Summary Inscriptions (Text Nos. 39–52) Miscellaneous Texts (Text Nos. 53–64)
In addition to the Kalḫu Annals, there are three other certain annalistic and annalistic-style texts of Tiglath-pileser III. These are written on a stele (text no. 35), an anthropomorphic statue (text no. 36), and a rock cliff (text no. 37). A fragment of a clay object from Aššur (text no. 38) may also preserve part of an annalistic text.
The inscription on the stele (text no. 35), which is reported to have been discovered in Iran, narrates events of Tiglath-pileser's first nine palûs (745–737); some of the palû reports may be omitted in this badly damaged text. The stele was inscribed and erected in celebration of his successes during the campaign of the 9th palû (737). The text represents a much earlier version of the Annals than the Kalḫu Annals because those recensions were written after Tiglath-pileser's 17th palû (727). The inscription on a royal statue found at Nimrud (text no. 36) is also badly damaged. The extant text includes brief accounts of the campaigns of Tiglath-pileser's 8th–11th palûs (738–735), and thus that inscription may also represent a recension of the Annals that was composed late in Tiglath-pileser's reign.
The earliest known annalistic-style account is written on a rock face at Mila Mergi, in Iraqi Kurdistan (text no. 37); the text is inscribed in a frame and over the image of the king. Unlike other known texts of Tiglath-pileser of this genre, the Mila Mergi rock relief narrates only the events of the 7th palû (739), the campaign against Ulluba. Thus, the Mila Mergi inscription is not a true annalistic text, but rather an inscription that records the details of a single campaign in the same style as other annals of this king.
Although its classification as an annalistic text is not entirely certain, an inscription preserved on a small fragment of a clay object discovered at Aššur (text no. 38) narrates events of Tiglath-pileser's Median campaign, undertaken in his 9th palû (737).
Tiglath-pileser III's summary inscriptions belong to the genre of building inscriptions. All of these probably commemorate the construction of his palace at Kalḫu, work that took place towards the end of his reign. When the first line of each text in this category has survived, it opens with the traditional Mesopotamian way of indicating ownership: ekal RN, "palace of RN." On the basis of material and formal criteria, the fourteen known inscriptions of this category are divided into two groups: (1) summary inscriptions written on stone slabs (text nos. 39–45) and (2) summary inscriptions written on clay tablets (text nos. 46–52).
The large stone slabs inscribed with this type of text were probably pavement slabs, judging from the colossal size and shape of BM 118936 (text no. 39), the only slab inscribed with a summary inscription available for firsthand examination. The other four slabs (those bearing text nos. 40–43) were deemed by their excavators unsuitable (or too heavy) for transport back to London and were left in the field. Although those objects are no longer available for firsthand examination, it is plausible that they were also pavement slabs similar to BM 118936. A tiny fragment of a slab known only from a draft copy made by G. Smith in the field (text no. 45) may be part of this same group. Another slab with what appears to be a summary inscription (text no. 44) is known, but since it is written on a sculpted orthostat, much like the Series C Annals, that text could be part of an annalistic text. Following Tadmor, Tigl. III pp. 198–203, that text is tentatively classified as a summary inscription.
Seven large and well-baked clay tablets, all with their contents written in a single column, are inscribed with summary inscriptions. None of them are complete, but the best preserved are text nos. 47 and 49. Although some of these were discovered in the early days of Assyriology, in exploratory excavations, and bear "K(uyunjik)" British Museum sigla, they may have actually been found in the Nabû temple at Kalḫu (Ezida). The tablet copies of these texts may have served as a draft or Vorlage for those inscribed on stone slabs.
Viewing the genre as a whole, one can divide the category of Tiglath-pileser's summary inscriptions into two: (1) texts with condensed accounts (for example, text nos. 39–41) and (2) texts with detailed accounts (for example, text no. 47); text no. 47, when compared to other texts, contains much more detail about the king's achievements. The arrangement of the events described in this group of inscriptions is more or less fixed. Most of these summary inscriptions comprise a brief prologue, which contains a short list of Tiglath-pileser's titles and epithets, a summary of the king's military achievements by geographical region, a building report, and a concluding formula (see the schematic chart below). The campaign summaries usually begin with events in the south, then continue with those of the east and north (and northwest), and conclude with events in the west; the order is counterclockwise. Breaking from the chronological arrangement of the Annals, the military narration of the summary inscriptions divides the text into the following main units: (1) the Babylonian wars fought in 745 and 731–729; (2) the Zagros campaigns of 744 and 737; (3) the wars with Urarṭu and its allies in 743, 739, and 735; (4) the conquest of northern Syrian states in 742–740 and 738; and (5) the military operations in southern Syria, Palestine, and Arabia in 734–732. Note that the geographical order roughly coincides with the chronological order of the first campaign mounted in each of those directions: Babylonia in the south (745), the Zagros in the east (744); Urarṭu in the north (743); northern Syria in the northwest (742); and Philistia, the Egyptian border, and Arabia in the west (734). It is hard to say whether the king's military targets were predetermined in this fixed geographic pattern and the original plan was slightly modified later for practical reasons, or if this is just pure coincidence. For a historical reconstruction of Tiglath-pileser's reign, summary inscriptions are of lesser value than annalistic texts, but they are of utmost importance for filling in the many gaps in the Kalḫu Annals. The building account, which is preserved only in text no. 47, describes in detail the construction of a palace. The work was begun only towards the end of the king's reign and was probably never completed, as excavators unearthed some sculpted and inscribed slabs that were unfinished; see Tadmor, Tigl. III pp. 238–258 (Supplementary Study B), esp. pp. 257–258.
