Chapter 17

1 The noble _cupbearer_ of Hea, the scribe of Merodach (am) I. 2 Like fire have I blazed (and) I rejoice;[1] 3 (like) fire have I burned (and) I grow; 4 the corn I purify and make heavy. 5 Like fire have I blazed (and) will rejoice; 6 (like) fire have I burned (and) will grow; 7 the corn will I purify and make heavy. 8 O nadir (and) zenith, the light of god and man, 9 may the store he collected be delivered. 10 May the store of (his) heart whoever he be, ye his god and his goddess, be delivered. 11 May his gate be _kept fast_. On that day 12 may they enrich him, may they deliver him.

13 May the rejoicing[2] of the warrior fire-god 14 rejoice with thee. May lands and rivers 15 rejoice with thee. May Tigris and (Euphrates) 16 rejoice with thee. May the seas and (the ocean) 17 rejoice with thee. May the forest, the daughter of the gods, 18 rejoice with thee. May all the production (of the earth) 19 rejoice with thee. May the hearts of my god and my goddess, well-feasted, 20 rejoice with thee. May the hearts of the god and the goddess of the city, well-feasted, (rejoice with thee). 21 On that day from the curse may my heart, O my god and my goddess, be delivered, 22 and may the enchantment go forth from my body. 23 When the doom _comes upon_ thee, 24 and from the fulfilment thou protectest thyself, 25 the doom when fulfilled cut thou off.

26 (The tablet) beginning: ... _Colophon_. Tablet (copied from) the old (tablets of Chaldea). Country of (Assur-bani-pal) King of (Assyria).

[Footnote 1: Or, "rest."]

[Footnote 2: The words translated "rejoicing" and "rejoice" properly signify "rest" and that may be their meaning here.]

INSCRIPTION OF TIGLATH PILESER I, KING OF ASSYRIA

TRANSLATED BY SIR H. RAWLINSON, K.C.B., D.C.L., ETC.

This inscription of Tiglath Pileser I is found on an octagonal prism and on some other clay fragments discovered at Kalah-Shergat and at present in the British Museum. The text is published in the "Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia," Vol. I, pp. ix-xvi. Four translations of this inscription, made simultaneously in 1857 by Sir H. Rawlinson, Mr. Fox Talbot, Dr. Hincks, and Dr. Oppert, were published in that year under the title of "Inscription of Tiglath Pileser I, King of Assyria, B.C. 1150." Dr. Oppert has also given a revised translation in his "_Histoire de l'Empire de Chaldée et d'Assyrie,_" 8vo, Versailles, 1865, extracted from the "_Annales de la Philosophie chrétienne_" of the same year, 5e Series, p. 44 and foll. The translations simultaneously published were submitted to the Asiatic Society in that year as a test of the advance made in Assyrian interpretations and the close approximation made by scholars in their interpretation of Assyrian texts. The notes contain some of the different readings of the other Assyrian scholars at that time and give a few of the principal varieties of reading some of the words. It was generally considered a very triumphant demonstration of the sound basis on which the then comparatively recent Assyrian researches were placed and a confutation of certain opinions then prevalent, that no certain or accurate advance had been made in the decipherment of Assyrian inscriptions. On the whole for its extent and historical information relating to the early history of Assyria this inscription is one of the most important of the series showing the gradual advance and rise of Assyria, while as one of the first interpreted it presents considerable literary interest in respect to the details of the progress of Assyrian interpretation. It is also nearly the oldest Assyrian text of any length which has been hitherto discovered and is very interesting from its account of the construction of the temples and palaces made by the King in the early part of his reign. S.B.

INSCRIPTION OF TIGLATH PILESER I

THE BEGINNING

_Ashur,_ the great Lord, ruling supreme over the gods; the giver of sceptres and crowns; the appointer of sovereignty. Bel, the Lord; _King of the circle of constellations_;[1] Father of the gods; Lord of the world. Sin;[2] the leader the _Lord of Empire_ the _powerful_ the _auspicious_ god; _Shamas_;[3] the establisher of the heavens and the earth; ...;[4] the vanquisher of enemies; the dissolver of cold. _Vul_;[5] he who causes the tempest to rage over hostile lands and _wicked_ countries. _Abnil_[6] Hercules; the champion who subdues _heretics_ and enemies, and who strengthens the heart. _Ishtar_, the eldest[7] of the gods; the Queen of _Victory_; she who arranges battles.

[Footnote 1: Aratnaki. (Fox Talbot.)]

[Footnote 2: The moon.]

