1 and their maidens I dishonored, the city I overthrew, razed
and burned with fire,
In those days the cities of the land of Nirbi
2 (and) their strong fortresses, I overthrew, demolished,
burned with fire: from Nirbi I withdrew and to the city
Tuskha
3 I approached; the city of Tuskha I again occupied; its
old fort I threw down: its place I prepared, its dimensions
I took; a new castle
4 from its foundation to its roof I built, I completed, I reared:
a palace for the residence of My Royalty with doors of _iki_
wood I made;
5 a palace of brick from its foundations to its roof I made, I
completed: a complete image of my person of polished
stone I made; the history
6 of my surpassing nation and an account of my conquests
which in the country of Nairi I had accomplished I wrote
upon it; in the city of Tuskha
7 I raised it; on suitable stone I wrote and upon the wall I
fixed it; (then) the men of Assyria, those who from the privation
of food to various countries
8 And to Rurie had gone up, to Tuskha I brought back and
settled there: that city to myself
9 I took; the wheats and barleys of Nirbi I accumulated in
it; the populace of Nirbi who before my arms had fled,
10 returned and accepted my yoke; of their towns, their Viceroys,
their many convenient houses I took possession; impost
and tribute, horses,
11 horses for the yoke, fish, oxen, sheep, goats in addition to
what I had before settled, I imposed upon them; their
youths as hostages
12 I took. While I was staying in Tuskha, I received the
tribute of Ammibaal son of Zamani, of Anhiti of the land
of Rurie
13 of Labduri son of Dubuzi of the land of Nirdun and the
tribute of the land of Urumi-sa Bitani, of the Princes of
the land of Nairi,
14 chariots, horses, horses for the yoke, tin, silver, gold, _kam_
of copper, oxen, sheep, goats.
15 Over the land of Nairi I established a viceroy: (but) on
my return the land of Nairi, and Nirbu which is in
16 the land of Kasyari, revolted; nine of their cities leagued
themselves with Ispilipri one of their fortified towns and
to a mountain difficult of access
17 they trusted; but the heights of the hill I besieged and
took; in the midst of the strong mountain their fighting
men I slew; their corpses like rubbish on the hills
18 I piled up; their common people in the tangled hollows of
the mountains I consumed; their spoil, their property I
carried off; the heads of their soldiers
19 I cut off; a pile (of them) in the highest part of the city I
built; their boys and maidens I dishonored; to the environs
of the city Buliyani
20 I passed; the banks of the river Lukia[1] I took possession
of; in my passage I occupied the towns of the land of
Kirhi hard by; many of their warriors
21 I slew; their spoil I spoiled; their cities with fire I burned:
to the city of Ardupati I went. In those days the tribute
22 of Ahiramu son of Yahiru of the land of Nilaai son of Bahiani
of the land of the Hittites[2] and of the Princes of the
land of Hanirabi, silver, gold,
23 tin, _kam_ of copper, oxen, sheep, horses, as their tribute I
received; in the eponym of Assuridin[3] they brought me
intelligence that
24 Zab-yav Prince of the land of Dagara had revolted. The
land of Zamua throughout its whole extent he boldly
seized; near the city of Babite
25 they constructed a fort; for combat and battle they
marched forth: in the service of Assur, the great god my
Lord and the great Merodach
26 going before me,[4] by the powerful aid which the Lord
Assur extended to my people, my servants and my soldiers
I called together; to the vicinity
27 of Babite I marched: the soldiers to the valor of their army
trusted and gave battle: but in the mighty force of the
great Merodach going before me
28 I engaged in battle with them; I effected their overthrow:
I broke them down; 1,460 of their warriors in the environs
29 I slew; Uzie, Birata, and Lagalaga, their strong towns,
with 100 towns within their territory I captured;
30 their spoil, their youths, their oxen, and sheep I carried
off; Zab-yav for the preservation of his life, a rugged
mountain
31 ascended; 1,200 of their soldiers I carried off; from the
land of Dagara I withdrew; to the city of Bara I approached;
the city of Bara
32 I captured; 320 of their soldiers by my weapons I destroyed;
their oxen, sheep, and spoil in abundance I removed;
33 300 of their soldiers I took off; on Tasritu[5] 15th from the
town Kalzi I withdrew, and came to the environs of Babite;
34 from Babite I withdrew; to the land of Nizir which they
call Lúlu-Kinaba I drew near; the city Bunasi one of their
fortified cities
35 belonging to Musazina and 20 cities of their environs I
captured; the soldiers were discouraged; they took possession
of a mountain difficult of access; I, Assur-nasir-pal
impetuously after them
36 like birds swooped down; their corpses lay thick on the
hills of Nizir; 326 of their warriors I smote down; his
horses I exacted of him,
37 their common people in the tangled hollows I consumed;
seven cities in Nizir, which were of their duly appointed
fortresses I captured; their soldiers
