The Literary Scheme of the Adad-Guppi Stele
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On Writing the History of Southern Mesopotamia* by Eva Von
On Writing the History of Southern Mesopotamia* by Eva von Dassow — Colorado State University In his book Babylonia 689-627 B.C., G. Frame provides a maximally detailed his- tory of a specific region during a closely delimited time period, based on all available sources produced during that period or bearing on it. This review article critiques the methods used to derive the history from the sources and the conceptual framework used to apprehend the subject of the history. Babylonia 689-627 B. C , the revised version of Grant Frame's doc- toral dissertation, covers one of the most turbulent and exciting periods of Babylonian history, a time during which Babylon succes- sively experienced destruction and revival at Assyria's hands, then suf- fered rebellion and siege, and lastly awaited the opportunity to over- throw Assyria and inherit most of Assyria's empire. Although, as usual, the preserved textual sources cover these years unevenly, and often are insufficiently varied in type and origin (e.g., royal or non- royal, Babylonian or Assyrian), the years from Sennacherib's destruc- tion of Babylon in 689 to the eve of Nabopolassar's accession in 626 are also a richly documented period. Frame's work is an attempt to digest all of the available sources, including archaeological evidence as well as texts, in order to produce a maximally detailed history. Sur- rounding the book's core, chapters 5-9, which proceed reign by reign through this history, are chapters focussing on the sources (ch. 2), chronology (ch. 3), the composition of Babylonia's population (ch. -
The Assyrian Period the Nee-Babylonian Period
and ready to put their ban and curse on any intruder. A large collection of administrative documents of the Cassite period has been found at Nippur. The Assyrian Period The names of the kings of Assyria who reigned in the great city of Nineveh in the eighth and seventh centuries until its total destruction in 606 B.C. have been made familiar to us through Biblical traditions concerning the wars of Israel and Juda, the siege of Samaria and Jeru- salem, and even the prophet Jonah. From the palaces at Calah, Nineveh, Khorsabad, have come monumental sculptures and bas-reliefs, historical records on alabaster slabs and on clay prisms, and the many clay tab- lets from the royal libraries. Sargon, Sennacherib, Esarhaddon, Ashur- banipal- the Sardanapalus of the Greeks- carried their wars to Baby- lonia, to Elam, to the old Sumerian south on the shores of the Persian Gulf. Babylon became a province of the Assyrian Empire under the king's direct control, or entrusted to the hand of a royal brother or even to a native governor. The temples were restored by their order. Bricks stamped with the names of the foreign rulers have been found at Nip- pur, Kish, Ur and other Babylonian cities, and may be seen in the Babylonian Section of the University Museum. Sin-balatsu-iqbi was governor of Ur and a devoted servant of Ashurbanipal. The temple of Nannar was a total ruin. He repaired the tower, the enclosing wall, the great gate, the hall of justice, where his inscribed door-socket, in the shape of a green snake, was still in position. -
Kings & Events of the Babylonian, Persian and Greek Dynasties
KINGS AND EVENTS OF THE BABYLONIAN, PERSIAN, AND GREEK DYNASTIES 612 B.C. Nineveh falls to neo-Babylonian army (Nebuchadnezzar) 608 Pharaoh Necho II marched to Carchemesh to halt expansion of neo-Babylonian power Josiah, King of Judah, tries to stop him Death of Josiah and assumption of throne by his son, Jehoahaz Jehoiakim, another son of Josiah, replaced Jehoahaz on the authority of Pharaoh Necho II within 3 months Palestine and Syria under Egyptian rule Josiah’s reforms dissipate 605 Nabopolassar sends troops to fight remaining Assyrian army and the Egyptians at Carchemesh Nebuchadnezzar chased them all the way to the plains of Palestine Nebuchadnezzar got word of the death of his father (Nabopolassar) so he returned to Babylon to receive the crown On the way back he takes Daniel and other members of the royal family into exile 605 - 538 Babylon in control of Palestine, 597; 10,000 exiled to Babylon 586 Jerusalem and the temple destroyed and large deportation 582 Because Jewish guerilla fighters killed Gedaliah another last large deportation occurred SUCCESSORS OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR 562 - 560 Evil-Merodach released Jehoiakim (true Messianic line) from custody 560 - 556 Neriglissar 556 Labaski-Marduk reigned 556 - 539 Nabonidus: Spent most of the time building a temple to the mood god, Sin. This earned enmity of the priests of Marduk. Spent the rest of his time trying to put down revolts and stabilize the kingdom. He moved to Tema and left the affairs of state to his son, Belshazzar Belshazzar: Spent most of his time trying to restore order. Babylonia’s great threat was Media. -
