At present, three texts that were created specifically to commemorate Ashurbanipal's work at Tarbiṣu (modern Tell Sherif Khan, located just northwest of Nineveh) have been identified among the corpus of tablet inscriptions that was discovered in the ruins of the citadel mound of Nineveh (Kuyunjik). Of these texts, the ones that preserve building accounts report on the creation of objects — in one case, silver-plated lion-headed eagles (text no. 199) — for Egallammes ("Palace, Warrior of the Netherworld"), the temple of the god Nergal in that city.
This summary inscription of Ashurbanipal is known from several poorly-preserved, one-column clay tablets. Although the building report is not preserved in the identified exemplars, internal evidence provided by two of the tablets suggests that the inscription was written on objects intended to be displayed in the Nergal temple at Tarbiṣu, Egallammes. The text records details about the king's Egyptian and Elamite campaigns, and was composed after Ashurbanipal's second war against the Elamite king Ummanaldašu and the return of the goddess Nanāya's statue from Susa to her temple in the Eanna complex at Uruk in 646.
Access the composite text [/rinap/rinap5/Q007605/] or the score [/rinap/scores/Q007605/] of Ashurbanipal 197.
All seven exemplars appear to come from long and broad single-column tablets, similar in format to the exemplars of text no. 207 (LET). However, the vast majority of the inscription is supplied by exs. 1 and 2, which are better preserved than all the other exemplars. In the inscription on these two tablets, the king invokes the god Nergal along with his viceroy Išum (see obv. 8´´, 20´´) or includes him alongside the god Aššur (rev. 13–14, 24 [with Išum], and 27), suggesting that exs. 1 and 2 were composed for objects that were fashioned for display in Egallammes, the temple of Nergal in the city Tarbiṣu. Text nos. 198–199 likely preserve the conclusion to this inscription, including parts of the building accounts.
Ex. 1 preserves parts of both faces, as well as portions of the left, right, and bottom edges of a clay tablet. T. Bauer (Asb. pp. 65 and 122) listed K 4482+ as a duplicate of K 2656+ and classified K 8017 as a duplicate of text no. 11 (Prism A), but R. Borger (BIWA p. 155) correctly pointed out that both K 4482+ and K 8017 belong to K 2656+ as an indirect join. Although Borger considered these three fragments part of a single tablet, one should note that he listed each of the fragments separately in his catalogue at the end of BIWA and did not list them together under the entry for K 2656+ on p. 329. For this exemplar, there are two scribal features of note. The scribe accidentally omitted two lines from the narrative and thus had to write them on the left edge of the tablet (see the on-page note to rev. 17–18). Also, the scribe has impressed a winkelhaken in the left margin of the tablet next to obv. 12´´ and 22´´ of the master text, indicating that the scribe was marking every tenth line of text on this tablet, at least for the obverse (compare the practice on text no. 205 and on ex. 1 of text no. 207 [LET]).
Ex. 2 preserves parts of both faces and the left edge of a clay tablet. This tablet also includes a small scribal notation on its left edge next to rev. 21 of the master text (see the on-page note). Exs. 3–7 are small fragments that preserve only a handful of lines from a single face of a clay tablet; only ex. 6 preserves a small portion of the right edge of a tablet. These five exemplars are tentatively edited with the present inscription even though they are not well enough preserved for it to be certain that they are duplicates of this text rather than text no. 133.
The lineation and master text follow ex. 1 for obv. 3´´–29´´ and rev. 1–30, although ex. 2 provides some of the content of the latter that is not preserved in ex. 1 due to damage. Ex. 2 supplies the lineation and master text for obv. 1´–12´ and rev. 31–41. The division between the obverse and reverse is also taken from ex. 1 since it is the only exemplar that preserves the bottom edge of a tablet. Obv. 1´´´–2´´´ come from ex. 6, but this fragment does not preserve a top or bottom edge that would allow one to see where this exemplar divides its lines over the obverse and reverse. A score of the inscription is presented on Oracc, and the minor orthographic variants are given at the back of the book.
With respect to the contents of the tablet, for obv. 2´–9´, 2´´–4´´, and 10´´–24´´, compare text no. 11 (Prism A) i 65–89, 110–113, and ii 22–43. Also, for obv. 23´´–29´´ and the subsequent lacuna, compare text no. 233, as well as text no. 7 (Prism Kh) i 94´–97´ and text no. 10 (Prism T) iv 19–26. For the contents of the reverse, compare generally text no. 9 (Prism F) iii 8–35, 62–79, and iv 20–67 and text no. 11 (Prism A) iv 11–38, 112, v 11–35, and 66–126, but for rev. 3–6 and 9–12 see text no. 6 (Prism C) viii 3´´–11´´ and ix 45´´–52´´ and text no. 7 (Prism Kh) vii 17´–26´ and ix 1–9. Although most of the restorations are based on text no. 11 (Prism A), there are some instances where the content of the present inscription follows that of the earlier prism inscriptions.