38 I slew; their spoil, their riches, their oxen, their sheep I
carried off; the cities themselves I burned; to these my
tents I returned to halt;
39 from those same tents I departed; to cities of the land of
Nizir whose place no one had ever seen I marched; the city
of Larbusa
40 the fortified city of Kirtiara and 8 cities of their territory
I captured; the soldiers lost heart and took to a steep
mountain, a mountain (which) like sharp iron stakes
41 rose high upward; as for his soldiers, I ascended after them;
in the midst of the mountain I scattered their corpses; 172
of their men I slew; soldiers
42 in numbers in the hollows of the mountain I hunted down;
their spoil, their cattle, their sheep, I took away; their
cities with fire
43 I burned; their heads on the high places of the mountain
I lifted up;[6] their boys and maidens I dishonored; to the
tents aforesaid I returned to halt;
44 from those same tents I withdrew; 150 cities of the territory
of Larbusai, Durlulumai, Bunisai and Barai I captured;
45 their fighting men I slew; their spoil I spoiled; the city of
Hasabtal I razed (and) burned with fire; 50 soldiers of
Barai I slew in battle on the plain.
46 In those days the Princes of the entire land of Zamua were
overwhelmed by the dread of the advance of Assur my
Lord and submitted to my yoke; horses, silver, gold,
47 I received; the entire land under a Prefect I placed; horses,
silver, gold, wheat, barley, submission, I imposed upon
them
48 from the city of Tuklat-assur-azbat I withdrew; the land
of Nispi accepted my yoke; I went down all night; to cities
of remote site in the midst of Nispi
49 which Zab-yav had established as his stronghold I went,
took the city of Birutu and consigned it to the flames.
In the eponym of Damiktiya-tuklat, when I was stationed
at Nineveh, they brough me news[7]
50 that Amaka, and Arastua withheld the tribute and vassalage
due to Assur my Lord. In honor of Assur mighty
Lord and Merodach the great going before me,
51 on the first of May[8] I prepared for the third time an
expedition against Zamua: my fighting men[9] before the
many chariots I did not consider: from Kalzi I withdrew;
the lower Zab
52 I passed; to the vicinity of Babite I proceeded; the river
Radanu at the foot of the mountains of Zima, my birthplace,
I approached; oxen,
53 sheep, goats, as the tribute of Dagara I received: near
Zimaki I added my strong chariots and battering rams as
chief of warlike implements to my magazines; by night
54 and daybreak I went down; the Turnat in rafts I crossed;
to Amali the strong city of Arastu I approached;
55 with vigorous assault the city I besieged and took; 800
of their fighting men I destroyed by my weapons; I filled
the streets of their city with their corpses;
56 their many houses I burned; many soldiers I took alive;
their spoil in abundance I carried off; the city I overthrew
razed and burnt with fire; the city Khudun
57 and 20 cities in its environs I took; their soldiers I slew;
their booty in cattle and sheep I carried off; their cities I
overthrew razed and burned; their boys
58 their maidens I dishonored; the city of Kisirtu a fortified
city of Zabini with 10 neighboring cities I took; their soldiers
I slew; their spoil
59 I carried off; the cities of Barai and Kirtiara, Bunisai together
with the province of Khasmar I overthrew razed and
burned with fire;
60 I reduced the boundaries to a heap, and then from the
cities of Arastua I withdrew: to the neighborhood of the
territory of Laara and Bidirgi, rugged land, which for the
passage
61 of chariots and an army was not adapted, I passed; to the
royal city Zamri of Amika of Zamua I drew near; Amika
from before the mighty prowess of my formidable attack
62 fled in fear and took refuge on a hill difficult of access: I
brought forth the treasures of his palace and his chariot;
from Zamri I withdrew and passed the river Lallu and to
the mountains of Etini,
63 difficult ground, unfit for the passage of chariots and
armies, whither none of the Princes my sires had ever penetrated;
I marched in pursuit of his army on the mountains
of Etini:
64 the hill I ascended: his treasure, his riches, vessels of copper,
abundance of copper, _kam_ of copper, bowls of copper,
pitchers of copper, the treasures of his palace and of his
storehouses,
65 from within the mountains I took away to my camp and
made a halt: by the aid of Assur and the Sun-god, the gods
in whom I trust, from that camp I withdrew and proceeded
on my march;
66 the river Edir I passed on the confines of Soua and Elaniu,
powerful lands; their soldiers I slew in numbers; their
treasure, their riches, _am_[10] of copper,
67 _kam_ of copper, _sapli_ and _namziete_ of copper,
vessels of copper
in abundance, _pásur_ wood, gold and _ahzi_, their oxen,
sheep, riches,
68 his abundant spoil, from below the mountains of Elani, his
horses, I exacted from him: Amika for the saving of his
life to the land of Sabue went up;
69 the cities Zámru, Arazitku, Amaru, Parsindu, Eritu, Zuritu
his fortified city, with 150 cities
70 of his territory I overthrew, razed, burned; the boundary
I reduced to a heap.
