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With the strength of the god Aššur, my lord, I surrounded, conquered, and plundered 75 of his fortified cities, fortresses of Chaldea, and 420 smaller settlements in their environs. I brought out the auxiliary forces of the Arameans and Chaldeans who were in Uruk, Nippur, Kish, Ḫursagkalama, Cutha, and Sippar, together with the guilty citizens, and I counted them as booty.

On my return march, I defeated all together the Tuʾumuna, Riḫiḫu, Yadaqqu, Ubudu, Gibrê, Maliḫu Malaḫu, Gurumu, Ubulu, Damunu, Gambulu, Ḫindaru, Ruʾuʾa, Puqudu, Ḫamrānu, Ḫagarānu, Nabatu, and Liʾtaʾu, insubmissive Arameans. I carried off into Assyria a substantial booty consisting of 208,000 people, young and old, male and female, horses, mules, donkeys, camels, oxen, and sheep and goats, which were without number.

I put to the sword the population of the city Ḫirimmu, a dangerous enemy, and I did not spare a single one. I hung their corpses on poles and placed them around the city. I reorganized that district and imposed for eternity one yoke ox, ten sheep, ten homers of wine, and twenty homers of dates as his first-fruits offerings to the gods of Assyria, my lords.

I had a stele made, had all the victorious conquests that I achieved over them written on it, and I erected it in that city.

I turned around (I turned the front of my yoke) and took the road to the land Ellipi. Before my arrival, Ispabāra, their king, abandoned his fortified cities and his treasury and fled far away. I overwhelmed all of his wide land like a fog. I surrounded, conquered, destroyed, devastated, and burned with fire the cities Marʾubištu and Akkuddu, cities of his royal house, together with thirty-four smaller settlements in their environs.

I carried off people, young and old, male and female, horses, mules, donkeys, camels, oxen, and sheep and goats without number, then I brought him Ispabāra to nought and made his land smaller. I detached from his land the cities Ṣiṣṣirtu and Kummaḫlum, fortified cities, together with the smaller settlements in their environs and the district of the land Bīt-Barrû in its entirety, and I added this area to the territory of Assyria.

I took the city Elenzaš as a royal city and a fortress for that district, then I changed its former name and called it Kār-Sennacherib. I settled therein the people of the lands that I had conquered. I placed it under the authority of a eunuch of mine, the governor of the city Ḫarḫar, and thus enlarged my land.

On my third campaign, I marched to the land Ḫatti. Fear of my lordly brilliance overwhelmed Lulî, the king of the city Sidon, and he fled afar into the midst of the sea and disappeared. The awesome terror of the weapon of the god Aššur, my lord, overwhelmed the cities Great Sidon, Lesser Sidon, Bīt-Zitti, Ṣarepta, Maḫalliba, Ušû, Akzibu, and Acco, his fortified cities and fortresses, an area of pastures and water-places, resources upon which he relied, and they bowed down at my feet.

I placed Tu-Baʾlu on the royal throne over them and imposed upon him tribute and payment in recognition of my overlordship to be delivered yearly and without interruption

I imposed upon him (Šarru-lū-dāri) the payment of tribute and gifts in recognition of my overlordship so that he now pulls my yoke.

In the course of my campaign, I surrounded, conquered, and plundered the cities Bīt-Daganna, Joppa, Banayabarqa, and Azuru, the cities of Ṣidqâ that had not submitted to me quickly.

As for the governors, the nobles, and the people of the city Ekron who had thrown Padî, their king who was bound by treaty and oaths to Assyria, into iron fetters and who had handed him over to Hezekiah of the land Judah in a hostile manner, they became frightened on account of the villainous acts they had committed. They formed a confederation with the kings of Egypt and the archers, chariots, and horses of the king of the land Meluḫḫa, forces without number, and they came to their aid.

In the plain of the city Eltekeh, they sharpened their weapons while drawing up in battleline before me. With the support of the god Aššur, my lord, I fought with them and defeated them. In the thick of battle, I captured alive the Egyptian charioteers and princes (the sons of the king), together with the charioteers of the king of the land Meluḫḫa.