[Footnote 3: The sun.]

[Footnote 4: Lacuna.]

[Footnote 5: Ninev. (Fox Talbot.) Ao. (Dr. Oppert.)]

[Footnote 6: Ninip-Sumdan. Dr. Oppert.]

[Footnote 7: Or source.]

II

The great gods, ruling over the heavens and the earth, whose attributes I have recorded and whom I have _named_; the guardians of the kingdom of Tiglath Pileser, the Prince inspiring your hearts with _joy_; the proud Chief whom in the strength of your hearts ye have made firm, (to whom) ye have confided the supreme crown, (whom) ye have appointed in might to the sovereignty of the country of Bel, to whom ye have granted pre-eminence, exaltation, and warlike power. May the duration of his empire continue forever to his royal posterity, lasting as the great temple of Bel!

III

Tiglath Pileser the powerful king; supreme King of Lash-anan;[1] King of the four regions; King of all Kings; Lord of Lords; the _supreme_; Monarch of Monarchs; the illustrious Chief who under the auspices of the Sun god, being armed with the sceptre and girt with the girdle of power over mankind, rules over all the people of Bel; the mighty Prince whose praise is blazoned forth among the Kings: the exalted sovereign, whose servants Ashur has appointed to the government of the country of the four regions (and) has made his name celebrated to posterity; the conqueror of many plains and mountains of the Upper and Lower Country; the conquering hero, the terror of whose name has overwhelmed all regions; the bright constellation who, according to his power[2] has warred against foreign countries (and) under the auspices of Bel, there being no equal to him, has subdued the enemies of Ashur.[3]

[Footnote 1: "Various tongues." Talbot.]

[Footnote 2: Or, "as he wished."]

[Footnote 3: Or, "has made them obedient to Ashur."]

IV

Ashur (and) the great gods, the guardians of my kingdom, who gave government and laws to my dominions, and ordered an enlarged frontier to their territory, having committed to (my) hand their valiant and warlike servants, I have subdued the lands and the peoples and the strong places, and the Kings who were hostile to Ashur; and I have reduced all that was contained in them. With a host[1] of kings I have fought ...[2] and have imposed on them the bond of _servitude_. There is not to me a second in war, nor an equal in battle. I have added territory to Assyria and peoples to her people. I have enlarged the frontier of my territories, and subdued all the lands contained in them.[3]

[Footnote 1: The preamble concludes here.]

[Footnote 2: Lacuna.]

[Footnote 3: Literally, "a sixty."]

V

In the beginning of my reign 20,000 of the _Muskayans_[1] and their 5 kings, who for 50 years had held the countries of Alza and Perukhuz, without paying tribute and offerings to Ashur my Lord, and whom a King of Assyria had never ventured to meet in battle betook themselves to their strength, and went and seized the country of Comukha. In the service of Ashur my Lord my chariots and warriors I assembled after me ...[2] the country of _Kasiyaia_[3] a difficult country, I passed through. With their 20,000 fighting men and their 5 kings in the country of Comukha I engaged. I defeated them. The ranks of their warriors in fighting the battle were beaten down as if by the tempest. Their carcasses covered the valleys and the tops of the mountains. I cut off their heads. The battlements of their cities I made heaps of, like mounds of _earth_, their movables, their wealth, and their valuables I plundered to a countless amount. 6,000 of their common soldiers who fled before my servants and accepted my yoke, I took them, and gave them over to the men of my own territory.[4]

[Footnote 1: Sirki citizens. (Fox Talbot.)]

[Footnote 2: Lacuna.]

[Footnote 3: Mount Kasiyaia. (Dr. Hincks.)]

[Footnote 4: As slaves.]

VI

Then I went into the country of _Comukha,_[1] which was disobedient and withheld the tribute and offerings due to Ashur my Lord: I conquered the whole country of Comukha. I plundered their movables, their wealth, and their valuables. Their cities I burnt with fire, I destroyed and ruined. The common people of Comukha, who fled before the face of my servants, crossed over to the city of _Sherisha_[2] which was on the further banks of the Tigris, and made this city into their stronghold. I assembled my chariots and warriors. I betook myself to _carts of iron_[3] in order to overcome the rough mountains and their difficult marches. I made the wilderness (thus) practicable for the passage of my chariots and warriors. I crossed the Tigris and took the city of Sherisha their stronghold. Their fighting men, in the middle of the forests, like wild beasts, I smote. Their carcasses filled the Tigris, and the tops of the mountains. At this time the troops of the _Akhe_,[4] who came to the deliverance and assistance of Comukha, together with the troops of Comukha, like chaff I scattered. The carcasses of their fighting men I piled up like heaps on the tops of the mountains. The bodies of their warriors, the _roaring_[5] waters carried down to the Tigris. Kili Teru son of Kali Teru, son of Zarupin Zihusun, their King,[6] in the course of their fighting fell into my power. His wives and his children, the delight of his heart I dispossessed him of. One hundred and eighty[7] iron vessels and 5 trays of copper, together with the gods of the people in gold and silver, and their beds and furniture I brought away. Their movables and their wealth I plundered. This city and its palace I burnt with fire, I destroyed and ruined.

