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I captured the lands Ulluba and Ḫabḫu in their entirety and I annexed them to Assyria. (

) I built a city in the land Ulluba and I named it Aššur-iqīša. Inside it, I founded a palace for my royal residence. I set up the weapon of the god Aššur, my lord, therein, and settled the people of foreign lands conquered by me therein

The people of the cities Masʾa, Tema, Saba, Ḫayappa, Badanu, and Ḫatte, and the tribes Idibaʾilu,

, who are on the border of the western lands, whom none of my predecessors had known about, and whose country is remote, heard about the fame of my majesty and my heroic deeds, and thus they beseeched my lordship. As one, they brought before me gold, silver, camels, she-camels, and all types of aromatics as their payment and they kissed my feet. I appointed Idibiʾilu as the "gatekeeper" facing Egypt.

Uassurme of the land Tabal acted as if he were the equal of Assyria and he did not come before me. I sent a eunuch of mine, the chief eunuch, to the land Tabal

I placed Ḫullî, a commoner (son of a nobody) on his royal throne. I received 10 talents of gold, 1,000 talents of silver, 2,000 horses, and

I sent a eunuch of mine, the chief eunuch, to the city Tyre. I received from Metenna of the city Tyre 150 talents of gold and 2,000 talents of silver as his audience gift.

With the keen understanding and broad knowledge that the sage of the gods, the prince, the god Nudimmud Ea, granted to me, I built in Kalḫu a cedar palace,

Like the base of a mountain, I piled up heavy limestone blocks to a depth of twenty large cubits in the raging waters and I

stopped its flooding. I put up their terraces, secured their foundations, and raised high their summits. To a height of one half nindanu and two-thirds of a cubit, I constructed rooms of

I decorated (I established) them with ivory, ebony, boxwood, musukkannu-wood, cedar, šurmēnu-wood, burāšu-juniper, and juniper — which was tribute from the kings of the land Ḫatti (Syria-Palestine) and from Aramean and Chaldean rulers whom I subdued and

To a height of five and one half nindanu and four cubits, from the depth of the water to their copings, I designed their structure and I made their workmanship more resplendent than the palaces of foreign lands.

I roofed them with long beams of cedar, which are as sweet to smell as the scent of ḫašūru-wood, a product of Mount Amanus, Mount Lebanon, and Mount Ammanāna, thus I demonstrated appropriate care for their roofing. In order to splendidly provide appropriate decorations for the locks

, I fashioned stones of the stonecutter’s craft and thus made its gates befitting a royal palace.

I fastened bands of shiny silver zaḫalû and <ešmarû-silver> on double doors of cedar and šurmēnu-wood, which bestow great pleasure on those who enter them and whose fragrance wafts into the heart, and I hung them wherever there were gates.

I set up in its entrances statues of lions, šēdu, and lamassu, whose features are very skillfully wrought and which are clothed with splendor, and I erected them there as objects of wonder for the people. I laid threshold slabs of gypsum and parūtu-alabaster at their feet (beneath them) and thus I brightened their exits.

Moreover, I placed stone images, guardians of the great gods, creatures of the apsû (i.e., fish-men), around (the palace’s) supporting wall, thus I endowed them with a terrifying quality.

For my royal abode, I set up therein a glittering chamber inlaid with precious stones. I named them "The Palatial Halls of Joy Which Bear Abundance, Which Bless the King, and Which Make Their Builder Long-Lived."

I named their gates "Gates of Justice Which Give the Correct Judgment for the Rulers of the Four Quarters of the World, Which Offer the Yield of the Mountains and the Seas, and Which Admit the Produce of Mankind Before the King Their Lord."

As for Ḫanūnu of the city Gaza, he became frightened by my powerful weapons and escaped to Egypt. I conquered the city Gaza, his royal city, and I carried off

talents of gold, 800 talents of silver, people, together with their possessions, his (Ḫanūnu’s) wife, his sons, his daughters,

I fashioned a statue bearing images of the great gods, my lords, and my royal image out of gold, erected it in the palace of the city Gaza, and reckoned it among the gods of their land; I established their sattukku offerings.

