The Assyrian Eponym Chronicle and two recensions of one Mesopotamian chronicle provide useful information both on events of the reign of Sargon II and on the order of those events. The standard edition of the Assyrian Eponym Chronicle is that of A.R. Millard (Millard, SAAS 2) and the one of Mesopotamian chronicles is that of A.K. Grayson (Grayson, Chronicles), but note also the recent editions by J.-J. Glassner (Glassner, Chronicles) and the on-going online work by I. Finkel and R.J. van der Spek (see url="https://www.livius.org/sources/about/mesopotamian-chronicles/">https://www.livius.org/sources/about/mesopotamian-chronicles/ [2020]). For the convenience of the user of this volume, it has been thought useful to present translations of the relevant passages here; these translations are adapted from the aforementioned works.
| ______ | |
| [In the eponymy of Ninurta-ilāya ...] (722):[168] | [...] |
| [In the eponymy of Nabû-tāriṣ ...] (721): | [...][169] |
| [In the eponymy of Aššur-nirka-daʾʾin ...] (720): | [...] ...[170] |
| [In the eponymy of Sargon ...] (719): | [... ent]ered.[171] |
| [In the eponymy of Zēru-ibni ...] (718): | [Against the land Ta]bal. |
| [In the eponymy of Ṭāb-šar-Aššur ...] (717): | [The city Dūr-Šarru]kīn was founded. |
| [In the eponymy of Ṭāb-ṣil-Ešarra ...] (716): | [Against the ci]ty of the Manneans. |
| [In the eponymy of Taklāk-ana-bēli ...] (715): | [...] provincial governors were appointed. |
| [In the eponymy of Ištar-dūrī ...] (714): | [Against the land Ur]arṭu, the city Muṣaṣir, (and the god) Ḫaldi. |
| [In the eponymy Aššur-bāni ...] (713): | [... the no]bles in Ellipi; [the god/goddess ...] entered (his/her) new [tem]ple; [again]st the city Muṣaṣir. |
| [In the eponymy of Šamaš-ēmuranni ...] (712): | (The king stayed) in the land (Assyria). |
| [In the eponymy of Ninurta-ālik-pāni ...] (711): | Against the city Marqasa. |
| [In the eponymy of Šamaš-bēlu-uṣur ...] (710): | Against Bīt-zēri; the king stayed in Kish. |
| [In the eponymy of Mannu-kī-Aššur-lēʾi, governor of the city Till]ê (709): | Sargon (II) took the hands of the god Bēl. |
| In the eponymy of [Šamaš-u]pa[ḫḫir, governor of the city Ḫabru]ri (708): | The city Kummuḫu was captured; a provincial governor was appointed. Variant: The nobles ... [(...)] against the city Kummuḫu [(...)]. |
| In the eponymy of Ša-Aššur-dubbu, governor of the city Tušḫan (707): | The king returned fr[om Ba]bylon; the (chief) vizier (sukkallu) (and) the nobles carried off the booty of Dūr-Yakīn; the city Dūr-Yakīn was destroyed; on the twenty-second day of Tašrītu (VII) the gods of the city Dūr-Šarrukīn entered their temples. |
| In the eponymy of Mutakkil-Aššur, governor of the city Guzāna (706): | The king (stayed) in the land (Assyria); the nobles (were) in Karalla; on the sixth day of Ayyāru (II), the city Dūr-Šarrukīn was inaugurated; [...] received. |
| ______ | |
| In the eponymy of Nasḫur-Bēl, governor of the city Amedi (705): | The ki[ng ... to the land Tabal] against Gurdî, the Kulummian ... [(...)]; the king was killed; the camp of the king of Assyria [was] sei[zed ...]; Sennacherib [ascended the throne] on the twelfth day of the month Abu (V).[172] |
| i 29–32) | The fifth year (722): Shalmaneser (V) died in the month Ṭebētu (X). Shalmaneser (V) ruled Akkad and Assyria for five years. On the twelfth day of the month Ṭebētu, Sargon (II) ascended the throne in Assyria. In the month Nisannu (I), Marduk-apla-iddina (II) (Merodach-baladan) ascended the throne in Babylon. |
| i 33–37) | The second year of Marduk-apla-iddina (II) (720): Ummanigaš (Ḫumban-nikaš I), king of Elam, did battle against Sargon (II), king of Assyria, in the district of Dēr and brought about an Assyrian retreat; he inflicted a major defeat upon them. Marduk-apla-iddina (II) and his army, who had gone to aid the king of Elam, did not arrive (in time for) the battle (and so) he (Marduk-apla-iddina) withdrew. |
