l On the 22d day of the third month, May,[1] in the eponym
of Dagan-bel-ussur,[2] withdrew from Calach; I passed the
Tigris at its nearer bank
2 and received a large tribute; at Tabite I made a halt; on the
6th day of the fourth month, June,[3] I withdrew from
Tabite and skirted the banks of Kharmis;
3 at the town of Magarizi I made a halt; withdrew from it
and passed along by the banks of the Chaboras and halted
at Sadikanni;
4 the tribute due from Sadikanni, silver, gold, tin, _kam_ of
copper, oxen, sheep, I received and quitted the place.
5 At the city of Katni I made a halt; the tribute of Sunaya
I received, and from Katni withdrew;
6 at Dar-Kumlimi[4] halted; withdrew from it and halted at
Bit-Halupe, whose tribute
7 of silver, gold, tin, _kam_ of copper, vestments of wool and
linen, oxen and sheep I received, and withdrew from it;
8 at the city of Zirki I made a halt; the tribute of Zirki,
silver, gold, tin, oxen,
9 sheep, I received; withdrew from Zirki; halted at Zupri,
whose tribute
10 of silver, gold, tin, _kami_, oxen, sheep, I received; withdrew
from Zupri and halted at Nagarabani,
11 whose tribute in silver, gold, tin, _kami_, oxen, sheep, I
received and withdrew from it;
12 near Khindani, situated on the nearer banks of the Euphrates
I halted;
13 the tribute of Khindani, silver, gold, tin, _kami_, oxen, sheep,
I received. From Khindani
14 I withdrew; at the mountains over against the Euphrates[5]
I halted; I withdrew from those mountains and halted at
Bit-Sabáya near the town of Haridi
15 situate on the nearer bank of the Euphrates. From Bit-Sabáya
I withdrew; at the commencement of the town of
Anat[6]
16 I made a halt. Anat is situated in the midst of the Euphrates.
From Anat I withdrew. The city of Zuru the
fortified city of
17 Sadudu of the land of Zuhi I besieged: to the numerous
warriors of the spacious land of the Kassi he trusted and
to make war and battle to my presence advanced;
l8 the city I besieged; two days I was engaged in fighting; I
made good an entrance: (then) through fear[7] of my
mighty arms Sadudu and his soldiers
19 for the preservation of his life, into the Euphrates threw
himself: I took the city; 50 _bit-hallu_[8] and their soldiers
in the service of Nabu-bal-idin King of Kardunias;
20 Zabdanu his brother with 300 of his soldiers and Bel-bal-idin
who marched at the head of their armies I captured,
together with them
21 many soldiers I smote down with my weapons; silver, gold,
tin, precious stone of the mountains,[9] the treasure of his
palace,
22 chariots, horses trained to the yoke, trappings for men and
horses, the women of his palace, his spoil,
23 in abundance I carried off; the city I pulled down and razed;
ordinances and edicts I imposed on Zuhi; the fear of my
dominion to Kardunias reached;
24 the greatness of my arms overwhelmed Chaldæa;[10] on the
countries of the banks of the Euphrates my impetuous
soldiers I sent forth; an image
25 of my person I made; decrees and edicts upon it I inscribed;
in Zuri I put it up, I Assur-nasir-pal, a King who
has enforced his laws
26 (and) decrees and who to the sword hath directed his face
to conquests and alliances hath raised his heart. While
I was stationed at Calach
27 they brought me news that the population of Laqai and
Khindanu of the whole land of Zukhi had revolted and
crossed the Euphrates
28 on the eighteenth of May[11] I withdrew from Calach; passed
the Tigris, took the desert to Zúri
29 by Bit-Halupí I approached in ships belonging to me which
I had taken at Zúri: I took my way to the sources of the
Euphrates;
30 the narrows of the Euphrates I descended, the cities of
Khintiel and Aziel in the land of Laqai I took; their soldiers
I slew; their spoil
31 I carried off; the cities I overthrew, razed, burned with
fire. In my expedition marching westward of the banks of
the Chaboras to
32 the city Zibate of Zuhi, cities on the other side of the
Euphrates in the land of Laqai I overthrew, devastated and
burned with fire; their crops I seized 460 soldiers
33 their fighting men by (my) weapons I destroyed; I took
20 alive and impaled them on stakes;[12] on ships which I
had built--
34 in 20 ships which were drawn up on the sand at Haridi
I crossed the Euphrates. The land of Zuhaya and Laqai
35 and the city of Khindanai[13] to the power of their chariots
armies and hands trusted and summoned 6,000 of their
soldiers to engage in fight and battle.
