145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154
A fragment of a two-column tablet, possibly from the same tablet as text nos. 143–144, preserves on its obverse part of a copy of an inscription of Sennacherib; the reverse has copies of royal decrees of Šamšī-Adad V and Adad-nārārī III. The extant text contains part of a report of Sennacherib's eighth campaign (the battle of Ḫalulê). The description of the events leading up to the battle of Ḫalulê is similar to that in at least three inscriptions written on clay prisms (text nos. 18 and 22–23) and, therefore, this text was probably written around the same time as them (ca. 690–689) or slightly later (ca. 688–687).
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Parts of the obverse, reverse, right edge, and top edge are preserved. If K 2655 + K 2800 + Sm 318 belongs to the same tablet as K 4507 (text no. 143) and Bu 89-4-26,150 (text no. 144), then the Sennacherib inscription on the obverse immediately follows text no. 144 col. i. Col. i of the tablet ends with text no. 144 i 8' and col. ii of the tablet begins with col. i' 1 of this text, thus providing supporting evidence that K 2655+ and Bu 89-4-26,150 could come from one and the same tablet. The script and the length of the lines of both fragments are very similar, as already noted by E. Frahm. Moreover, text no. 143 ii 1'–4' could preserve the beginning of col. i' 8'–11' of this text and, therefore, both K 2655+ and K 4507 could belong to the same object. For further details, see Figure 17 on p. 191 and Frahm, Sanherib pp. 203–204. The extant text of col. i' duplicates (with some variation), for example, text no. 22 v 63b–75, vi 7b–19a and 27b–32a; and text no 230 lines 60–66a, 90b–97a, and 101b–106. The restorations are generally based on that text. The reverse (rev. i = col. iii) contains a collection of decrees of Šamšī-Adad V and Adad-nārārī III and these texts are not edited here; see Kataja and Whiting, SAA 12 pp. 82–84 no. 76 for an edition of those texts.
A fragment from the left side of a wide single-column tablet, possibly from the same tablet as text nos. 147–148, preserves part of an inscription of Sennacherib. The extant text contains the beginning of a report of Sennacherib's eighth campaign (the battle of Ḫalulê) and part of the concluding formulae; the eighth campaign account given here differs significantly from other known reports of the battle of Ḫalulê.
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Parts of the obverse, reverse, top edge, and left edge are preserved. If K 2622 belongs to the same tablet as DT 236 (text no. 147) and K 4844 (text no. 148), then (1) obv. 1–14 of this text preserve the beginnings of text no. 147 obv. 1–14, (2) text no. 148 follows obv. 16 of this text after a lacuna, and (3) rev. 3'–6' preserve the beginnings of text no. 147 rev. 1'–4'; see Figure 18 on the previous page and Frahm, Sanherib pp. 206–207. The restorations in obv. 1–16 are based on text no. 147 obv. 1–14 and text no. 22 v 21–22, 30, 33–34, and 42–46. Those in rev. 3'–6' are based on text no. 147 rev. 1'–4'.
A fragment from the right side of a wide single-column tablet, possibly from the same tablet as text nos. 146 and 148, preserves part of an archival copy or a draft of an inscription of Sennacherib. The extant text contains the beginning of a report of Sennacherib's eighth campaign (the battle of Ḫalulê), part of the concluding formulae, and the last sign of the subscript (or a scribal note; "Abschriftvermerk"). Like text no. 146, the account of the eighth campaign in this inscription differs significantly from the reports on clay prisms, stone tablets, and other clay tablets.
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Parts of the obverse, reverse, top edge, and right edge are preserved. If DT 236 belongs to the same tablet as K 2622 (text no. 146) and K 4844 (text no. 148), then (1) obv. 1–14 of this text preserve the ends of text no. 146 obv. 1–14, (2) text no. 148 follows obv. 14 of this text after a lacuna, and (3) rev. 1'–4' preserve the ends of text no. 146 rev. 3'–6'; see Figure 18 on p. 197 and Frahm, Sanherib pp. 206–207. The restoration of damaged text is based on text no. 146; see the commentary and on-page notes to that text for further details.