I surrounded, conquered, and plundered the cities Eltekeh and Tamnâ. I approached the city Ekron and I killed the governors and nobles who had committed crimes and hung their corpses on towers around the city; I counted the citizens who had committed the criminal acts as booty; and I commanded that the rest of them, those who were not guilty of crimes or wrongdoing, to whom no penalty was due, be allowed to go free.

Moreover, as for Hezekiah of the land Judah, who had not submitted to my yoke, I surrounded and conquered forty-six of his fortified walled cities and smaller settlements in their environs, which were without number, by having ramps trodden down and battering rams brought up, the assault of foot soldiers, sapping, breaching, and siege engines. I brought out of them 200,150 people, young and old, male and female, horses, mules, donkeys, camels, oxen, and sheep and goats, which were without number, and I counted them as booty.

As for him Hezekiah, I confined him inside the city Jerusalem, his royal city, like a bird in a cage. I set up blockades against him and made made him dread exiting his city gate. I detached from his land the cities of his that I had plundered and I gave them to Mitinti, the king of the city Ashdod, Padî, the king of the city Ekron, and Ṣilli-Bēl, the king of the city Gaza,

On my fourth campaign, the god Aššur, my lord, encouraged me so that I mustered my numerous troops and ordered the march to the land Bīt-Yakīn. In the course of my campaign, I defeated Šūzubu (Mušēzib-Marduk), a Chaldean who lives in the marshes, at the city Bittūtu. As for him, terror of doing battle with me fell upon him and his heart pounded. He fled alone like a lynx and his hiding place could not be found.

I turned around (I turned the front of my yoke) and took the road to the land Bīt-Yakīn. He — Marduk-apla-iddina II (Merodach-baladan), whom I had defeated and whose forces I had scattered during my first campaign — became frightened by the clangor of my mighty weapons and my fierce battle array, then dislodged the gods of the full extent of his land from their abodes, and loaded them onto boats. He flew away like a bird to the city Nagīte-raqqi, which is in the midst of the sea. I brought his brothers, the seed of his father’s house, whom he had abandoned at the shore of the sea, together with the rest of the people of his land, out of the land Bīt-Yakīn, which is in the swamps and marshes, and I counted them as booty.

On my return march, I placed Aššur-nādin-šumi, my first-born son whom I raised on my own knee, on his lordly throne and entrusted him with the wide land of Sumer and Akkad.

From the booty of those lands that I had plundered, I conscripted 20,000 archers and 15,000 shield bearers and added them to my royal contingent. I divided up the rest of the substantial enemy booty like sheep and goats among my entire camp and my governors, and the people of my great cult centers.

At that time, Nineveh, the exalted cult center, the city loved by the goddess Ištar in which all of the rituals for gods and goddesses are present; the enduring foundation and eternal base whose plan had been designed by the stars (writing) of the firmament and whose arrangement was made manifest since time immemorial; a sophisticated place and site of secret lore in which every kind of skilled craftsmanship, all of the rituals, and the secrets of the lalgar cosmic subterranean water are apprehended;

in which since time immemorial earlier kings, my ancestors, before me exercised dominion over Assyria and ruled the subjects of the god Enlil; but not one among them had conceived of and put his mind towards increasing the site of the city, building walls, straightening the streets, or dredging the river and planting orchards; nor had any of them paid heed to or shown interest in the palace inside it, the seat of lordly dwelling whose site had become too small and whose construction was inexpert:

But as for me, Sennacherib, king of the world, king of Assyria, the performing of this work came to my attention by the will of the gods and I put my mind to it. I forcibly removed the people of Chaldea, Aramean tribes, the land of the Manneans, the lands Que, Ḫilakku, and Philistia, and the land of the city Tyre, who had not submitted to my yoke, then I made them carry baskets of earth and they made bricks.

They quarried mountain sheep colossi of white limestone in the city Tastiate, which is across the Tigris River, to be their (the palatial halls’) gatekeepers. Throughout their entire land they depleted forests of large trees to have boats built. In the month Ayyāru II, the time of spring floods, they brought the colossi across to this side of the river with difficulty in magnificent boats. They sank large boats at the quay dock and then made their crews struggle and strain. With might and main, they struggled to transport the colossi and install them in their gates.

