Iran (115-122)

Qal'eh Imam   115   Tang-i Var   116   Najafabad   117   Persepolis   118   119   120   121   122  

Qal'eh Imam

115 [/rinap/rinap2/Q006611/]

In 2015, a workman gave a fragment of the front side of a stone stele to a group of Iranian archaeologists excavating at Qal'eh-i Imam, near Lake Zeribor, under the direction of Dr. Hassan Karimian. The poorly preserved inscription can probably be assigned to Sargon II and likely deals with his military actions in the Zagros Mountains. Information on the piece was kindly supplied to the author by K. Radner and M. Masoumian before their publication of the text.

Access the composite text [/rinap/rinap2/Q006611/] of Sargon II 115

Source:

Commentary

The greenschist fragment was found in secondary context, within a drystone wall of the village Barqaleh located at Qal'eh-i Imam. It is conserved in the Archaeological Museum of Sanandaj. As noted by Radner and Masoumian, the inscription is likely to be assigned to Sargon II because of the use of a (partially preserved) phrase in line 4´ that is otherwise only attested in the inscriptions of this ruler: ardu kanše/kanšu šādid nīriya/nīr aššur (bēliya); see text no. 7 lines 36, 70, and 117, text no. 74 iii 43, and text no. 82 v 61´. In the latter texts, the phrase is regularly used to describe Daltâ of the land Ellipi, who appears already in the time of Tiglath-pileser III and who likely died in 708 or 707, although it is used once (text no. 7 line 36) for the Mannean ruler Iranzi, who is mentioned in the Khorsabad Annals in connection with Sargon's third campaign (719). In addition, the city Ḫarḫar, which is mentioned in line 5´, appears frequently in inscriptions of Sargon II, although most often with the determinative URU rather than KUR. Sargon renamed the city Kār-Šarrukīn and made it the capital of a new province during his campaign of 716 (see, for example, text no. 1 lines 96b–100).

Bibliography

Tang-i Var

116 [/rinap/rinap2/Q006597/]

The Tang-i Var rock relief (or Urāmānāt relief) is carved on the flanks of the Kūh-i Zīnānah in the Tang-i Var pass in Iranian Kurdistan, about 50 km southwest of Sanandaj and 85 km northwest of Kermanshah. The relief is found in a niche cut into the cliff face about 40 m above ground level and depicts an Assyrian ruler in a standard pose. A badly worn cuneiform inscription runs across the relief. The inscription records a campaign to the land of Karalla (lines 37–44) and also refers to Sargon's defeat of the Babylonian ruler Marduk-apla-iddina II (Merodach-Baladan) which occurred in 710–709. Since the Assyrian Eponym Chronicle mentions Karalla (albeit in damaged context) in its entry for 706 (see Millard, SAAS 2 p. 48 B4 rev. 21´ and p. 60), it is likely that there was a campaign to Karalla in that year, and that the relief and inscription of Sargon at Tang-i Var were made during or shortly after that campaign. This is the only known account of the campaign in Sargon's sixteenth regnal year, a campaign that was not led by the Assyrian king. It was the third time that the Assyrians had had to campaign in Karalla, the two previous campaigns taking place in the king's sixth and ninth regnal years (716 and 713 respectively). The inscription provides a useful chronological link with Egypt's twenty-fifth dynasty since it states that the ruler who sent the fugitive Iāmānī of Ashdod back to Sargon was Šapatakuʾ (Shebitko). Šapatakuʾ is called the king of the land Meluḫḫa (i.e., Nubia) in line 20 of this text.

Access the composite text [/rinap/rinap2/Q006597/] of Sargon II 116

Source:

Commentary

The inscription was originally edited by the author from photographic materials of the original made by F. Vallat in 1971 (Frame, Orientalia NS 68 [1999] pp. 31–57 and pls. I-XVIII). Subsequently, through the intermediary actions of H. Arfaei and W. Nahm, A.A. Sarfarāz kindly provided the author with photographs of the squeezes made by him at the site in the late 1960s. In 2009, Z. Deylamipout of the Ingenieurbüro Gilan (Berlin) made laser scans of the relief for the Iranian Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization and graciously gave the author copies of these important materials for use in revising the edition of the inscription for this volume.