As for Samsi, queen of the Arabs, at Mount Saqurri, I defeated 9,400 of her people. I took away from her

, thrones of her gods, the military equipment and staffs of her goddesses, and her property.

and set out like a female onager to the desert, a place where one is always thirsty. I set the rest of her possessions and her tents, her people’s safeguard within her camp, on fire.

Samsi became startled by my mighty weapons and she brought camels, she-camels, with their young, to Assyria, before me.

I utterly defeated him and took his entire camp away from him. He became frightened of the terrifying radiance of my weapons, mounted a mare in order to save his life, escaped during the night to Mount Sizir, a rugged mountain, and ascended it.

I conquered the lands Ulluba and Ḫabḫu, which are located behind Mount Nal, in their entirety and annexed them to Assyria. I set up my royal image on the face of Mount Ilimeru. I built a city in the land Ulluba and I named it Aššur-iqīša. I brought the people of foreign lands conquered by me therein and placed a eunuch of mine as provincial governor over them

, from the cities Ququsanšu and Barzunna to the cities Ḫarabisinna, Abbissâ, and Tasa, as far as the land Uluruš, which is above the bank of the Tigris River, the lands Lusia — the land of the metal lead — Amadīnu,

and the cities Qilissa, Ezzēda, and Diuyapli of the district of the land Ateia, which is above the bank of the Tigris River, I added them to the province of the land Naʾiri.

I annexed the city Ḫatarikka, as far as Mount Saue, the city Kašpūna, which is on the shore of the Upper Sea, and the cities Ṣimirra and Arqâ to Assyria and I placed two eunuchs of mine as provincial governors over them.

I annexed to Assyria the extensive land of Bīt-Ḫazaʾili Damascus in its entirety, from Mount Lebanon as far as the cities Gilead and Abil-šiṭṭi, which are on the border of the land Bīt-Ḫumria Israel, and I placed a eunuch of mine as provincial governor over them.

— I captured and plundered the city Maḫalab, his fortified city, together with other large cities of his.

As for Ḫanūnu of the city Gaza, he became frightened by my powerful weapons and escaped to Egypt. I conquered the city Gaza, his royal city

I sent a eunuch of mine, the chief eunuch, to the city Tyre. I received from Metenna of the city Tyre 50 talents of gold and 2,000 talents of silver as his audience gift.

Uassurme of the land Tabal acted as if he were the equal of Assyria and he did not come before me. I sent a eunuch of mine, the chief eunuch, to the land Tabal.

Palace of Tiglath-pileser III, great king, mighty king, king of the world, king of Assyria, king of Babylon, king of Sumer and Akkad, king of the four quarters of the world; valiant man who, with the help of the god Aššur, his lord, smashed like pots all who were unsubmissive to him, swept over them like the Deluge, and considered them as mere ghosts; the king who marched about at the command of the gods Aššur, Šamaš, and Marduk, the great gods, and exercised authority over lands from the Bitter Sea of Bīt-Yakīn, as far as Mount Bikni in the east, up to the Sea of the Setting Sun, as far as Egypt, from the horizon to the zenith, and exercised kingship over them.

In Sippar, Nippur, Babylon, Borsippa, Cutha, Kish, Dilbat, and Uruk, cult centers without rival, I offered pure sacrifices to the deities Bēl Marduk, Zarpanītu, Nabû, Tašmētu, Nergal, and Laṣ, the gods, my lords, and presented gifts to them.

I exercised authority over the extensive land of Karduniaš Babylonia and exercised kingship over it.

I eradicated the lands Bīt-Silāni (Bīt-Šilāni) and Bīt-Saʾalli (Bīt-Šaʾalli) to their full extent. I personally captured Nabû-ušabši and Zaqiru, their kings. By means of earthworks and battering rams, I captured the cities Sarrabānu, Tarbaṣu, Yaballu, Dūr-Baliḫāya, and Malilatu, their large royal cities. I carried off 155,000 people, with their possessions, their goods, their property, and their livestock, without number. I annexed those lands to Assyria.

I annexed to Assyria the cities Ḫilimmu and Pillatu, cities on the border of the land Elam and I placed them under the authority of a eunuch of mine, the provincial governor of the city Arrapḫa.

I received payment from the chieftains of Chaldea, Balāssu of the land Bīt-Dakkūri (son of Dakkūri), Nādinu of the city Larak, Marduk-apla-iddina II (Merodach-baladan) of the land Bīt-Yakīn (son of Yakīn), king of the Sealand: natural, unrefined gold, silver, precious stones, ebony, ellūtu-wood, oxen, and sheep and goats.