K 4484, a fragment from the obverse of a wide single-column tablet, possibly from the same tablet as text nos. 146–147, preserves part of an archival copy or a draft of an inscription of Sennacherib. The extant text contains part of a report of Sennacherib's eighth campaign (the battle of Ḫalulê). Like the previous two texts, the account of the eighth campaign in this inscription differs significantly from the reports included in texts inscribed on clay prisms, stone tablets, and other clay tablets.
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Assuming that K 4484 belongs to the same tablet as K 2622 (text no. 146) and DT 236 (text no. 147), then this text follows no. 146 obv. 16 after a lacuna of no less than eighth lines (Frahm, Sanherib p. 210); see Figure 18 on p. 197 and Frahm, Sanherib p. 206. Lines 1'–6'a are presently not duplicated elsewhere in the Sennacherib corpus. Lines 6'b–11' duplicate (with some variation) text no. 22 v 62b–71a. The restorations in those lines are generally based on that text.
A small tablet, probably from Nineveh, contains a draft of epigraphs to be engraved on reliefs in Sennacherib's palace. The first epigraph (lines 1–9) describes a wild, mountainous terrain through which Sennacherib passed with his troops, and probably refers to the second campaign (702). This conclusion is confirmed by the second epigraph (line 10) which simply says "Bīt-Kubat," one of the places Sennacherib reached on that expedition. The third epigraph (lines 11–13) describes the flight of Marduk-apla-iddina II (biblical Merodach-baladan) from Babylon to escape Sennacherib's army, presumably on the first campaign (703). The fourth epigraph (lines 14–17) describes Šūzubu falling from his horse out of fear of Sennacherib's attack. Both Nergal-ušēzib and Mušēzib-Marduk were called Šūzubu in Sennacherib's inscriptions and it is unknown which one this is. The last two epigraphs (lines 18 and 19) are simply labels for the lands Sumer and Meluḫḫa.
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K 1280 is a crudely made uʾiltu-tablet with rounded corners; for some details on this horizontal tablet format (1:2 ratio), see Radner, Nineveh 612 BC pp. 72–73 (with fig. 8). Nine lines are written on the obverse (lines 1–9), one line on the bottom edge (line 10), and nine lines on the reverse (lines 11–19). The script is generally Neo-Assyrian, but there are a few Babylonian sign forms; these are tu (bir-tu-uš-šu-nu) in line 5 and the LUGAL-signs in lines 11 and 14 (LUGAL-ut). The first epigraph (lines 1–9) is written in Neo-Assyrian, rather than in Standard Babylonian. Note the Assyrian subordinate marker in lines 3 and 4 (la-áš-šu-ni and še-ru-ʾu-ú-ni respectively) and the ss for št in line 8 (ú-sa-am-ri-iṣ). Because Neo-Assyrian is not used for epigraphs on Sargonid palace reliefs, Frahm questions whether this text was meant for another object with images. As for the date the tablet was inscribed, this is not known, especially since it is not certain to which Babylonian king Šūzubu is referring in the fourth epigraph (lines 14–17), Nergal-ušēzib or Mušēzib-Marduk. If it is the latter, then the earliest possible date is the year 693.
The left half of a small tablet, probably from Nineveh, contains a draft of epigraphs to be engraved upon a relief. The first epigraph (line 1) includes only Sennacherib's name and probably a few of his titles (all of which are restored). The second epigraph (lines 2–4), which is similiar to text no. 149 lines 11–13, describes the flight of the Babylonian ruler Marduk-apla-iddina II from Babylon to escape Sennacherib's army, presumably during the first campaign (703). Although it is not sufficiently preserved for us to be certain of its contents, the third epigraph (lines 5–8) describes a joyous event in which the Assyrian king participated. The reverse of the tablet has a list of names — including Gilgamesh, Enkidu (reading uncertain), and Ḫumbaba — in two columns; these names are likely not part of the Sennacherib inscription and, therefore, are not edited here.
