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"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 My Enemies": this is the Nergal Gate, which leads to the city Tarbiṣu. "The Divine Nannāru Is the One Who Makes Firm My Lordly Crown": this is the Sîn Gate. "The God Ea Is the One Who Properly Directs Water Flow into My Cisterns": this is the Mašqû Gate. "May Its Builder Endure": this is the Step Gate of the Palace. "The God Igisigsig Is the One Who Makes Orchards Flourish": this is the Step Gate of the Gardens. "The One Who Brings in Income from the Settlements": this is the Quay Gate. "May Its Builder Live Forever": this is the Step Gate of the Armory. "The God Anu Is the Protector of My Life": this is the gate of the section assigned to the land Barḫalzi. "The Presents of the People of Tēma and Sumuʾel Enter Through It": this is the Desert Gate. In total, ten gates facing towards the north and west and I gave them these names. |
I enlarged the site of Nineveh, my capital city. For the course of a royal road, I made its streets fifty-two large cubits wide and thus I made the city as bright as day |
I created a marsh to moderate the flow of those waters and planted a canebrake in it. I let loose in it herons, wild boars (pigs of the reeds), and roe deer. By divine will, vines, all kinds of fruit trees, olive trees, and aromatic trees flourished greatly in those gardens planted on newly tilled soil. (Cypress trees, musukkannu-trees, and) all kinds of trees grew tall and sent out shoots. The marshes thrived greatly. Birds of the heavens, herons whose homes are far away, made nests and wild boars and roe deer gave birth in abundance. |
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. 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. |
As for him, Hezekiah, fear of my lordly brilliance overwhelmed him and he had the auxiliary forces and his elite troops whom he had brought inside the city Jerusalem, his royal city, along with 30 talents of gold, 800 talents of silver, every kind of treasure of his palace, as well as his daughters, his palace women, male singers, and female singers brought into Nineveh and he sent a mounted messenger of his to me to deliver this payment. |
He, Maniye, heard about the advance of my expeditionary force, then he abandoned the city Ukku, his royal city, and fled afar. I entered his palace and, as his substantial audience gift, I carried off every kind of possession and property, which were without number. |
I destroyed, devastated, and burned with fire his cities, and made them like ruin hills created by the Deluge. |
From the booty of those lands, I conscripted 20,400 archers and 20,200 shield bearers and added them to my royal contingent. |
I ordered the march against them to the land Nagītu. I settled in Nineveh the people of the land Ḫatti plundered by my bows and they skillfully built magnificent ships, a product characteristic to their lands. I gave orders to sailors of the cities Tyre and Sidon, and the land Ionia, whom I had captured. They my troops let them sail down the Tigris River with them downstream to the city Opis. |
Then, from the city Opis, they lifted them the boats up onto dry land and dragged them on rollers to Sippar. |
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. |
He — Marduk-apla-iddina II (Merodach-baladan), whom I had defeated during my first campaign — became frightened by the clangor of my mighty weapons and fled 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, |
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: |
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. |
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 surrounded and conquered the cities Bīt-Kilamzaḫ, Ḫardišpu, and Bīt-Kubatti, their fortified walled cities. I brought out of them people, horses, mules, donkeys, oxen, and sheep and goats, and I counted them as booty. Moreover, I destroyed, devastated, and turned into ruins their smaller settlements, which were without number. I burned with fire pavilions and tents, their abodes, and reduced them to ashes. |
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 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 return march, I received a substantial payment from the distant Medes, of whose land none of the kings, my ancestors, had heard mention. Thus I made them bow down to the yoke of my lordship. |
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. |
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. |
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 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, 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 fifth campaign: The population of the cities Tumurrum, Šarum, Ezāma, Kibšu, Ḫalbuda, Qūa, and Qana, whose dwellings are situated like the nests of eagles, the foremost of birds, on the peak of Mount Nipur, a rugged mountain, and who had not bowed down to the yoke — I had my camp pitched at the foot of Mount Nipur. |
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 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. |