From the beginning of my reign until my seventeenth palû, I captured the tribes Ituʾu, Rubuʾu, Ḫamarānu, Luḫuʾatu, Ḫaṭallu, Rubbû, Rapiqu, Nabātu, Gurumu, Dunanu, Ubulu, Ruʾuʾa, Liʾtaʾu, Marusu, and those living in the cities Dūr-Kurigalzu, Adinni, the fortresses of Sarragitu and Labbanat, all of the Arameans on the banks of the Tigris, Euphrates, Surappu, and Uqnû Rivers, as far as the Lower Sea of the Rising Sun. I annexed those areas to Assyria and placed a eunuch of mine as provincial governor over them.

Palace of Tiglath-pileser III, king of Assyria, son of Adad-nārārī III, king of Assyria: this brick belongs to the platform of the temple of the god Aššur.

Tiglath-pileser III, great king, mighty king, king of the world, king of Assyria: this brick belongs to the pedestal under the bulls of the gateway of the temple of the god Adad.

Palace of Tiglath-pileser III, great king, mighty king, king of the world, king of Assyria: this brick belongs to the pedestal under the bulls of the gateway of the temple of the god Adad.

Palace of Tiglath-pileser III, great king, mighty king, king of the world, king of Assyria: fifteen minas.

Ninurta-bēlu-uṣur, of the city Ṣirani, which is in the area of the city Ḫalaḫḫi, which is in front of the city Lipapan in the mountains, and my ancestral city:

As for a future ruler who repairs its dilapidated sections but erases my inscribed name and inscribes his own name in its place, may the god Aššur, the great lord, in the assembly of the gods verily order his destruction,

To the god Adad, canal inspector of heaven and earth, his lord: Aššur-rēmanni presented this object for the life of Tiglath-pileser III, king of Assyria, his lord, and for his own life.

On the life of the god Šamaš, the goddess Ereškigal, and the Anunnakū gods, the great gods of the netherworld, the destiny of a mortal life took Yabâ, the queen, into death and she went the way of her ancestors.

May the gods Ningišzida and Piṭuḫ-idugul, the great gods of the netherworld, inflict her corpse and phantom with sleeplessness forever.

I conquered eight fortresses, together with the settlements in their environs, that belonged to the land Tuāyadi, a district belonging to Telusina of the land Andia and

Like the onslaught of a storm, I overwhelmed the cities Samʾūna and Bāb-dūri, fortresses that Šutur-Naḫūndi, the Elamite, had constructed facing (above) the land Yadburu

I received tribute from Pirʾû Pharaoh, king of Egypt, Samsi, queen of the Arabs, and Itʾamar, the Sabaean, namely gold ore from the mountains, horses, and camels.

In his rugged mountain region, Ullusunu, the Mannean, heard of the deeds I had been doing, flew to me like a bird, and grasped hold of my feet. I pardoned (overturned) his innumerable sins and disregarded his crime. I had pity on him and had him sit on his royal throne. I gave back to him the twenty-two fortresses, together with two of his fortified cities, which I had taken away from the hands of Ursâ Rusâ and Mitatti, and I brought order to his disturbed land. I made a royal image of myself and inscribed upon it the victorious deeds of the god Aššur, my lord. I erected it for all time in his royal city Izirtu.

I received tribute from Ianzû, king of the land Naʾiri, in his fortified city Ḫubuškia, namely horses, oxen, and sheep and goats.

As for Aššur-lēʾi of the land Karalla, and Ittī of the land Allabria who had thrown off the yoke of the god Aššur and held me in contempt, I flayed the skin from Aššur-lēʾi, deported the people of the land Karalla, as many as there were, and Ittî together with his family, and settled them in the land Hamath.

I deported the people of the cities Sukkia, Bāla, Abitikna, Pappa, and Lalluknu from their own places and resettled them in the city Damascus and the land Ḫatti Syria.

As for Bēl-šarru-uṣur of the city Kišesim, I brought him, together with his property and possessions, the treasure of his palace, to Assyria. I set a eunuch of mine as provincial governor over his city and renamed it Kār-Nergal. I made a royal image of myself and erected it inside that city. I conquered six settlements in its neighborhood and added them to its province.

