The 7th century BCE cylinder was discovered in the North Palace of Nineveh by Hormuzd Rassam in 1854, hence its name.

[4][1] The content of the cylinder has been listed as follows:[5] 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 entered and took residence in Memphis, the city which my own father had conquered and incorporated into Assyrian territory.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.