The inscription is badly damaged and some sections are inevitably better represented on the photographic materials, squeezes, and laser scans than other sections. Parts of the text cannot be read and the reading of other parts is problematic. In particular the first section of the inscription (invocations of various deities [lines 1–10]) and the last three sections of the inscription (description of the campaign to Karalla [lines 37–44], description of the creation of the monument [lines 45–1´], and concluding formulae [lines 2´–6´]) are the least legible; the second section (name and titles of Sargon II [lines 11–12]) and third section (description of the major accomplishments of Sargon II [lines 13–36]) are the most legible.

The relief depicts the Assyrian king facing right, with his right hand raised and his left hand holding an object (likely a mace or scepter). Symbols of various deities are depicted at the top of the relief, in front of the king's face. The only symbol that is clearly visible is a series of circles that represent the Pleiades, the divine Seven (Sebetti), although there also appears to be traces of a winged disk, the symbol of the god Šamaš, and possibly of the symbols of Marduk (spade) and Nabû (tablet and stylus).

For photographs of the relief and a fuller study of the inscription, including a discussion of its date and of the image depicted on the relief, see Frame, Orientalia NS 68 (1999) pp. 31–57 and pls. I-XVIII. Lines 1–10 are likely to have had some passages similar to ones found in text no. 103 i 1–28, text no. 108 Fragment B i 1´–11´, text no. 117 i 1–18, and Grayson, RIMA 2 pp. 12–13 A.0.87.1 i 1–18 and pp. 32–33 A.0.87.2 lines 1–8.

For passages similar to lines 13–15, see in particular text no. 8 lines 2–3 and 5 and text no. 103 ii 5–12 and 18–21.

For a passage similar to lines 16–18, see in particular text no. 8 lines 7–10 and note such texts as text no. 13 lines 14–27.

For Sargon's dealings with Ashdod (lines 19–21), see in particular text no. 1 lines 249–262, text no. 3 lines 10´–13´, text no. 7 lines 90–112, text no. 8 lines 11–14, text no. 82 vii 13´–16´ and 1´´–48´´, and text no. 83 ii´ 1-11.

For lines 22–24, see in particular text no. 8 lines 16–18 and note such texts as text no. 13 lines 35–45.

For lines 25–27, see in particular text no. 7 lines 121–122 and 144–45, text no. 8 lines 18–21, and text no. 13 lines 45–58; note also such texts as text no. 9 lines 30–36.

Lines 28–36 are basically duplicated by text no. 7 lines 16–23 (with the only major divergence being for line 33) and text no. 13 lines 59–89 (except that Sargon is treated in the first person, rather than the third person). Note also such texts as text no. 10 lines 5–23.

Bibliography

Najafabad

117 [/rinap/rinap2/Q006596/]

A badly damaged stele of dark grey limestone with a relief and inscription of Sargon II was found at the village Najafabad (less correctly Najafehabad) in the Assadabad valley about 15 kilometers to the northeast of the Kangavar valley in western Iran. The inscription describes events in Sargon's second through sixth regnal years (720–716), but the account of the campaign into the central Zagros region, in particular against the Medes, in his sixth regnal year (716) is the most detailed. The inscription on the stele appears to state that it was erected in the city of Kišesim (written URU.ki-⸢sa^?-si⸣, ii 71). It is likely that the inscription on the stele was composed during, or shortly after, the campaign. This text has often been referred to as the Najafehabad Stele and the edition of this text is the result of collaborative work between G. Frame and A. Fuchs.