36 They came to close quarters; I fought with them; I
effected their overthrow; I destroyed their chariots 6,500
of their warriors I smote down by my weapons; the remainder
37 in starvation in the desert of the Euphrates I shut up.
From Haridi in Zukhi to Kipina and the cities of Khin-danai[13]
38 in Laqai on the other side I occupied; their fighting men
I slew; the city I overthrew razed and burned. Aziel of
Laqai
39 trusted to his forces and took possession of the heights
of Kipina; I gave them battle; at the city of Kipina I
effected his overthrow; 1,000 of his warriors I slew;
40 his chariots I destroyed; spoil I carried off in plenty;
their gods I took away; for the preservation of his life he
took refuge on a rugged hill of Bizuru at the sources of
the Euphrates;
41 for two days I descended the river in pursuit: the relics
of his army with my weapons I destroyed; their hiding
place by the hills on the Euphrates I broke up;
42 to the cities of Dumite and Azmú belonging to the son of
Adini[14] I went down after him; his spoil, his oxen, his
sheep,
43 which like the stars of heaven were without number I
carried off.
In those days Ila of Laqai, his swift chariots and 500
soldiers
44 to my land of Assyria I transported; Dumutu and Azmu
I captured, overthrew, razed and burned; in the narrows of
the Euphrates I turned aside in my course and
45 I outflanked Aziel, who fled before my mighty power to
save his life. Ila; the Prince of Laqai, his army his chariots,
his harness,
46 I carried off and took to my city of Assur: Khimtiel of
Laqai I made prisoner in his own city. Through the might
of Assur my Lord, (and) in the presence of my mighty
arms and the formidable attack
47 of my powerful forces he was afraid, and I received the
treasures of his palaces, silver, gold, tin, copper, _kam_ of
copper, vestments of wool, his abundant spoil; and tribute
48 and impost in addition to what I had previously fixed I laid
upon them; in those days I slew 50 buffaloes in the neighborhood
of the nearer side of the Euphrates: eight buffaloes
I caught alive;
49 I killed 20 eagles, and captured others alive: I founded two
cities on the Euphrates; one on the farther bank
50 of the Euphrates which I named Dur-Assur-nasir-pal; one
on the nearer bank which I named Nibarti-Assur. On the
20th of May[16] I withdrew from Calach;
51 I crossed the Tigris; to the land of Bit-Adini I went; to
their strong city of Katrabi I approached, a city exceedingly
strong, like a storm rushing from heaven,[17]
52 the soldiers confided to their numerous troops, and would
not submit and accept my yoke: in honor of Assur the great
Lord, my Lord, and the god the great protector going before
me, I besieged the city
53 by the warlike engines[18] on foot and strong, the city I
captured; many of their soldiers I slew; 800 of their fighting
men I dispersed; their spoil and property I carried off,
2,400 of their warriors
54 I transported away and detained them at Calach; the city
I overthrew razed and burnt; the fear of the approach of
Assur my Lord over Bit-Adini I made good.
55 In those days the tribute of Ahuni son of Adini of Habini,
of the city of Tul-Abnai,[19] silver, gold, tin,[20] copper,
vestments of wool and linen, wood for bridges,
56 cedar wood, the treasures of his palace I received; their
hostages I took, _rimutu_[21] I imposed upon them.
