Inscription on the Obelisk of Shalmaneser II

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Inscription on the Obelisk of Shalmaneser II

The text below is only the introductory section of the 1st column. The majority of Assyrian inscriptions in this manner are typically summaries of their past exploits. This portion is preserved due to its mythological nature and identification of certain deities.

Translated by A.H. Sayce, [1890]

Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser
Face A, Top:

I. Assur, the great lord, the king of all

2. the great gods; Anu the king of the Igigi

3. and the Anunnaki; the lord of the world, the supreme, Bel

4. the father of the gods, the creator

5. of the universe; Ea, the king of the abyss who determines destinies;

6. Sin, the king of the (lunar) disk, who sheds the light;

7. Adad (Rimmon), the very mighty, the master of abundance; Shamash,

8. the judge of heaven and earth, the ordainer of all things;

9. Merodach, the herald of the gods, the master of the laws; Adar (Uras), the captain?

10. of the Igigi and the Anunnaki, the god all-powerful; Nergal,

11. the valiant, the king of battles; Nusku who bears the august sceptre,

12. the omniscient god; Beltis, the wife of Bel, the mother of the great gods;

13. Ishtar, the princess of heaven and earth, accomplished in courageous decisions;

14. the great gods who have determined my destinies and enlarged my royalty!

15. Shalmaneser, the king of the multitude of men, high-priest of Assur, the powerful king,

16. the king of all the four regions, the Sun-god of the multitude of mankind, who governs

17. in all countries; the son of Assur-natsir-pal, the supreme priest, whose priesthood unto the gods

18. was pleasing, and who has subdued unto his feet all lands;

19. the illustrious offspring of Tukulti-Adar

20. who subjugated all his enemies and

21. swept them like the tempest.—