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Like K 1280 (text no. 149), K 6109 is an uʾiltu-tablet with rounded corners. Eight lines are written on the obverse (lines 1–8) and eleven lines on the reverse (not edited here). For details on the list of names on the reverse, see Borger, ARRIM 6 (1988) p. 8 and Frahm, Sanherib p. 213. The script is Neo-Assyrian but interspersed with Neo-Babylonian sign forms, a characteristic of Assyrian inscriptions on stone. The date the tablet was inscribed is not known. Borger suggests that the tablet was probably written after Sennacherib's first campaign (703–702), but Frahm is less certain of the date since the third epigraph (lines 5–8) may refer to an event that took place in the year 703 or the year 700, depending on whether it refers to the appointment of Bēl-ibni or Aššur-nādin-šumi as king in Babylon. Those lines are not sufficiently preserved to be certain of their contents.
K 4492, a fragment of a multi-column tablet (likely two-column format), preserves part of an archival copy or a draft of an inscription of Sennacherib. This tablet, which may have been part of a series, contains only the building report, or most of it. The extant text, which duplicates the contents of the building report of an inscription written on clay prisms during Sennacherib's 8th regnal year (697), contains parts of a description of the rebuilding of Egalzagdinutukua and a passage recording the construction of the wall Badnigalbilukurašušu and its (fourteen) gates. Based on similarities with text no. 15, the inscription copied on this tablet was probably composed in the year 697 (or possibly one year earlier, 698).
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Only the upper right corner of the obverse and bottom right corner of the reverse are preserved. The tablet probably had two columns on each side; see also Frahm, Sanherib p. 213. It is not certain if this tablet contains a draft or an archival copy of the building report of text no. 15 (or most of that part of the text) or of another inscription written on clay prisms ca. 698–697. Based on the conjectured number of lines missing between obv. i' 12 and rev. i 1', which can be estimated from the building report of text no. 15, E. Frahm (Sanherib p. 213) suggests that (1) each column had ca. 63 lines and that (2) ca. 103 lines are missing between the extant sections of the obverse and reverse. If this proves correct, then col. i (completely missing) would have contained text no. 15 v 18–vi 11 and the lacuna between obv. i' (= col. ii) 12 and rev. i (= col. iii) 1' would have had vi 24b–vii 7' of that text. As for the contents of col. iv (completely missing), it is not entirely certain that the scribe could have inscribed all of text no. 15 vii 21'–viii 28'' in ca. 63 lines. Whatever did not fit was probably inscribed on another tablet. Of course, one cannot rule out the possibility that the building report copied on this tablet was shorter than that of text no. 15. The extant text duplicates text no. 15 vi 12–24a and vii 8'–20'. The restorations are based on that text.
A fragment from the left side of a small clay tablet that was probably discovered at Nineveh preserves the first half of a draft of a short monumental inscription of Sennacherib. The extant text contains the prologue and the beginning of the building report, which may describe the rebuilding and decoration of the armory (ekal kutalli, the "Rear Palace") at Nineveh. Based on Sennacherib's titulary and on the assumption that this text records work on the armory, the inscription was likely composed ca. 690–689.
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The left portion of the obverse and the top, left, and bottom edges of this uʾiltu-tablet are preserved. Line 1 is written on the upper edge and lines 14–17 are inscribed on the bottom edge. The reverse is completely broken away. The complete text probably had approximately thirty lines.
A fragment of a single-column clay tablet, possibly from the same tablet as text nos. 154–155, preserves part of an archival copy or a draft of an inscription of Sennacherib. The extant text contains parts of the prologue (a long invocation of gods), a passage recording the creation of (six) monuments, the concluding formulae, and a one-line subscript. The invocation includes Aššur, Mullissu, Sîn, Šamaš, Anu, Adad, Ištar, Marduk, Ninurta, Nabû, Nergal, Palil, and the Sebetti. The report of the creation of monuments carved with images of the gods and the king and the concluding formulae duplicate the corresponding passages in text no. 223.