The Tebilti River, a tempestuous flood of water which had flowed from distant days by the side of the palace and which had caused erosion in its foundation when its flood was in full spate and had shaken its base:

In the hidden depths of its subterranean waters I bonded together, with bitumen, reeds below and strong mountain stone above, then I raised that area out of the water and converted it to dry land. I added to the dimensions of the former terrace a plot of land that was 288 cubits wide. In total, I filled in and measured a terrace of 700 large aslu-cubits along its longer side, 176 large aslu-cubits along its upper, northern shorter side, 268 large aslu-cubits along the inner, shorter side, which is opposite the zamû-wall of the shrine behind the temple of the goddess Ištar, 443 large aslu-cubits along the other, parallel, inner shorter side, which is on the west behind the ziggurrat of the temple of the goddess Ištar, and 386 large aslu-cubits along the lower, southern shorter side, which is beside the Tigris River.

In order to prevent the foundation of the terrace from being weakened over the passage of time by cresting floods, I surrounded its base with large limestone slabs and thereby reinforced its base.

I inscribed objects bearing my name 160 courses of brick within the terrace and I deposited them deep down in its foundation for ever after.

Afterwards, I decided to increase the height of the terrace, then I added 30 courses of brick to the former terrace and thus I raised it to a height of 190 courses of brick. I made the area larger than before, added it to the former dimensions of the palace, and thus enlarged its structure.

I had a palace of breccia, alabaster, elephant ivory, ebony, boxwood, musukkannu-wood, cedar, cypress, juniper, and elammaku-wood, a palace that I named Egalzagdinutukua ("The Palace Without a Rival"), constructed thereon as my royal residence.

I roofed them the palatial halls with beams of cedar and cypress, whose scent is sweet, products of Mount Amanus and the yield of Mount Sirāra, the holy mountains. I fastened bands of shining silver and bright copper on magnificent doors of cedar, cypress, and juniper and I installed them in their gates. I decorated them the doors with silver and copper knobbed nails. I adorned the arches, friezes, and all of the copings with baked bricks glazed in the color of obsidian and lapis lazuli.

Twelve striding lions of shining copper and fierce demeanor, which were standing opposite one another, which were skillfully cast through the craftsmanship of the god Ninagal, and which were filled with radiance — upon those lion colossi I installed two identical columns that were cast from bronze, together with four large cedar columns, and I positioned cross-beams upon them as a cornice for their gates.

Moreover, I made twelve mountain sheep colossi of cast bright urudû-copper, which are splendid in form and perfect in shape, two mountain sheep colossi of alabaster, and seventy-two mountain sheep colossi and sphinxes of white limestone suitable for holding the door bolts for leaving and entering.

I engraved on slabs of breccia and alabaster, and on large limestone slabs images of the enemy settlements that I had conquered. I surrounded their (the palace rooms’) lower courses with them and made them an object of wonder.

Nineveh, the site of whose circumference had been 9,300 cubits since former times and for which no earlier ruler had had an inner or outer wall built — I added 12,515 cubits in the plain around the city to its previous measurement and thus established its dimensions as 21,815 large cubits.

I had fourteen gates opened up in it in four directions, in front and behind, and along both sides, for entering and leaving.

"The God Šarur Is the One Who Cuts Down the King’s Enemy": this is the Ḫandūru Gate. "May the Vice-Regent of the God Aššur Endure":

this is the Šamaš Gate, which leads to the land Gagal. "O Ištar Bless the One Who Provides for You!": this is the Mullissu Gate, which leads to the city Kār-Mullissi. "The One Who Exorcises the ‘Flesh’ of the Asakku-demon": this is the Step Gate. "The Choicest of Grain and Flocks Are Constantly Inside It": this is the gate that leads to the city Šibaniba. "The Bearer of the Produce of the Mountains": this is the gate that leads to the land Ḫalaḫḫu. In total, eight gates facing the rising sun, towards the south and east, and I gave them these names.

"The God Adad Is the Provider of Prosperity to the Land": this is the Adad Gate, which leads to the game preserve. "The God Erra Is the One Who Cuts Down Enemies": this is the Nergal Gate, which leads to the city Tarbiṣu. "The God Igisigsig Is the One Who Makes Orchards Flourish": this is the Gate of the Gardens. In total, three gates facing towards the north and I gave them these names.