On my sixth campaign: The rest of the people of the land Bīt-Yakīn, who had groveled like onagers before my mighty weapons, dislodged the gods of the full extent of their land from their abodes, then crossed the Great Sea of the Rising Sun and set up their residences in the city Nagītu of the land Elam — I crossed over the sea in boats of the land Ḫatti. I conquered the cities Nagītu and Nagītu-diʾbina, together with the lands Ḫilmu, Pillatu, and Ḫupapanu, districts of the land Elam. |
I carried off the people of the land Bīt-Yakīn, together with their gods and the people of the king of the land Elam, and I did not leave a single escapee. I loaded them onto boats and brought them to this side of the sea, then I made them take the road to Assyria. I destroyed, devastated, and burned with fire the cities that are in those districts. I turned them into a mound of ruins (a mound and ruins) |
On my return march, in a pitched battle, I defeated Šūzubu (Nergal-ušēzib), a citizen of Babylon who had taken the lordship of the land of Sumer and Akkad for himself during the confusion in the land. I captured him alive, bound him with tethering ropes and iron fetters, and brought him to Assyria. I defeated the king of the land Elam, who had aligned himself with him and come to his aid. I dispersed his forces and scattered his assembled host. |
On my seventh campaign, the god Aššur, my lord, encouraged me and I marched to the land Elam. In the course of my campaign, I conquered and plundered the cities Bīt-Ḫaʾiri and Raṣā, cities on the border of Assyria that the Elamites had taken away by force in the time of my ancestors. I had my garrisons stationed inside them. I brought those cities back inside the border of Assyria and placed them under the authority of the garrison commander of Dēr. |
The cities Bubê, Dunni-Šamaš, Bīt-Risiya, Bīt-Aḫlamê, Dūru, Dannat-Sulāya, Šilibtu, Bīt-Aṣusi, Kār-Zēra-iqīša, Bīt-Giṣṣi, Bīt-Katpalāni, Bīt-Imbiya, Ḫamānu, Bīt-Arrabi, Burutu, Dimtu-ša-Sulāya, Dimtu-ša-Mār-bīti-ēṭir, Ḫarri-ašlakê, Rabbāya, Rāsu, Akkabarina, Tīl-Uḫuri, Ḫamrānu, Nadītu, |
together with the cities of the passes, namely Bīt-Bunaki, Tīl-Ḫumbi, Dimtu-ša-Dume-ili, Bīt-Ubiya, Baltī-līšir, Taqab-līšir, Ša-nāqidāte, Masūtu-šaplīti, Sarḫudēri, Ālum-ša-Bēlet-bīti, Bīt-Aḫḫē-iddina, and Ilteuba — I surrounded, conquered, plundered, destroyed, devastated, and burned with fire those thirty-four fortified cities, together with the smaller settlements in their environs, which were without number. I made the smoke from their conflagration cover the wide heavens like a heavy cloud. |
Kudur-Naḫundu (Kudur-Naḫḫunte), the Elamite, heard about the conquest of his cities and fear fell upon him. He brought the people of the rest of his cities into fortresses. He abandoned the city Madaktu, his royal city, and took the road to the city Ḫaydala, which is in the distant mountains. |
I ordered the march to the city Madaktu, his royal city. In the month Tamḫīru, bitter cold set in and a severe rainstorm sent down its rain. I was afraid of the rain and snow in the gorges, the outflows of the mountains, so I turned around (I turned the front of my yoke) and took the road to Nineveh. |
On my eighth campaign, after Šūzubu (Mušēzib-Marduk) had rebelled and the citizens of Babylon, evil gallû-demons, had locked the city gates, they plotted to wage war. Arameans, fugitives, runaways, murderers, and robbers rallied around Šūzubu (Mušēzib-Marduk), a Chaldean, a person of lowly status, a coward (who has no knees), and a servant who belonged to the governor of the city Laḫīru, and they went down into the marshes and incited rebellion. |
I besieged him and put him in dire straits. On account of fear and hunger, he fled to the land Elam. When there were conspiracy and treachery against him, he hurried out of the land Elam and entered Šuanna Babylon. The Babylonians inappropriately placed him back on the throne and entrusted him with the lordship of the land of Sumer and Akkad. |
They the Babylonians opened the treasury of Esagil and took out the gold and silver of the god Bēl Marduk and the goddess Zarpanītu, the property of the temple of their gods. They sent it as a bribe to Umman-menanu (Ḫumban-menanu), the king of the land Elam, who does not have sense or insight, saying: "Gather your army, muster your forces, hurry to Babylon, and align yourself with us! Let us put our trust in you." |
The lands Parsuaš, Anzan, Pašeru, and Ellipi, the people of Yasil, Lakabera, Ḫarzunu, Dummuqu, Sulāya, and Samʾuna, who was a son of Marduk-apla-iddina II (Merodach-baladan), the lands Bīt-Adini, Bīt-Amukāni, Bīt-Šilāni, Bīt-Sāla (Bīt-Saʾalli), Larak, the city Laḫīru, the people of the tribes of the Puqudu, Gambulu, Ḫalatu, Ruʾuʾa, Ubulu, Malaḫu, Rapiqu, Ḫindaru, and Damunu, a large host, formed a confederation with him. |
In their multitude, they took the road to Akkad and, as they were advancing towards Babylon, they met up with Šūzubu (Mušēzib-Marduk), a Chaldean who is the king of Babylon, and banded their forces together. Like a spring invasion of a swarm of locusts, they were advancing towards me as a group to do battle. The dust of their feet covered the wide heavens like a heavy cloud in the deep of winter. |