Azūri, king of the city Ashdod, plotted so as to no longer have to deliver tribute to me and sent messages hostile to Assyria to the kings in his environs. Because of the evil that he had done, I did away with his lordship over the people of his land. I set his favorite brother Aḫī-Mīti as king over them, but the Hittites, who always speak treachery, hated his rule and elevated over them Iāmānī, who had no right to the throne and who, like them, did not know how to respect any authority.

Palace of Sargon, great king, strong king, king of the world, king of Assyria, governor of Babylon, king of the land of Sumer and Akkad, king of the four quarters of the world, favorite of the great gods.

The gods Aššur, Nabû, and Marduk, the gods, my helpers, granted me a reign without equal and exalted my good reputation to the heights.

In days to come, may a future ruler among the kings, my descendants, renovate any dilapidated sections of this palace. May he then discover my inscribed object, anoint it with oil, offer a sacrifice, and return it to its original place. The god Aššur will then listen to his prayers.

As for the one who alters my inscription or my name, may the god Aššur, my lord, overthrow his kingship. May he the god Aššur make his name and his descendants disappear from the land and may he not have pity on him.

Palace of Sargon II, great king, strong king, king of the world, king of Assyria, governor of Babylon, king of the land of Sumer and Akkad, favorite of the great gods;

the strong man who is clad in awesome splendor and whose weapons are raised to strike down his enemies; who brought about the defeat of Ḫumbanigaš (Ḫumban-nikaš I), the Elamite; who subjugated the lands Mannea, Karalla, Andia, and Zikirtu, the cities of Kišesim and Ḫarḫar, and the lands Media and Ellipi; who imposed the yoke of the god Aššur upon them; who laid waste to the land Urarṭu and the city Muṣaṣir; in great fear of whom Ursâ Rusâ, the Urarṭian, brought an end to his life with his own weapon; who carried off as booty the rulers of the city Carchemish, the land Hamath, the land Kummuḫu, and the city Ashdod — evil Hittites, who do not fear the words of the gods and always speak treachery; who set eunuchs of his as provincial governors over all their lands and considered them as people of Assyria; who overwhelmed the city Samaria, all of the land Bīt-Ḫumria Israel, and the land Kasku; who conquered the land Tabal, all of the land Bīt-Purutaš, and the land Ḫilakku; who brought about the defeat of Egypt at the city Raphia and counted Ḫanūnu Hanno, the king of the city Gaza, as booty;

May every work of my hands be acceptable to the gods who dwell in this city. May they then forever decree that they will inhabit their shrines and that my reign will be firmly established.

As for the one who alters the work of my hands, mutilates my features on a relief, obliterates the reliefs that I have engraved, or effaces my own representations, may the gods Sîn, Šamaš, Adad, and the great gods who dwell there remove his name and his descendants from the land and make him live in bondage under his enemy.

Palace of Sargon II, great king, strong king, king of the world, king of Assyria, governor of Babylon, king of the land of Sumer and Akkad;

the king who with the support of the gods Aššur, Nabû, and Marduk ruled all together from the land Yadnana Cyprus, which is in the middle of the sea, as far as the borders of Egypt and the land Musku, the wide land Amurru, the land Ḫatti Syria in its entirety, all of the land Gutium, the distant Medes who live on the border of Mount Bikni, the lands Ellipi and Rāši on the border of the land Elam, all the Arameans who live beside the Tigris, Surappu, and Uqnû Rivers, all the Sutians, the people of the steppe of the land Yadburu, as many as there are, from the city Tīl-Ḫumba which is on the border of Elam, the land Karduniaš Babylonia from one end to the other (above and below), all of Chaldea, and the land Bīt-Yakīn, which is on the shore of the sea, as far as the border of Dilmun; who set eunuchs of his as provincial governors over them, and imposed the yoke of his lordship upon them.