| i 38–42) | The fifth year of Marduk-apla-iddina (II) (717): Ummanigaš, king of Elam, died. [For twenty-six ye]ars Ummanigaš ruled Elam. [Ištar-ḫu]ndu (Šutruk-Naḫḫunte II), his sister's son, ascended the throne in Elam. [From the accession year] of Marduk-apla-iddina (II) until the tenth year, [Assyria/Sargon] was hostile [to]ward [Marduk-apla-id]dina. |
| i 43–44) | [The tenth year (712): Marduk-apla-idd]ina (II) [ravaged Bīt-...] ... [(and) plunder]ed [i]t. |
| ii 1–5) | The [twelfth] year [of Marduk-apla-iddina (II) (710): Sargon (II) came down to the land Akkad and did] battl[e against Marduk-apla-iddina (II)]. Mard[uk-apla-iddina (II) then retreated before him (and) fled to Elam. Marduk-apla-iddina (II) ruled Babylon for] twelve y[ears]. Sargo[n (II) ascended the throne in Babylon]. |
| (The following lines are either not preserved or too poorly preserved to allow translation. When the text is again legible, it is dealing with the reign of Sennacherib.) |
| (Lacuna) | |
| ii 1´–2´) | rul[ed Elam. Ištar-ḫundu (Šutruk-Naḫḫunte II), his] sist[er's] son, [ascended the throne in Elam]. |
| ii 3´–6´) | The sixth year (716): Ass[yria ... ]. From the accession ye[ar of Marduk-apla-iddina (II)] until the tenth year, [Assyria/Sargon was hostile] toward Mar[duk-apla-iddina]. |
| ii 7´–8´) | The tenth year (712): Marduk-apla-iddina (II) ravaged Bīt-... (and) plu[nd]ered it. |
| ii 9´–14´) | The twelfth year of Marduk-apla-iddina (II) (710): Sargo[n] (II) came down [to the land Akkad] and did battle against [Marduk-apla]-iddina (II). Marduk-apla-iddina (II) then [retreated] before [him] (and) fled to Elam. For twelve years [Marduk-apla-idd]ina (II) rul[ed] Babylon. Sargon (II) ascended the throne in Babylon. |
| ii 15´–16´) | The thirteenth year (709): Sargon (II) to[ok] the hand of Bēl. He (also) captu[red] Dūr-Yakīn. |
| ii 17´) | The fourteenth year (708): The king (stayed) in [the land (Babylonia)]. |
| ii 18´–19´) | The fifteenth [yea]r (707): On the twenty-second day of the month Tašrītu (VII), the gods of the Se[a]land returned [to] their [shr]ines. There was plague in Assyria. |
| ii 20´-21´) | [The seventeenth year (705): Sarg]on (II) [marched] to the land Tabal [...] ... [...]. |
| (Lacuna) |
168> Possibly "[In the eponymy of Ninurta-ilāya, field marsh]al"; see Finkel and Reade, Orientalia NS 67 (1998) p. 252 for a possible reading [... tur]-⸢tan⸣.
169> H. Tadmor (JCS 12 [1958] p. 85) suggests restoring "[To the land Ḫatt]i" ([... ana KUR Ḫat]-⸢ti⸣) for this line (see Millard, SAAS 2 p. 46 version B4), but he assumed that both this line and the following one were for 720.
170 H. Tadmor (JCS 12 [1958] p. 85, following Forrer, MVAG 20/3 [1915] p. 17) suggests restoring "[The foundations of the temple of the god(dess) DN of the city GN were la]id" ([uššū ša bīt dX ša URU X Y kar]-ru); cf. the entry for 788 (Millard, SAAS 2 p. 36).
171 H. Tadmor (JCS 12 [1958] p. 85, following Forrer, MVAG 20/3 [1915] p. 17) suggests restoring "[The god(dess) en]tered [(his/her) new temple]" ([dY a-na bīte ešše e]-ta-rab); cf. the entry for 787 (Millard, SAAS 2 pp. 36–37).
172 See Weissert, CRRA 38 pp. 279–280 and Frahm, JCS 51 (1999) pp. 75 and 83–84.
173 J.A. Brinkman (Studies Moran pp. 73–104) prefers to treat this chronographic text as made up of three separate recensions rather than three duplicates of one text, as was done by A.K. Grayson. J-J. Glassner (Chronicles pp. 193–203 no. 16 and pp. 202–207 no. 17) treats this text as having two separate recensions, taking BM 75977 (AH 83-1-18,1339) with recension A. See also Weissert, CRRA 38 p. 273 n. 1. BM 75977 does not preserve any part of the relevant section and so it not taken into consideration here.
Grant Frame
Grant Frame, 'Chronicles', RINAP 2: Sargon II, Sargon II, The RINAP 2 sub-project of the RINAP Project, 2021 [http://oracc.org/rinap/rinap2/RINAP2Introduction/DatingandChronology/Chronicles/]