"The God Ea Is the One Who Properly Directs Water Flow into My Cisterns": this is the Mašqû Gate. "The One Who Brings in Income from the Settlements": this is the Quay Gate. "The One Who Regulates Everything": this is the Armory Gate. In total, three gates facing towards the west and I gave them these names.

I enlarged the site of Nineveh, my capital city. I broadened its squares, making them as bright as day.

For the expansion of orchards, I subdivided the meadowland upstream of the city into plots of two pānu each for the citizens of Nineveh and I handed them over to them. To make those planted areas luxuriant, I cut with iron picks a canal straight through mountain and valley, from the border of the city Kisiru to the plain of Nineveh. I caused an inexhaustible supply of water to flow there for a distance of one and a half leagues from the Ḫusur River

I cut down musukkannu-trees and cypress trees grown in the orchards and marsh reeds from the swamps and I used them in the work required to build my lordly palatial halls.

After I had finished the work on my palace, I invited inside it the god Aššur, the great lord, and the gods and goddesses living in Assyria, then I made splendid offerings and presented my gifts. I made fine oil from olives and aromatics from the orchards planted on newly tilled soil. At the inauguration of the palace, I had the heads of the subjects of my land drenched and I watered their insides with sweet wine.

In the future, may one of the kings, my descendants, whom the god Aššur names for shepherding the land and people, renovate its dilapidated sections when that wall becomes old and dilapidated. May he find an inscribed object bearing my name, anoint it with oil, make an offering, and return it to its place. The god Aššur and the goddess Ištar will then hear his prayers.

Nisannu I, the twenty-seventh day, eponymy of Nabû-dūrī-uṣur, governor of the city Tamnunna.

Sennacherib, great king, strong king, king of the world, king of Assyria, king of the four quarters of the world, capable shepherd, favorite of the great gods, guardian of truth who loves justice, renders assistance, goes to the aid of the weak, and strives after good deeds, perfect man, virile warrior, foremost of all rulers, the bridle that controls the insubmissive, and the one who strikes enemies with lightning:

The god Aššur, the great mountain, granted to me unrivalled sovereignty and made my weapons greater than those of all who sit on royal daises. He made all of the black-headed people from the Upper Sea of the Setting Sun to the Lower Sea of the Rising Sun bow down at my feet. Thus did recalcitrant rulers come to fear battle with me. While they were abandoning their settlements, they flew away alone like bats living in crevices to inaccessible places.

On my first campaign, I brought about the defeat of Marduk-apla-iddina II (Merodach-baladan), king of Karduniaš Babylonia, together with the troops of the land Elam, his allies, in the plain of Kish. In the midst of that battle he abandoned his camp, fled alone, and thereby saved his life. I seized the chariots, horses, wagons, and mules that he had abandoned in the thick of battle.

I joyfully entered his palace, which is in Babylon, then I opened his treasury and brought out gold, silver, gold and silver utensils, precious stones, all kinds of possessions and property without number, a substantial tribute, together with his palace women, courtiers, attendants, male singers, female singers, all of the craftsmen, as many as there were, and his palace attendants, and I counted them as booty.

With the strength of the god Aššur, my lord, I surrounded, conquered, and plundered 75 of his fortified cities, fortresses of Chaldea, and 420 smaller settlements in their environs. I brought out the auxiliary forces of the Arameans and Chaldeans who were in Uruk, Nippur, Kish, Ḫursagkalama, Cutha, and Sippar, together with the guilty citizens, and I counted them as booty.

On my return march, I defeated all together the Tuʾumuna, Riḫiḫu, Yadaqqu, Ubudu, Gibrê, Malaḫu, Gurumu, Ubulu, Damunu, Gambulu, Ḫindaru, Ruʾuʾa, Puqudu, Ḫamrānu, Ḫagarānu, Nabatu, and Liʾtaʾu, insubmissive Arameans. I carried off into Assyria a substantial booty consisting of 208,000 people, young and old, male and female, horses, mules, donkeys, camels, oxen, and sheep and goats, which were without number.

I put to the sword the population of the city Ḫirimmu, a dangerous enemy, and I did not spare a single one. I hung their corpses on poles and placed them around the city. I reorganized that district and imposed for eternity one ox, ten sheep, ten homers of wine, and twenty homers of dates as his first-fruits offerings to the gods of Assyria, my lords.