Palace of Sargon II, king of the world, king of Assyria, governor of Babylon, king of the land of Sumer and Akkad;

Eight twin lion colossi of shining copper that weigh 4,610 full (tested) talents and that were cast by the craft of the god Ninagal and filled with radiance — upon those lion colossi he installed four matching cedar columns, whose diameters are one nindanu each, the product of Mount Amanus; and he positioned cross-beams upon them as a cornice for its (lit. their) gates. He skillfully fashioned magnificent mountain sheep colossi of massive mountain stone and in the four directions he had them hold their door bolts. He depicted the settlements that he had conquered upon large limestone slabs and surrounded its (lit. their) lower courses with them. He made them an object of wonder. He placed inside these palatial halls representations — made by the craft of the sculptor — of the settlements of every land that he had conquered, from east to west, by the strength of the god Aššur.

I built inside it the city a palace using (of) elephant ivory, ebony, boxwood, musukkannu-wood, cedar, cypress, daprānu-juniper, juniper, and terebinth to be my royal residence. I then invited the god Aššur, the great lord, and the other gods who dwell in Assyria, to come inside it, and I offered pure, honorific sacrifices before them. I received substantial audience gifts from rulers from the four quarters of the world, who had submitted to the yoke of my lordship and thereby saved their lives, along with gifts from the provincial governors of my land, overseers, commanders, nobles, eunuchs, and temple administrators. I had them sit down for a banquet and held a festival.

May the god Aššur, the father of the gods, steadfastly look upon this palace with his holy, radiant face and may he ordain its renovation for future days. May the following commands come from (be set in) his holy mouth: May the guardian spirit and the protective god stay continually in it, day and night, and may they never leave it. At his command, may the ruler who constructed it live long and reach extreme old age. May its builder remain in good health forever. May the following command issue from his (the god Aššur’s) holy lips. May the one who dwells inside it the palace rejoice there in physical well-being, merriment, and happiness, and may he be fully satisfied with his good fortune.

Eight twin lion colossi of shining copper that weigh 4,610 full (tested) talents and that were cast by the craft of the god Ninagal and filled with radiance — upon those lion colossi I installed four matching cedar columns, whose diameters are one nindanu each, the product of Mount Amanus; and I positioned cross-beams upon them as a cornice for their gates. I had magnificent mountain sheep colossi of massive mountain stone skillfully made and in the four directions I had them hold their (the gates’) door bolts. I depicted the settlements that I had conquered upon large limestone slabs;

O god Ninurta, the one endowed with (lord of) power, whose strength is supreme, with regard to Sargon II, king of the world, king of Assyria, governor of Babylon, king of the land of Sumer and Akkad, the one who constructed your cella, make him attain old age. May he be fully satisfied with his good fortune. Establish his reign firmly inside Esagila and Ešarra. Keep his thoroughbred horses in good order and his chariot teams in good condition. Grant him unequaled strength and manly might. Mobilize his weapons so that he might strike down his foes.

O god Ninšiku Ea, the lord of wisdom who fashions absolutely everything, make your springs open up for Sargon II, king of the world, king of Assyria, governor of Babylon, king of the land of Sumer and Akkad, the one who constructed your cella. Send forth water from his wells and provide water in great abundance for his meadowlands. Determine as his fate wide intelligence and broad understanding. Bring his undertakings to completion so that he might attain his desire.

O god Sîn, the holy god, who renders decisions and reveals ominous signs, with regard to Sargon II, king of the world, king of Assyria, governor of Babylon, king of the land of Sumer and Akkad, the one who constructed your cella, duly look at him with your steadfast heart and direct your just countenance upon him. Grant him a long life (distant days) of physical well-being. Determine as his fate years of happiness. Make his reign last as long as heaven and netherworld. Establish his throne firmly over the four quarters of the world.

O god Adad, the canal inspector of heaven and netherworld, who illuminates the daises, with regard to Sargon II, king of the world, king of Assyria, governor of Babylon, king of the land of Sumer and Akkad, the one who constructed your cella, bring him at the right times rain from the sky and floods from the depths. Pile up grain and oil in his meadowlands. Have his people dwell as safely as in a meadow in great prosperity. Establish the foundation of his throne firmly and prolong his reign.

O most honored of ladies, exalted goddess Ningal, with regard to Sargon II, king of the world, king of Assyria, governor of Babylon, king of the land of Sumer and Akkad, the one who constructed your cella, intercede for him in the presence of the god Sîn, your beloved husband. Say good things about him for the firm establishment of his reign. May he Sîn determine as his fate good health and a long life (distant days). May his (Sargon’s) descendants rule every inhabited region forever.

