines.
5 The stars in the centre of heaven are obscured by rain;
6 the enemy the streams of water makes bitter.

1 The moon has a dark setting.
2 The month rain continuously and fog
3 will mark.

1 The moon sank to rest. The planet Mars
2 in the place of its (setting) was fixed. Destruction of tattle.
3 The land of Phoenicia is made small.

15 In the month Si'van (on) the i4th day an eclipse happens; and in the east it begins and in the west it ends.
16 In the night-watch it begins, and in the morning-watch² it ends. Eastward at the time of appearance and cessation
17 its shadow is seen; and to the king of Dilmun³ the crown is given. The king of Dilmun on the throne grows old.
18 (On) the 15th day an eclipse takes place. The king of Dilmun on the throne is slain; and a nobody seizes on the [throne].
19 (On) the 16th day an eclipse happens. The king is slain by his eunuchs, and a plebeian seizes on the (throne.)
20 (On) the 20th day an eclipse takes place. Rains in heaven, floods in the channels flow.
21 (On) the 21st day an eclipse takes place. Devastation or rapine
22 in the country comes about. Corpses in the country are.
23 In the month Tammuz (on) the i4th day an eclipse happens; and in the west it begins and in the south and north it ends.
24 In the evening-watch it begins and in the night-watch it ends. Westward at the time of appearance (and) disappearance
__________
1 The commencement of this Tablet] is lost ; the characters left become intelligible at line 15.
2 The night was divided into three watches, the evening-watch, the night-watch, and the morning-watch. These occupied the 6 kaspu or periods of 2 hours assigned to the night. See the Observatory reports numbered I and II.
3 Dilmun was a country on the shores of the Persian Gulf.
4 These lines are in the original, they divide the tablet into months.

25 its shadow is seen; and to the king of Gutium a crown is given.
26 The forces of Gutium are in service; submission of (foreign) troops.
27 (On) the 15th day an eclipse takes place. Rains in heaven, floods on the land descend. Famine is in the land.
28 (On) the 16th day an eclipse takes place. Women their offspring do not perfect.
29 (On) the 20th day an eclipse happens. In the month Ab (July) the Air-god his mouth sets: and the god eats.
30 For a year the Air-god the cattle inundates.
31 (On) the 21st day an eclipse takes place. From the king twice his lands revolt, and to the hand of his foes deliver him.
32 In the month Ab, the 14th day, an eclipse happens; and in the south it begins, and in the west it ends.
33 In the evening- watch and in the morning-watch it begins; and at sun-rise it ends.
34 Southward at the time of appearance (and) disappearance its shadow is seen; and to the king of Mullias a crown is given.
35 The life of the soldier ..... and the soldiers for a year in a campaign serve, and men by arrows are slain.
36 (On) the 15th day an eclipse takes place. The king dies; and rains in heaven, floods in the channels are.
37 (On) the i6th day an eclipse takes place. The king of Accad dies. The war-god on the land feeds.
38 (On) the 2oth day an eclipse takes place. The king of the Hittites lives and on the throne seizes.
39 (On) the 2ist day an eclipse takes place. The god plagues the king and the flames devour land and king.
40 In the month of Elul (August), the 14th day, an

eclipse takes place; and in the north it begins and in the south
41 and the east it ends. In the evening-watch it begins, and in the night-watch it ends.
42 Northward at the time of appearance (and) disappearance its shadow is seen; and to the king of Mullias a crown is given.
43 To the king the crown is an omen ; and over the king the eclipse passes. Rains in heaven,
44 floods in the channels flow. A famine is in the country. Men their sons for silver sell.
45 (On) the 15th day an eclipse takes place. The son of the king murders his father, and on the throne seizes; and the enemy plunders and devours the land.
46 (On) the 16th day an eclipse happens. The king of a foreign country¹ plunders and on the throne seizes.
47 Rain in heaven, a flood in the channels descends.
48 (On) the 20th day an eclipse takes place. Rains in heaven, floods in the channels descend. Country with country keeps festival and makes peace.
49 (On) the 21st day an eclipse takes place. The throne of the foe lasts not. A king self-appointed in the land shall be.
50 After a year the Air-god inundates. Ditto (i.e. after a year) the king does not remain. His country is made small.
51 In the month Tisri (September), the 14th day, an eclipse happens ; and in the south it begins and in the west it ends.
52 In the evening-watch it begins, and in the night-watch it ends. Southward at the time of appearance (and) disappearance
__________
1 Or the king of the Hittites.