In the month April[22] and on the eighth day I quitted
Calach; the Tigris
57 I passed; to Carchemish[23] in Syria I directed my steps; to
Bit-Bakhiani I approached; the tribute due from the son[24]
of Bakhiani, swift chariots, horses, silver,
58 gold, tin, copper, _kami_ of copper, I received; the chariots
and warlike engines of the officer of the son of Bakhiani I
added to my magazines;
59 I menaced the land of Anili: the tribute of Hu-immi of
Nilaya, swift war chariots, horses, silver, gold, tin,[25]
copper,
60 _kami_ of copper, oxen, sheep, horses, I received; the
chariots and warlike instruments of the officer I added to my
magazines. From Anili I withdrew; to Bit-Adini I approached;
61 the tribute of Ahuni son of Adini, silver, gold, tin,[5] copper,
wood of _ereru_ and _rabaz_, horns, _sai_-wood, horns[26]
62 of thrones horns of silver, and gold, _sari_, bracelets of gold,
_sahri_ fastenings for covers of gold, scabbards of gold, oxen,
sheep, goats as his tribute I received;
63 the chariots and warlike engines of the officer of Ahuni I
added to my magazines. In those days I received the tribute
of Habini of Tul-Abnai, four maneh of silver and 400
sheep;
64 ten maneh of silver for his first year as tribute I imposed
upon him: from Bit-Adini I withdrew; the Euphrates, in a
difficult part of it, I crossed in ships of hardened skins:
65 I approached the land of Carchemish: the tribute of Sangara
King of Syria, twenty talents of silver, _sahri_ gold, bracelets
of gold, scabbards of gold, 100 talents
66 of copper, 250 talents of annui _kami, harlate, nirmakate
kibil_[27] of copper, the extensive furniture of his palace,
67 of incomprehensible perfection[28] different kinds of woods,[29]
_ka_ and _sara_, 200 female slaves, vestments of wool,
68 and linen; beautiful black coverings, beautiful purple coverings,
precious stones, horns of buffaloes, white[30] chariots,
images of gold, their coverings, the treasures of his
Royalty, I received of him;
69 the chariots and warlike engines of the General of Carchemish
I laid up in my magazines; the Kings of all those
lands who had come out against me received my yoke; their
hostages I received;
70 they did homage in my presence; to the land of Lebanon[31]
I proceeded. From Carchemish I withdrew and marched
to the territory of Munzigani and Harmurga:
71 the land of Ahanu I reduced; to Gaza[32] the town of Lubarna[33]
of the Khatti I advanced; gold and vestments of
linen I received:
72 crossing the river Abrie I halted and then leaving that
river approached the town of Kanulua a royal city belonging
to Lubarna of the Khatti:
73 from before my mighty arms and my formidable onset he
fled in fear, and for the saving of his life submitted to my
yoke; twenty talents of silver, one talent of gold,
74 100 talents in tin, 100 talents in _annui_, 1,000 oxen, 10,000
sheep, 1,000 vestments of wool, linen, _nimati_ and _ki_
woods coverings,
75 _ahuzate_ thrones, _kui_ wood, wood for seats, their
coverings, _sarai, zueri_-wood, horns of _kui_ in abundance,
the numerous utensils of his palace, whose beauty
76 could not be comprehended:[34] ... _pagatu_(?)[35] from
the wealth of great Lords as his tribute
77 I imposed upon him; the chariots and warlike engines of
the land of the Khatti I laid up in my magazines; their
hostages I took.
In those days (I received) the tribute of Guzi
78 of the land of Yahanai, silver, gold, tin,[36] ... oxen,
sheep, vestments of wool and linen I received: from Kunalua
the capital of Lubarna I withdrew,
79 of the land of the Khatti, crossed the Orontes,[37] and after
a halt left it, and to the borders
80 of the land of Yaraki and of Yahturi I went round: the
land[38] ... had rebelled: from the Sangura after a
halt I withdrew;
81 I made a detour to the lands of Saratini and Girpani[39]
... I halted and advanced to Aribue a fortified city
belonging to Lubarna of the land of the Khatti:
82 the city I took to myself; the wheats and barleys of Luhuti
I collected; I allowed his palace to be sacked and settled
Assyrians there.[40]
83 While I was stationed at Aribua, I captured the cities of the
land of Luhiti and slew many of their soldiers; overthrew
razed and burned them with fire;
84 the soldiers whom I took alive I impaled on stakes close
by their cities.
In those days I occupied the environs of Lebanon; to the
great sea
85 of Phoenicia[41] I went up: up to the great sea my arms I
carried: to the gods I sacrificed; I took tribute of the
Princes of the environs of the sea-coast,
86 of the lands of Tyre, Sidon, Gebal, Maacah[42] Maizai Kaizai,
of Phoenicia and Arvad
87 on the sea-coast--silver, gold, tin, copper, _kam_ of copper,
vestments of wool and linen, _pagutu_[43] great and small,
88 strong timber, wood of _ki_[44] teeth of dolphins, the produce
of the sea, I received as their tribute: my yoke they accepted;
the mountains of Amanus[45] I ascended; wood for
bridges,
89 pines, box, cypress, _li_-wood, I cut down; I offered sacrifices
for my gods; a trophy[46] of victory I made, and in a
central place I erected it;
90 _gusuri_-wood, cedar wood from Amanus I destined for
Bit-Hira,
and my pleasure house called Azmaku, for the temple
of the Moon and Sun the exalted gods.
