Rassam cylinder
The Rassam cylinder is a cuneiform cylinder,
forming a prism with ten faces, written by Neo-Assyrian Rassam cylinder
king Ashurbanipal in 643 BCE. The 7th century BCE
cylinder was discovered in the North Palace of Nineveh
by Hormuzd Rassam in 1854, hence its name. It is
located in the British Museum.[4][1]
Content
The cylinder describes in detail nine military campaigns
of Ashurbanipal.[4][1] The content of the cylinder has
been listed as follows:[5]
1. Introduction, account of the accession of
Ashurbanipal
2. First Egyptian War against Tirhakah
3. Second Egyptian War against Urdamane
4. Conquest of Tyre and death of Ba'al, king
of Tyre
5. Expedition against Ahseri, king of Van
6. Expedition against Teumman, king of Elam
7. War against Shamash-shum-ukin of
Babylon, brother of Ashurbanipal
8. First war with Ummanaldas, king of Elam
9. Second war with Ummanaldas, king of Rassam cylinder of Ashurbanipal. A 10-sided
Elam prism and the most complete of the chronicles
10. Expedition against Uate, king of Arabia of Ashurbanipal. Nineveh, 643 BCE. British
11. Capture of Ummanaldas, king of Elam Museum.[1]
12. Embassy from Istar-duri, king of Ararat Created 643 BCE
13. Repair of the Palace of Sennacherib at Discovered Nineveh
Nineveh, conclusion, and date of the 36.359444°N 43.152778°E
inscription
Present location British Museum, London
Registration BM 91026
Extracts
One of these is his victorious campaign in Egypt:
In my first campaign I marched against
Magan, Meluhha, Taharqa, king of Egypt and
Nineveh
Ethiopia, whom Esarhaddon, king of Assyria,
the father who begot me, had defeated, and
whose land he brought under his sway. This
same Taharqa forgot the might of Ashur,
Ishtar and the other great gods, my lords, and Show map of Near East
put his trust upon his own power. He turned Show map of Iraq
against the kings and regents whom my own Show all
father had appointed in Egypt. He entered and
took residence in Memphis, the city which my
own father had conquered and incorporated
into Assyrian territory.
"Assurbanipal King of Assyria"
— Rassam cylinder of Assurbanipal
an-szar2-du3-a man kur_ an-szar2{ki}
(extract).[6]
in the Rassam cylinder, 643 BCE.[2]
Some reliefs from Nineveh are otherwise known that
illustrate these campaigns.[3]
A full translation of the cylinder was made by Luckenbill in
Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia.[4][1] A full
transcription of the cuneiform is available on CDLI.[7]
Assyrian siege of an Egyptian fort,
probably a scene from the war in 667 BCE.
Sculpted in 645 – 635 BCE, under
Ashurbanipal. British Museum.[3]
Transcription of the cuneiform Translation of the first column by
script of the first column.[8] Luckenbill: Introduction and First
Campaign of Egypt.[9]
Ashurbanipal "The First Egyptian
War". Word-for-word translation
by George Smith.[10]
Important words
The word Mu-ṣur, The word Ku-u2-si, The word Sha-ba- The word Tar-qu- Tar-qu-u, an
for Egypt for "Kingdom of ku-u, for Kushite u2, for Kushite alternative spelling
Kush" Pharaoh Shabaka Pharaoh Taharqa used for Kushite
Pharaoh Taharqa
The word The word An-shar- The word An-shar- The word Aššur KI, The word mat
Urdamanee, for pap-ash, for Neo- du-a, for Neo- for the city of Aššur KI, for the
Kushite Pharaoh Assyrian ruler Assyrian ruler Assur country of Aššur,
Tantamani Esarhaddon Ashurbanipal Assyria
The word An-shar, The country of
for supreme god Meluhha
Anshar (𒈨𒈛𒄩𒆠)
possibly identical
with Meroe
References
1. "Rassam cylinder British Museum" ([Link]
The British Museum.
2. For the original inscription: Rawlinson, H.C. Cuneiform inscriptions of Western Asia ([Link]
[Link]/sites/default/files/coretexts/[Link]) (PDF). p. 3, column 2, line 98. For the
transliteration: "CDLI-Archival View" ([Link]
1807). [Link]. For the translation: Luckenbill, David. Ancient Records of Assyria and
Babylonia Volume II ([Link]
nt_records_assyria2.pdf) (PDF). p. 297.
3. "Wall panel; relief British Museum" ([Link]
-33). The British Museum.
4. Luckenbill, Daniel David (1927). Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia, Volume II ([Link]
[Link]/sites/[Link]/files/uploads/shared/docs/ancient_records_assyria2.pdf) (PDF).
University of Chivago Press. pp. 290 ff.
5. Miscelleneous inscription Vol 5, page 1 ([Link]
f) Published in 1905. Author: Theophilus Goldridge Pinches M.R.A.S. (1856 – 6 June 1934
Muswell Hill, London)
6. Pritchard, James B. (2016). Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament with
Supplement ([Link] Princeton
University Press. p. 294. ISBN 978-1-4008-8276-2.
7. "CDLI-Archival View" ([Link]
[Link].
8. Miscelleneous inscription Vol 5 ([Link]
Published in 1905. Author: Theophilus Goldridge Pinches M.R.A.S. (1856 – 6 June 1934 Muswell
Hill, London)
9. Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia pp 290-296 ([Link]
du/files/uploads/shared/docs/ancient_records_assyria2.pdf) by Daniel David Luckenbill, University
of Chicago Press, 1927
10. Smith, George (1871). History of Assurbanipall, Translated from the Cuneiform Inscriptions by
George Smith ([Link] Williams
and Norgate. pp. 15ff.
Retrieved from "[Link]