"The Great Inscription of Tukulti-Ninurta I"
Text summary
From: Journal article · Yigal Bloch · 2017
Bloch's work provides both a transliteration and an English translation of Tukulti-Ninurta's inscription on pages 21-35. It is organized in seven columns and contains only a few missing lines. The whole work is a tribute to the cruel Assyrian conqueror's accomplishments and was written c. 1241–1206 BCE. (Note that the line numbers are not sequential.).
Text: Full Translation, Collation (full)
Akkadian ⟶ English a
| Line | Translation |
|---|---|
| p. 21 | |
| Column I | |
| Royal name, titulary, and genealogy | |
| 1–20 | 1. Tukulti-Ninurta, king of the universe, 2. strong king, king of Assyria, chosen 3. of Assur, vice-regent of Assur, attentive shepherd, 4. favorite of the gods Anu and Enlil, 6. whose name 5. Assur and the great gods 6. faithfully called, 7. to whom they gave the four quarters (of the world) to administer, 8. the attentive one, appointee of the gods, 9. the one who gladdens the heart of Assur, 10. whose conduct 11. is pleasing 10. to the gods 11. of heaven (and) earth, 12. who is endowed with excellence, 13. the one who makes abundant the offerings for all the gods, 14. all the time, the one who encircled 15. enemy lands above (and) below, 16. strong king, capable in battle, 18. the one who shepherds 17. the four quarters at the heels of (literally, after) the god Shamash, 18. am I; 19. son of Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, 20. son of Adad-Nirari (who was) also king of Assyria. |
| The king’s commission by the god and legitimacy to rule and conquer | |
| 21–28 | 21. When Assur, (my) lord, 22. faithfully chose me 21. to worship him, 23. gave me the staff for my office of shepherd, 24. (presented) me in addition the crook for my office of herdsman, 27. granted me excellence 25. so that I might slay my enemies 26. (and) subdue those who do not fear me, 28. (and) placed upon me the lordly crown; |
| p. 23 | |
| 29–36 | 29. (at that time) I set my foot upon the neck of the lands 31. (and) shepherded like a herd 30. the extensive black-headed people (namely, the local population). 32. He (Assur) taught me just decisions. 33. Since 34. I feared 33. all the Anunnaku-gods 34. and cared (literally, knew) about the gods, 35. all my enemies 36. he (Assur) subdued under my feet. |
| Summary of the first military campaign | |
| 37 | When the troops of the Uqumanu, |
| Column II | |
| 2–14 | 2. all of (whose) countries, 1. since the days of old, 3. did not submit 1. (to) the previous kings, 2. my fathers, 5. were carrying off 4. the plunder of the four quarters (of the world) – 5. at that time, 6. with the strong might 7. of Assur, my lord, 8. with trust in the great gods, 9. who open up my weapons 10. (and) go by my right side, 12. I marched in one direction after another, 11. through the narrow passages (and) 12. the difficult 11. rocky mountains. 13. In the four quarters (of the world) 14. I had 13. no rival. |
| Detailed account of the first military campaign against Uqumanu | |
| 14–17 | 14. At the begi |
| p. 25 | |
| 18–36 | 19. I surrounded 18. their army (like) with a circle of sandstorms. 20. At that time, 22. they banded together(?) against my army 20. in a place 21. (that was) difficult, in a mountain defile. 24. They fiercely took up position 23. for a fight and a battle. 26. I put my trust 25. in Assur and the great gods, 26. my lords, and 27. fought with them. 28. I brought about their defeat. 30. I filled 29. with their corpses the caves and the ravines 30. of the mountains. 33. I made heaps 32. of their corpses like (grain) piles 31. beside their gates. 34. Their cities I destroyed, 35. ravaged and turned into ruin hills. 36. (Thus) I became lord of the extensive land of Qutu. |
| Column III | |
| 1–16 | 1. With joy and excellence 2. I stood over them. 5. I captured 3. Abu-le’e, the king of the land Uqumenu, 4. and the hordes of his princes. 6. I carried off their captives (and) their property 7. (and) brought them to my city, Assur. 9. I made them swear 8. an oath by Assur and the great gods 9. of heaven (and) earth. 11. I imposed upon their necks 10. the heavy yoke of my lordship 12. (and) sent them (back) to their lands. 13. The resistant ones among them 14. I subdued 13. at my feet 15. and imposed (upon them) corvée. 16. Annually |
| p. 27 | |
