Royal Family and Officials (2001-2011)

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2001 [/rinap/rinap2/Q006643/]

In 1989, Iraqi excavations of a tomb chamber below Room 49 of the North-West Palace at Nimrud (Tomb II) uncovered the bodies of two women and numerous precious items, including four inscribed gold bowls, one inscribed jar apparently of rock crystal, and an electrum mirror. Inscriptions on them refer to three Assyrian royal wives: Yabâ, the wife of Tiglath-pileser III; Bānītu (or possibly Banītu), the wife of Shalmaneser V; and Atalia, the wife of Sargon II. Since only two bodies were found in the grave, their identities has been a matter of some discussion, with one suggestion being that they are Yabâ and Atalia (with the latter being buried with property inherited from Bānītu; Kamil in Damerji, Gräber p. 13), another suggestion being that they are Bānītu and Atalia (George, Minerva 1/1 [1990] p. 31), and the most recent suggestion being that Yabâ and Bānītu were one and the same person, so that the grave then holds Yabâ (=Bānītu) and Atalia (Dalley, New Light on Nimrud pp. 171–175). As pointed out by A.R. George, although the name Bānītu is a good Assyrian name, that of Atalia and possibly that of Yabâ are Northwest Semitic, suggesting that these two "were thus probably of Syrian or Levantine birth, entering the Assyrian harem as a result of diplomatic marriages or as spoils of the many western campaigns undertaken by the Assyrian armies of this period" (Minerva 1/1 [1990] p. 31). S. Dalley has proposed that Yabâ and Atalia were both princesses from Jerusalem (e.g., SAAB 12 [1998] pp. 83–98) and (as already mentioned) that Yabâ and Banītu were actually one and the same person since Yabâ means "beautiful" in Hebrew and Banītu is the Akkadian equivalent (New Light on Nimrud pp. 171–175). The evidence adduced by Dalley to support a Judean ancestry, while intriguing, is open to other interpretations. E. Frahm, for example, has tentatively suggested that Atalia might have been of Israelite background, although noting that "the uncertainties in identifying Atalyā's true background are so substantial that it seems preferable to abstain from further speculation" (Last Days p. 81; see also Frahm in Sennacherib at the Gates of Jerusalem pp. 186–189). For a linguistic discussion of the name Atalia suggesting that it might be of Arabian derivation, see Zadok, Studies Ephʿal pp. 327–329. See also Kertai, AoF 40 (2013) pp. 114–116 with regard to the three queens and note Tadmor and Yamada, RINAP 1 p. 164.

A short proprietary inscription of Atalia's is written on a gold bowl, a jar of (apparently) rock crystal, and an electrum mirror found in the tomb chamber.

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Commentary

The gold bowl (ex. 1) was found resting on the breast of one of the two bodies found in the tomb and it has been suggested that Atalia was buried in this tomb (Damerji, Gräber p. 8). The inscriptions on exs. 1–2 are found on the outer surface of the vessels, running in one line around each vessel's neck; the one on ex. 3 is in two lines (with the second line beginning after MUNUS.É.GAL) and is found on the handle of the mirror. It has not been possible to collate the exemplars and the inscription is edited from the published copies.

A drawing of a scorpion is found on the neck of ex. 1 (just before the the beginning of the inscription) and on the handle of ex. 3 (at the end of the inscription). With regard to the scorpion on Neo-Assyrian artifacts as a marker of the property of the queen, see most recently Galter, Journal for Semitics 16/3 (2007) pp. 646–671; Niederreiter, Iraq 70 (2008) pp. 51–86, esp. 59–62; and Radner, Studies Fales pp. 690–693. A bronze duck weight (ND 1898/158) with brief inscriptions in Akkadian and Aramaic stating that it weighed one-sixth of a mina and with the depiction of a scorpion on it was also found in Tomb II and F.N.H. Al-Rawi has argued that it also belonged to Atalia (see New Light on Nimrud pp. 126–130 no. 7 and Hussein, Nimrud: The Queens' Tombs pp. 22–23).