While drawing up in battleline before me at the city Ḫalulê, which is on the bank of the Tigris River, and keeping me from the water source, they sharpened their weapons. |
I myself prayed to the deities Aššur, Sîn, Šamaš, Bēl, Nabû, Nergal, Ištar of Nineveh, and Ištar of Arbela, the gods who support me, for victory over my strong enemy and they immediately heeded my prayers and came to my aid. |
I raged up like a lion, then put on armor and placed a helmet suitable for combat on my head. In my anger, I rode quickly in my exalted battle chariot, which lays enemies low. I took in my hand the mighty bow that the god Aššur had granted to me and I grasped in my hand an arrow that cuts off life. |
I roared loudly like a storm and thundered like the god Adad against all of the troops of the wicked enemies. By the command of the god Aššur, the great lord, my lord, I blew like the onset of a severe storm against the enemy on their flanks and front lines. With the weapons of the god Aššur, my lord, and my fierce battle array, I turned them back and made them retreat. I shot the troops of the enemy with uṣṣu-arrows and mulmullu-arrows, and pierced all of their corpses like |
I slit their throats like sheep and thus cut off their precious lives like thread. Like a flood in full spate after a seasonal rainstorm, I made their blood flow over the broad earth. The swift thoroughbreds harnessed to my chariot plunged into floods of their blood just like the river ordeal. The wheels of my war chariot, which lays criminals and villains low, were bathed in blood and gore. I filled the plain with the corpses of their warriors like grass. I cut off their lips and thus destroyed their pride. I cut off their hands like the stems of cucumbers in season. |
As for the rest of his magnates, including Nabû-šuma-iškun, a son of Marduk-apla-iddina II (Merodach-baladan), who had raised their arms because they were terrified of doing battle with me, I captured them alive in the thick of battle. |
I brought back all together the chariots along with their horses, whose drivers had been killed in the thick of that mighty battle and which had themselves been released so that they galloped about on their own. When the second double-hour of the night had passed, I stopped their slaughter. |
As for him, Umman-menanu (Ḫumban-menanu), the king of the land Elam, along with the king of Babylon and the sheikhs of Chaldea who marched at his side, terror of doing battle with me overwhelmed them like alû-demons. They abandoned their tents and, in order to save their lives, they trampled the corpses of their troops as they pushed on. |
Their hearts throbbed like the pursued young of pigeons, they passed their urine hotly, and released their excrement inside their chariots. I ordered my chariots and horses to pursue them. Wherever they caught them, they killed with the sword the runaways amongst them, who had fled for their lives. |
At that time, after I had completed the palace in the citadel of Nineveh for my royal residence and had filled it with luxuriousness to be an object of wonder for all of the people: |
The Rear Palace that earlier kings, my ancestors, had had built for the proper running of the military camp, the care of horses, and the overseeing of everything — its terrace did not exist, its site had become too small, and its construction was inexpert. With the passage of time, its base had fallen into disrepair, then its foundations had become loose and its superstructure had collapsed. |
I tore down that palace in its entirety. I took much fallow land from the meadow and plain of the city as an addition and I added it to the site. I abandoned the site of the former palace and filled in a terrace in the area of the meadow that I had taken from the river bank. I raised its superstructure 200 courses of brick high. |
In a favorable month, on an auspicious day, upon that terrace, with my innate expertise, I had a palatial wing of limestone and cedar in the style of the land Ḫatti and a magnificent palatial wing of Assyrian workmanship, which greatly surpassed the previous one in size and expertise, built through the craft of well-trained master builders, for my lordly residence. |
I greatly enlarged its outer courtyard for the proper administration of the black-headed people, the inspection of thoroughbred horses, mules, agālu-donkeys, military equipment, chariots, carts, wagons, quivers, bows, and uṣṣu-arrows, every type of implement of war, and the submission of teams of horses and mules, which have great strength, to the yoke. |
I built and completed that palace from its foundations to its battlements. I deposited in it inscribed objects bearing my name. |
In the future, one of the kings, my descendants, whom the god Aššur and the goddess Ištar name for shepherding the land and people — when that palace becomes old and dilapidated, may a future ruler renovate its dilapidated sections. 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. |
As for the one who alters my inscription or my name, may the god Aššur, the great lord, the father of the gods, become angry with him as if he were an enemy. May he take away his scepter and his throne from him and overthrow his dynasty. |