| 16–27 | 18. I received 16. their heavy tribute 17. with ceremony in my city, Assur. 19. The land of the distant Qutu, 20. the paths to which are very narrow and 22. (the terrain of) which is not suitable 21. for the movement of my army, 24. took fright 23. at the ferocity of my warfare 25. and submitted themselves at my feet. 27. I levied 26. tribute and impost 27. upon them forever |
| Second military campaign against Sharnida, Mehru, and Kathmuhu | |
| 28–36 | 28. At that time 29. I marched 28. to the land Sharnida (and) 29. the land Mehru. 30. By means of the army of Qutu, 31. which Assur and the great gods 32. had allotted to me, 34. I cut down 33. mighty beams of the land Mehru (and) 35. brought (them) 34. to my city, Assur. 37. I buttressed 35. my lordly palace, 36. which I love, with those beams from Mehru |
| Column IV | |
| 1–10 | 1. In that same year, four resistant cities 2. of the land Katmuhu, 3. its strong capitals, 4. which during a deceitful peace 5. dragged off my people (and) 6. plundered my land, 7. I conquered in the fullness of time. 8. Like an earthquake I shook their shrines. 9. I carried off their captives (and) their prop |
| p. 28 | |
| Third military campaign against Azlu, Mount Kashiyari, and the surroundings | |
| 11–16 | 11. All the land of the Shubaru, 12. the entirety of Kashiyari 13. as far as the land Alzu, which previously, during 14. the reign of Shalmaneser, king of the universe, my father, 15. had rebelled (and) 16. withheld 15. its tribute, |
| p. 29 | |
| 17–37 | 17. had united itself 16. under one command. 19. I raised my hands (in prayer) 18. to Assur and the great gods, 19. my lords, (and) 20. marched up to Mount Kashiyari. 22. (As) with a bridle I controlled 20. the land of the Shubaru, 21. the land Alzu and their allied kings. 23. I conquered 22. the great cult center 23. of the land Purulumzu. 24. I burnt them (the inhabitants) alive (and) 25. the remnants of their army 26. I took as captives. 30. I burned down 27. four strong capitals 28. of Ehli-Teshub, king of the land Alzu, (and) 29. six resistant cities 30. of the land Amadanu. 31. Captives (and) property I carried off from them (and) 32. brought to my city, Assur. 33. Ehli-Teshub, king of the land Alzu, 35. took fright 34. in the face of my terrifying radiance. 36. He took 35. his courtiers 36. and his sons, 37. abandoned his entire land, (and) |
| Column V | |
| 1–10 | 2. went secretly 1. to the border of Nairi, to an unknown land. 3. The remnant of his army, 4. which had fled in the midst of the battle, 6. fearing 5. the violence of my warfare, 8. ran 6. to the mountains standing out (at the horizon) 7. to save their lives. 8. 180 of their towns 9. I destroyed, ravaged, burnt, (and) 10. turned into ruin hills. |
| p. 31 | |
| 11–17 | 15. I added to my land 14. the regions of 11. the lands Alzu, Amadanu, 12. Nihanu, Alaya, 13. Tepurzu, and Purulumzu. 16. I took from them hostages, subd[ue]d (them) at my feet, 17. and imposed corvée (upon them). |
| Summary of the overall extent of the conquests | |
| 18–34 | 18. (From the region) between the cities of Shasilam 19. and Mashhaz-sharri 20. on the opposite bank of the Lower Zab, 21. from Mount Zuqushki 22. and Mount Lallar, 23. the district of the extensive land of Qutu, 24. the entire land of Lullumu (and) Paphu 25. to the land of Katmuhu, the whole land of Shubaru, 26. the entirety of Mt. Kashiyari, 27. to the border of Nairi and Makan, 28. the bank of the Euphrates – 29. (in those) regions 30. and their borders, 31. which Assur and the great gods 32. allotted to me, 34. I brought 33. all 34. my ene |
| Interlude: additional royal titles | |
| 35–37 | 35. The prince who accepts their gifts, 36. the shepherd who has charge over them, 37. the herdsman who properly administers them, am I. |
| Column VI | |
| The building enterprise | |
| 1–8 | 1. At that time, inside 2. my city, Assur, in the vicinity 3. of the ziggurat of Adad, my lord, 4. up to the Craftsman’s ( |
| p. 32 | |
| 9–30 | 10. I purified 9. a sacred terrace of my city, Assur. 11. (The place?) at the side of the steles(?) 12. of the former kings, 13. including them (the steles), 14. I cleared away. 15. The graves of the ancient people (that were) 16. in the dwelling places of those houses, 17. I cleared away. In the area of 50 sar ( |
| p. 33 | |
| 31–33 | 31. erected 32. completely 31. from its foundations 32. to its crenellations, 33. and I placed (there) my |
| Blessing | |
| 34–37 | 34. In the future, may a later prince, 35. |
| Column VII | |
| 1–3 | 1. make sacrifices, 2. (and) return (them) to their place. 3. (Then) the gods Assur and Adad will listen to his prayers. |