While in the vicinity of Parsindi I was stationed, the warlike
engines of the tribe of Kallabu
71 came forth against the place; 150 of the fighting men of
Amika I slew in the plain; their heads I cut off and put
them up on the heights of his palace;
72 200 of his soldiers taken by (my) hands alive I left to rot
on the wall of his palace:[11] from Zamri the battering-rams
and ... my banners I made ready;
73 to the fortress Ata, of Arzizai, whither none of the Kings
my sires had ever penetrated I marched: the cities of Arzizu,
and Arzindu
74 his fortified city, with ten cities situated in their environs
in the midst of Nispi a rugged country, I captured; their
soldiers I slew the cities I overthrew razed and burned with
fire:
75 to those my tents I returned. In those days I received copper,
_tabbili_ of copper, _kanmate_ of copper, and _sariete_
as the tribute of the land of Siparmina, such as women
76 collect: from the city of Zamri I withdrew; to Lara, (the
rugged hill-country, unfitted for the passage of chariots and
armies, with instruments [axes] of iron I cut through and
77 with rollers of metal I beat down) with the chariots and
troops I brought over to the city of Tiglath-assur-azbat in
the land of Lulu--the city of Arakdi they call it--I went
down;
78 the Kings of Zamue, the whole of them, from before the
impetuosity of my servants and the greatness of my power
drew back and accepted my yoke; tribute of silver, gold,
tin,
79 copper, _kam_ of copper, vestments of wool, horses, oxen,
sheep, goats, in addition to what I had before settled, I imposed
upon them; a Viceroy
80 in Kalach I created. While in the land of Zamue I was
stationed the cities Khudunai, Khartisai, Khutiskai Kirzanai
81 were overwhelmed by fear of the advance of Assur my
Lord; impost, tribute, silver, gold, horses, vestments of
wool, oxen, sheep, goats, they brought to me; the rebel
soldiers
82 fled from before my arms; they fled to the mountains; I
marched after them; within confines of the land of Aziru
they settled and got ready the city of Mizu as their strong
place;
83 the land of Aziru I overthrew and destroyed; from Zimaki
as far as the Turnat I scattered their corpses; 500 of their
fighting men I destroyed;
84 their spoil in abundance I carried off.
In those days in the land of Samua, (in which is) the
city of Atlila which Zibir King of Kardunias had taken,
devastated,
85 and reduced to a heap of ruins, I Assur-nasir-pal King of
Assyria took, after laying siege to its castle a second time;
the palace as a residence for My Majesty I therein strengthened,
made princely and enlarged beyond what of old was
planned;
86 the wheat and barleys of the land of Kalibi I accumulated
therein; I gave it the name of Dur-Assur.
