Rassam cylinder

The Rassam cylinder is a cuneiform cylinder, forming a prism with ten faces, written by Neo-Assyrian king Ashurbanipal in the 7th century BCE, in 643 BCE. The 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][5]

Rassam cylinder
Rassam cylinder of Ashurbanipal. A 10-sided prism and the most complete of the chronicles of Ashurbanipal. Nineveh, 643 BCE. British Museum.[1]
Created643 BCE
DiscoveredNineveh
36.359444°N 43.152778°E / 36.359444; 43.152778
Present locationBritish Museum, London
RegistrationBM 91026
"Assurbanipal King of Assyria"
an-szar2-du3-a man kur_ an-szar2{ki}
in the Rassam cylinder, 643 BCE.[2]
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]

Content

The cylinder describes in detail nine military campaigns of Ashurpanipal.[4][5] The content of the cylinder has been listed as follows:

  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 Elam
  10. Expedition against Uate, king of Arabia
  11. Capture of Ummanaldas, king of Elam
  12. Embassy from Istar-duri, king of Ararat
  13. Repair of the Palace of Sennacherib at Nineveh, conclusion, and date of the inscription
    — Content of the Rassam cylinder[6]

Extracts

One of these is his victorious campaign in Egypt:

"In my first campaign I marched against Magan, Meluhha, Taharqa, king of Egypt and 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 put his trust upon his own power. He turned against the kings and regents whom my own 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."

— Rassam cylinder of Assurbanipal (extract).[7]

Some reliefs from Nineveh are otherwise known that illustrate these campaigns.[8]

A full translation of the cylinder was made by Luckenbill in Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia.[4][5] A full transcription of the cuneiform is available on CDLI.[9]

Important words
  • The word Mu-ṣur, for Egypt
  • The word Ku-u2-si, for "Kingdom of Kush"
  • The word Sha-ba-ku-u, for Kushite Pharaoh Shabaka
  • The word Tar-qu-u2, for Kushite Pharaoh Taharqa
  • Tar-qu-u, an alternative spelling used for Kushite Pharaoh Taharqa
  • The word Urdamanee, for Kushite Pharaoh Tantamani
  • The word An-shar-pap-ash, for Neo-Assyrian ruler Esarhaddon
  • The word An-shar-du-a, for Neo-Assyrian ruler Ashurbanipal
  • The word Aššur KI, for the city of Assur
  • The word mat Aššur KI, for the country of Aššur, Assyria
  • The word An-shar, for supreme god Anshar
  • The country of Meluhha (𒈨𒈛𒄩𒆠) possibly identical with Meroe
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References
  1. "Rassam cylinder British Museum". The British Museum.
  2. For the original inscription: Rawlinson, H.C. Cuneiform inscriptions of Western Asia (PDF). p. 3, column 2, line 98. For the transliteration: "CDLI-Archival View". cdli.ucla.edu. For the translation: Luckenbill, David. Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia Volume II (PDF). p. 297.
  3. "Wall panel; relief British Museum". The British Museum.
  4. Luckenbill, Daniel David (1927). Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia, Volume II (PDF). University of Chivago Press. pp. 290 ff.
  5. "Rassam cylinder British Museum". The British Museum.
  6. Miscelleneous inscription Vol 5, page 1 Published in 1905. Author: Theophilus Goldridge Pinches M.R.A.S. (1856 – 6 June 1934 Muswell Hill, London)
  7. Pritchard, James B. (2016). Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament with Supplement. Princeton University Press. p. 294. ISBN 978-1-4008-8276-2.
  8. "Wall panel; relief British Museum". The British Museum.
  9. "CDLI-Archival View". cdli.ucla.edu.
  10. Miscelleneous inscription Vol 5 Published in 1905. Author: Theophilus Goldridge Pinches M.R.A.S. (1856 – 6 June 1934 Muswell Hill, London)
  11. Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia pp 290-296 by Daniel David Luckenbill, University of Chicago Press, 1927
  12. Smith, George (1871). History of Assurbanipall, Translated from the Cuneiform Inscriptions by George Smith. Williams and Norgate. pp. 15ff.
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