Rassam cylinder

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rassam cylinder
Rassam Prism of Ashurbanipal, 10-sided prism, Nineveh, 643 BCE.jpg
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°21′34″N 43°09′10″E / 36.359444°N 43.152778°E / 36.359444; 43.152778Coordinates: 36°21′34″N 43°09′10″E / 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]

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]

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 , 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 , 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[]