On my second campaign, the god Aššur, my lord, encouraged me and I marched to the land of the Kassites and the land of the Yasubigallians, who since time immemorial had not submitted to the kings, my ancestors. In the high mountains, difficult terrain, I rode on horseback and had my personal chariot carried on (men’s) necks. In very rugged terrain I roamed about on foot like a wild bull.

I made that city Bīt-Kilamzaḫ a fortress again and I strengthened its walls more than before, then I settled therein the people of the lands that I had conquered. I brought down from the mountains the people of the land of the Kassites and the land of the Yasubigallians who had fled from my weapons and I made them dwell in the cities Ḫardišpu and Bīt-Kubatti. I placed them under the authority of a eunuch of mine, the governor of the city Arrapḫa. I had a stele made, had all the victorious conquests that I achieved over them written on it, and I erected it in that city.

I turned around (I turned the front of my yoke) and took the road to the land Ellipi. Before my arrival, Ispabāra, their king, abandoned his fortified cities and his treasury and fled far away. I overwhelmed all of his wide land like a fog. I surrounded, conquered, destroyed, devastated, and burned with fire the cities Marʾubištu and Akkuddu, cities of his royal house, together with thirty-four smaller settlements in their environs.

I carried off people, young and old, male and female, horses, mules, donkeys, camels, oxen, and sheep and goats without number, then I brought him Ispabāra to nought and made his land smaller. I detached from his land the cities Ṣiṣṣirtu and Kummaḫlum, fortified cities, together with the smaller settlements in their environs and the district of the land Bīt-Barrû in its entirety, and I added this area to the territory of Assyria

I placed Tu-Baʾlu on the royal throne over them and imposed upon him tribute and payment in recognition of my overlordship to be delivered yearly and without interruption.

As for Minuḫimmu of the city Samsimuruna, Tu-Baʾlu of the city Sidon, Abdi-Liʾti of the city Arwad, Ūru-Milki of the city Byblos, Mitinti of the city Ashdod, Būdi-il of the land Bīt-Ammon, Kammūsu-nadbi of the land Moab, Aya-rāmu of the land Edom, all of the kings of the land Amurru, they brought extensive gifts, four times the normal amount, as their substantial audience gift before me and kissed my feet.

Moreover, as for Ṣidqâ, the king of the city Ashkelon who had not bowed down to my yoke, I forcibly removed the gods of his father’s house, himself, his wife, his sons, his daughters, his brothers, and other offspring of his father’s house and took him to Assyria.

As for the governors, the nobles, and the people of the city Ekron who had thrown Padî, their king who was bound by treaty and oaths to Assyria, into iron fetters and who had handed him over to Hezekiah of the land Judah in a hostile manner, they became frightened on account of the villainous acts they had committed. They formed a confederation with the kings of Egypt and the archers, chariots, and horses of the king of the land Meluḫḫa, forces without number, and they came to their aid.

In the plain of the city Eltekeh, they sharpened their weapons while drawing up in battleline before me. With the support of the god Aššur, my lord, I fought with them and defeated them. In the thick of battle, I captured alive the Egyptian charioteers and princes (the sons of the king), together with the charioteers of the king of the land Meluḫḫa.

Moreover, as for Hezekiah of the land Judah, who had not submitted to my yoke, I surrounded and conquered forty-six of his fortified cities, fortresses, and smaller settlements in their environs, which were without number, by having ramps trodden down and battering rams brought up, the assault of foot soldiers, sapping, breaching, and siege engines. I brought out of them 200,150 people, young and old, male and female, horses, mules, donkeys, camels, oxen, and sheep and goats, which were without number, and I counted them as booty.

As for him Hezekiah, I confined him inside the city Jerusalem, his royal city, like a bird in a cage. I set up blockades against him and made him dread exiting his city gate. I detached from his land the cities of his that I had plundered and I gave them to Mitinti, the king of the city Ashdod, Padî, the king of the city Ekron, and Ṣilli-Bēl, the king of the city Gaza, and thereby made his land smaller. To the former tribute, their annual giving, I added the payment of gifts in recognition of my overlordship and imposed it upon them.