Since the same chronological notation "from the beginning of my reign to my seventeenth palû" appears in text no. 40 line 3, text no. 47 obv. 5, and text no. 51 line 5, it is assumed here that all of the summary inscriptions were written in the same year, except text no. 46, which was composed before the Syro-Palestinian campaigns of 742–734. Text no. 39 may have also been written prior to Tiglath-pileser's 17th palû; for the evidence, see Tadmor, Tigl. III pp. 269–272 (Supplementary Study E). Therefore, most of Tiglath-pileser's summary inscriptions were composed ca. 729.
The distribution of geographically separated episodes preserved in the known summary inscriptions is summarized in the chart below, which is based on Tadmor, Tigl. III p. 119 fig. 7, but with some modifications.
Schematic chart of episodes contained in Summary Inscriptions of Tiglath-pileser III
| 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal name and titles | x | x | ( ) | — | — | ? | ( ) | x | x | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | x | x | |
| SOUTH | Arameans in Babylonia | x | x | ( ) | — | — | ? | x | x | x | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | x | x |
| Chaldea | x | x | x | — | — | ? | ( ) | — | x | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | x | ( ) | |
| Babylonia | x | x | x | — | — | ? | ( ) | — | x | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | x | ( ) | |
| EAST | Namri | — | — | — | — | — | ? | ( ) | — | x | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | x | ( ) |
| Bīt-Ḫamban, Parsua | x | x | x | — | — | ? | ( ) | x | x | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | x | ( ) | |
| Ellipu | — | — | ? | ? | — | x | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ||||
| Media | x | ( ) | x | — | — | ? | ( ) | x | x | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | |
| NORTH | Urarṭu | x | ( ) | x | — | — | ? | ( ) | x | x | ( ) | x | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) |
| Ulluba, Ḫabḫu | x | ( ) | x | — | — | ? | ( ) | x | x | ( ) | x | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | |
| Mount Nal | x | ( ) | x | — | — | ? | ( ) | — | ( ) | x | x | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | |
| Enzi | — | — | — | ( ) | — | ? | — | — | ( ) | ( ) | x | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | |
| WEST | Bīt-Agusi (Arpad) | — | — | — | ( ) | — | ? | — | x | ( ) | ( ) | x | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) |
| Unqi | — | — | — | ( ) | — | ? | — | x | ( ) | ( ) | x | x | ( ) | ( ) | |
| Ḫatarikka, Ṣimirra, Arqâ | — | — | — | x | — | ? | — | x | ( ) | ( ) | x | x | ( ) | ( ) | |
| Damascus | — | — | — | x | — | ? | — | — | ( ) | ( ) | x | x | ( ) | ( ) | |
| Tyre (Hiram) | — | — | — | x | — | ? | — | — | ( ) | x | x | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | |
| Israel | — | — | — | x | — | x | — | — | ( ) | x | x | x | ( ) | ( ) | |
| Ashkelon | — | — | — | — | — | ? | — | — | ( ) | — | x | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | |
| Gaza | — | — | — | x | — | ? | — | — | ( ) | x | x | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | |
| The Arabs | — | — | — | x | — | x | — | — | x | x | x | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | |
| Tabal | — | — | — | — | — | ? | — | — | x | ? | x | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | |
| Tyre (Metenna) | — | — | — | — | — | ? | x | ? | x | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | |||
| Building account | — | — | — | — | — | ? | — | — | x | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | |
| Epilogue | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | x | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Texts that are too fragmentarily preserved to be certain of their classification — although they could probably be regarded as display inscriptions — as well as other short texts (labels, epigraphs, and brick inscriptions) are edited together under this heading. These include: (1) a badly damaged text on a colossal stone bull erected as a gateway guardian in the city Ḫadattu (modern Arslan Tash) that preserves both an account of military narration and a report of building activities in that city (text no. 53); (2) a fragmentarily preserved text on a stone block from Aššur, which also records the king's military accomplishments (text no. 54); (3) three one-word epigraphs, all of which appear on sculpted orthostats that lined the walls of Tiglath-pileser's palace at Kalḫu (text nos. 55–57); (4) several mud bricks discovered at Aššur in the ruins of the temples of the gods Aššur and Adad that refer to work on those buildings (text nos. 58–60); and (5) proprietary labels inscribed on two stone duck weights, a bronze lion weight, and a stone bead (text nos. 61–64).
Hayim Tadmor & Shigeo Yamada
Hayim Tadmor & Shigeo Yamada, 'Inscriptions of Tiglath-pileser III and Related Texts, Part 3', RINAP 1: Tiglath-pileser III and Shalmaneser V, The RINAP 1 sub-project of the RINAP Project, 2019 [http://oracc.org/rinap/rinap1/RINAP1Introduction/InscriptionsofTiglath-pileserIII/Part3/]