Access the composite text [/rinap/rinap2/Q006596/] of Sargon II 117

Source:

Commentary

The village of Najafabad is built on the slope of a mound and a local inhabitant claims to have found the stele while excavating a foundation for an addition to his house. Its existence was reported to L.D. Levine and T.C. Young, who were conducting a preliminary season of excavations at Godin Tepe in 1965. They examamined the piece and informed the Iranian authorities of its existence. Levine argues that Najafabad was not the original site of the stele, and that it may have been moved there from one of the other mounds in the area, possibly Godin Tepe (Stelae p. 25).

Obverse of National Museum of Tehran 5544/21110 (text no. 117), a stone stele found at Najafabad, Iran, that commemorates Sargon's sixth campaign (716). © Royal Ontario Museum.

The inscription begins on the lower portion of the front surface, initially just flanking the figure of the king, and then running across it. The right side of the stele appears never to have been inscribed. On the back of the stele, the lines run across the back and continue on across the left side. The inscription is poorly preserved; in particular column i (face) and the end of column ii (the parts of the lines found on the left side) are badly worn and/or damaged. The inscription appears to have been made by an inexperienced scribe since numerous signs are slightly abnormal in form or have fewer or more wedges than expected. For example, AR in ii 48 has five vertical wedges instead of four and MU in ii 70 is AŠ+KUR not AŠ+ŠE. These abnormal sign forms have not normally been noted below.

Latex squeezes of the front, back, and a small part of the bottom of left side of the stele (ROM 965.274.1. 1–4), as well as unpublished photographs of the back of the stele, are preserved in the Royal Ontario Museum; these have been collated by G. Frame. The squeezes had been made in the National Museum of Iran when the stele was moved there soon after it was seen by L.D. Levine and T.C. Young. While the stele is currently on display inside the National Museum of Iran in Tehran, it had unfortunately been on display in the open air for many years and thus the inscription has been badly weathered and is no longer as clear as when first found. Thus, although both Frame and A. Fuchs have examined the original stele in Tehran, the edition is for the most part based on Frame's examination of the squeezes in the Royal Ontario Museum. The signs on the left side (i.e., the ends of the lines beginning on the back of the stele) are frequently unclear on the relevant squeeze. Additional photos of the stele, including three of the left side, have been kindly provided by S. Razmjou and A.M. Arfaee of the National Museum of Iran. Unfortunately, since it is very badly worn, most of the left side remains illegible. The edition of most of the left side has had to be based in large part upon the published copy. The approximate point at which the squeeze of the back (col. ii) ends is indicated in the copy by a bullet (•), but this must be taken as only a rough indication. The photographs of the left side suggest that there are traces of many more signs in lines 1–61 than are indicated in the edition, but they are so faint or unclear as to make it best to omit them. In sum, numerous uncertainties in the reading of the text remain.

On the front of the stele (col. i), the first eighteen lines are split in half by the figure of the ruler, while beginning with line 19, the lines run all the way across the stele. Before i 19 there are eighteen lines to the left of the figure, but only seventeen to the right of it. It is assumed in the edition below that line 16 appears only to the left of the column and was not carried on over to the right side when the scribe realized that he was going to have trouble with the line alignment once he began to run the lines across the figure. None of line 16 is preserved, but its existence is clearly indicated by line rulings. Thus, what is given as the right side of i 2–16 on the published copy is the right side i 1–15 in the present edition.

The relief on the front of the stele depicts the king facing left, holding a mace in his left hand, and raising his right hand. Symbols of several deities are carved in front of the head of the king. Three of the symbols have been identified by Levine as being a crescent, a horned disk, and a winged sun disk (Levine, Stelae p. 27), with the first and third representing the moon god Sîn and the sun god Šamaš, who are also mentioned in i 7 and 9 of the text. The horned crown probably stands for the god Aššur, who is likely mentioned in one or both of i 1 and 4.