O god Nabû, the scribe of all the universe, who makes opposing forces agree, with regard to Sargon II, king of the world, king of Assyria, governor of Babylon, and king of the land of Sumer and Akkad, the one who constructed your cella, duly look at him with your steadfast heart and direct your just countenance upon him. Grant him a long life (distant days) of physical well-being. Determine as his fate years of happiness. Make his reign last as long as heaven and netherworld. May he continually exercise the shepherdship of all lands. May his foundation be as firm as this edifice (place) and its platform.

The city Pazaši, a fortress of the land Mannea which is located in front of the pass leading to the land Zikirtu.

Sargon II, appointee of the god Enlil, nešakku-priest and desired object of the god Aššur, chosen of the gods Anu and Dagān, great king, strong king, king of the world, king of Assyria, king of the four quarters of the world, favorite of the great gods;

just shepherd, one to whom the gods Aššur and Marduk granted a reign without equal and whose reputation these gods exalt to the heights;

who re-established the šubarrû-privileges of the cities Sippar, Nippur, and Babylon, protects the weak among them (their weak ones), and made restitution for the wrongful damage suffered by them; who re-established the privileged status of the city Baltil Aššur that had lapsed, who abolished corvée duty for the city Dēr, and who gave relief to their people; most capable of all rulers, who extended his protection over the city Ḫarrān and recorded its exemption from obligations as if its people were people of the gods Anu and Dagān;

the strong man who is clad in awesome splendor and whose weapons are raised to strike down his enemies; the king who since the first day of his reign has had no ruler who could equal him and has met no one who could overpower him in war or battle; who smashed all enemy lands as if they were pots and put halters on all rebels in the four quarters of the world; who opened up innumerable distant mountainous areas whose passes are difficult and visited their remotest regions; who traversed inaccessible, difficult paths in terrifying locations and crossed every swamp;

who ruled from the land Rāši on the border of the land Elam, the Puqudu and Damūnu tribes, the cities Dūr-Kurigalzu and Rapiqu, the entire desert as far as the Brook of Egypt, the wide land Amurru, and the land Ḫatti Syria in its entirety; whose great hand conquered the area from the land Ḫašmar to the land Ṣibar — which borders on the distant Medes in the east — the lands Namri, Ellipi, Bīt-Ḫamban, Parsuaš, Mannea, Urarṭu, Kasku, and Tabal, as far as the land Musku; who set eunuchs of his as governors over them and imposed upon them the same tribute and payments as if they were Assyrians;

the valiant man who met Ḫumbanigaš (Ḫum­ban-nikaš I), king of the land Elam, in battle on the outskirts of the city Dēr and brought about his defeat; who deported the Tešian king and cut down his elite troops; who plundered the land Tuʾumuna, whose people had arrested their sheikh and brought him before the king of Chaldea; who made the wide land Bīt-Ḫumria Israel tremble, brought about the defeat of Egypt at the city Raphia, and brought Ḫanūnu Hanno, king of the city Gaza, to the city Aššur in bondage; who conquered the Tamudu, Ibādidi, Marsīmani, and Ḫayappa tribes, whose remnants were transferred here and whom I resettled in the land Bīt-Ḫumria Israel; skilled in war, who caught the Ionians in the middle of the sea like fish, as a fowler does, and pacified the land Que Cilicia and the city Tyre;

the heroic king who cut through the fruit trees of the city Šinuḫtu, laid waste its settlements, and kept Kiakki, their king, in check as if with a clamp; who deported the people of the land Bīt-Purutaš, whose king, Ambaris, had forgotten the kindness shown to him by Sargon and had put his trust in the kings of the lands Urarṭu and Musku; the one with powerful arms, who drove out Mitâ Midas, king of the land Musku, brought back to Assyrian control the fortresses of the land Que Cilicia that had been taken away by the enemy, and expanded their borders;

the brave one, fearless in battle, who eradicated the land Hamath and dyed the skin of the rebel Ilu-biʾdī as red as red wool; who plundered the land Carchemish of the evil Ḫittite king and whose great hand conquered Pisīris, their subject who always spoke treachery;

