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The Reigns of Aššurnaṣirpal II and Shalmaneser III: An Interpretation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 August 2014

W. G. Lambert
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Extract

The study of Assyrian history involves problems of a unique character within the ancient Near East. The quantity of relevant material is greater than that for any other kingdom of comparable duration and influence, yet it is so one-sided in content and purpose that it creates as many problems as it solves. While Assyria flourished as an international power, from c. 1350–1100 B.C. and from c. 850–600 B.C., documents rich in historical information were regularly compiled, of which a fair selection have come down to us. No other nation has left so detailed a report of a single military campaign as that of the Eighth Campaign of Sargon II, nor such extensive records of a reign as those for Aššurbanipal. This kind of material is supported by chronological lists both of the līmu-officers (high officials who functioned for one year and gave their name to that year) and of the kings of Assyria with lengths of reign (probably derived from the līmu-lists, since the kings shared in this office). These provide the only solid basis for the whole of Near Eastern chronology from the middle of the second millennium and downwards. In addition archives of administrative documents and official correspondence give valuable insights for some periods. However, the conversion of these sources into history, in any realistic sense of the term, depends on the addition of a good measure of interpretation, and this the texts do not provide. They are the official records of a centralized military state, and, save for the chronological lists and day-to-day documents, they are intended to glorify the king.

Type
Research Article
Information
IRAQ , Volume 36 , Issue 1-2 , October 1974 , pp. 103 - 109
Copyright
Copyright © The British Institute for the Study of Iraq 1974

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References

1 This custom is known both from Sennacherib's officer outside the walls of Jerusalem as recorded in the Books of Kings II 18 and from the Nimrud letter from two Assyrian officers who actually did the talking outside one of the gates of Babylon while Ukin-zer was leading the rebellion in the reign of Tiglathpileser III; see Saggs, H. W. F., Iraq 17 (1955), 23 ffGoogle Scholar.

2 Driver, G. R., Miles, J. C., The Assyrian Laws, 425, § 59Google Scholar.

3 Weidner, E., AfO 17 (1954–1956), 257 ffGoogle Scholar.

4 Harper, R. F., ABL 870Google Scholar, translated by L. Waterman, RCAE 870, and by R. H. Pfeiffer, State Letters of Assyria no. 151. The message begins, “What has not been done in heaven the king my lord has done on earth and has let (people) see it.”

5 It is a fact that the Assyrians themselves were conscious of the foreign character of Šamši-Adad I and his sons, since Puzur-Sin, who deposed his grandson, expressly mentions this. See Grayson, A. K., Assyrian Royal Inscriptions I, 29–30Google Scholar.

6 The only narrative account of the revolt is contained in the Monolith Inscription of Šamši-Adad V, I R 29–31. For a translation, see D. D. Luckenbill, ARAB I, §§ 714–726.