Bibliography

2002 [/rinap/rinap2/Q006644/]

An inscription of Sîn-aḫu-uṣur, a brother of Sargon II, is found upon three stone pavement slabs from doorways in Residence L (or Palace L) in the citadel at Khorsabad; he is also the owner of an bronze macehead (text no. 2003). Residence L was the second largest building in the citadel, exceeded in size only by Sargon's palace. The inscription on the paving slabs identifies the residence as belonging to the grand vizier (sukkalmaḫḫu) Sîn-aḫu-uṣur. A Sîn-aḫu-uṣur is mentioned in the eighth campaign of Sargon II (text no. 65 line 132) and it is quite likely that that individual is to be identified with the king's brother.

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Commentary

The findspots of the exemplars are indicated on Loud and Altman, Khorsabad 2 pl. 72. Ex. 3 was left in situ and, according to the excavator, its inscription is "barely legible" (Khorsabad 2 p. 70). Thus, the transliteration for this exemplar presented in the score and made from a published photo is at times tentative. Each inscription is on seven lines and written across the middle of the slab. "The areas above and below the inscription are entirely filled with the usual daisy-like rosettes, each in its individual square" (Khorsabad 2 p. 48). The line arrangement and master line are based upon ex. 1.

In their translations of this inscription, T. Jacobsen (in Loud and Altman, Khorsabad 2 p. 104) and B. Meissner (ZDMG 98 [1944] p. 38) assume that the subject of the verbs in lines 4–6 ("completely constructed," "invited," and "offered") is Sîn-aḫu-uṣur, while A. Fuchs assumes it is Sargon. The latter view is supported by passages similar to lines 4b–6a on other paving stones from Khorsabad that clearly refer to Sargon (text no. 12 lines 34–37 and text no. 13 lines 123–126).

For information on Sîn-aḫu-uṣur, see Mattila, PNA 3/1 p. 1128 sub Sīn-aḫu-uṣur 1; Niederreiter, RA 99 (2005) pp. 57–76; and May, BiOr 74 (2017) pp. 491–528. For 707 or 706 as the suggested date of this inscription, see May, Iconoclasm p. 199 n. 41.

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2003 [/rinap/rinap2/Q006645/]

AO 21368 (text nos. 62 and 2003), a bronze macehead found in the palace at Khorsabad with inscriptions of Sargon and his brother Sîn-aḫu-uṣur. Photo courtesy of A. Thomas. © Musée du Louvre.

During his excavations at Khorsabad, V. Place found a bronze macehead that had the heads of four lions on its top (see Figure 31 below). The object has two one-line inscriptions engraved on it; the top one connects the object to the palace of Sargon and the lower one states that it belonged to Sîn-aḫu-uṣur, the grand vizier (sukkallu rabû). Sîn-aḫu-uṣur was the brother of Sargon II and the occupant of Residence L at Khorsabad; see text no. 2002, where he is given the title sukkalmaḫḫu and said to be Sargon's favorite brother (ta-lim ^mMAN-GIN). The first inscription (inscription A below) could have been presented earlier with those of Sargon from Khorsabad and is in fact cited there as text no. 62; however, it has been thought best to edit both inscriptions on the macehead here.

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Commentary

This macehead was found together with fifty-three other bronze maceheads in one of the corners of Room 18 of Sargon's palace (Place, Ninive et l'Assyrie 1 p. 65; Niederreiter, RA 99 [2005] pp. 57–58). The inscriptions run around the macehead, with the two lines on different bands of the object; inscription A is on the upper band and inscription B on the lower band. Just before the beginning of inscription B a dromedary and an omega-like symbol are incised on the macehead. These are also found on two stamp seal impressions from Kalḫu, which has led Niederreiter to identify Sîn-aḫu-uṣur as the owner of the seal that made those impressions (Iraq 70 [2008] pp. 62–65 and RA 99 [2005] pp. 66–69). N. May (SAAB 19 [2011–12] pp. 168–170) has argued that the dromedary and omega are "Assyrian hieroglyphs," with omega standing for aḫu, "brother," and dromedary for talīmu (with regard to the meaning of this word, see the on-page note to text no. 2002 line 1). For another opinion about their interpretation, see Niederreiter, Iraq 70 [2008] pp. 62–65.

Bibliography

2004 [/rinap/rinap2/Q006646/]

A stamp seal impression found at Khorsabad in 1929 bears a brief Aramaic inscription of one of Sargon's eunuchs, Pān-Aššur-lāmur. It is not known if he is to be identified with the homonymous author of two poorly preserved letters to Sargon II (Parpola, SAA 1 nos. 156 and 157 [=Harper, ABL no. 1064 and CT 53 no. 525]). Although the inscription is in the Aramaic script and language, it has been thought useful to include the text in this volume.