91 I proceeded to the land of Iz-mehri, and took possession
of it throughout: I cut down beams for bridges of _mehri_
trees, and carried them to Nineveh; (and)
92 to Istar Lady of Nineveh (on) my knees I knelt.[47] In the
eponym of Samas-nuri[48] in the honor of the great Lord
Assur my Lord on the 20th of April[49]
93 from Calach I withdrew--crossed the Tigris--descended
to the land of Kipani, and there, in the city of Huzirina,
received the tribute of the governors of its cities.
94 While stationed at Huzirana I received the tribute of
Ittiel of Nilaya, Giridadi of Assaya, in silver
95 gold, oxen, sheep. In those days I received the tribute in
beams for bridges, cedar wood, silver, gold of Qatuzili
96 of Commagene[50]--withdrew from Huzirina and took my
way upward along the banks of the Euphrates; to Kubbu.[51]
97 I crossed over into the midst of the towns of Assa in
Kirkhi over against Syria. The cities of Umalie and
Khiranu
98 powerful cities centrally situated in Adani I captured; numbers
of their soldiers I slew; spoil beyond reckoning
99 I carried off; the towns I overthrew and demolished; 150
cities of their territory I burned with fire; then from Khiranu
100 I withdrew; I passed over to the environs of the land of
Amadani; I went down among the cities of Dirrie, and
the cities within the lands of
101 Amadani and Arquanie I burned with fire: Mallanu which
is in the middle of Arquanie I took as my own possession;
I withdrew from Mallanu
102 to the cities of Zamba on the sandy outskirt, which I
burned with fire: I passed the river Sua, proceeding up
to the Tigris whose cities
103 on those banks and on these banks of the Tigris in Arkanie
to a heap I reduced: its waters overflowed all Kirkhi: my
yoke they took;
104 their hostages I exacted; a Viceroy of my own I appointed
over them: in the environs of the land of Amadani I
arrived: at Barza-Nistun
105 To Dandamusa the fortified city of Ilani son of Zamani
I drew near and laid siege to it: my warriors like birds
of prey rushed upon them;
106 600 of their warriors I put to the sword and decapitated;
400 I took alive;
107 3,000 captives I brought forth; I took possession of the
city for myself: the living soldiers, and heads to the city
of Amidi[52] the royal city, I sent;
108 heaps of the heads close by his great gate I piled; the
living soldiers I crucified on crosses[53] at the gates of the
town;
109 inside the gates I made carnage; their forests I cut down;[54]
from Amidi I withdrew toward the environs of Kasyari;
the city of Allabzie
110 to whose rocks and stones no one among the Kings my
fathers had ever made approach, I penetrated; to the town
of Uda the fortress of Labduri son of Dubuzi
111 I approached and besieged the city with _bilsi_(?) strengthened
and marching; the city I captured;[55] ... soldiers[56] ... with my
weapons I destroyed; 570 soldiers
112 I captured; 3,000 captives I took forth; soldiers alive I
caught; some I impaled on stakes;[57] of others
113 the eyes I put out: the remainder I carried off to Assur
and took the city as my own possession--I who am Assur-nasir-pal
mighty King, King of Assyria son of Tuklat-Adar, (Tuklat-Ninip)