On my fourth campaign, the god Aššur, my lord, encouraged me so that I mustered my numerous troops and ordered the march to the land Bīt-Yakīn. In the course of my campaign, I defeated Šūzubu (Mušēzib-Marduk), a Chaldean who lives in the marshes, at the city Bittūtu. As for him, terror of doing battle with me fell upon him and his heart pounded. He fled alone like a lynx and his hiding place could not be found.

I turned around (I turned the front of my yoke) and took the road to the land Bīt-Yakīn. He — Marduk-apla-iddina II (Merodach-baladan), whom I had defeated and whose forces I had scattered during my first campaign — became frightened by the clangor of my mighty weapons and my fierce battle array. He flew away like a bird to the city Nagīte-raqqi, which is in the midst of the sea. I brought his brothers, the seed of his father’s house, whom he had abandoned at the shore of the sea, together with the rest of the people of his land, out of the land Bīt-Yakīn, which is in the swamps and marshes, and I counted them as booty.

Like a fierce wild bull, with my select bodyguard and my merciless combat troops, I took the lead of them the soldiers in my camp. I proceeded through the gorges of the streams, the outflows of the mountains, and rugged slopes in my chair. Where it was too difficult for my chair, I leapt forward on my own two feet like a mountain goat. I ascended the highest peaks against them. Where my knees became tired, I sat down upon the mountain rock and drank cold water from a water skin to quench my thirst.

I pursued them on the peaks of the mountains and defeated them. I conquered, plundered, destroyed, devastated, and burned with fire their cities.

I turned around (I turned the front of my yoke) and took the road against Maniye, the king of the city Ukku and an insubmissive mountain-dweller. Before my time, none of the former kings of the past had marched through the untrodden paths and difficult trails on account of the rugged mountains. I had my camp pitched at the foot of Mount Anara and Mount Uppa, mighty mountains, and I myself, in an armchair, with my crack combat troops, entered their narrow passes with great difficulty and ascended with a struggle the steep mountain peaks.

He, Maniye, saw the dust cloud stirred up by the feet of my troops, then he abandoned the city Ukku, his royal city, and fled afar. I surrounded, conquered, and plundered the city Ukku. I brought out of it every kind of possession and property, the treasures of his palace, and I counted it as booty.

Moreover, I conquered thirty-three cities on the borders of his district and carried off from them people, donkeys, oxen, and sheep and goats. Then I destroyed them, devastated them, and burned them with fire.

From the booty of those lands that I had plundered, I conscripted 20,000 archers and 15,000 shield bearers and added them to my royal contingent. I divided up the rest of the substantial enemy booty like sheep and goats among my entire camp and my governors, and the people of my great cult centers.

At that time, Nineveh, the exalted cult center, the city loved by the goddess Ištar in which all of the rituals for gods and goddesses are present; the enduring foundation and eternal base whose plan had been designed by the stars (writing) of the firmament and whose arrangement was made manifest since time immemorial; a sophisticated place and site of secret lore in which every kind of skilled craftsmanship, all of the rituals, and the secrets of the lalgar cosmic subterranean water are apprehended;

in which since time immemorial earlier kings, my ancestors, before me exercised dominion over Assyria and ruled the subjects of the god Enlil; but not one among them had conceived of and put his mind towards increasing the site of the city, building walls, straightening the streets, or dredging the river and planting orchards; nor had any of them paid heed to or shown interest in the palace inside it, the seat of lordly dwelling whose site had become too small and whose construction was inexpert:

But as for me, Sennacherib, king of the world, king of Assyria, the performing of this work came to my attention by the will of the gods and I put my mind to it. I forcibly removed the people of Chaldea, Aramean tribes, the land of the Manneans, the lands Que, Ḫilakku, and Philistia, and the city Tyre, who had not submitted to my yoke, then I made them carry baskets of earth and they made bricks.

The former palace, which was 360 cubits long, 80 cubits wide opposite the zamû-wall of the ziggurrat, 134 cubits wide opposite the tower of the temple of the goddess Ištar, and 95 cubits wide opposite the tower of the Bīt-Kidmuri; which earlier kings, my ancestors, had had constructed for their lordly dwelling, but whose construction they had carried out inexpertly:

They quarried mountain sheep colossi of white limestone in the city Tastiate, which is across the Tigris River, to be their (the palatial halls’) gatekeepers. Throughout their entire land they depleted forests of large trees to have boats built. In the month Ayyāru II, the time of spring floods, they brought the colossi across to this side of the river with difficulty in magnificent boats. They sank large boats at the quay dock and then made their crews struggle and strain. With might and main, they struggled to transport the colossi and install them in their gates.