The Neo-Babylonian Empire New Babylonia Emerged out of the Chaos That Engulfed the Assyrian Empire After the Death of the Akka
NAME: DATE: The Neo-Babylonian Empire New Babylonia emerged out of the chaos that engulfed the Assyrian Empire after the death of the Akkadian king, Ashurbanipal. The Neo-Babylonian Empire extended across Mesopotamia. At its height, the region ruled by the Neo-Babylonian kings reached north into Anatolia, east into Persia, south into Arabia, and west into the Sinai Peninsula. It encompassed the Fertile Crescent and the Tigris and Euphrates River valleys. New Babylonia was a time of great cultural activity. Art and architecture flourished, particularly under the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II, was determined to rebuild the city of Babylonia. His civil engineers built temples, processional roadways, canals, and irrigation works. Nebuchadnezzar II sought to make the city a testament not only to Babylonian greatness, but also to honor the Babylonian gods, including Marduk, chief among the gods. This cultural revival also aimed to glorify Babylonia’s ancient Mesopotamian heritage. During Assyrian rule, Akkadian language had largely been replaced by Aramaic. The Neo-Babylonians sought to revive Akkadian as well as Sumerian-Akkadian cuneiform. Though Aramaic remained common in spoken usage, Akkadian regained its status as the official language for politics and religious as well as among the arts. The Sumerian-Akkadian language, cuneiform script and artwork were resurrected, preserved, and adapted to contemporary uses. ©PBS LearningMedia, 2015 All rights reserved. Timeline of the Neo-Babylonian Empire 616 Nabopolassar unites 575 region as Neo- Ishtar Gate 561 Amel-Marduk becomes king. Babylonian Empire and Walls of 559 Nerglissar becomes king. under Babylon built. 556 Labashi-Marduk becomes king. Chaldean Dynasty. -
Fertile Crescent.Pdf
Fertile Crescent The Earliest Civilization! Climate Change … For Real. ➢ Climate not what it is like today. ➢ In Ancient times weather was good, the soil fertile and the irrigation system well managed, civilisation grew and prospered. ➢ Deforestation - The most likely cause of climate changing in the fertile crescent. ➢ Massive forest have their weather patterns. Ground temperature is lower. More biodiversity. Today vs. Ancient Times Map of the Fertile Crescent A day in the fertile crescent. Rivers Support the Growth of Civilization Near the Tigris and Euphrates Surplus Lead to Societal Growth Summary Mesopotamia’s rich, fertile lands supported productive farming, which led to the development of cities. In the next section you will learn about some of the first city builders. Where was Mesopotamia? How did the Fertile Crescent get its name? What was the most important factor in making Mesopotamia’s farmland fertile? Why did farmers need to develop a system to control their water supply? In what ways did a division of labor contribute to the growth of Mesopotamian civilization? How might running large projects prepare people for running a government? Early Civilizations By Rivers. Mesopotamia The land between the rivers. Religion: Great Ideas: Great Men: Geography: Major Events: Cultural Values: Structure of the Notes! Farming Lead to Division of Labor Although Mesopotamia had fertile soil, Farmers could produce a food surplus, or farming wasn’t easy there. The region more than they needed.Farmers also used received little rain.This meant that the water irrigation to water grazing areas for cattle and levels in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers sheep. -
Elam and Babylonia: the Evidence of the Calendars*
BASELLO E LAM AND BABYLONIA : THE EVIDENCE OF THE CALENDARS GIAN PIETRO BASELLO Napoli Elam and Babylonia: the Evidence of the Calendars * Pochi sanno estimare al giusto l’immenso benefizio, che ogni momento godiamo, dell’aria respirabile, e dell’acqua, non meno necessaria alla vita; così pure pochi si fanno un’idea adeguata delle agevolezze e dei vantaggi che all’odierno vivere procura il computo uniforme e la divisione regolare dei tempi. Giovanni V. Schiaparelli, 1892 1 Babylonians and Elamites in Venice very historical research starts from Dome 2 just above your head. Would you a certain point in the present in be surprised at the sight of two polished Eorder to reach a far-away past. But figures representing the residents of a journey has some intermediate stages. Mesopotamia among other ancient peo- In order to go eastward, which place is ples? better to start than Venice, the ancient In order to understand this symbolic Seafaring Republic? If you went to Ven- representation, we must go back to the ice, you would surely take a look at San end of the 1st century AD, perhaps in Marco. After entering the church, you Rome, when the evangelist described this would probably raise your eyes, struck by scene in the Acts of the Apostles and the golden light floating all around: you compiled a list of the attending peoples. 3 would see the Holy Spirit descending If you had an edition of Paulus Alexan- upon peoples through the preaching drinus’ Sã ! Ğ'ã'Ğ'·R ğ apostles. You would be looking at the (an “Introduction to Astrology” dated at 12th century mosaic of the Pentecost 378 AD) 4 within your reach, you should * I would like to thank Prof. -