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Commentary

The seal impression was found in 1929. Information on the museum, excavation, and photograph numbers and on the measurements was kindly supplied by J. Larson. The edition presented below follows that of S. Kaufman (JAOS 104 [1984] p. 94), who examined the original seal impression in the Oriental Institute (Chicago). The transliteration of the inscription by P. Bordreuil (in Caubet, Khorsabad p. 261) restores "y" at the end of the second line, rather than at the beginning of the third line, but in his commentary (ibid. p. 264), Bordreuil appears to refer to restoring it at the beginning of the last line (referred to as "ligne 4"). K. Watanabe, K. Åkerman, and most others do not restore "y" in their editions (see bibliography below).

Bibliography

2005 [/rinap/rinap2/Q006647/]

A corner fragment of an alabaster coffer found at Aššur records a dedication to the god Adad by Ṭāb-šār-Aššur, the treasurer (masennu). Ṭāb-šār-Aššur served as eponym in 717 and is mentioned in text no. 65 line 427, as well as in several letters (see in particular, Parpola, SAA 1 nos. 41–74 and Perroudon, PNA 3/2 pp. 1344–1346 sub Ṭāb-šār-Aššūr 1).

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2006 [/rinap/rinap2/Q006648/]

A clay sealing that was discovered at Nimrud (ancient Kalḫu) in 1956 and is preserved in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York bears impressions of a stamp seal and a cylinder seal. The cylinder seal impression has a short inscription of Aššur-bāni, a governor of Kalḫu who served as eponym in 713 and who wrote several letters to the king and one to the vizier (see Whiting, PNA 1/1 pp. 158–159 sub Aššūr-bāni 5 and Parpola, SAA 1 nos. 111–123). The inscription has been collated from the published photos.

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2007 [/rinap/rinap2/Q006649/]

A cylinder seal of agate bears a short inscription of Nabû-uṣalla, the governor of the city Tamnūnu and eunuch of Sargon. As noted by W.G. Lambert and C.E. Watanabe, it is likely that the owner of the seal is to be identified with one or more individuals by this name who either sent, or are mentioned in, a few letters of the period (Parpola, SAA 1 nos. 177 and 237; Lanfranchi and Parpola, SAA 5 no. 104; Luukko, SAA 19 no. 183; see Luppert-Barnard, PNA 2/2 p. 900 sub Nabû-uṣalla 2 and 3).

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Commentary

The cylinder seal is in a private collection in Japan but was on display in the Ancient Orient Museum (Tokyo) from July 20 until September 1, 1991 with the exhibition number II-1-19. The inscription is incised so that when impressed it appears in mirror writing. The inscription was collated from the published photograph.

Bibliography

2008 [/rinap/rinap2/Q006650/]

A broken stone axe head from Tell Haddad (ancient Mê-Turnat) bears an inscription of an individual who was one of Sargon's eunuchs and who was also likely governor of Na'iri. The inscription records the dedication of the axe head to the god Nergal of the temple Ešaḫula. A brick inscription from the time of Ashurbanipal deals with work on this temple (Frame, RIMB 2 p. 229 B.6.32.22). A fragment of a clay cylinder with an inscription of Sargon II was also found at Tell Haddad (text no. 129) and note also text no. 2009.

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Commentary

According to E. Valtz, this fragmentary stone axe head is made of "bluish marble" and is trapezoidal in shape and triangular in section. Lines 1–8 are found on the upper surface of the object and line 9 on the trailing edge. The edition is based upon the published photograph and copy, with help from F.N.H. Al-Rawi's edition that also made use of a paper squeeze of the inscription. Restorations are based on those proposed by Al-Rawi; as noted by him, for lines 5 and 6, see Leichty, RINAP 4 p. 20 no. 1 iv 38 and cf. King, BBSt no. 36 iv 15–19 respectively.

The first published reference to this inscription assigned it to the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III (Mancini, Land Between Two Rivers p. 418) and thus this inscription was originally to appear in Grayson, RIMA 3. The edition was removed from that volume before publication (see ibid. p. 155 A.0.102.98).

Bibliography

2009 [/rinap/rinap2/Q006651/]

A small clay barrel cylinder found on the surface of Tell Baradān in 1977 and now in the Iraq Museum describes the construction of the wall of the city Sirara (a literary rendering for Mê-turnat), apparently by Nabû-bēlu-kaʾʾin, the governor of the city Arrapḫa, and following the wishes of Sargon.

