Several clay cylinders discovered at Nineveh, including a few found by L.W. King, appear to bear the same inscription of Sîn-šarra-iškun. That text, at least according to one exemplar, records the renovation of the western entrance of the "Palace Without a Rival" (South-West Palace) at Nineveh. Sîn-šarra-iškun calls his great-grandfather's royal residence the "Alabaster House," which undoubtedly refers to its numerous sculpted and inscribed limestone slabs and colossal apotropaic figures. In addition to boasting that he rebuilt that part of the palace from its foundations to its crenellations, Sîn-šarra-iškun claims to have expanded the building's structure beyond what it had been in the reign of Sennacherib. One copy of this text was inscribed in the eponymy of Nabû-tappûtī-alik, the chief eunuch. The inscription is generally referred to in scholarly publications as "Cylinder C."
Access the composite text [http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/rinap/rinap5/Q003862/] of Sîn-šarra-iškun 01.
The five fragments that bear the present inscription originate from hollow clay cylinders; ex. 4 preserves part of the cylinder's right end, which has a round opening in its base. A horizontal ruling separates each line of text in all of the exemplars. The lineation of lines 1–19 comes from exs. 1 and 4–5 and is the same in these exemplars where they overlap, while the lineation of lines 1´–12´ comes from ex. 3 and that of lines 13´–20´ from ex. 1. The subscript of the text containing the date (line 21´) is only preserved on ex. 1. A full score of the inscription is presented on Oracc and the minor (orthographic) variants are listed at the back of the book in the critical apparatus.
Note that M. Streck's edition of this inscription (Asb. pp. 382–387), which utilizes only exs. 4 and 5, is conflated with Ssi 19 (Cylinder B) exs. 1 [only K 1662] and 4.
A piece of a clay cylinder preserves part of the prologue of an inscription of Sîn-šarra-iškun. Although the royal name and the king's genealogy are completely broken away, the attribution to this son of Ashurbanipal is certain based on parallels with other texts of Sîn-šarra-iškun from Nineveh, Aššur, and Kalḫu; compare Ssi 1, 6–7, 10, and 19. Because the building account is missing, it is not known what construction project it recorded. Since the object bears a "Kuyunjik" registration number, it is generally assumed that the fragment was discovered at Nineveh. Scholars commonly refer to this text as "Cylinder D."
Access the composite text [http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/rinap/rinap5/Q003863/] of Sîn-šarra-iškun 02.
A fragmentarily preserved clay cylinder of a seventh-century Assyrian king, presumably Sîn-šarra-iškun (or his father Ashurbanipal), bears an inscription that commemorates the king's construction work on a terrace. Only parts of the introduction, concluding formulae, and date line remain. The cylinder was inscribed during the eponymy of Sîn-šarru-uṣur, governor of Ḫindānu (date of tenure as eponym-official unknown).
Access the composite text [http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/rinap/rinap5/Q003864/] of Sîn-šarra-iškun 03.
The inscription is written in Neo-Assyrian script and horizontal rulings separate each line of text. A.R. Millard (Iraq 30 [1968] p. 111) proposed that BM 122613 might have belonged to the same cylinder as BM 122616 + BM 127966 (+)? BM 128073 (Novotny and Jeffers, RINAP 5/1 pp. 290–292 Asb. 21), which is inscribed with a text summarizing some of Ashurbanipal's building activities in Assyria and Babylonia and a few of his military conquests, most notable of which is the defeat of the Cimmerian ruler Tugdammî. This join is highly unlikely since BM 122613 probably bears an inscription of Sîn-šarra-iškun, as E. Weissert (apud Borger, BIWA p. 356) has already pointed out. Therefore, the inscription written on that fragment is edited in the present volume together with the certain inscriptions of Assyria's penultimate ruler.
For the possible contents of the introduction in lines 1–4, compare the introductions of Ssi 1, 6–7, 10, and 19.
A tiny piece of a clay cylinder is inscribed with a text that records some building activity at Nineveh. Although the ruler's name is not preserved in the text, the attribution to Assyria's penultimate king is based on several criteria: (1) the assumed provenance (Nineveh); (2) the material support (clay cylinder, which is commonly attested for Sîn-šarra-iškun, whereas it is not for his father Ashurbanipal); and (3) the script density (which is similar to the objects bearing Ssi 1). Almost nothing of the inscription remains, so it is no longer possible to determine what accomplishment it described. Of note, the Tigris River is mentioned.
Access the composite text [http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/rinap/rinap5/Q003865/] of Sîn-šarra-iškun 04.
A small fragment of a clay cylinder, presumably from Nineveh, bears an inscription of a late Neo-Assyrian king, most likely Ashurbanipal's son Sîn-šarra-iškun. The proposed attribution to Sîn-šarra-iškun, which was first suggested by L.W. King, is based on the following three criteria: (1) the assumed provenance (Nineveh); (2) the material support (clay cylinder); and (3) the script density (which is similar to the objects bearing Ssi 1). The text is not sufficiently preserved to be able to determine which building activity it commemorated. Since the É sign appears in line 7´, the inscription probably recorded work on a palace, possibly the South-West Palace, or one of Nineveh's many temples.
Access the composite text [http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/rinap/rinap5/Q003866/] of Sîn-šarra-iškun 05.
A draft or archival copy of an inscription that is similar to Ssi 1 is written on a fragmentary clay tablet, possibly from Nineveh. Although the building report is completely missing, it is certain from the subscript (a scribal note) that the text commemorated Sîn-šarra-iškun's work on the wall of Nineveh, which had been built by his great grandfather Sennacherib. Presumably, copies of this Akkadian inscription were written on clay cylinders (just like Ssi 1–5, 10, and 19) and deposited in the mud-brick structure of Nineveh's city wall, which went by the Sumerian ceremonial name Badnigalbilukurašušu ("Wall Whose Brilliance Overwhelms Enemies") when it was first built. Like Ssi 1, this inscription is generally referred to as "Cylinder C" in scholarly publications. The edition is based on A.K. Grayson's published copy.
Access the composite text [http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/rinap/rinap5/Q003867/] of Sîn-šarra-iškun 06.
Jamie Novotny & Joshua Jeffers
Jamie Novotny & Joshua Jeffers, 'Inscriptions from Nineveh (text nos. 1-6)', RINAP 5: The Royal Inscriptions of Ashurbanipal, Aššur-etel-ilāni, and Sîn-šarra-iškun, The RINAP/RINAP 5 Project, a sub-project of MOCCI, 2023 [http://oracc.org/rinap/rinap5/rinap53textintroductions/sinsharraishkun/ninevehtexts16/]