Ctesias and the Fall of Nineveh
Ctesias and the Fall of Nineveh J.D.A. MACGINNIS The Persica of Ctesias are not extant but fragments are preserved in the works of many other ancient writers, notably Diodorus Siculus and Photius; Konig 1972 is an excellent edition of these excerpts.' The purpose of this article is to suggest that certain elements in Ctesias' description of the fall of Nineveh (best surviving in Diodorus Il.xxiv-xxviii) go back to details actually derived from an earlier siege and fall of Babylon. This is not to deny that the narrative of Ctesias—insofar as it is historical—does preserve material genuinely traceable to the fall of Nineveh, only that it has further incorporated extraneous particulars. Thus the barest outline of a Babylonian and a Median king uniting to bring about the end of the Assyrian empire is correct (Smith, 126-31; Roux 1980, 343^7) though the exact chronology has been much disputed (see J. Gates in the forthcoming volume 3. 2 of the new Cambridge Ancient History). Furthermore, the names of the protagonists are confused: Belesys could just be a corruption of Nabu-apla- usur (Nabopolassar) but Arbaces cannot be Umakishtar / Cyaxares, and in fact the suggestion of Jacoby (col. 2049) that Ctesias has inserted the names of two leading Persian officials of the time known from Xenophon, namely the Arbaces who commanded at Cunaxa and the Belesys who was satrap of Syria, is convincing. Another mistake in the Greek accounts is making the last king of Assyria Sardanapallos, that is Ashurbanipal. In fact the last king was Sinshar-ishkun; among the writers of antiquity only Abydenus names him correctly in the form Sarakos (Gadd 1923, p. -
Forgetting the Sumerians in Ancient Iraq Jerrold Cooper Johns Hopkins University
“I have forgotten my burden of former days!” Forgetting the Sumerians in Ancient Iraq Jerrold Cooper Johns Hopkins University The honor and occasion of an American Oriental Society presidential address cannot but evoke memories. The annual AOS meeting is, after all, the site of many of our earliest schol- arly memories, and more recent ones as well. The memory of my immediate predecessor’s address, a very hard act to follow indeed, remains vivid. Sid Griffiths gave a lucid account of a controversial topic with appeal to a broad audience. His delivery was beautifully attuned to the occasion, and his talk was perfectly timed. At the very first AOS presidential address I attended, the speaker was a bit tipsy, and, ten minutes into his talk, he looked at his watch and said, “Oh, I’ve gone on too long!” and sat down. I also remember a quite different presi- dential address in which, after an hour had passed, the speaker declared, “I know I’ve been talking for a long time, but since this is the first and only time most of you will hear anything about my field, I’ll continue on until you’ve heard all I think you ought to know!” It is but a small move from individual memory to cultural memory, a move I would like to make with a slight twist. As my title announces, the subject of this communication will not be how the ancient Mesopotamians remembered their past, but rather how they managed to forget, or seemed to forget, an important component of their early history. -
A Nebuchadnezzar Cylinder (With Illustrations)
A NEBUCHADNEZZAR CYLINDER. BY EDGAR J. BANKS. IN recent years the Babylonian Arabs have learned a new industry from the excavators, for when no more lucrative employment is to be had, they become archeologists, and though it is forbidden to excavate for antiquities without special permission, they roam about the desert digging into the ruins at will. A day's journey to the south of Babylon, near the Euphrates, is a ruin mound so small that it has scarcely attracted the attention of the explorers. It is marked upon the maps as Wannet es-Sa'adun, but among the Arabs of the surrounding region it is known as Wana Sadoum. During the past two years this mound has been the scene of the illicit labor of the Arabs. The greatest of all ancient builders was Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon from 604 to 561 B. C. There is scarcely a ruin in all southern Mesopotamia which does not contain bricks stamped with his name, or some other evidences of his activity. He de- lighted in restoring the ancient temples which had long been in ruins, and in supporting the neglected sacrifices to the gods. He preferred to build new cities and enlarge the old ones rather than to wage war. Few of his records hint of military expeditions, for he was a man of peace, and it is as a builder or restorer of old temples that he should best be known. That his name might be remembered it was his custom, when restoring a temple, to in- scribe large cylinders of clay with his building records, and to bury them in the walls of the structure. -
