1 To Ninip[1] most powerful hero, great, chief of the gods,
warrior, powerful Lord, whose onset in battle has not been
opposed, eldest son,
2 crusher of opponents, first-born son of Nukimmut,[2] supporter
of the seven,[3]
noble ruler, King of the gods the producers, governor, he who
rolls along the mass
3 of heaven and earth, opener of canals, treader of the wide earth,
the god who in
his divinity nourishes heaven and earth, the beneficent,
4 the exalted, the powerful, who has not lessened the glory of his
face,[4] head of
nations, bestower of sceptres, glorious, over all cities a
ruler,[5]
5 valiant, the renown of whose sceptre is not approached, chief of
widespread influence, great among the gods, shading from the
southern sun, Lord of Lords, whose hand the vault of heaven
6 (and) earth has controlled, a King in battle mighty[6] who has
vanquished opposition, victorious, powerful, Lord of
water-courses and seas,[7]
7 strong, not yielding, whose onset brings down the green corn,
smiting the land of the enemy, like the cutting of reeds, the
deity who changes not his purposes,
8 the light of heaven and earth, a bold leader on the waters,
destroyer of them that hate (him), a spoiler (and) Lord
of the disobedient, dividing enemies, whose name in the
speech of the gods
9 no god has ever disregarded, the gatherer of life, the god(?)
whose prayers are good, whose abode is in the city of Calah,
a great Lord, my Lord--(who am) Assur-nasir-pal, the
mighty King,
10 King of multitudes, a Prince unequalled, Lord of all the
four countries, powerful over hosts of men, the possession
of Bel and Ninip the exalted and Anu
11 and of Dakan,[8] a servant of the great gods in the lofty shrine
for great (O Ninip) is thy heart; a worshipper of Bel whose
might upon
12 thy great deity is founded, and thou makest righteous his
life, valiant, warrior, who in the service of Assur his Lord
hath proceeded, and among the Kings
13 of the four regions who has not his fellow, a Prince for
admiration, not sparing opponents, mighty leader, who an
equal
14 has not, a Prince reducing to order his disobedient ones,
who has subdued whole multitudes of men, a strong worker,
treading down
15 the heads of his enemies, trampling on all foes, crushing
assemblages of rebels, who in the service of the great gods
his Lords
16 marched vigorously and the lands of all of them his hand
captured, caused the forests of all of them to fall,[9] and
received their tribute, taking
17 securities, establishing laws over all lands, when Assur the
Lord who proclaims my name and augments my Royalty
18 laid hold upon his invincible power for the forces of my
Lordship, for Assur-nasir-pal, glorious Prince, worshipper
of the great gods
19 the generous, the great, the powerful, acquirer of cities and
forests and the territory of all of them, King of Lords,
destroying the wicked, strengthening
20 the peaceful, not sparing opponents, a Prince of firm will(?)