With regard to the restoration of i 1–14, see in particular text no. 103 i 1–23 and text no. 116 lines 1–8; for i 15–19a, see in particular, Grayson, RIMA 2 p. 13 A.0.87.1 i 15–19 and p. 33 A.0.87.2 lines 7–8, text no. 103 i 24–28, and cf. text no. 116 lines 9–10; for i 19–23, see in particular text no. 43 lines 1–3 and text no. 76 lines 1–2; for i 24–27, see in particular text no. 43 lines 4–5; and for i 29–32, see text no. 73 lines 3–5.

For a brief study of the extent of the campaign in 716 as described in this text, see Zadok, NABU 2000 p. 9 no. 5. S. Alibaigi, I. Rezaei, and S.I. Beheshti (ZA 107 [2017 pp. 261–273) discuss the finding of the stele (suggesting that it was likely erected originally at Najafabad) and the stele's stone (concluding that it is local limestone), and argue that the stele was erected in the land of Urattus, the last place mentioned in the course of the campaign (KUR.ú-ra-ta-as, ii 68). In a recent article, S. Alibaigi and J. MacGinnis (ZOrA 11 [2018] pp. 198–211, especially p. 202) argue that the place the stele was erected, URU.ki-⸢sa^?-si⸣ (ii 71), cannot refer to the city Kišesim since the episode dealing with that city is much earlier in the text and since there the place is written URU.ki-še-si-im (ii 39). They proceed to suggest that the place mentioned in ii 71 was instead the capital city of Urattus, the last place to which Sargon campaigned in the text, and that the land Urattus included Mount Alvand and the city located at Najafabad. However, it must be pointed out that the spelling of personal and place names is not always consistent in Neo-Assyrian royal inscriptions, that there is the well-attested š/s interchange in Assyrian texts (written /š/ standing for /s/ and written /s/ for /š/ — this text being written in Babylonian dialect but using Assyrian sign-forms), and that this particular text, as noted earlier, seems to have been written by an inexperienced scribe. Moreover, it is known from other texts that Sargon erected a stele/image/weapon in Kišesim during the campaign of 716 (text no. 1 lines 93–95, text no. 2 lines 86–87a [mostly restored], and text no. 82 iii 1´–21´; see also text no. 7 lines 59–60) and it would seem unwise to postulate another stele being erected during the same campaign in a different place with such a similar name. Finally, there is no particular reason that the stele had to be erected at the final place mentioned in the campaign report (or the one furthest from the Assyrian heartland) as opposed to being erected in perhaps the most important place captured and annexed during the campaign.

Bibliography

Persepolis

118 [/rinap/rinap2/Q006598/]

A small, barrel-shaped bead found at Persepolis has a short dedicatory inscription of Sargon to the goddess Aya. The objects with this inscription and with text nos. 119–122 were probably taken to Persepolis as booty, either directly or indirectly from Assyria following its destruction by the Babylonians and Medes towards the end of the seventh century.

Access the composite text [/rinap/rinap2/Q006598/] of Sargon II 118

Source:

Commentary

This small bead was found in 1936 by the Oriental Institute excavations at Persepolis and was allotted to the Iranian Antiquity Service. It is made of onyx that is bluish white and brown in color; the piece is pierced lengthwise. (For information on the other items found in Room 33, see Schmidt, Persepolis 1 pp. 174–175.) The edition is based upon the published photograph and an unpublished copy of the inscription made by D.E. McCown (kindly supplied by J. Larson of the Oriental Institute).

The inscription should not be attributed to Sargon I of Assyria, who reigned in the Old Assyrian period, since that earlier ruler is only attested in contemporary texts with the title "vice-regent of the god Aššur" (ÉNSI ^da-šùr), not "king of Assyria"; see Grayson, RIMA 1 pp.  45–46 A.0.35.1 and A.0.35.2001. Moreover, the other votive objects found in the Treasury at Persepolis with this bead all come from the middle of the first millennium BC, in particular, from the reigns of Esarhaddon, Ashurbanipal, and Nebuchadnezzar II; see Schmidt, Persepolis p. 56.