Alas, Babylon: Tracing the Last King's Desert Exile
Meeting Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale CHICAGO,ILLINOIS—More than 300 Mesopo- tamian scholars gathered at the University of Alas, Babylon:Tracing the Chicago’s Oriental Institute from 17 to 23 July. Last King’s Desert Exile Mid–6th century B.C.E. was a dark time for 60 centimeters (cm) wide, 50 cm high, and 542 B.C.E. after a decade in exile, only to be the empire of Babylonia. Persians and Medes 11 cm thick—was later reused in building a overthrown by the Persian King Cyrus the were threatening in the east, and the king wall. Only about a dozen lines of the stele are Great 3 years later. Thus Mesopotamians lost mysteriously abandoned his famed capital of legible, but they indicate that Nabonidus control over their own rich territory—a Babylon for a remote oasis in the western made offerings to Babylonian deities— control that was not fully regained until 2500 including Marduk—in the form years later in the 20th century. of carnelian, lapis lazuli, and censers of gold, according to a translation by Assyriologist Ur’s Xena:A Warrior Hanspeter Schaudig of the Uni- versity of Heidelberg in Ger- Princess for Sumeria? many. The find “is very valuable for our knowledge of history,” One of the most spectacular archaeological says philologist David Weisberg discoveries in history was Leonard Woolley’s of Hebrew Union College in excavation of the royal tombs of Ur in the late Cincinnati, Ohio. But he adds 1920s. The 16 graves included a “death pit” that the inscription “is quite dam- with sacrificed retainers and animals. -
The Role of Assyria in the Ancient Near East During the Reign of Manasseh'
Andrews University Seminary Studies, Spring 1997, Vol. 35, No. 1,21-32 Copyright Q 1997 by Andrews University Press. THE ROLE OF ASSYRIA IN THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST DURING THE REIGN OF MANASSEH' ROY GANE Andrews University Introduction Under Sennacherib (704-68 1 B.c.), Esarhaddon (680-669), and Ashurbanipal (668-627),2Assyria played a dominant role in the ancient Near East during the long reign of Manasseh, king of Judah (c. 696-642).) While the Assyrian kings were not without challenges and even setbacks, expansion of the Neo-Assyrian empire reached its zenith in this period. The present article explores from an Assyrian point of view the relationship between the kingdoms of Assyria and Judah during the time of Manasseh. The primary question here is this: What was the significance of Judah to Assyria during this time? My main sources of information are selected Assyrian texts, which can be divided into several categories: 1. Assyrian historical texts which explicitly refer to Manasseh, king of Judah, 2. Assyrian historical texts which imply the involvement of Manasseh by referring to the collective kings of Syria-Palestine, 3. A tribute payment record which mentions Judah and appears to date from the time of Manasseh, 4. The treaty of Esarhaddon establishing the succession of Ashurbanipal. 'This article is a slightly revised version of a paper presented at a Society of Biblical Literature/American Schools of Oriental Research panel on "The Age of Manasseh" in San Francisco, 1992. 'On the chronology of the last kings of Assyria, including Ashurbanipal, see, e.g., J. Oates, "Assyrian Chronology, 631-612kc.," Iraq 27 (1965): 135-159. -
IV. a Re-Examination of the Nabonid~S Chonicle I
AN UNRECOGNIZED VASSAL KING OF BABYLON IN THE EARLY ACHAEMENID PERIOD WILLIAM H. SHEA Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, West Indies IV. A Re-examination of the Nabonid~sChonicle I. Comparative Materials Introd~ction.If a solution to the problem posed by the titulary of Cyrus in the economic texts is to be sought, perhaps it is not unexpected that the answer might be found in the Nabonidus Chronicle, since that text is the most specific historical document known that details the events of the time in question. However, there are several places in this re- consideration of the Nabonidus Chronicle where the practices of the Babylonian scribes who wrote the chronicle texts are examined, and for this reason other chronicle texts besides the Nabonidus Chronicle are referred to in this section. The texts that have been selected for such comparative purposes chronicle events from the two centuries preceding the time of the Nabonidus Chronicle. Coincidentally, the chronicle texts considered here begin with records from the reign of Nabonas- sar in the middle of the 8th century B.c., the same time when the royal titulary in the economic texts began to show the changes discussed in the earlier part of this study. Although there are gaps in the information available from the chronicles for these two centuries, we are fortunate to have ten texts that chronicle almost one-half of the regnal years from the time of Nabonassar to the time of Cyrus (745-539). The texts utilized in this study of the chronicles are listed in Table V. * The first two parts of this article were published in A USS, IX (1971), 51-67, 99-128.