53 its shadow is seen; and to the king of Elam a crown is given. The forces of Elam
54 in service are. No return of peace to his men.
55 (On) the 15th day an eclipse takes place. The foe plunders and the corn of the land devours and seizes and over the country tyrannises.
56 (On) the 16th day an eclipse happens. Suddenly the king dies. (There is) division of his kingdom.
57 (On) the 20th day an eclipse takes place. The flame the land consumes. Pregnant women their offspring do not perfect.
58 (On) the 21st day an eclipse takes place. A flight of many birds to a country or to countries happens.

11 Contrary to their calculated time the Moon and the Sun with one another are seen. A strong enemy the country spoils.
12 The king of Accad under his enemy is placed. The 12th day with the Sun (the Moon) is seen; and
13 the 12th day the Moon and the Sun with one another are seen. Then terribly the heads of men the executioner cuts off.
14 The 13th day, the same (i.e. the Moon and the Sun are seen together). The face (is) not steadfast. The king of the land (is) not prosperous. Under the enemy he is. The enemy in the land campaigns.
15 The 14th day, the same. The face (is) steadfast; the heart of the land is good. The gods consign Accad to prosperity.
_____________
1 The commencement of this Tablet is lost.

16 Joy in the heart of men results. The cattle of Accad in safety in the desert lie down.
17 The 15th day, the same. A powerful enemy his servants to the country sends; and the great gate of the city the enemy undermines.
18 The 16th day, the same. King to king hostility sends. The king in his palace for the period of a month [remains].
19 The hostile foot against his land is set. The enemy through his country tyrannically marches.
20 The 14th day, the same. The haughty foot (goes) against the land. A foreign tongue over the land is lord.
21 The 20th day the same. The hostile soldier marches and the land rules. The altars of the great gods are taken away.
22 Bel to Elam goes. At last after 30 years the smitten are restored. The great gods with them return.
23 (In) the months of Chisleu,² Tebet,³ (and) Sebat⁴ the horn of the moon is double, and in (holy) places (there is) rest from sacrifices.
24 For these three months (on) the 15th day, the sky is not seen; on the 30th day no mists.
25 The Moon its path directs and the Sun during the day goes. The same (i.e. the moon directs its path). It is changed from the 15th day of the month Marchesvan⁵ to the 15th day of the month Chisleu.²
26 The night according to its reckoning is long. The north wind blows. The days of the king of Accad (are) long, the heart of his people (is) good.
27 The same. The night according to its reckoning is long. The north-wind blows. The king of Accad, his days (are) long, his life is extended.
____________
1 See note 4 page 20.
2 November.
3 December.
4 January.
5 October.

28 The moon its path directs and the sun during the day goes. The same. It is changed. From the 15th day of the month Tebet to the 15th day of the month Sebat
29 the night according to its stated time is long. The west wind blows. The king of Phoenicia (enjoys) long days. The heart of the people (is) good.
30 The same. The night according to its stated hours (is) long. The west wind blows. The days of the king of Phoenicia (are) long. His life is extended.
31 A bright light at the rising of the Sun arises, and in the assembly of the people diffuses itself ....
32 The days of the prince (are long).
33 The Sun is ascendant, and a Star after it appears. Peace to (men).
34 (Attack?) of pestilence violently and the men (die?)
35 The Sun is in the ascendant and clouds are present
36 (In) the month Chisleu, the 20th day (the moon) makes its appearance, and in brilliance the moon (shines).

NOTE: It may interest our readers to know that the bulk of these Tablets are in the British Museum and are readily accessible to students.

THE Babylonian Year was divided into 12 months of 30 days each, with an intercalary month every 6 years. The night had originally been divided into 3 watches, but afterwards the more accurate division into hours came into use, the day and the night severally containing 6 casbu (or asli as the Assyrians called them). According to the lunar division, the 7th, 14th, 19th, 21st, and 28th, were days of "rest," on which certain works were forbidden; and the two lunations were divided each into three periods of 5 days, the 19th ending the first period of the 2nd lunation. Each month was under the protection of some deity, and its Accadian name answers to the corresponding sign of the Zodiac. The Assyrians seem to have once possessed a calendar of their own, in which the months had native names, like the old Jewish Calendar with its Bui, Ethanim, etc. Thus the 3rd month was called "The Royal," and another month mukhur li, "The Gift of the Gods." But along with the Jews they afterwards adopted the Aramaic Calendar, which was based upon that of the Accadians; indeed, the names of the months in this Calendar, wherever they are explicable, seem to be derived from the Accadian titles of the months and Zodiacal signs. This Aramaic-Accadian Calendar began with Nisan.