one who combats oppression, Lord of all Kings,
21 Lord of Lords, the acknowledged, King of Kings, seated
gloriously, the renown of Ninip the warrior, worshipper of
the great gods, prolonging the benefits (conferred by) his
fathers:
22 a Prince who in the service of Assur and the Sun-god, the
gods in whom he trusted, royally marched to turbulent lands,
and Kings who had rebelled against him
23 he cut off like grass, all their lands to his feet he subjected,
restorer of the worship of the goddesses and that of the
great gods,
24 Chief unwavering, who for the guidance of the heads (and)
elders of his land is a steadfast guardian, the work of whose
hands and
25 the gift of whose finger the great gods of heaven and earth
have exalted, and his steps[10] over rulers have they established
forever;
26 their power for the preservation of my Royalty have they
exercised; the retribution of his power, (and) the approach
of His Majesty over Princes
27 of the four regions they have extended: the enemies of Assur
in all their country, the upper and the lower I chastised, and
tribute and impost
28 upon them I established, capturing the enemies of Assur--mighty
King, King of Assyria, son of Tuklat-Adar who all
his enemies
29 has scattered; (who) in the dust threw down the corpses of
his enemies, the grandson of Bin-nirari, the servant of the
great gods,
30 who crucified alive and routed his enemies and subdued
them to his yoke, descendant of Assur-dan-il, who the
fortresses
31 established (and) the fanes made good. In those days by
the decree[11] of the great gods to royalty power supremacy
I rose up:
32 I am a King, I am a Lord, I am glorious, I am great, I am
mighty, I have arisen, I am Chief, I am a Prince, I am a
warrior
33 I am great and I am glorious, Assur-nasir-habal, a mighty
King of Assyria, proclaimer of the Moon-god, worshipper
of Anu, exalter of Yav,[12] suppliant of the gods
34 am I, servant unyielding, subduing the land of his foeman,
a King mighty in battle, destroyer of cities and forests,
35 Chief over opponents, King of the four regions, expeller of
his foes, prostrating all his enemies, Prince of a multitude
of lands of all Kings
36 Even of all, a Prince subduing those disobedient to him,
who is ruling all the multitudes of men. These aspirations
to the face of the great gods
37 have gone up; on my destiny steadfastly have they determined;
at the wishes of my heart and the uplifting of my
hand, Istar, exalted Lady,
38 hath favored me in my intentions, and to the conduct of
(my) battles and warfare hath applied her heart. In those
days I Assur-nasir-pal, glorious Prince, worshipper of the
great gods
39 the wishes of whose heart Bel will cause him to attain, and
who has conquered all Kings who disobey him, and by his
hand capturing
40 his enemies, who in difficult places has beaten down assemblages
of rebels; when Assur, mighty Lord, proclaimer of my name
41 aggrandizer of my royalty over the Kings of the four
regions, bountifully hath added his invincible power to the
forces of my government,
42 putting me in possession of lands, and mighty forests for
exploration hath he given and urgently impelled me--by the
might of Assur my Lord,
43 perplexed paths, difficult mountains by the impetuosity of
my hosts I traversed, and an equal there was not. In the
beginning of my reign
44 (and) in my first campaign when the Sun-god guider of
the lands threw over me his beneficent protection[13] on the
throne of my dominion I firmly seated myself; a sceptre
45 the dread of man into my hands I took; my chariots (and)
armies I collected; rugged paths, difficult mountains, which
for the passage
46 of chariots and armies was not suited I passed, and to the
land of Nairi[14] I went: Libie, their capital city, the cities
Zurra and Abuqu
47 Arura Arubie, situated within the limits of the land of
Aruni and Etini, fortified cities, I took, their fighting-men
48 in numbers I slew; their spoil, their wealth, their cattle I
spoiled; their soldiers were discouraged; they took possession
of a difficult mountain, a mountain exceedingly difficult;
after them
49 I did not proceed, for it was a mountain ascending up like
lofty points of iron, and the beautiful birds of heaven had
not reached up into it: like nests
50 of the young birds in the midst of the mountain their defence
they placed, into which none of the Kings my fathers had
ever penetrated: in three days
51 successfully on one large mountain, his courage vanquished
opposition: along the feet of that mountain I crept and hid:
their nests, their tents,
52 I broke up; 200 of their warriors with weapons I destroyed;
their spoil in abundance like the young of sheep I carried off;
53 their corpses like rubbish on the mountains I heaped up;
their relics in tangled hollows of the mountains I consumed;
their cities
54 I overthrew, I demolished, in fire I burned: from the land
of Nummi to the land of Kirruri I came down; the tribute
of Kirruri
55 of the territory of Zimizi, Zimira, Ulmanya, Adavas, Kargai,
Harmasai, horses,[15] (fish (?),
56 oxen, horned sheep in numbers, copper, as their tribute I
received: an officer to guard boundaries[16] over them I placed.
