Sennacherib 039

1Unlike later bull and lion inscriptions, the description of the former palace does not include the dimensions of that structure. Cf., for example, text no. 42 lines 13b–14a and text no. 43 lines 7b–8a. Since this inscription does not include a passage stating that previous kings transported colossi at the wrong time of year, it includes the reference to the Tebilti River damaging the foundation platform with the description of the former palace rather than as a separate statement about that watercourse; this also occurs in text no. 44 lines 33b–36a and text no. 50 lines 10b–11a. Cf., for example, text no. 43 lines 7b–14a and text no. 46 lines 106b–116a. In the case of this text, and text no. 44, the reason the statement about previous kings transporting colossi was not included is probably due to the fact that the entire inscription was written on a single colossus, that is, due to space limitations.

2É.GAL “palace”: One expects É.GAL.TUR.RA “small palace”; see, for example, text no. 17 v 84 and text no. 43  line 14. This variant could be either an ancient scribal error or a modern copyist’s error.

3uš-ṭib-ma “I improved and”: The restoration is based on text no. 1 line 75 due to space considerations. Cf., for example, text no. 16 vi 18, which has uš-te-eš-na-a “I changed,” and text no. 17 v 86, which has ap-ru-us-ma “I diverted and.”

4⸢qé⸣-reb a-sur-rak-[ki-šá ... dun-nu-niš] ak-si “in the hidden depths of [its] subterranean wat[ers] ... I [very firmly] bonded”: This passage appears verbatim in text no. 43 lines 15b–16a and text no. 44 lines 37b–38a. Cf. text no. 15 vi 5b–6a and text no. 16 vi 20b–21a, which have NA₄ KUR-i dan-nu it-ti ESIR.UD.A ak-si-ma “I bonded together with bitumen strong mountain stone and,” instead of ESIR.[UD].A ⸢it-ti⸣ NA₄.pi-i-li ⸢GAL⸣.MEŠ [dun-nu-niš] ak-si “I [very firmly] bonded bi[tum]en with large (blocks of) limestone.” In some later inscriptions written on bulls and clay prisms, this passage is replaced by 4 NA₄.pi-i-li GAL.MEŠ it-ti ESIR.UD.A ak-si-ma “I bonded together with bitumen four large limestone (blocks)”; see, for example, text no. 17 v 88b–89a and text no. 49 line 14.

52 ME 89: Cf. text no. 15 vi 7 and text no. 16 vi 22, which have 2 ME 88.

6ma-a-<me> “water”: So Layard, MS D; Meissner and Rost, BiS pl. 6 has ma-a-me.

7tam-le-e “terrace”: So Layard, MS D; Meissner and Rost, BiS pl. 6 has tam-li-i.

8The list of stone and wood is identical to text nos. 15 (vi 42–44), 16 (vi 53–55), 40 (lines 2´b–3´a), 42 (lines 28b–29a), and 43 (lines 20b–21a). Cf., for example, text no. 17 vi 14b–18, which have KÙ.GI KÙ.BABBAR ZABAR NA₄.AN.ZA.GUL.ME NA₄.DÚR.MI.NA.BÀN.DA NA₄.GIŠ.NU₁₁.GAL ZÚ AM.SI GIŠ.ESI GIŠ.TÚG GIŠ.MES.MÁ.KAN.NA GIŠ.EREN GIŠ.ŠUR.MÌN ŠIM.LI GIŠ.e-lam-ma-ku GIŠ.si-in-da-a “gold, silver, bronze, ...-stone, breccia, alabaster, elephant ivory, ebony, boxwood, musukkannu-wood, cedar, cypress, juniper, elammaku-wood, (and) Indian wood.” This text, later bull and lion inscriptions, and text no. 17, change the order of some of the passages describing work on the palace. Text nos. 15 and 16 record that Sennacherib (1) built palatial halls of various materials, (2) roofed them, (3) hung metal-banded doors in their gateways, (4) decorated those doors with knobbed metal nails, (5) adorned the arches, friezes, and copings with colored baked bricks, and (6) built a portico; the portico (bīt appāti) is described in detail. In this text, as well as in later texts on colossi and in text no. 17, the king records that he (1) built palatial halls of various materials, (2) built a portico (or a house with double doors), (3) roofed the palatial halls, (4) hung metal-banded doors in the gateways of the palace, (5) installed latticed windows in the corridors, (6) stationed apotropaic figures in gateways, (7) decorated the doors with knobbed metal nails, (8) adorned the arches, friezes, and copings with colored baked bricks, and (9) built a portico (or a house with double doors); the bīt appāti (or bīt muterrēti) is not described in detail. Cf. text no. 15 vi 42–68 and text no. 16 vi 53–82.