114 great King, powerful King, King of legions, King of
Assyria son of Vul-nirari[58] great King, mighty King,
King of legions, King of Assyria, noble warrior, who in
the service of Assur his Lord proceeded, and among the
Kings of the four regions,
115 has no equal, a Prince[59] (giving) ordinances, not fearing
opponents, mighty unrivalled leader, a Prince subduer of
the disobedient, who all
116 the thrones of mankind has subdued; powerful King
treading over the heads of his enemies, trampling on the
lands of enemies, breaking down the assemblages of the
wicked; who in the service of the great gods
117 his Lords marched along; whose hand hath taken possession
of all their lands, laid low the forests of all of them,
and received their tributes, taking hostages (and) imposing
laws
118 upon all those lands; when Assur the Lord proclaimer
of my name, aggrandizer of my Royalty, who added his
unequivocal service to the forces of my government
119 I destroyed the armies of the spacious land of Lúlumi.
In battle by weapons I smote them down. With the help
of the Sun-god
120 and Yav, the gods in whom I trust, I rushed upon the
armies of Nairi, Kirkhi Subariya and Nirbi like Yav the
inundator;[60]
121 a King who from the other side the Tigris to the land of
Lebanon and the great sea has subjugated to his yoke the
entire land of Lakie and the land of Zukhi as far as the
city Rapik;
122 to whose yoke is subjected (all) from the sources of the
Zupnat to the frontiers of Bitani; from the borders of
Kirruri to Kirzani;
123 from beyond the Lower Zab to the town of Tulsa-Zabdani
and the town of Tul-Bari beyond the land of Zaban as far
as the towns of Tul-sa-Zabdani and
124 Tul-sa-Abtani; Harimu, Harutu in Birate of Kardunias[61]
to the borders of my land I added; (the inhabitants) of
the territory of Babite
125 with Khasmar among the people of my own country I
accounted: in the countries which I held I established a
deputy: they performed homage: submission
126 I imposed upon them; I, Assur-nasir-pal, great, noble, worshipper
of the great gods, generous, great, mighty
possessors of cities and the forests of all their domains,
King of Lords, consumer of
127 the wicked _taskaru_ invincible, who combats injustice,
Lord of all Kings, King of Kings, glorious, upholder of
Bar (Ninip) the warlike, worshipper
128 of the great gods, a King who, in the service of Assur
and Ninip, gods in whom he trusted, hath marched royally,
and wavering lands and Kings his enemies in all their
lands
129 to his yoke hath subdued, and the rebels against Assur,
high and low, hath opposed and imposed on them impost
and tribute--Assur-nasir-pal
130 mighty King, glory of the Moon-god[62] worshipper of Anu,
related[63] to Yav, suppliant of the gods, an unyielding
servant, destroyer of the land of his foes; I, a King vehement
in war,
131 destroyer of forests and cities, chief over opponents, Lord
of four regions, router of his enemies in strong lands and
forests, and who Kings mighty and fearless from the rising
132 to the setting of the sun to my yoke subjugated.
The former city of Calach which Shalmaneser King of
Assyria going before me, had built--
133 that city was decayed and reduced to a heap of ruins: that
city I built anew; the people captured by my hand of the
countries which I had subdued, Zukhi and Lakie,
134 throughout their entirety, the town of Sirku on the other
side of the Euphrates, all Zamua, Bit-Adini, the Khatti,
and the subjects of Liburna I collected within, I made
them occupy.[64]
135 A water-course from the Upper Zab I dug and called it
Pati-kanik: timber upon its shores I erected: a choice of
animals to Assur my Lord and (for) the Chiefs of my
realm I sacrificed;
136 the ancient mound I threw down: to the level of the water
I brought it: 120 courses on the low level I caused it
to go: its wall I built; from the ground to the summit I
built (and) completed.
[Additional clauses are found on the monolith inscription in the British
Museum. They are not, however, of any great importance and amount to
little more than directions for the preservation and reparation of the
palace, with imprecations upon those who should at any time injure the
buildings. On this same monolith is found an invocation to the great gods
of the Assyrian Pantheon: namely, to Assur, Anu, Hea, Sin [the Moon],
Merodach, Yav Jahve, Jah[?], Ninip, Nebo, Beltis, Nergal, Bel-Dagon, Samas
[the Sun], Istar.]
[Footnote 1: Sivan.]
[Footnote 2: 878 B.C.]
[Footnote 3: Heb. "Tammuz," Assyr. "Duwazu."]
[Footnote 4: A city in Mesopotamia.]
[Footnote 5: "Burattu." In Hebrew (Gen. ii. 14). "Phrat."]
[Footnote 6: Dr. Oppert renders this "Anatho."]
[Footnote 7: Literally, "from the face of."]
[Footnote 8: Probably military engines used in sieges.]
[Footnote 9: Or, sadi-stone shining.]