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: |
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. |
In the course of my campaign, I received a substantial audience gift from Nabû-bēl-šumāti, the official in charge of the city Ḫararatu: gold, silver, large musukkannu-trees, donkeys, camels, oxen, and sheep and goats. |
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 surrounded and conquered the cities Bīt-Kilamzaḫ, Ḫardišpu, and Bīt-Kubatti, their fortified walled cities. I brought out of them people, horses, mules, donkeys, oxen, and sheep and goats, and I counted them as booty. Moreover, I destroyed, devastated, and turned into ruins their smaller settlements, which were without number. I burned with fire pavilions and tents, their abodes, and reduced them to ashes. |
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 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. |
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. |
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 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. |
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. |
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 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. |
On my sixth campaign: The rest of the people of the land Bīt-Yakīn, who had groveled like onagers before my mighty weapons, dislodged the gods of the full extent of their land from their abodes, then crossed the Great Sea of the Rising Sun and set up their residences in the city Nagītu of the land Elam — I crossed over the sea in boats of the land Ḫatti. I conquered the cities Nagītu and Nagītu-diʾbina, together with the lands Ḫilmu, Pillatu, and Ḫupapanu, districts of the land Elam. |
I carried off the people of the land Bīt-Yakīn, together with their gods and the people of the king of the land Elam, and I did not leave a single escapee. I loaded them onto boats and brought them to this side of the sea, then I made them take the road to Assyria. I destroyed, devastated, and burned with fire the cities that are in those districts. I turned them into a mound of ruins (a mound and ruins) |
On my return march, in a pitched battle, I defeated Šūzubu (Nergal-ušēzib), a citizen of Babylon who had taken the lordship of the land of Sumer and Akkad for himself during the confusion in the land. I captured him alive, bound him with tethering ropes and iron fetters, and brought him to Assyria. I defeated the king of the land Elam, who had aligned himself with him and come to his aid. I dispersed his forces and scattered his assembled host. |
On my seventh campaign, the god Aššur, my lord, encouraged me and I marched to the land Elam. In the course of my campaign, I conquered and plundered the cities Bīt-Ḫaʾiri and Raṣā, cities on the border of Assyria that the Elamites had taken away by force in the time of my ancestors. I had my garrisons stationed inside them. I brought those cities back inside the border of Assyria and placed them under the authority of the garrison commander of Dēr. |
The cities Bubê, Dunni-Šamaš, Bīt-Risiya, Bīt-Aḫlamê, Dūru, Dannat-Sulāya, Šilibtu, Bīt-Aṣusi, Kār-Zēra-iqīša, Bīt-Giṣṣi, Bīt-Katpalāni, Bīt-Imbiya, Ḫamānu, Bīt-Arrabi, Burutu, Dimtu-ša-Sulāya, Dimtu-ša-Mār-bīti-ēṭir, Ḫarri-ašlakê, Rabbāya, Rāsu, Akkabarina, Tīl-Uḫuri, Ḫamrānu, Nadītu, |
together with the cities of the passes, namely Bīt-Bunaki, Tīl-Ḫumbi, Dimtu-ša-Dume-ili, Bīt-Ubiya, Baltī-līšir, Taqab-līšir, Ša-nāqidāte, Masūtu-šaplīti, Sarḫudēri, Ālum-ša-Bēlet-bīti, Bīt-Aḫḫē-iddina, and Ilteuba — I surrounded, conquered, plundered, destroyed, devastated, and burned with fire those thirty-four fortified cities, together with the smaller settlements in their environs, which were without number. I made the smoke from their conflagration cover the wide heavens like a heavy cloud. |
Kudur-Naḫundu (Kudur-Naḫḫunte), the Elamite, heard about the conquest of his cities and fear fell upon him. He brought the people of the rest of his cities into fortresses. He abandoned the city Madaktu, his royal city, and took the road to the city Ḫaydala, which is in the distant mountains. |
I ordered the march to the city Madaktu, his royal city. In the month Tamḫīru, bitter cold set in and a severe rainstorm sent down its rain. I was afraid of the rain and snow in the gorges, the outflows of the mountains, so I turned around (I turned the front of my yoke) and took the road to Nineveh. |
At that time, by the command of the god Aššur, my lord, Kudur-Naḫundu (Kudur-Naḫḫunte), the king of the land Elam, did not last three months and suddenly died a premature death. After him, Umman-menanu (Ḫumban-menanu), who does not have sense or insight, his younger brother, sat on his throne. |
On my eighth campaign, after Šūzubu (Mušēzib-Marduk) had rebelled and the citizens of Babylon, evil gallû-demons, had locked the city gates, they plotted to wage war. Arameans, fugitives, runaways, murderers, and robbers rallied around Šūzubu (Mušēzib-Marduk), a Chaldean, a person of lowly status, a coward (who has no knees), and a servant who belonged to the governor of the city Laḫīru, and they went down into the marshes and incited rebellion. |