On the first of May in the eponym of Sanmapakid[12] I
collected my chariots and soldiers
87 the Tigris I crossed; to the land of Commagene I passed
on; I inaugurated a palace in the city of Tiluli; the tribute
due from Commagene I received; from Commagene I
withdrew;
88 I passed on to the land of the Istarat;[13] in the city of Kibaki
I halted; from Kibaki I received oxen, sheep, goats,
and copper; from Kibaki I withdrew;
89 to the city of Mattyati I drew nigh; I took possession of
the land of Yatu with the town Kapranisa; 2,800 of their
fighting men I smote down with my weapons; their spoil
in abundance I carried off;
90 the rebels who had fled from before my arms now accepted
my yoke; of their cities I left them in possession; tribute
impost and an officer[14] over them I set;
91 an image of my person I made; collected laws I wrote upon
it and in the city of Mattiyati I placed it; from Mattiyati I
withdrew; at the city of Zazabuka
92 I halted; the tribute of Calach in oxen, sheep, goats and
various copper articles I received; from Zazabuka I withdrew;
93 at the city of Irzia I made a halt; that city I burned; but
received there the tributes due from Zura in oxen, sheep,
goats and _kam_ copper:
94 from Izria I withdrew; in the land of Kasyari I halted;
Madara (and) Anzi two cities of the territory I captured
and slew their soldiers;
95 their spoil I carried off; the cities I burned with fire; six
lakes I crossed over in Kasyari, a rugged highland for the
passage of chariots and an army
96 unsuited; (the hills with instruments of iron I cut through
[and] with rollers of metal I beat down;) the chariots and
army I brought over. In a city of Assur[15] on the sandy
side which is in Kasyari,
97 oxen, sheep, goats _kam_ and _gurpisi_ of copper I received;
by the land of Kasyari I proceeded; a second time to the
land of Nairi I went down; at the city of Sigisa
98 I made a halt; from Sigisa I withdrew; to Madara the
fortified city of Labduri the son of Dubisi I drew near, a
city extremely strong with four impregnable castles;
99 the city I besieged; they quailed before my mighty
prowess; I received, for the preservation of their lives,
their treasures, their riches, their sons, by tale; I imposed
upon them
100 tribute and duties; an officer[16] I appointed over them; the
city I demolished, razed, and reduced to a heap of ruins;
from Madara I withdrew; to Tuskha
101 I passed over; a palace in Tuskha I dedicated; the tribute
of the land of Nirdun, horses, yoke-horses, fish, _kam_ of
copper, _gurpisi_ of copper, oxen, sheep,
102 goats, in Tuskha I received; 60 cities and strong castles
below Kasyari, belonging to Labduri son of Dubuzi
I overthrew razed and converted to a heap of ruins.
103 In the service of Assur my Lord from Tuskha I withdrew.
The powerful chariots and battering-rams I put
up in my stores; on rafts
104 I passed the Tigris; all night I descended; to Pitura a
strong town of Dirrai I drew near--a very strong city--
105 two forts facing each other, whose castle like the
summit of a mountain stood up: by the mighty hands of
Assur my Lord and the impetuosity of my army and my
formidable attack
106 I gave them battle; on two days before sunrise like Yav
the inundator I rushed upon them; destruction upon them
I rained with the might[17]
107 and prowess of my warriors; like the rush of birds coming
upon them, the city I captured; 800 of their soldiers by
my arms I destroyed; their heads
108 I cut off; many soldiers I captured in hand alive; their
populace in the flames I burned; their spoil I carried off
in abundance; a trophy of the living and of heads
109 about his great gate I built;[18] 700 soldiers I there impaled
on stakes;[19] the city I overthrew, razed, and reduced to
a heap of ruins all round; their boys,
110 their maidens, I dishonored; the city of Kukunu[20] facing
the mountains of Matni I captured; 700 of their fighting
men I smote down with my weapons;
111 their spoil in abundance I carried off; 50 cities of Dira I
occupied; their soldiers I slew; I plundered them; 50 soldiers
I took alive; the cities I overthrew
112 razed and burned; the approach of my Royalty overcame
them; from Pitura I withdrew, and went down to Arbaki
in Gilhi-Bitani;
113 they quailed before the approach of my Majesty, and deserted
their towns and strong places: for the saving of
their lives they went up to Matni a land of strength
114 I went after them in pursuit; 1,000 of their warriors I left
in the rugged hills; their corpses on a hill I piled up;
with their bodies the tangled hollows
115 of the mountains I filled; I captured 200 soldiers and cut
off their hands; their spoil I carried away; their oxen,
their sheep
116 without number, I took away; Iyaya, Salaniba, strong
cities of Arbaki I occupied; the soldiers I slew; their spoil
I carried off
117 250 towns surrounded with strong walls in the land of
Nairi I overthrew demolished and reduced to heaps and
ruins; the trees of their land I cut down; the wheat
118 and barley in Tuskha I kept. Ammiba'al the son of
Zamani had been betrayed and slain by his nobles.[21] To
revenge Ammiba'al
119 I marched; from before the vehemence of my arms and
the greatness of my Royalty
120 they drew back: his swift chariots, trappings for men and
horses one hundred in number,
121 horses, harness, his yokes, tribute of silver and gold with
100 talents
122 in tin, 100 talents in copper, 300 talents in _annui_, 100 _kam_
of copper, 3,000 _kappi_ of copper, bowls of copper, vessels
of copper,
123 1,000 vestments of wool, _nui_ wood, _eru_ wood, _zalmalli_
wood, horns, choice gold,
124 the treasures of his palace, 2,000 oxen, 5,000 sheep, his
wife, with large donations from her; the daughters
125 of his chiefs with large donations from them I received.