While in the land of Kirruri
57 they detained me, the fear of Assur my Lord overwhelmed
the lands of Gilzanai and Khubuskai; horses, silver
58 gold, tin, copper, _kams_ of copper as their tribute they brought
to me. From the land of Kirruri I withdrew;
59 to a territory close by the town Khulun in Gilhi[17] Bitani
I passed: the cities of Khatu, Khalaru, Nistun, Irbidi,
60 Mitkie, Arzanie, Zila, Khalue, cities of Gilhi situated in the
environs of Uzie and Arue
61 and Arardi powerful lands, I occupied: their soldiers in
numbers I slew; their spoil, their riches I carried off;
62 their soldiers were discouraged; the summits projecting over
against the city of Nistun which were menacing like the
storms of heaven, I captured;
63 into which no one among the Princes my sires had ever penetrated;
my soldiers like birds (of prey) rushed upon them;
64 260 of their warriors by the sword I smote down; their
heads cut off in heaps I arranged; the rest of them like birds
65 in a nest, in the rocks of the mountains nestled; their spoil,
their riches from the midst of the mountains I brought
down; cities which were in the midst
66 of vast forests situated I overthrew, destroyed, burned in
fire; the rebellious soldiers fled from before my arms; they
came down; my yoke
67 they received; impost tribute and a Viceroy I set over them.
Bubu son of Bubua son of the Prefect of Nistun
68 in the city of Arbela I flayed; his skin I stretched in contempt
upon the wall. At that time an image of my person
I made; a history of my supremacy
69 upon it I wrote, and (on) a mountain of the land of Ikin(?)
in the city of Assur-nasir-pal at the foot I erected (it). In
my own eponym in the month of July[18] and the 24th day
(probably B.C. 882).
70 in honor of Assur and Istar the great gods my Lords, I
quitted the city of Nineveh: to cities situated below Nipur
and Pazate powerful countries
71 I proceeded; Atkun, Nithu, Pilazi and 20 other cities in
their environs I captured; many of their soldiers I slew;
72 their spoil, their riches I carried off; the cities I burned with
fire; the rebel soldiers fled from before my arms, submitted,
73 and took my yoke; I left them in possession of their land.
From the cities below Nipur and Pazate I withdrew; the
Tigris I passed;
74 to the land of Commagene I approached; the tribute of Commagene
and of the Moschi[19] in _kams_ of copper, sheep and
goats I received; while in Commagene
75 I was stationed, they brought me intelligence that the city
Suri in Bit-Khalupe had revolted. The people of Hamath
had slain their governor
76 Ahiyababa the son of Lamamana[20] they brought from Bit-Adini
and made him their King. By help of Assur and
Yav
77 the great gods who aggrandize my royalty, chariots, (and)
an army, I collected: the banks of the Chaboras[21] I occupied;
in my passage tribute
78 in abundance from Salman-haman-ilin of the city of Sadi-kannai
and of Il-yav of the city of Sunai,[22] silver, gold,
79 tin, _kam_ of copper, vestments of wool, vestments of linen
I received. To Suri which is in Bit-Halupe I drew near;
80 the fear of the approach of Assur my Lord overwhelmed
them; the great men and the multitudes of the city, for the
saving of their lives, coming up after me,[23]
81 submitted to my yoke; some slain, some living, some tongueless
I made: Ahiyababa son of Lamamana
82 whom from Bit-Adini they had fetched, I captured; in the
valor of my heart and the steadfastness of my soldiers I besieged
the city; the soldiers, rebels all,
83 were taken prisoners; the nobles to the principal palace of
his land I caused to send; his silver, his gold, his treasure,
his riches, copper
84 (?)tin, _kams, tabhani, hariati_ of copper, choice copper in
abundance, alabaster and iron-stone of large size
85 the treasures of his harem, his daughters and the wives of
the rebels with their treasures, and the gods with their
treasures,
86 precious stones of the land of ..., his swift chariot,
his horses, the harness, his chariot-yoke, trappings for
horses, coverings for men,
87 vestments of wool, vestments of linen, handsome altars of
cedar, handsome ..., bowls of cedar-wood
88 beautiful black coverings, beautiful purple coverings, carpets,
his oxen, his sheep, his abundant spoil, which like the
stars of heaven could not be reckoned,
89 I carried off; Aziel as my lieutenant over them I placed; a
trophy along the length of the great gate I erected: the