[Footnote 1: Dummuk. (Dr. Oppert.)]

[Footnote 2: Sharisha. (Fox Talbot.) Siris. (Dr. Hincks.)]

[Footnote 3: Bridge. (Fox Talbot.)]

[Footnote 4: Aliens. (Dr. Hincks.)]

[Footnote 5: Nami River. (Fox Talbot.) Blood River. (Dr. Hincks.)]

[Footnote 6: Tirikali fil Tirikali. (Fox Talbot.) Kiliantiru eldest son of Campineiyusan, (Dr. Hincks.)]

[Footnote 7: Literally, "three sixties."]

VII

The city of _Urrakluiras_ their stronghold which was in the country of Panari, I went toward. The exceeding fear of the power of Ashur, my Lord, overwhelmed them. To save their lives they took their gods, and fled like birds to the tops of the lofty mountains. I collected my chariots and warriors, and crossed the Tigris. _Shedi Teru_[1] the son of _Khasutkh_[2] King of _Urrakluiras_ on my arriving in his country submitted to my yoke. His sons, the delight of his heart, and his favorites, I condemned to the service of the gods: 60 vessels of iron; _trays_[3] and _bars_ of copper ...[4] with 120 cattle, and flocks he brought as tribute and offerings. I accepted (them) and spared him. I gave him his life, but imposed upon him the yoke of my empire heavily forever. The wide spreading country of Comukha I entirely conquered, and subjected to my yoke. At this time one tray of copper and one bar of copper from among the service offerings and tribute of Comukha I dedicated to Ashur my Lord, and 60 iron vessels with their gods I offered to my guardian god, _Vul_.[5]

[Footnote 1: Sadiyantim. (Dr. Hincks.) Tiri-dates. (Fox Talbot.)]

[Footnote 2: Kuthakin. (Fox Talbot.) Kha-thukhi. (Dr. Hincks.)]

[Footnote 3: "Nirmah mamkhar." (Dr. Hincks.)]

[Footnote 4: Lacuna.]

[Footnote 5: "Yem." (Fox Talbot.)]

VIII

From among my valiant servants, to whom Ashur the Lord gave strength and power, in 30 of my chariots, select companies of my troops and bands of my warriors who were expert in battle, I gathered together. I proceeded to the extensive country of _Miltis_,[1] which did not obey me; it consisted of strong mountains and a difficult land. Where it was easy I traversed it in my chariots: where it was difficult I went on foot. In the country of Aruma, which was a difficult land, and impracticable to the passage of my chariots, I left the chariots and marched in front of my troops. Like ...[2] on the peak of the rugged mountains, I marched victoriously. The country of _Miltis_,[1] like heaps of stubble, I swept. Their fighting men in the course of the battle like chaff I scattered. Their movables, their wealth and their valuables I plundered. Many of their cities I burned with fire. I imposed on them _religious service_[1], and offerings and tribute.

[Footnote 1: Eshtish. (Fox Talbot.)]

[Footnote 2: Lacuna.]

[Footnote 3: Hostages. Fox Talbot. For further and subsequent various readings see the edition of 1857.]

IX

Tiglath Pileser, the illustrious warrior, the opener of the roads of the countries, the subjugator of the rebellious ...[1] he who has overrun the whole Magian world.

[Footnote 1: Lacuna.]

X

I subdued the extensive country of Subair, which was in rebellion. The countries of Alza and Purukhuz, which deferred their tribute and offerings, the yoke of my empire heavily upon them I imposed, decreeing that they should bring their tribute and offerings into my presence in the city of Ashur. While I was on this expedition, which the Lord Ashur, committing to my hand a powerful rebel subduing army, ordered for the enlargement of the frontiers of his territory, there were 4,000 of the _Kaskaya_ and _Hurunaya_ rebellious tribes of the Kheti[1] who had brought under their power the cities of Subarta, attached to the worship of Ashur, my Lord (so that) they did not acknowledge dependence on Subarta. The terror of my warlike expedition overwhelmed them. They would not fight, but submitted to my yoke. Then I took their valuables, and 120[2] of their chariots fitted to the yoke, and I gave them to the men of my own country.