Bibliography

119 [/rinap/rinap2/Q006599/]

A fragment of an eye-stone found at Persepolis has a short dedicatory inscription to the god Šamaš that is probably to be assigned to Sargon.

Access the composite text [/rinap/rinap2/Q006599/] of Sargon II 119

Source:

Commentary

This fragment of an oval-shaped eye-stone was found in 1938 by the Oriental Institute excavations at Persepolis and was allotted to the Iranian Antiquity Service. (For information on other items found in Room 53, see Schmidt, Persepolis 1 p. 181.) The piece is made of bluish-green turquoise and has a highly polished convex top, a beveled side, and a groove in the base. The inscription is written on the beveled side and the bottom, and is edited from the published copy. The text is said to be "rather carelessly written." Text no. 120 may be a duplicate of this inscription. (Information on the dimensions of this piece was kindly supplied by J. Larson.)

Bibliography

120 [/rinap/rinap2/Q006600/]

A fragment of an eye-stone found at Persepolis has a short dedicatory inscription to the god Šamaš that is probably to be assigned to Sargon.

Access the composite text [/rinap/rinap2/Q006600/] of Sargon II 120

Source:

Commentary

This eye-stone fragment was found by the Oriental Institute excavations at Persepolis and was allotted to the Iranian Antiquity Service. It is made of onyx, has a polished top with a gray center and a white margin, and is pierced laterally. The inscription is edited from an unpublished copy made by D.E. McCown that was kindly made available to the author by J. Larson of the Oriental Institute. The restorations in lines 3–4 assume that the inscription is identical with text no. 119, but the two texts have been arbitrarily kept separate here.

Bibliography

121 [/rinap/rinap2/Q006601/]

A fragment of an eye-stone found at Persepolis has a short dedicatory inscription of Sargon.

Access the composite text [/rinap/rinap2/Q006601/] of Sargon II 121

Source:

Commentary

This eye-stone fragment was found in 1936 by the Oriental Institute excavations at Persepolis and was allotted to the Iranian Antiquity Service. It is made of chalcedony; the top has a gray center (chipped off) and a white margin. The piece is inscribed on the bottom. The edition presented below is based upon an unpublished copy of the inscription made by D.E. McCown (kindly supplied by J. Larson) and G. Cameron's understanding of the text. The unpublished copy would suggest that there is room to restore little if anything at the beginning of the line and one wonders if instead of restoring šá at the beginning of the line (and assuming that the inscription is basically a duplicate of text no. 122), we should assume that a whole line is missing and restore a dedication to a deity, i.e., "[To DN, (his lord/lady)], Sargon dedicated (this object)."

Bibliography

122 [/rinap/rinap2/Q006602/]

Two eye-stone fragments found at Persepolis have what may be short dedicatory inscriptions of Sargon duplicating text no. 121.

Access the composite text [/rinap/rinap2/Q006602/] of Sargon II 122

Sources:

Commentary

The two eye-stone fragments were found by the Oriental Institute excavations at Persepolis in 1936 and were allotted to the Iranian Antiquity Service. The objects are each inscribed on the bottom. Both exemplars were transliterated from unpublished copies made by D.E. McCown that were kindly supplied to the author by J. Larson (Oriental Institute). The edition is based on ex. 2; ex. 1 has only šá LUGAL-[...]. Following G. Cameron, the edition assumes that the inscription is basically a duplicate of text no. 121, but they have been arbitrarily kept separate here.

Bibliography

Grant Frame

Grant Frame, 'Iran (115-122)', RINAP 2: Sargon II, Sargon II, The RINAP 2 sub-project of the RINAP Project, 2023 [http://oracc.org/rinap/rinap2/rinap2textintroductions/iran115122/]