rebellious nobles
90 who had revolted against me and whose skins I had stripped
off, I made into a trophy: some in the middle of the pile
I left to decay; some on the top
91 of the pile on stakes I impaled; some by the side of the pile
I placed in order on stakes; many within view of my land
92 I flayed; their skins on the walls I arranged; of the officers
of the King's officer, rebels, the limbs I cut off;
93 I brought Ahiyababa to Nineveh; I flayed[24] him and fastened
his skin to the wall; laws and edicts
94 over Lakie I established. While I was staying in Suri the
tribute of the Princes of Lakie throughout the whole of
them,
95 silver, gold, tin, copper, _kam_ of copper, oxen, sheep,
vestments
of wool and linen, as tribute
96 and gift, I defined and imposed upon them. In those days,
the tribute of Khayani of the city of Hindanai, silver,
97 gold, tin, copper, amu-stone, alabaster blocks, beautiful
black (and) lustrous coverings I received as tribute from
him. In those days an enlarged image
98 of my Royalty I made; edicts and decrees upon it I wrote;
in the midst of his palace I put it up; of stone my tablets
I made;
99 the decrees of my throne upon it I wrote; in the great gate
I fixed them, in the date of this year which takes its name
from me, in honor of Assur my Lord and Ninip who uplifts
my feet.[25]
100 Whereas in the times of the Kings my fathers no man
of Suhi to Assyria had ever come, Il-bani Prince of Suhi
together with his soldiers
101 (and) his son, silver, gold as his tribute to Nineveh in
abundance brought: in my own eponym[26] at the city of Nineveh
I stayed: news
102 they brought me that men of the land of Assyria, (and)
Hulai the governor of their city which Shalmaneser King
of Assyria my predecessor
103 to the city of Hasiluha had united, had revolted: Dandamusa[27]
a city of my dominion marched out to subdue
(them);
104 in honor of Assur, the Sun-god and Yav, the gods in whom
I trust, my chariots and army I collected at the head of the
river Zupnat, the place of an image
105 which Tiglath-Pileser and Tiglath-Adar, Kings of Assyria
my fathers had raised; an image of My Majesty I constructed
and put up with theirs.
106 In those days I renewed the tribute of the land of Izala,
oxen, sheep, goats: to the land of Kasyari[28] I proceeded,
and to Kinabu
107 the fortified city of the province of Hulai. I drew near;
with the impetuosity of my formidable attack I besieged and
took the town; 600 of their fighting men
108 with (my) arms I destroyed; 3,000 of their captives I consigned
to the flames; as hostages I left not one of them alive;
Hulai
109 the governor of their town I captured by (my) hand alive;
their corpses into piles I built; their boys and maidens I
dishonored;
110 Hulai the governor of their city I flayed: his skin on the
walls of Damdamusa I placed in contempt; the city I overthrew
demolished, burned with fire;
in the city of Mariru within their territory I took; 50 warrior
fighting men by (my) weapons I destroyed; 200 of their captives
in the flame I burned;
112 the soldiers of the land of Nirbi I slew in fight in the
desert; their spoil, their oxen, their sheep, I brought away;
Nirbu which is at the foot of mount Ukhira
113 I boldly took; I then passed over to Tila their fortified city;
from Kinabu I withdrew; to Tila I drew near;
114 a strong city with three forts facing each other: the soldiers
to their strong forts and numerous army trusted and
would not submit;
115 my yoke they would not accept; (then,) with onset and
attack I besieged the city; their fighting men with my
weapons I destroyed; of their spoil,
116 their riches, oxen and sheep, I made plunder; much booty
I burned with fire; many soldiers I captured alive;
117 of some I chopped off the hands and feet; of others the
noses and ears I cut off; of many soldiers I destroyed the
eyes;[29]
118 one pile of bodies while yet alive, and one of heads I reared
up on the heights within their town; their heads in the midst
I hoisted; their boys
(_Continued on Column II._)
[Footnote 1: Ninip was one of the great gods of the Assyrian Pantheon,
often joined with Assur as one of the special deities invoked by the
Assyrian kings at the opening of their inscriptions. His name is also
written under the symbol used for iron ("parzii"). Thus in later times the
planets were connected with special metals.]