[Footnote 1: Hittites.]

[Footnote 2: Two "soss."]

XI

In the course of this my expedition, a second time I proceeded to the country of Comukha. I took many of their cities. Their movables, their wealth, and their valuables I plundered. Their cities I burnt with fire, I destroyed and overthrew. The soldiers of their armies, who from before the face of my valiant servants fled away, they would not engage with me in the fierce battle: to save their lives they took to the stony heights of the mountains, an inaccessible region: to the recesses of the deep forests and the peaks of the difficult mountains which had never been trodden by the feet of men, I ascended after them: they fought with me; I defeated them: the ranks of their warriors on the tops of the mountains fell like rain: their carcasses filled the ravines and the high places of the mountains: their movables, their wealth, and their valuables I carried off from the stony heights of the mountains. I subdued the country of Comukha throughout its whole extent, and I attached it to the frontiers of my own territory.

XII

Tiglath Pileser, the powerful king, the vanquisher of the disobedient, he who has swept the face of the earth.

XIII

In profound reverence to Ashur my Lord, to the country of Kharia, and the far-spreading tribes of the Akhe, deep forests, which no former King (of Assyria) had ever reached, the Lord Ashur invited me to proceed. My chariots and forces I assembled, and I went to an inaccessible region beyond the countries of Itni and Ayá. As the steep mountains stood up like metal posts, and were impracticable to the passage of my chariots, I placed my chariots in wagons, and (thus) I traversed the difficult ranges of hills. All the lands of the Akhe and their wide-spreading tribes having assembled, arose to do battle in the country of _Azutapis_. In an inaccessible region I fought with them and defeated them. The ranks of their (slain) warriors on the peaks of the mountains were piled up in heaps; the carcasses of their warriors filled the ravines and high places of the mountains. To the cities which were placed on the tops of the mountains I _penetrated_ victoriously: 27 cities of Kharía, which were situated in the districts of Aya, Suira, Itni, Shetzu, Shelgu, Arzanibru, Varutsu, and Anitku, I took; their movables, their wealth, and their valuables I plundered; their cities I burnt with fire, I destroyed and overthrew.

XIV

The people of Adavas feared to engage in battle with me; they left their habitations, and fled like birds to the peaks of the lofty mountains. The terror of Ashur my Lord overwhelmed them; they came and submitted to my yoke; I imposed on them tribute and offerings.

XV

The countries of Tsaravas and Ammavas, which from the olden time had never submitted, I swept like heaps of stubble; with their forces in the country of Aruma I fought, and I defeated them. The ranks of their fighting men I levelled like grass. I bore away their gods; their movables, their wealth, and their valuables I carried off. Their cities I burnt with fire, I destroyed and overthrew, and converted into heaps and mounds. The heavy yoke of my empire I imposed on them. I attached them to the worship of Ashur my Lord.

XVI

I took the countries of Itsua and Daria, which were turbulent and disobedient. Tribute and offerings I imposed on them. I attached them to the worship of Ashur.

XVII

In my triumphant progress over my enemies, my chariots and troops I assembled; I crossed the lower Zab. The countries of Muraddan and Tsaradavas, which were near Atsaniu and Atuva, difficult regions, I captured; their warriors I cut down _like weeds_. The city of Muraddan, their capital city, and the regions toward the rising sun, I took possession of. Their gods, their wealth, and their valuables, one _soss_ bars of iron, 30 talents of iron, the abundant wealth of the Lords, of their palaces, and their movables, I carried off. This city I burnt with fire, I destroyed and overthrew. At this time this iron to the god Vul, my great Lord and guardian, I dedicated.

XVIII

In the might and power of Ashur my Lord, I went to the country of Tsugi, belonging to Gilkhi, which did not acknowledge Ashur my Lord. With 4,000 of their troops, belonging to the countries Khimi, Lukhi, Arirgi, Alamun, Nuni, and all the far-spread land of the _Akhí_, in the country of Khirikhi, a difficult region, which rose up like metal posts, with all their people I fought _on foot_. I defeated them; the bodies of their fighting men on the tops of the mountains I heaped in masses. The carcasses of their warriors I strewed over the country of Khirikhi like chaff. I took the entire country of Tsugi. Twenty-five of their gods, their movables, their wealth, and their valuables I carried off. Many of their cities I burnt with fire, I destroyed and overthrew. The men of their armies submitted to my yoke. I had mercy on them. I imposed on them tribute and offerings. With attachment to the worship of Ashur, my Lord, I intrusted them.[1]

[Footnote 1: That is, "I caused them to worship Ashur."]