A broad, single-column clay tablet preserves a small portion of a summary inscription that was composed for Egallammes at Tarbiṣu shortly after Ashurbanipal returned the statue of the goddess Nanāya to her temple Eḫiliana in the Eanna complex at Uruk in late 646. The building account, which is badly damaged, recorded the creation of an object (closely) associated with Nergal's statue. The text is not sufficiently preserved to determine what that object might have been.
Access the composite text [/rinap/rinap5/Q007606/] of Ashurbanipal 198.
Given that the building report of 80-7-19,195+ describes Ashurbanipal's fashioning of an object for Egallammes, it is likely that this tablet fragment preserves the end of text no. 197, a summary inscription whose internal evidence shows that it was probably composed for objects displayed in Nergal's temple at Tarbiṣu (see the commentary to that text). Another building report for text no. 197 is preserved in text no. 199; this indicates that at least two summary inscriptions were composed for Egallammes.
The building report of 80-7-19,195+ is damaged and does not preserve the mention of the object created, but other inscriptions of Ashurbanipal report that he had divine emblems and lion-headed eagle colossi stationed in gateways of Nergal's temple at Tarbiṣu; see text no. 6 (Prism C) i 62´–64´, text no. 7 (Prism Kh) i 35´–38´, text no. 10 (Prism T) ii 25–28, and text no. 23 (IIT) line 76. Although the building report of text no. 199 concerns dIM.DUGUD.MUŠEN.MEŠ KÙ.BABBAR eb-bi "lion-headed eagles of shiny silver," there is probably not enough space to restore this in rev. 12´ of the present inscription since such material is written over one and a half lines (rev. 8´–9´a) in text no. 199, which is a tablet of similar size. This suggests that 80-7-19,195+ was composed for a different object, possibly the aforementioned divine emblems. However, even if lion-headed eagles are the subject of the building report of this tablet, it is likely that it still contained a different version of that report than text no. 199; the equivalent portions of the building report in these two inscriptions differ in length, with rev. 12´–13´a of the present text corresponding to rev. 8´–11´a of text no. 199.
For rev. 3´–11´, see text no. 199 rev. 1´–7´, and compare text no. 9 (Prism F) v 53–vi 11, text no. 10 (Prism T) v 6–32, and text no. 11 (Prism A) vi 74–124; and for rev. 12´–13´, see text no. 199 rev. 8´–11´. Restorations are based on text no. 199, as well as on text no. 9 (Prism F) since the tablet's contents seem to relate to this tradition (see the on-page notes).
A small portion of the left half of the reverse of a broad, single-column clay tablet is inscribed with a third summary inscription composed specifically for Nergal's temple at Tarbiṣu. This text, which was also written after Ashurbanipal's second war with Ummanaldašu of Elam in 646, commemorated the fashioning of (a pair of) lion-headed eagles (anzû) for prominent gateway(s) of Egallammes.
Access the composite text [/rinap/rinap5/Q007607/] of Ashurbanipal 199.
Because Rm 406's building account describes Ashurbanipal's fashioning of lion-headed eagle colossi as protectors of the gateways of Egallammes, the temple of Nergal at Tarbiṣu, it is possible that this tablet fragment preserves one the building reports of text no. 197; there were at least two different versions of that summary inscription (see text no. 198).
With respect to the contents of the tablet, for rev. 1´–7´, see text no. 198 rev. 5´–11´, and compare text no. 9 (Prism F) v 70–vi 11, text no. 10 (Prism T) v 9–32, and text no. 11 (Prism A) vi 107–124; and for rev. 8´–11´, see text no. 198 rev. 12´–13´. Restorations are based on the parallel lines of text no. 198, and on the material of text no. 9 (Prism F) since the contents of the tablet appear to be connected to this tradition (see the on-page notes).
Joshua Jeffers & Jamie Novotny
Joshua Jeffers & Jamie Novotny, 'Tablets Related to Tarbiṣu (text nos. 197-199)', RINAP 5: The Royal Inscriptions of Ashurbanipal, Aššur-etel-ilāni, and Sîn-šarra-iškun, The RINAP/RINAP 5 Project, a sub-project of MOCCI, 2022 [http://oracc.org/rinap/rinap5/rinap52textintroductions/tabletspart6texts194218/tabletsrelatedtotarbisutexts197199/]