39 42 43 44 166 169 170 172 173 174 181 182 184 222 223 230
Two five-legged human-headed winged bull colossi (aladlammu), which were stationed in one of the gateways of the South-West Palace at Nineveh (possibly Court VI, Door k), are inscribed with a text recording the construction and decoration of the "Palace Without a Rival," as well as the demolition of the former palace, which was said to have been too small and to have sustained damage from the Tebilti River. The inscription is only known from A.H. Layard's unpublished copies (which were made from squeezes sent to him by C.N. Williams) and a late nineteenth century copy of a squeeze once in the British Museum. Although the building report utilized some material from earlier texts written on clay prisms (698–695), which themselves are based on inscriptions on clay cylinders (ca. 702–699), many passages were composed anew for this bull inscription (or for earlier bull inscriptions). In addition, the arrangement of the contents was substantially reworked. This description of Sennacherib's palace records: (1) the removal of the previous structure, the changing of the course of the Tebilti River, and the conversion of a 340×289-cubit area into dry land suitable for building; (2) the construction of the new terrace and palace, with a Hittite-style portico (bīt appāti) and palatial halls constructed with various types of stone and wood; (3) the roofing of the palace, the hanging of doors, the creation of latticed windows, and the decoration of parts of the brick structure with glazed baked bricks; (4) the discovery of large cedar trees in the Sirāra mountain range, alabaster at Mount Ammanāna, breccia at the city Kapridargilâ, and white limestone in the vicinity of the city Balāṭāya, resources that were used for the roof, wall and floor slabs, and numerous human-headed winged bull colossi (aladlammu) and sphinxes (apsasû); (5) the creation of numerous cast-bronze statues, including those of raging lions, human-headed winged bulls, and sphinxes; (6) the installation of stone and metal colossi as gatekeepers; (7) the erection of elaborately decorated wood and metal columns on sphinx- and lion-shaped bases; (8) the lining of the lower sections of the walls with (carved) stone slabs; and (9) the creation of a new technique for easily drawing water. The building report concludes with a boast that Sennacherib made the palace an object of wonder and called it the "Palace Without a Rival" (ekallu ša šānina lā īšû). This text appears to be the earliest known bull inscription and, although the colossi are not dated, the approximate date of composition is ca. 696–695 (certainly after the composition of text no. 16). This inscription may be G. Smith's "Bull 1" (G. Smith, Senn. p. 3).
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Two pairs of human-headed winged bull colossi (aladlammu), which are stationed in two gateways of Sennacherib's throne room (Room I, Doors d and e), are inscribed with a text summarizing his first five campaigns and recording the construction and decoration of the "Palace Without a Rival," as well as other public works at Nineveh (see below). The building report not only utilizes material from earlier bull inscriptions, lion inscriptions, and clay prisms, but also includes passages composed for this bull inscription (or an earlier, now-lost bull or lion inscription). Photographs of both pairs of colossi have been published (although not with the inscription legible) and one set of bulls is still in situ (Room I, Door e), however, the text is only known to us from A.H. Layard's unpublished field copy (with notes on textual variants) and from his published, Neo-Assyrian typeset facsimile. In addition to all of the passages in the building reports of text nos. 39–41, the account of construction in this text includes the following passages: (1) a statement about Sennacherib's predecessors ineffectually manufacturing metal statues of themselves, exhausting their craftsmen, and depleting resources; (2) a passage boasting about Sennacherib making significant advances in metalworking, in particular a technique for casting large bronze sculptures; and (3) passages recording the creation of a botanical garden, the digging of canals for irrigating fields and orchards, and the creation of a marsh (in which resources needed to complete the palace grew). Like all of Sennacherib's other gateway colossi, this text is not dated. Although its terminus post quem is the fifth campaign (to Mount Nipur and against Maniye, king of the city Ukku), which took place in 697 (Sennacherib's 8th regnal year), comparison of the building report with those of earlier and later bull inscriptions, lion inscriptions, and clay prisms, suggests that the approximate date of composition is late 695 or the very beginning of 694; the colossi with this text appear to have been inscribed sometime between those with text no. 41 and those with text no. 43.
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Two pairs of human-headed winged bull colossi (aladlammu), which were stationed in two gateways of Sennacherib's throne room suite (Court H, Door c and Court VI, Door a) at Nineveh, are inscribed with a text recording the construction and decoration of the "Palace Without a Rival," the creation of a botanical garden, the digging of canals for irrigating fields and orchards, and the formation of a marsh. Photographs of both pairs of the colossi in situ have been published but the inscriptions are not legible on them. Thus, the text is only known from A.H. Layard's unpublished field copy (with notes on textual variants) and from his published Neo-Assyrian typeset facsimile, as well as a photo, copy, and transliteration by A. al-Zibari. Apart from the dimensions of the area converted into dry land and of the palace, the building report is identical to that of text no. 42. The two measurements are 554×289 cubits and 914×440 cubits in ex. 1; 340×289 cubits and 914×440 cubits in ex. 2; and 340×[2]89 cubits and 7[00×440] cubits in text no. 42. The two pairs of colossi bearing this text were probably inscribed mid- to late 694. The ex. 2 bulls likely had their inscription written on them not long after those bearing text no. 42 were inscribed with that text and the ex. 1 colossi were probably inscribed not long before the bulls bearing text nos. 44 and 46; see the commentary for details.