XIX

At this time 25 of the gods belonging to those countries, subject to my government, which I had taken, I dedicated for the honor of the temple of the Queen of glory, the great ancestress of Ashur my Lord, of Anu, and of Vul, the goddess who is the guardian of all the public temples of my city of Ashur, and of all the goddesses of my country.

XX

Tiglath-Pileser, the powerful King; the subduer of hostile races; the conqueror of the whole circle of kings.

XXI

At this time, in exalted reverence to Ashur, my Lord, by the godlike support of the heroic "Sun," having in the service of the great gods, ruled over the four regions imperially; there being found (to me) no equal in war, and no second in battle, to the countries of the powerful Kings who dwelt upon the upper ocean and had never made their submission, the Lord Ashur having urged me, I went. Difficult mountain chains, and distant (or inaccessible) hills, which none of our Kings had ever previously reached, tedious paths and unopened roads I traversed. The countries of Elama, of Amadana, of Eltís, of Sherabili, of _Likhuna_, of Tirkakhuli, of Kisra, of Likhanubi, of Elula, of Khastare, of Sakhisara, of Hubira, of Miliatruni, of _Sulianzi_, of Nubanashe, and of Sheshe, 16 strong countries, the easy parts in my chariots, and the difficult parts in wagons of iron, I passed through; the thickets of the mountains I cut down; bridges for the passage of my troops I prepared; I crossed over the Euphrates; the King of Elammi, the King of Tunubi, the King of Tuhali, the King of Kindari, the King of Huzula, the King of Vanzamuni, the King of Andiabi, the King of Pilakinna, the King of Atúrgina, the King of Kulibartzini, the King of Pinibirni, the King of Khimua, the King of Päíteri, the King of Vaíram, the King of Sururia, the King of Abäéni, the King of Adäéni, the King of Kirini, the King of Albaya, the King of Vagina, the King of Nazabia, the King of _Amalziú_, the King of Dayeni, in all 23 Kings of the countries of Naíri, in their own provinces having assembled their chariots and troops, they came to fight with me.[1] By means of my powerful servants I straitened them.[2] I caused the destruction of their far-spreading troops, as if with the destroying tempest of Vul. I levelled the ranks of their warriors, both on the tops of the mountains and on the battlements of the cities, like _grass_. Two soss [3] of their chariots I held as a trophy from the midst of the fight; one soss [4] of the kings of the countries of Naíri, and of those who had come to their assistance, in my victory as far as the upper ocean I pursued them; I took their great castles; I plundered their movables, their wealth and their valuables; their cities I burnt with fire, I destroyed and overthrew, and converted into heaps and mounds. Droves of many horses and mules, of calves and of lambs, their property, in countless numbers I carried off. Many of the kings of the countries of Naíri fell alive into my hands; to these kings I granted pardon; their lives I spared; their abundance and wealth I poured out before my Lord, the sun-god. In reverence to my great gods, to after-times, to the last day, I condemned them to do homage. The young men, the pride of their royalty, I gave over to the service of the gods; 1,200 horses and 2,000 cattle I imposed on them as tribute, and I allowed them to remain in their own countries.

[Footnote 1: Literally, to make war and do battle.]

[Footnote 2: Or, brought them into difficulties.]

[Footnote 3: One hundred and twenty.]

[Footnote 4: Sixty.]

XXII

Tseni, the King of Dayani, who was not submissive to Ashur my Lord, his abundance and wealth I brought it to my city of Ashur. I had mercy on him. I left him in life to learn the worship of the great gods from my city of Ashur. I reduced the far-spreading countries of Naíri throughout their whole extent, and many of their kings I subjected to my yoke.

XXIII

In the course of this expedition, I went to the city of Milidia, belonging to the country of Khanni-rabbi, which was independent and did not obey me. They abstained from engaging in the rude fight with me; they submitted to my yoke, and I had mercy on them. This city I did not occupy, but I gave the people over to religious service, and I imposed on them as a token of their allegiance a fixed tribute of ...[1]

[Footnote 1: Lacuna.]

XXIV

Tiglath-Pileser, the ruling constellation; the powerful; the lover of battle.

XXV