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Commentary

Tell Baradān is located in the Diyala region about 500 meters from Tell Haddad. Ancient Mê-Turnat is either Tell Haddad or Tell Baradān, or possibly both since they are located close to each other. No information on the exact provenance of the piece, its excavation number, or its current museum number is known. The edition of the piece is based upon the copy and edition published by Kessler in AfO 50 (2003–04) pp. 105–110.

For Neo-Assyrian references to Mê-Turnat and its location, see Bagg, Rép. Géogr. 7/2-2 pp. 426–427, and note also p. 534 sub Sirara 2.

K. Kessler has argued that this inscription is more likely one of the governor of Arrapḫa Nabû-bēlu-kaʾʾin (mentioned in line 15´) than that of Sargon because of the Babylonian and, in places, Elamite, character of the text, as well as because of the various scribal errors and graphic peculiarities (AfO 50 [2003–04] p. 107); however, as noted by Kessler, the construction of the city wall appears to have been in accordance with the will of Sargon (lines 14´–15´a). Nabû-bēlu-kaʾʾin is known to have been an important Assyrian official active in the Diyala region and to have been governor of Kār-Šarrukīn (formerly known as Ḫarḫar, which Sargon had renamed) in western Iran before becoming governor of Arrapḫa around 710 or 709. (For information on Nabû-bēlu-kaʾʾin, see Mattila, PNA 2/2 pp. 815–817 sub Nabû-bēlu-kaʾʾin 1 and Postgate and Mattila, Studies Grayson pp. 251–253, esp. n. 50.)

Bibliography

2010 [/rinap/rinap2/Q006652/]

A stele found at Til-Barsip (modern Tell Ahmar) bears a votive inscription of Aššur-dūr-pāniya, governor of Kār-Shalmaneser, dedicated to the goddess Ištar of Arbela. Til-Barsip had been renamed Kār-Shalmaneser by Shalmaneser III (Grayson, RIMA 3 p. 19 A.0.102.2 ii 34–35). An official by the name of Aššur-dūr-pāniya is attested in several letters (see Parker, PNA 1/1 p. 180 sub Aššūr-dūr-pāniya 1). For the assignment of this inscription to that individual in the reign of Sargon II, see Radner, Bagh. Mitt. 37 (2006) pp. 188–192.

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The stele is made of reddish limestone and was found during the French excavations at Tell Ahmar led by F. Thureau-Dangin. The stele, which is now in the Louvre and said to join AO 16083, has a relief on it depicting the goddess standing on the back of a lion. The inscription is written in Neo-Assyrian script across the upper part of the front of the stele. The edition presented here is based on that published by K. Radner, who examined the original in 2005.

Bibliography

2011 [/rinap/rinap2/Q007770/]

An inscribed basalt stele was found in 2003 at Turlu Höyük (Turkey), ca. 30 km northwest of Carchemish. Over a quarter of the stele (the lower part) is no longer preserved. The stele has the image of a bearded individual carved on it. Since the figure has a horned headdress, is holding a bundle of three lightning bolts in his right hand, and is standing on a (partially preserved) bull, the figure has been identified as the storm god. The back of the stele bears a six-line votive inscription of one Bēl-iddin, who is given no title. The initial publishers of the text suggested that Bēl-iddin is a previously unknown Assyrian prince or high official. While he might be one of the "independent" Assyrian officials and governors from the period ca. 850–740, they thought that he more likely comes from the time of Sargon since (1) we do not know if the area where the stele was found was under Assyrian control in the earlier period, (2) Bēl-iddin does not bear a title, and thus we do not know what authority/function he had there, and (3) the expanded dedicatory formula including GÁ-ma is first attested in the time of Sargon II. Thus, although the exact date of the inscription remains uncertain and the position that Bēl-iddin held is unknown, the inscription is tentatively presented here. The inscription is edited from the published photo and copy.

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Bibliography

Grant Frame

Grant Frame, 'Royal Family and Officials (2001-2011)', RINAP 2: Sargon II, Sargon II, The RINAP 2 sub-project of the RINAP Project, 2024 [http://oracc.org/rinap/rinap2/rinap2textintroductions/royalfamilyandofficials20012011/]