| Crimes | |
| 4–23 | 4. He who erases (my) inscription (literally, inscribed name) and 5. inscribes his (own) inscription (literally, name), 6. (who) removes my |
| p. 34 | |
| 24–30 | 24. constructs a(nother) palace like it; 25. (who) heaps up my |
| Curses | |
| 30–33 | 30. may Assur, Adad, (and) the gods of heaven (and) earth 31. rip out the foundations of his (throne), 32. annihilate his kingship, 33. wipe out his name (and) his offspring from the land, |
| p. 35 | |
| 35–38 | 35. command with their weighty words 34. the dispersal of his people (and) the destruction of his land, 38. (and) cast 37. upon his kingship and his family 36. an evil wind of anarchy (and) rebellion. |
| Column VIII | |
| 1–21 | 2. May they inflict on his reign 1. hunger, famine and deprivation. 3. May a hostile king 4. seize his throne (and) 5. rule his country before his very eyes. 6. May his name be non-existent. 7. May his progeny not come (into the world). 8. May he not leave 9. a lasting name 8. to (his) people. 9. May the lady of the battle 10. fray, who called 11. my reign (into being), turn him 12. from a man into a woman. 13. May she make his manhood be poured out. 14. In a battle, may she break his weapons. 16. May she inflict on him 15. confusion and turmoil. 18. May he not be able to stand 17. before his enemy. 19. May she kill 18. his confidant. 20. May she hand over(?) 19. his warriors (to the enemy). 21. May she deliver him 20. into the hands of his enemy. |
| 22–24 | (blank) |
| Source(s) a Bloch and Peri, "The Great Inscription of Tukulti-Ninurta I", 21–35 launch . | |
Original source data
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Source a Bloch and Peri, "The Great Inscription of Tukulti-Ninurta I", 21–35 launch .
Cite this page
MLA Modern Language Association (8th ed.)
OMNIKA Foundation Contributors. ""The Great Inscription of Tukulti-Ninurta I": English Translation by Yigal Bloch." OMNIKA – World Mythology Index, OMNIKA Foundation, 14 Jun. 2020, omnika.org/stable/626. Accessed 5 Jul. 2024.
APA American Psychological Association (6th ed.)
OMNIKA (2020, June 14). "The Great Inscription of Tukulti-Ninurta I": English Translation by Yigal Bloch. Retrieved from https://omnika.org/stable/626
CMS Chicago Manual of Style (16th ed.)
OMNIKA Foundation Contributors. ""The Great Inscription of Tukulti-Ninurta I": English Translation by Yigal Bloch." Las Vegas, NV: OMNIKA Foundation. Created June 14, 2020. Accessed July 5, 2024. https://omnika.org/stable/626.
Bibliography
Bloch, Yigal, and Laura A. Peri. "I Placed My Name There: The Great Inscription of Tukulti-Ninurta I, King of Assyria, from the Collection of David and Cindy Sofer." Israel Museum Studies in Archaeology 8 (2016-2017): 2-55.
Bloch, Yigal. "'The Great Inscription of Tukulti-Ninurta I': English Translation by Yigal Bloch." In "I Placed My Name There: The Great Inscription of Tukulti-Ninurta I, King of Assyria, from the Collection of David and Cindy Sofer," Yigal Bloch and Laura A. Peri, 21-35. Israel Museum Studies in Archaeology 8 (2016-2017): 2-55.
Grayson, Albert K. "Tukulti-Ninurta I A.0.78.1." In Assyrian Rulers of the Third and Second Millennia BC (to 1115 BC), edited by Ronald F. G. Sweet, 231-239. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press, 1987.
Grayson, Albert K., Grant Frame, Maynard P. Maidman, and Douglas R. Frayne. Assyrian Rulers of the Third and Second Millennia BC (to 1115 BC). Vol. 1, The Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia, Assyrian Periods. Edited by Ronald F. G. Sweet. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press, 1987.
Peri, Laura A. [exhibit curator]. The Great Inscription of Tukulti-Ninurta I. Alabaster wall panel. Ca. 1239 BCE. [Special display] Ancient Near East Section, Neighboring Cultures Gallery, Samuel and Saidye Bronfman Archaeology Wing, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel. Accessed June 1, 2020. https://museum.imj.org.il/exhibitions/Tukulti-Ninurta/index.html.
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About
Epic of Tukulti-Ninurta I Prestige myth 
Assyrian Belief system
Aššur Main deity
Tukulti-Ninurta I, the Assyrian leader, describes his military campaigns against the Babylonians. The poetic narrative embellishes the might and power of Tukulti-Ninurta I and his army, resulting in an Assyrian victory. A statue of the chief Babylonian deity, Marduk, was stolen and taken to the Assyrian capital.