The Tebilti River, a tempestuous flood of water which had flowed from distant days by the side of the palace and which had caused erosion in its foundation when its flood was in full spate and had shaken its base:

In the hidden depths of its subterranean waters I bonded together, with bitumen, reeds below and strong mountain stone above, then I raised a plot of land that was 340 cubits long and 288 cubits wide out of the Ḫusur River and converted it to dry land. I added it to the dimensions of the former terrace. I filled in a terrace of 700 large aslu-cubits along its longer side, 176 large aslu-cubits along its upper, northern shorter side, 268 large aslu-cubits along the inner, shorter side, which is opposite the zamû-wall of the shrine behind the temple of the goddess Ištar, 443 large aslu-cubits along the other, parallel, inner shorter side, which is on the west behind the ziggurrat of the temple of the goddess Ištar, and 386 large aslu-cubits along the lower, southern shorter side, which is beside the Tigris River. I raised its superstructure 190 courses of brick high.

So that the construction of my palace might be carried out correctly and that my handiwork be completed, at that time, the god Aššur and the goddess Ištar revealed to me the presence of white limestone in the city Balāṭāya. Therein, I quarried mighty mountain sheep colossi, sphinxes, and large stone slabs for the construction of my lordly palace.

In order to prevent the foundation of the terrace from being weakened over the passage of time by cresting floods, I surrounded its base with large limestone slabs and thereby reinforced its base.

I had a palace of breccia, alabaster, elephant ivory, ebony, boxwood, musukkannu-wood, cedar, cypress, juniper, and elammaku-wood, a palace that I named Egalzagdinutukua ("The Palace Without a Rival"), constructed thereon as my royal residence.

For my lordly pleasure, I had a portico, a replica of a Hittite palace, which is called bīt-ḫilāni in the language of the land Amurru, constructed inside them.

Twelve striding lions of shining copper and fierce demeanor, which were standing opposite one another, which were skillfully cast through the craftsmanship of the god Ninagal, and which were filled with radiance — upon those lion colossi I installed two identical columns that were cast from bronze, together with four large cedar columns, and I positioned cross-beams upon them as a cornice for their gates.

Moreover, I made twelve mountain sheep colossi of cast bright urudû-copper, which are splendid in form and perfect in shape, two mountain sheep colossi of alabaster, and seventy-two mountain sheep colossi and sphinxes of white limestone suitable for holding the door bolts for leaving and entering.

I planted alongside it the palace a botanical garden, a replica of Mount Amanus, which has all kinds of aromatic plants and fruit trees, trees that are the mainstay of the mountains and Chaldea, together with cotton trees (trees bearing wool), collected inside it.

"The God Šarur Is the One Who Cuts Down the King’s Enemy": this is the Ḫandūru Gate. "May the Vice-Regent of the God Aššur Endure": this is the Aššur Gate, which leads to the Inner City Aššur. "The One Who Flattens All Enemies": this is the Sennacherib Gate, which leads to the land Ḫalzi. "The God Enlil Is the One Who Makes My Reign Firm": this is the Šamaš Gate, which leads to the land Gagal. "O Ištar Bless the One Who Provides for You!": this is the Mullissu Gate, which leads to the city Kār-Mullissi. "The One Who Exorcises the ‘Flesh’ of the Asakku-demon": this is the Step Gate. "The Choicest of Grain and Flocks Are Constantly Inside It": this is the gate that leads to the city Šibaniba. "The Bearer of the Produce of the Mountains": this is the gate that leads to the land Ḫalaḫḫu. In total, eight gates facing the rising sun, towards the south and east, and I gave them these names.

"The God Adad Is the Provider of Prosperity to the Land": this is the Adad Gate, which leads to the game preserve. "The God Erra Is the One Who Cuts Down Enemies": this is the Nergal Gate, which leads to the city Tarbiṣu. "The God Igisigsig Is the One Who Makes Orchards Flourish": this is the Gate of the Gardens. In total, three gates facing towards the north and I gave them these names.