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Parts of the obverse, reverse, top edge, and left edge are preserved. The text is indented in obv. 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 13, and 17. If K 100 belongs to the same tablet as Rm 403 (text no. 154) and DT 166 (text no. 155), then according to E. Frahm (Sanherib pp. 215–217 T 179) (1) obv. 25 of this text is followed by text no. 154 obv. 1' after a lacuna of undetermined length and (2) rev. 1' of this text follows text no. 154 rev. 7' after a sizeable lacuna. The invocation of gods (beginning with Aššur and ending with the Sebetti), is not paralleled verbatim in the Sennacherib (or in the late Neo-Assyrian) corpus, but the text on the reverse, which describes the erection of steles after completing work on a system of canals and which contains the concluding formulae, duplicates (with some deviation) text no. 223 lines 55–60. Because that section of text duplicates material presently known only from inscriptions of Sennacherib inscribed on a cliff face at Ḫinnis-Bavian, E. Weissert (Frahm, Sanherib p. 215) identifies the text written on K 100 as belonging to the Sennacherib corpus; E. Frahm agrees with this assessment. Following R. Borger (Asarh. p. 115 §85), G.W. Vera Chamaza (Omnipotenz pp. 488–490) still thinks that this is a text of Esarhaddon. This text is included here as a certain Sennacherib text since rev. 1'b–8' are duplicated in text no. 223 lines 55–60; the restorations in those lines are based on that text.
A fragment of a single-column clay tablet, possibly from the same tablet as text nos. 153 and 155, preserves part of an archival copy or a draft of an inscription of Sennacherib. The extant text contains part of the prologue (Sennacherib's titulary) and part of a passage describing the opening up of a sluice gate of a canal and the presentation of offerings to the gods afterwards. The king's titulary includes titles and epithets attested in inscriptions from both Nineveh and Aššur; cf., for example, text nos. 10–13 and 22 (Nineveh) and text nos. 166 and 168 (Aššur). What little of the building report is preserved duplicates text no. 223, an inscription written on a cliff face at Ḫinnis-Bavian.
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If Rm 403 belongs to the same tablet as K 100 (text no. 153) and DT 166 (text no. 155), then according to E. Frahm (Sanherib pp. 215–217 T 179) (1) obv. 1' of this text follows text no. 153 obv. 25 after a lacuna of undetermined length; (2) obv. 7'–11' and rev. 1'–2' of this text and text no. 155 obv. 1'–5' and rev. 11'–12' contain parts of the same lines; and (3) text no. 153 rev. 1' follows rev. 7' of this text after a lacuna of undetermined length. The text extant on the obverse includes titulary of Sennacherib known from inscriptions from both Nineveh and Aššur, as well as epithets not otherwise attested in the Sennacherib corpus. For example, ra-ʾi-im mi-šá-ri a-lik tap-pu-ut a-ki-⸢i⸣ "the one who loves justice, goes to the aid of the weak" in obv. 4' is well attested in texts from Nineveh, and [mu-ab-bit] da-ád-me-šú mu-šaḫ-⸢ru⸣-ú ÍD.MEŠ pe-[tu-u miṭ-ra-a-ti] "[the one who destroys] its settlements, the one who has canals dug (and) op[ens up irrigation ditches]" in obv. 8' is known from an inscription from Aššur (text no. 168). The epithets in obv. 2'–3' and 5' are presently not attested in the inscriptions of this king. The restorations in obv. 6' are based on text no. 22 i 8–9, those in obv. 7'–9' are based on text no. 168 lines 9 and 11–13, and the restorations in rev. 2'–6'a are based on text no. 223 lines 31–34. The line arrangement of the text is conjectural.
A. Kirk Grayson & Jamie Novotny
A. Kirk Grayson & Jamie Novotny, 'Nineveh, Part 13', RINAP 3: Sennacherib, The RINAP 3 sub-project of the RINAP Project, 2019 [http://oracc.org/rinap/rinap3/rinap32textintroductions/nineveh/part13/]