9re-ši-⸢šú⸣ “its superstructure”: So Layard, MS D; Meissner and Rost, BiS pl. 6 has re-ši-šu.

10GIŠ.e-lam-ma-⸢ku⸣ “elammaku-wood”: So Layard, MS D; Meissner and Rost, BiS pl. 6 has <GIŠ>.e-lam-ma-ku. Like all other bull inscriptions and text no. 17 (vi 19), this text does not add é-gal-zag-di-nu-tuku-a “Egalzagdinutukua” after the last item mentioned in the list of materials used for the palace; cf. text no. 15 vi 45 and text no. 16 vi 56. Unlike the other texts on bulls and text no. 17 (vi 19), this text has a-⸢na⸣ mu-šab LUGAL-ti-ia “for my royal residence,” instead of a-na mu-šab be-lu-ti-ia “for my lordly residence”; text no. 15 vi 45 and text no. 16 vi 56b–57a also have a-na mu-šab LUGAL-ti-ia.

11⸢ab⸣-ta-ni qé-reb-šú “I built thereon”: Also attested in text no. 40 line 4´. Text no. 15 vi 46 and text no. 16 vi 57 have ú-še-pi-šá qé-reb-šú “I had constructed thereon,” and text no. 17 vi 20, text no. 42 line 29, and text no. 43 line 22 have ab-ni-ma “I built and.” Like text nos. 15 (vi 57), 16 (vi 69), 40 (line 4´), 42 (line 29), and 43 (line 22), this text states that Sennacherib built a É ap-pa-a-ti “a portico”; cf. text no. 17 vi 20, text no. 44 line 43, and text no. 46 line 125, which report that this king built a É mu-ter-re-te “a house with double doors.”

12ba^*-ba-a-ti “gates”: Layard, MS D has MA-ba-a-ti; Meissner and Rost, BiS pl. 6 has [ba]-ba-a-ti. Like text nos. 40 (line 5´) and 44 (line 44), this text does not include ša e-ri-su-un ṭa-a-bu bi-nu-ut KUR.ḫa-ma-nim ù KUR.si-ra-ra KUR.MEŠ KÙ.MEŠ “whose scent is sweet, product(s) of Mount Amanus and Mount Sirāra, the holy mountains” after GIŠ.ÙR.MEŠ GIŠ.ere-ni GIŠ.ŠUR.MÌN “beams of cedar (and) cypress”; cf., for example, text no. 17 vi 24–25, text no. 42 line 31a, and text no. 43 line 23a. [GIŠ].⸢IG⸣.MEŠ GIŠ.li-ia-ri ⸢GIŠ⸣.ŠUR.MÌN “doors of white cedar (and) cypress”: See also text no. 44 line 44 and text no. 49 line 24. Cf. text no. 15 vi 50–51a and text no. 16 vi 62–63a, which have GIŠ.IG.MEŠ GIŠ.EREN GIŠ.ŠUR.MÌN ŠIM.LI ṣi-ra-a-ti “magnificent doors of cedar, cypress, (and) juniper”; and text no. 17 vi 27–28a, which have GIŠ.IG.MEŠ GIŠ.ere-ni GIŠ.ŠUR.MÌN ŠIM.LI GIŠ.si-in-da “doors of cedar, cypress, juniper, (and) Indian wood.”