I enlarged the site of Nineveh, my capital city. I broadened its squares, making them as bright as day. I had an inner and outer wall built and I raised them as high as mountains.

For the expansion of orchards, I subdivided the meadowland upstream of the city into plots of two pānu each for the citizens of Nineveh and I handed them over to them. To make those planted areas luxuriant, I cut with iron picks a canal straight through mountain and valley, from the border of the city Kisiru to the plain of Nineveh. I caused an inexhaustible supply of water to flow there for a distance of one and a half leagues from the Ḫusur River and made it gush through feeder canals into those gardens.

I cut down musukkannu-trees and cypress trees grown in the orchards and marsh reeds from the swamps and I used them in the work required to build my lordly palatial halls. They picked cotton (trees bearing wool) and wove it into clothing.

After I had finished the work on my palace, I invited inside it the god Aššur, the great lord, and the gods and goddesses living in Assyria, then I made splendid offerings and presented my gifts. I made fine oil from olives and aromatics from the orchards planted on newly tilled soil. At the inauguration of the palace, I had the heads of the subjects of my land drenched and I watered their insides with sweet wine.

In the future, may one of the kings, my descendants, whom the god Aššur names for shepherding the land and people, renovate its dilapidated sections when that wall becomes old and dilapidated. May he find an inscribed object bearing my name, anoint it with oil, make an offering, and return it to its place. The god Aššur and the goddess Ištar will then hear his prayers.

Sennacherib, great king, strong king, king of the world, king of Assyria, king of the four quarters of the world, capable shepherd, favorite of the great gods, guardian of truth who loves justice, renders assistance, goes to the aid of the weak, and strives after good deeds, perfect man, virile warrior, foremost of all rulers, the bridle that controls the insubmissive, and the one who strikes enemies with lightning:

The god Aššur, the great mountain, granted to me unrivalled sovereignty and made my weapons greater than those of all who sit on royal daises. He made all of the black-headed people from the Upper Sea of the Setting Sun to the Lower Sea of the Rising Sun bow down at my feet. Thus did recalcitrant rulers come to fear battle with me. While they were abandoning their settlements, they flew away alone like bats living in crevices to inaccessible places.

On my first campaign, I brought about the defeat of Marduk-apla-iddina II (Merodach-baladan), king of Karduniaš Babylonia, together with the troops of the land Elam, his allies, in the plain of Kish. In the midst of that battle he abandoned his camp, fled alone, and thereby saved his life. I seized the chariots, horses, wagons, and mules that he had abandoned in the thick of battle.

I joyfully entered his palace, which is in Babylon, then I opened his treasury and brought out gold, silver, gold and silver utensils, precious stones, all kinds of possessions and property without number, a substantial tribute, together with his palace women, courtiers, attendants, male singers, female singers, all of the craftsmen, as many as there were, and his palace attendants, and I counted them as booty.

With the strength of the god Aššur, my lord, I surrounded, conquered, and plundered 75 of his fortified cities, fortresses of Chaldea, and 420 smaller settlements in their environs. I brought out the auxiliary forces of the Arameans and Chaldeans who were in Uruk, Nippur, Kish, Ḫursagkalama, Cutha, and Sippar, together with the guilty citizens, and I counted them as booty.

On my return march, I defeated all together the Tuʾumuna, Riḫiḫu, Yadaqqu, Ubudu, Gibrê, Malaḫu, Gurumu, Ubulu, Damunu, Gambulu, Ḫindaru, Ruʾuʾa, Puqudu, Ḫamrānu, Ḫagarānu, Nabatu, and Liʾtaʾu, insubmissive Arameans. I carried off into Assyria a substantial booty consisting of 208,000 people, young and old, male and female, horses, mules, donkeys, camels, oxen, and sheep and goats, which were without number.

I put to the sword the population of the city Ḫirimmu, a dangerous enemy, and I did not spare a single one. I hung their corpses on poles and placed them around the city. I reorganized that district and imposed for eternity one ox, ten sheep, ten homers of wine, and twenty homers of dates as his first-fruits offerings to the gods of Assyria, my lords.