[Footnote 10: "Kaldu." There are fragments existing in the British Museum
of a treaty made between this Nabu-bal-idin, King of Kardunias
(Babylonia), and Shalmaneser, son of Assur-nasir-pal. v. "Trans. Soc. Bib.
Archæol.," i. 77.]
[Footnote 11: The Hebrew Sivan.]
[Footnote 12: Literally, "impaled on stakes." But Dr. Oppert and Mr.
Norris generally adopt the rendering given in the text, I. 108, p. 194.]
[Footnote 13: It will be observed that this city is differently spelled in
line 27. Irregularities of this kind are very frequent, especially in the
termination of proper names.]
[Footnote 14: See note 3, p. 188.]
[Footnote 15: "Ahuni." See l. 61, p. 191.]
[Footnote 16: The Hebrew Sivan.]
[Footnote 17: Or, "as it were situated among the storm-clouds of heaven."]
[Footnote 18: The nature of these engines ("bilsi") is uncertain.]
[Footnote 19: I.e., stony-hill.]
[Footnote 20: Or, lead.]
[Footnote 21: Possibly "humiliation," from the Chaldee "rama."]
[Footnote 22: Airu.]
[Footnote 23: Carchemish. Cf. Jeremiah xlvi. 2.]
[Footnote 24: Tribe(?).]
[Footnote 25: Or, lead.]
[Footnote 26: Some projecting ornament, like "horns of an altar." Cf. Ps.
cxviii. 27; Exod. xxx. 2.]
[Footnote 27: Probably some utensils, as explained by the Hebrew word
"unutu" ("anioth").]
[Footnote 28: Or, with Mr. Norris, "the whole of it was not taken." Dict.,
p. 558.]
[Footnote 29: The words specified are "sa" or "issa," "passur," and
probably "ebony"; the others have not been identified.]
[Footnote 30: Probably "in ivory."]
[Footnote 31: Labnana.]
[Footnote 32: Hazazi.]
[Footnote 33: Prince.]
[Footnote 34: The Inscription is here defaced.]
[Footnote 35: May this be the Hebrew word for garments, "beged"?]
[Footnote 36: Defaced.]
[Footnote 37: Arunte.]
[Footnote 38: Defaced.]
[Footnote 39: Defaced.]
[Footnote 40: Precisely thus: "The King of Assyria brought men from
Babylon ... and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the
children of Israel."--2 Kings xvii. 24.]
[Footnote 41: "Akhari." Heb. [Hebrew: achari].]
[Footnote 42: Literally, Zurai, Sidunai, Gubalai, Makullat.]
[Footnote 43: See p. 192, note 5.]
[Footnote 44: Ebony.]
[Footnote 45: The mountain chain which divides Syria from Cilicia.]
[Footnote 46: Or, proof.]
[Footnote 47: Literally, sat.]
[Footnote 48: I.e., "the sun is my light."]
[Footnote 49: Assyr. "Airu," Heb. "Iyar." 866 B.C.]
[Footnote 50: Literally, Kumukhaya.]
[Footnote 51: Between Carchemish and the Orontes.]
[Footnote 52: Diarbekr, still known by the name of "Kar-Amid." Rawlinson's
"Herodotus," l. 466. The name is of frequent occurrence in early Christian
writers.]
[Footnote 53: See p. 188, note 2.]
[Footnote 54: Cf. Is. x. 34, "He shall cut down the thickets of the forest
with iron"; also Ezek. xxxix. 10.]
[Footnote 55: The inscription is here defaced.]
[Footnote 56: Defaced.]
[Footnote 57: See p. 188, note 2.]
[Footnote 58: The grandfather of Assur-nasir-pal. His reign probably
terminated at 889 B.C.]
[Footnote 59: Literally, shepherd. Thus, Isa. xliv. 28, "Cyrus is my
shepherd."]
[Footnote 60: Cf. Ps. xxix. 10, "The Lord (Jhvh) sitteth upon the flood;
yea the Lord sitteth King forever."]
[Footnote 61: This reads like an annexation of a portion of Babylonian
territory.]
[Footnote 62: Or upholder, proclaimer of Sin, the moon; of. I. 127.]
[Footnote 63: Assyr. "Nalad." Cf. the Heb. yâlad "born of."]
[Footnote 64: Precisely thus were the Israelites carried away to Babylon.]