who laid waste to the land Urarṭu and plundered the city Muṣaṣir; in great fear of whom Ursâ Rusâ, king of the land Urarṭu, brought an end to his life with his own weapon; who deported and settled elsewhere the people of the cities Pāpa, Lalluknu, Sukkia, Bāla, and Abitikna who had conspired with the land Kakmê for the purpose of separating from Assyria; who overwhelmed the lands Andia and Zikirtu, slaughtered all their people like sheep, and splattered all his enemies with deadly venom;

the victorious one who is perfect in strength and power and who subjugated the insubmissive Medes; who slaughtered the people of the land Ḫarḫar and enlarged the territory of Assyria; who gathered back together the scattered land Mannea and brought order to the disturbed land Ellipi; who established his kingship over both these lands and made his name glorious; who trampled down the land Ḫabḫu, a land of stepped mountains, a dangerous enemy; who ousted (ousts) the rebel Ittî of the land Allabria from his city; who destroyed the land Karalla, dyed the skin of Aššur-lēʾi, their city ruler, red like the illūru-plant, and imposed the yoke of the god Aššur upon Adâ of the land Šurda;

the wise king who occupies himself with good matters, who turned his attention to resettling abandoned pasture lands, opening up unused land, and planting orchards; who conceived the idea of raising crops on high mountain(-slopes) where no vegetation had ever sprouted; who was minded to provide with rows of furrows the waste land which had known no plow under previous kings, to have the plowmen sing the alālu-work song, to open up for watering places the springs of a meadowland without wells, and to irrigate all around (above and below) with water as abundant as the surge at the annual inundation;

the king, intelligent and skilled in every craft, equal to the sage Adapa, who grew great in intelligence and wisdom and matured in understanding —

With regard to the town Maganubba, which is situated like a tower at the foot of Mount Muṣri, a mountain rising above the spring and on the outskirts of Nineveh, not one of the three hundred and fifty previous rulers who had exercised lordship over Assyria before my time and had governed the subjects of the god Enlil had noted its (the city’s) site or come to know how to make it habitable; nor had one ordered the digging of a canal for it. With my broad knowledge that was abundantly provided with understanding and full of cleverness by the command of the divine "King of Deep apsû" Ea, the lord of wisdom, and with my broad intelligence that the goddess Ninmenanna, the creator of the gods, had made greater than that of the kings, my ancestors, I planned earnestly day and night how to settle that city and how to erect there a great shrine — a cella for the great gods — and palatial halls to be my lordly abode; I ordered its construction.

In accordance with the saying of my name that the great gods had given to me — to protect truth and justice, to guide the powerless, and to prevent the harming of the weak — I reimbursed the owners of the expropriated fields with silver and bronze, the price for the expropriated fields of that town being in accordance with the original purchase documents of those fields; in order that there should be no wrongdoing, I gave to those who did not want to take silver for their fields, fields corresponding in value to their own fields and located wherever they chose.

Facing east, I raised my two hands in entreaty to the gods Sigga ("Gracious One") and Lugal-dingira ("King of the Gods"), the judges of humanity, with regard to building it the new city; to the west, I raised up my hands in supplication to the goddess Šauška, the awe-inspiring one of Nineveh that in the future I might enter into it (Dūr-Šarrukīn) with happiness and in good health. The just words of my mouth were as pleasing as the finest oil to the august deities, my lords, and they commanded me to build the city and to dig a canal for it. I put my trust in their command that cannot be changed, mustered my numerous people, and had them take up the hoe and the work basket.

In the month Ṣītaš III — the month of the son of the god Daragal, the one who renders decisions and reveals ominous signs, the divine light of heaven and netherworld, the hero of the gods, the god Sîn — which by the decree of the gods Anu, Enlil, and prince Ea was called the month of the god Kulla, the month appropriate for making bricks and building cities and houses, on the day of an eššešu-festival for the son of the god Bēl — the exceedingly wise god Nabû, the scribe of all the universe, who gives orders to all the gods — I had its brickwork made. I offered a sacrifice to the god Kulla, the lord of foundations and brickwork, and to the god Mušda, the master builder of the god Enlil. I strewed aromatic offerings, and recited a šuilakku-prayer.

In the month Abu V — the month of the descent from heaven of the god Gibil, who dries out the moist fields and lays the foundation of cities and houses — I laid its foundation and established its brickwork.