13ú-rat-ta-a “I installed (them)”: So Meissner and Rost, BiS pl. 6; Layard, MS D has ⸢lu^?⸣ ú-rat-ta-a. Like text nos. 40 (lines 6´b–7´a), 44 (line 45), and 49 (line 25), this text does not include ša qé-reb É.PA.PAḪ.MEŠ-(a-ni) “that are within the papāḫu-chambers” after i-na ba-rak-ka-ni “in the corridors”; cf., for example, text no. 17 vi 30, text no. 43 line 25, and text no. 46 line 127.

14ina^* “at”: Layard, MS D has ME; Meissner and Rost, BiS pl. 6 has ina. After ^dLAMMA.MEŠ NA₄.GIŠ.NU₁₁.GAL ZÚ AM.SI “apotropaic figures of alabaster (and) elephant ivory,” text no. 40 lines 8´–10´a have ša kit-mu-sa rit-ta-šin bal-tu [ku-uz-bu ḫi-it-lu-pa lu-le]-e ma-la-a i-na KÁ.MEŠ-ši-in ul-ziz-ma [a-na tab-ra-a]-⸢ti⸣ ú-šá-lik “whose hands are folded, [who are laden with] pride (and) [allure], (and) who are filled with [exuberanc]e, I stationed at their gates and (thus) I made (them) [an object of wond]er.” Text no. 17 vi 33–39 and text no. 43 lines 26–28a, for example, have ša il-lu-ru na-šá-a kit-mu-sa rit-ta-šin bal-tu ku-uz-bu ḫi-it-lu-pa lu-le-e ma-la-a i-na KÁ.MEŠ-šin ul-ziz-ma a-na tab-ra-a-te ú-šá-lik ṣu-lul ta-ra-a-ni ša qé-reb ba-rak-ka-a-ni e-ṭu-su-un ú-šaḫ-la-a u₄-mì-iš uš-nam-mir “whose folded hands hold poppies, who are laden with pride (and) allure, (and) who are filled with exuberance, I stationed at their gates and (thus) I made (them) an object of wonder. The covering of the roof that (hangs) over the corridors — I made their somber atmosphere cheerful, making (them) as bright as day.”

15áš-šú ... ú-šak-li-mu-in-ni ṣi-<i>-⸢su⸣-un “so that ... they (Aššur and the goddess Ištar) revealed to me its source”: Cf., for example, text no. 17 vi 45–53, which have áš-šú šip-ri É.GAL-ia šu-te-šu-ri ù li-pit ŠU.II-ia šul-lu-me i-na u₄-me-šu-ma ^daš-šur ù ^diš-tar ra-ʾi-i-mu LÚ.SANGA-ti-ia na-bu-ú MU-ia giš-maḫ-ḫi GIŠ.ere-ni ša ul-tu UD.MEŠ SÙ.MEŠ i-ši-ḫu-ma ik-bi-ru ma-gal i-na qé-reb KUR.si-ra-ra KUR.MEŠ ina pu-uz-ri na-an-zu-zu ú-šak-li-mu-in-ni ṣi-i-su-un “so that the construction of my palace might be carried out correctly and that my handiwork be completed, at that time, the god Aššur and the goddess Ištar, who love my priestly service (and) who selected me (lit. “who called my name”), revealed to me a source of long trunks of cedar, which since distant days grew tall and very thick as they stood in seclusion in the Sirāra mountain range.” Note also that this text, later bull and lion inscriptions, and text no. 17 change the position of the statement of Aššur and Ištar aiding Sennacherib in the construction of his palace, especially with regard to the discovery of new sources of wood and stone. In text no. 15 (vi 20–27), a shorter version of this passage appears before statements about reinforcing the foundation of the terrace with limestone slabs, placing inscribed objects 160 courses of brick deep inside the terrace, and constructing the terrace. In text no. 16 (vi 39–48), the passage appears before a statement about reinforcing the foundation of the terrace with limestone slabs.

16[se]-el-lum “[the ar]ches”: So Layard, MS D; Meissner and Rost, BiS pl. 7 has se-el-lum.

17KUR.si-ra-<ra> “Sirāra”: So Layard, MS D; Meissner and Rost, BiS pl. 7 has KUR.si-ra-ra.

18[na]-an-zu-<zu> “as they [st]ood”: So Layard, MS D; Meissner and Rost, BiS pl. 7 has [na]-an-zu-zu.