[Footnote 2: A goddess, called also Nuha, and the mother of Nebo as well
as of Ninip. Fox Talbot (Gloss. 158) compares "nu (= 'al') kimmut" with
the "al-gum" of Prov. xxx. 31, i.e., "irresistible."]
[Footnote 3: Planets. Or, "warrior among spirits." I mention this
rendering as the suggestion of Mr. G. Smith, though I prefer that given
above.]
[Footnote 4: Literally, "horn." Cf. Job xvi. 15.]
[Footnote 5: Tigallu. Menant renders this sentence "La massue pour regner
sur les villes."]
[Footnote 6: Cf. Ps. xxiv. 8.]
[Footnote 7: Cf. Ps. xcv. 4; civ. 6; cvii. 35.]
[Footnote 8: Probably the Dagon of Scripture.]
[Footnote 9: Compare the boast in Isaiah xxxvii. 24, "I cut down the tall
cedars."]
[Footnote 10: Goings. Cf. Ps. xl. 2, "He hath established my goings."]
[Footnote 11: Mouth.]
[Footnote 12: The god Yav may be the Yaveh of the Moabite stone.]
[Footnote 13: Or, shade. This may refer to the eclipse of July 13, 885
B.C.]
[Footnote 14: A federation of States north and northeast of Assyria at the
head of the Euphrates. In Tig. iv. 7, 33 of their kings are mentioned.]
[Footnote 15: Literally, "animals of the East." This looks as if the
Assyrians obtained the horse from some Eastern land.]
[Footnote 16: Or, a viceroy.]
[Footnote 17: A mountainous country near the upper Tigris, possibly
Kurdistan.]
[Footnote 18: The Hebrew month Ab.]
[Footnote 19: In the text, "Kummuhi" and "Muski."]
[Footnote 20: Dr. Hincks was of opinion that Lamaman meant "nobody"; and
that "Son of Lamaman" was a delicate way of indicating a man was of low
origin. Norr. Dict., p. 690.]
[Footnote 21: Assyrian, "Khabur." This may be the Chebar mentioned in the
Prophet Ezekiel. Schultens, however (in his Geogr.), mentions another
Chaboras which flows into the Tigris.]
[Footnote 22: In the north of Mesopotamia.]
[Footnote 23: Literally, to my back.]
[Footnote 24: Compare 2 Mace. vii. 7 for a somewhat similar proceeding.
The custom may also be alluded to in Mic. iii. 3.]
[Footnote 25: Compare Ps. lxxiv. 3, "Lift up thy feet," etc.]
[Footnote 26: About 882 B.C.]
[Footnote 27: Near the modern Diarbekir, on the road to the sources of the
Supnat.]
[Footnote 28: In Armenia near the sources of the Tigris.]
[Footnote 29: Thus in 2 Kings xxv. 7 we read that the Chaldees "put out
the eyes of Zedekiah." Samson (Judges xvi. 21) was similarly treated. And
the custom may be alluded to in Num. xvi. 14. It may be well to compare
the treatment of children as recorded in Joshua xi. 14 with what we read
in line 118. Horrible and ferocious as was the treatment of the conquered
by the Israelites, they at least on that occasion were content with
enslaving the children.]