I, Assur-nasir-pal, great King, mighty King, King of legions,
King of Assyria,
126 son of Tuklat-Adar great and mighty King, King of
legions, King of Assyria, noble warrior, in the strength of
Assur his Lord walked, and whose equal among the
Kings
127 of the four regions exists not;[22] a King who from beyond
the Tigris up to Lebanon and the Great Sea
128 hath subjugated the land of Laki in its entirety, the land
of Zuhi with the city of Ripaki: from the sources of
the Ani
129 (and) the Zupnat to the land bordering on Sabitan has he
held in hand: the territory of Kirrouri with Kilzani on the
other side the Lower Zab
130 to Tul-Bari which is beyond the country of the Zab; beyond
the city of Tul-sa-Zabdani, Hirimu, Harute, the land
of Birate
131 and of Kardunias I annexed to the borders of my realm
and on the broad territory of Nairi I laid fresh tribute.
The city of Calach I took anew; the old mound
132 I threw down; to the top of the water I brought it; 120
hand-breadths in depth I made it good; a temple to Ninip
my Lord I therein founded; when
133 an image of Ninip himself which had not been made before,
in the reverence of my heart for his great mighty god-ship,
of mountain stone and brilliant gold I caused to make
in its completeness;
134 for my great divinity in the city of Calach I accounted
him: his festivals in the months of January and September[23]
I established: Bit-kursi which was unoccupied I
closed:
135 an altar to Ninip my Lord I therein consecrated: a temple
for Beltis, Sin, and Gulanu, Hea-Manna[24] and Yav
great ruler of heaven and earth I founded.
[Footnote 1: Probably the Lycus or upper Zab.]
[Footnote 2: The term "Hittites" is used in a large sense, as the
equivalent of "Syrians," including the northern parts of Palestine.]
[Footnote 3: About 881 B.C.]
[Footnote 4: A scriptural phrase of frequent occurrence.]
[Footnote 5: Corresponding to the Jewish month Tisri, and to part of our
September, called in Accadian "the Holy Altar."]
[Footnote 6: Cf. Gen. xi. 19, "Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up
thy head from off thee."]
[Footnote 7: About 880 B.C.]
[Footnote 8: The Hebrew Sivan.]
[Footnote 9: I.e., in comparison with.]
[Footnote 10: "Am" may be the name of some weight, or figure; v. Norr.
Assyr. Dict., pp. 127 and 720.]
[Footnote 11: Menant renders, "j'ai fait etouffer _dans_ le mur."]
[Footnote 12: About 879 B.C.]
[Footnote 13: Goddesses.]
[Footnote 14: Urasi.]
[Footnote 15: Or, "Assur-sidi-huli" may be taken as the name of the town.]
[Footnote 16: "Urasi"(?).]
[Footnote 17: Compare a similar expression, Job xx. 23, "God shall rain
(his fury) upon him while he is eating."]
[Footnote 18: Cf. 2 Kings x. 8, "Lay ye them (the heads) in two heaps in
the entering in of the gate."]
[Footnote 19: Or, crosses.]
[Footnote 20: On the upper Tigris.]
[Footnote 21: I follow Dr. Oppert in the rendering of this obscure
passage. Compare with Ammiba'al the name of the father of Bathsheba, which
like many other proper names is indicative of the close relations between
Assyria, Phoenicia, Syria, and Judea.]
[Footnote 22: This frequently recurring expression refers to the four
races of Syria.]
[Footnote 23: "Tabita" (Heb. "Tebeth") and "Tasritu" (Heb. "Tisri"). It
should be remarked that after the captivity the names of the months were
exchanged for the Chaldean; and the old Hebrew names, such as "Abib"
(Exod. xiii. 4), "Zif" (1 Kings vi. 37), "Ethanim" (ib. viii. 2), "Bul"
(ib. vi. 38), and the titles first, second, third month, etc., were
dropped.]
[Footnote 24: This name has also been read as "Nisroch-Salmon."]