	ASSYRIAN NAME	JEWISH (Aramaic) NAME	ENGLISH MONTH (roughly)	ACCADIAN NAME	ZODIACAL SIGN	DEITY TO WHOM THE MONTH WAS DEDICATED
1	Ni'sannu	Ni'san	March	Sara zig-gar ("the sacrifice of righteousness")	Aries¹	Anu and Bel
2	Airu	Iyyar	April	Khar'sidi ("the propitious bull")	Taurus	Hea
3	'Sivanu or Tsivan	Sivan	May	Mun-ga ("of bricks,") & Kas ("the twins")	Gemini	Sin (the moon-god)
4	Duzu	Tammuz	June	Su kul-na ("seizer of seed")	Cancer	Adar
5	Abu	Ab	July	Ab ab-gar ("fire that makes fire")	Leo	"The Queen of the bow." (Allat)
6	Ululu	Elul	August	Ki Gingir-na ("the errand of Istar")	Virgo	Istar
7	Tasritu	Tisri	September	Tul cu ("the holy altar")	Libra	Samas (the sun-god)
8	Arakh-samna ("the 8th month")	Marchesvan	October	Apin am- a ("the bull-liker founder"?)	Scorpio	Merodach
9	Cisilivu or Cuzallu	Chisleu	November	Gan ganna ("the very cloudy")	Sagittarius	Nergal
10	Dhabitu	Tebet	December	Abba uddu ("the father of light")	Capricornus	Papsucal
11	Sabahu	Sebat	January	As a-an ("abundance of rain")	Aquarius	Rimmon (the air-god)
12	Addaru	Adar	February	Se ki-sil ("sowing of seed")	Pisces	"The 7 Great Gods"
Arakhu-makru ("the incidental month")		Ve-Adar	*	Se dir ("dark [month] of sowing")	*	Assur

TABLES OF ASSYRIAN WEIGHTS AND MEASURES
COMPILED BY
REV. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
________________

For field measures the square of 60 yards was the unit, and the soss was called ammat-gagar, containing 360 yards. Sixty of these made one masku of 21,600 yards.

The talent was according to the standard either of Assyria ("the royal talent" or "the talent of the country") or of Carchemish. The contract-tablets variously give 1 talent of silver as equivalent to 5 manehs of gold, 5 manehs of silver to 2 manehs of gold, 10 manehs of silver to 1 maneh of gold, etc.

Land and grain were alike measured by the log (lagitu) which contained respectively 10, 9, and 8 subdivisions called baru, aru, and arrat. Grain was also measured by the makaru; and we find 100 makarrat of barley in a contract-tablet. The arrat was divided into the "baru" or "half of wood" and the "baru of stone." The tonnage of ships was reckoned by the gurru; thus we have ships of 15 and 60 gurri.

Inscription of Rimmon-Nirari By the Rev. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.	1
Inscription of Khammurabi By H. Fox TALBOT, F.R.S., etc.	5
Monolith Inscription of Samas-Rimmon By the Rev. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.	9
Bellino's Cylinder of Sennacherib By H. Fox TALBOT, F.R.S., etc.	23
Taylor's Cylinder of Sennacherib By H. Fox TALBOT, F.R.S., etc.	33
Annals of Assurbanipal By GEORGE SMITH.	55
Behistun Inscription of Darius By Sir H. RAWLINSON, K.C.B., D.C.L.	107
Babylonian Exorcisms By the Rev. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.	131
Private Will of Sennacherib By the Rev. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.	136
Assyrian Private Contract Tablets By the Rev. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.	137
Legend of the Descent of Ishtar By H. Fox TALBOT, F.R.S., etc.	141
Assyrian Astronomical Tablets By the Rev. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.	151
Assyrian Calendar By the Rev. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.	164
Tables of Assyrian Weights and Measures By the Rev. A. H. SAYCE, M.A.	166

60 ubani	=	1 suklu, rabtu or ammat ("cubit"=20 inches)
6 ammat	=	1 kanu ("cane"=10 ft.)
12 kani	=	1 ribu or gar
60 ribi	=	1 soss
30 sosses	=	1 kasbu or aslu ("a day's journey," about 14 miles)

8 ig or "royal shekels"	=	1 shekel (5 dts., 4 fifteenths)
60 shekels	=	1 mana-gina (1 lb., 4 oz., 8 dts.)
2 mana-gina ("standard manehs")	=	1 maneh (2 lbs., 8oz., 16 dts.)
30 manehs	=	1 talent (82 lbs.)