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Four human-headed winged bull colossi (aladlammu), which lined the façade of Court H (Bulls/Slabs 1, 3, 10, and 12) of the South-West Palace, are inscribed with the same text summarizing Sennacherib's first five campaigns, the campaigns that took place in the eponymies of Šulmu-Bēl (696) and Aššur-bēlu-uṣur (695), as well as the first part of his sixth campaign (against the Bīt-Yakīn exiles living in Elam), and recording the construction and decoration of the "Palace Without a Rival." The inscription is known from A.H. Layard's unpublished field copies, G. Smith's published (composite) Neo-Assyrian typeset copy, a late nineteenth century copy of a squeeze once in the British Museum, in situ fragments (photographs published by J.M. Russell), and fragments now in the Vatican Museum (Rome) and the Kestner Museum (Hannover). Because the text is written on a single bull, rather than on a pair of bulls (like text nos. 41–43 and 46), the building report omits and abbreviates several passages concerning the construction of Sennacherib's palace. The terminus post quem for the inscription is the first part of Sennacherib's sixth campaign, which took place in 694 (Sennacherib's 11th regnal year), and thus the approximate date of composition is late 694 to early 693; the colossi with this text appear to have been inscribed shortly before those with text no. 46. Exs. 1 and 2 may be G. Smith's "Bull 3" and "Bull 2" (G. Smith, Senn. pp. 3, 30–31, 51–52, 67–68, 86 and 88–89) respectively. The three fragments of ex. 1 in Rome are referred to in previous literature as the "Papal Bull"; those pieces were given as a gift to Pope Pius IX in 1855. Ex. 3 is called the "Hannover Bull" in earlier editions and studies; that piece is named after the city in which it now resides.
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Two eight-sided horizontal stone prisms found at Aššur — one complete and one only partially preserved — are inscribed with a text recording Sennacherib's work on Ešarra, the Aššur temple in that city, in particular his work on its cella Eḫursaggalkurkurra, its šuḫūru-house, and its new courtyard and gates. This text is unusual for two reasons: (1) horizontal stone prisms with Assyrian royal inscriptions are not common, and (2) the text says nothing about the king's military achievements, other than some general phrases among the epithets. The date of composition is generally thought to have been after the capture and destruction of Babylon in late 689. The text is sometimes referred to as the "Aššur Temple Inscription."
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Numerous stone blocks from Aššur are inscribed with a text recording the laying of the foundation of the courtyard of the Ešarra temple. This text is sometimes referred to as the "Kisallu Inscription."
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Four stones blocks from Aššur bear an inscription that includes only Sennacherib's name, titles, and epithets. This text is sometimes referred to as the "(Stone) Block Inscription."
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Numerous stone blocks from Aššur are inscribed with a text recording the laying of the foundations of the akītu-house (New Year's temple).
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At least two limestone blocks from Aššur are inscribed with a text recording that Sennacherib had the foundations of the akītu-house laid.
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Several series of stone blocks found at Aššur are inscribed with another text recording the construction of the god Aššur's akītu-house.
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One or more stone blocks found in the ruins of Aššur are inscribed with an eight-line text recording the construction of a house for one of Sennacherib's sons, Aššur-ilī-muballissu. The inscription is an expanded version of text no. 180 and is also similar to text nos. 182–183.
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Several stone blocks discovered at Aššur are inscribed with a seven-line text stating that Sennacherib constructed a house for his son Aššur-ilī-muballissu. The inscription is similar to text nos. 181 and 183.
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Several stone blocks from Aššur are inscribed with a seven-line text stating that Sennacherib had a house built for one of his sons, Aššur-ilī-muballissu. The inscription is similar to text nos. 181–183 and 185.
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This text is from a series of inscriptions that Sennacherib caused to be written on the face of Judi Dagh (Mount Judi) in eastern Anatolia near the Tigris River. L.W. King found eight sculpted panels, six near the village Shakh and two near the village Hasanah. Six of the panels have inscriptions and carved figures of the king. The remaining two panels were smoothed in preparation for engraving, but nothing further was done. The inscriptions are largely duplicates, but occasionally the texts have some major variations. Since most of the inscriptions are badly weathered and difficult to decipher, they have been grouped together here as exemplars of a single text. If they were better preserved it might have been necessary to edit some of them as separate texts. The subject and terminus post quem of the text is the fifth campaign of Sennacherib and, therefore, the inscriptions date to ca. 697. The text is sometimes referred to as the "Judi Dagh Inscription."