19[LUGAL].MEŠ AD.MEŠ-ia “[the king]s, my ancestors”: So Layard, MS D; Meissner and Rost, BiS pl. 7 has [LUGAL.MEŠ AD.MEŠ]-ia.

20Like text nos. 40 (line 16´´) and 44 (line 51), this text does not add ša pa-a-ṭi URU.DU₆-bar-si-ip “which is on the border of the city Tīl-Barsip” after URU.kap-ri-da-ar-gi-la-a “Kapridargilâ”; cf., for example, text no. 17 vi 60, text no. 43 line 48, and text no. 46 line 134.

21Cf., for example, text no. 17 vi 62–63, text no. 40 lines 18´´–20´´a, and text no. 43 lines 49b–50a, which add i-te-e URU.ni-na-a “near Nineveh” before and ki-i ṭè-em DINGIR-ma “by divine will” after ina er-ṣe-et URU.ba-la-ṭa-a-a “in the territory of the city Balāṭāya.”

22Cf. text no. 40 lines 29´´–31´´a, which add nab-ni-ta-šu-un ú-šar-ri-iḫ “I made their appearance resplendent” after ú-še-piš “I had (it) made.” In lieu of NA₄.pi-i-lu pe-ṣu-[ú] ... ú-še-piš “(as for) the white limestone ... I had (it) made ...” text no. 17 vi 77–79 and text no. 43 lines 64b–67a, for example, have NA₄.pi-i-li pe-ṣe-e i-na lip-ta-at ^dnin-kur-ra i-na er-ṣe-et URU.ba-la-ṭa-a-a ú-šá-aʾ-lid-ma ú-šak-li-la gat-ta-šú-un “I had (bull colossi and sphinxes) of white limestone created in the territory of the city Balāṭāya and their forms perfected through the craft of the deity Ninkura.”

23pe-ṣu-[ú] “white”: So Layard, MS D; Meissner and Rost, BiS pl. 7 has pe-ṣu-ú.

24^d⸢ALAD⸣.^dLAMMA.[MEŠ] “bull coloss[i]”: So Layard, MS D; Meissner and Rost, BiS pl. 7 has ^dALAD.^dLAMMA.MEŠ.

25This text does not include the passage in which Sennacherib records how previous kings exhausted their workmen and depleted materials while making inferior statues and how Sennacherib invented a new, superior bronze casting technique. Cf. text no. 17 vi 80–vii 8, text no. 43 lines 67b–79a, and text no. 46 lines 139b–143a. Text nos. 40 (line 31´´) and 44 (line 57) also do not include this passage. giš-maḫ-[ḫi] “tree trun[ks]”: So Layard, MS D; Meissner and Rost, BiS pl. 7 has giš-maḫ-ḫi.

26áš-tap-pa^*-[ka]: Layard, MS D has áš-tap-MAŠ-[ka]; Meissner and Rost, BiS pl. 7 has áš-tap-pa-ka.

27Like text no. 40 (lines 34´´b–35´´a), this text does not include ki-i pi-ti-iq 1/2 GÍN.TA.ÀM “just like the cast work of (an object weighing only) a half shekel” before ú-šak-li-la nab-ni-su-un “I perfected their form(s)”; cf., for example, text no. 17 vii 18, text no. 43 line 82, and text no. 46 line 145.

28^dALAD.^dLAMMA.MEŠ ... dáp-pi ku-lul KÁ.MEŠ-⸢šin⸣ e-mid “bull colossi ... I positioned the architraves of their gates”: Text no. 40 lines 35´´b–41´´a duplicate these lines (with minor variation). Cf., for example, text no. 17 vii 20–30, text no. 42 lines 31´b–34´, and text no. 43 lines 83b–86a.

29az-kur^*: The copy of ex. 1 has az-ŠE. Like text nos. 40 (line 44´´), 41 (line 11´´), and 44 (line 72), this text does not include the passages recording the creation of a botanical garden, the digging of a canal from the city Kisiru, and the creation of a marsh, as well as the statement about the palace’s inauguration; cf., for example, text no. 43 lines 93b–105a and text no. 46 lines 153b–163a.