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This text is written several times on the face of a cliff in stele-like panels, which also have images of the king and his patron deities. These are commonly called the Bavian reliefs, but, in fact, Ḫinnis (now Kharusa), not Bavian, is the village closest to the beginning of the canal, the construction of which is described in this inscription. The creation of this canal was part of a larger network of canals and aqueducts constructed by Sennacherib to provide water year round to Nineveh. Besides the inscriptions and reliefs, there are numerous stone ruins, which may be the remains of a building that Sennacherib used as a summer residence. The text is written three times on the rock face, with only minor variants. The inscription begins with an invocation of the god Aššur and other gods, the king's name, titles, and epithets, and a brief survey of his achievements (lines 1–5a). This is followed by a detailed narrative, which is often difficult to understand, due in part to the damaged state of preservation of the text; this records the construction of several canals in the region in order to divert the local water to Nineveh (lines 5b–34a). Sennacherib boasts that the work was carried out with only a small number of workmen. The text then describes two campaigns against Babylonia. The first (lines 34b–43a) is the well-known "eighth" campaign, which included the battle of Ḫalulê (691). The second (lines 43b–54a) involved the capture and destruction of Babylon (689). The inscription concludes with a description of the creation of inscribed and sculpted reliefs at Bavian and a curse on any future ruler who might tamper with the canal (lines 54b–60). The terminus post quem for the inscription is the conquest of Babylon in late 689 and, therefore, it was probably written ca. 688. The text is commonly referred to as the "Bavian Inscription."
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Two stone tablets, both of which possibly originate from Samarra, are inscribed with a text describing the military campaigns of Sennacherib in an unusual way. The inscription also has some information not found in other known inscriptions of this king, in particular the setting up and inscribing of a victory stele in the plain of Ḫalulê after the battle there (691), the enlargement of the city Sūr-marrati (probably the site of Samarra), and the construction of that city's wall. In the style of texts written on steles (and rock reliefs), the inscription begins with an invocation of gods (lines 1–2), the king's name and epithets (lines 3–5a), and a statement about the god Aššur supporting Sennacherib, in particular during his campaigns to Chaldea and Elam (lines 5b–11a). The military narration is very unusual, not only in the manner in which the campaigns are recorded, but also in the number of campaigns recorded. To conform with the king's annalistic narration on clay prisms, Sennacherib boasts of eight successful campaigns, with the centerpiece of the narrative being the eighth (the battle of Ḫalulê), but he describes in detail only three of them — his sixth (694–693), seventh (late 693), and eighth (691) campaigns. Before narrating the battle of Ḫalulê, Sennacherib states that he campaigned against Chaldea four times (the first, fourth, sixth, and eighth campaigns) and against Elam three times (the sixth, seventh, and eighth campaigns), but no details are given about those individual campaigns. The inscription then narrates the events leading up to the battle of Ḫalulê (lines 11b–59a), the battle itself and its aftermath (lines 59b–112), and the placing of an inscribed victory stele on the field of battle (lines 113–114). Reports of the king's sixth and seventh campaigns (lines 16b–19a and 19b–41a respectively) are included as part of the background to Sennacherib marching south against Mušēzib-Marduk, the king of Babylon; this was probably done to explain why Sennacherib regarded the Elamite king Umman-menanu (Ḫumban-menanu) as "a rash fellow who does not have sense or insight." Those events are introduced by the formulae "on the first occasion" and "on the second occasion" respectively, and recorded in subordinate clauses, with all of the verbs marked by the subordinate marker -u. The building report (lines 115–120a) records that Sennacherib enlarged the city Sūr-marrati and built its wall; the king states that he decided to carry this work out after spending the night there. The text is dated to the eponymy of Nabû-kēnu-uṣur (690), which is wrongly called in the text the "fourteenth year of Sennacherib"; this eponymy is actually the king's 15th regnal year. This text is sometimes referred to as the "Baltimore Inscription," the "Walters Inscription," the "Washington Inscription," and the "Sūr-marrati Inscription"; exs. 1 and 2 are named after the cities in which they now reside (Baltimore and Washington DC respectively).
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A. Kirk Grayson & Jamie Novotny
A. Kirk Grayson & Jamie Novotny, 'Information on Sennacherib Scores, Part 2', RINAP Scores, The RINAP Scores sub-project of the RINAP Project, 2019 [http://oracc.org/rinap/scores/sennacheribscores/part2/]