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Records of the Past, 2nd Series, Vol. IV , ed. by A.H. Sayce, [1890], at sacred-texts.com
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THE MONOLITH INSCRIPTION OF SHALMANESER II
COLUMN I
1. Assur the great lord, the king of all the great gods; Anu the king of the Igigi and Anunnaki, 1 the master of the world; Bel the father of the gods, who determines destiny,
2. who institutes the laws [of heaven and earth]; Ea, the wise, the king of the Abyss, the discoverer of cunning arts; Sin the illuminator of heaven (and) earth, the illustrious god; Shamash
3. the judge of the (four) zones, the director of mankind; Ishtar the lady of battles and combats, whose delight (is) conflict; the great gods who love my royalty,
4. my empire, my power, and my government have they magnified; a famous name, an illustrious renown, above all the sovereigns (of the world) have they bestowed on me in abundance!
5. Shalmaneser, the king of the multitudes of men, the sovereign pontiff of Assur, the powerful king, the king of Assyria, the king of all the four zones, the Sun-god 2 of the multitudes of men,
6. who governs all the world; the king who fears the gods, the favourite 3 of Bel, the appointed vicar of Assur, the august prince, who has traversed
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7. easy paths and difficult roads, who has trodden the summits of the mountains (and) all (their) ranges, who has received tribute and presents
8. from all regions, who has opened the mountains above and below; before the onset of whose mighty battle the regions (of the world) have yielded,
9. the world has trembled to its foundations before his warlike fury; the male hero who has marched under the protection of Assur (and) Shamash,the gods his allies;
10. who has no rival among the kings of the four zones (of the world); the royal despot of the world, who has traversed difficult roads, (and) has advanced over mountains and seas;
11. the son of Assur-natsir-pal, the vicegerent of Bel, the priest of Assur, whose priesthood has been pleasing to the gods, and who has subjected to his feet all lands; the illustrious descendant of Tukulti-Adar 1
12. who subjugated all his foes, and swept them like the tempest, when Assur the great lord in the determination of his [heart] had turned upon me his illustrious eyes, and
13. had called me to the government 2 of Assyria; had given me to hold the mighty weapon which overthrows the rebellious; had [invested] me with the [sacred] crown; the lordship over all lands
14. had granted me; had strongly urged me to conquer and subjugate: in those days at the beginning of my reign, in the first of my (regnal) years, 3
15. (when) I had seated myself in state on the throne of royalty, I summoned my chariots (and) armies; into the defiles of the country of Simesi I entered; to Aridu the fortified city
16. of Ninni I approached. The city I besieged, I captured; its numerous soldiers I slew; its spoil I
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carried away. I erected a pyramid of heads at the entrance of his city.
17. Their youths and maidens I delivered to the flames. 1 While I remained in Aridu the tribute of the people of Kharga, Kharmasa,
18. Simesi, Simera, Sirisha, (and) Ulmania, horses trained to the yoke, oxen, sheep, (and) wine I received. From Aridu
19. I departed; difficult paths (and) inaccessible mountains whose peaks rose to the sky like the point of an iron sword I cut with axes of bronze (and) copper. The chariots
20. (and) troops I caused to cross (them). To the city of Khupushkia I approached. Khupushkia with 100 towns which (were) dependent on it I burned with fire. Kakia
21. a king of the country of Nairi and the rest of his troops trembled before the splendour of my arms, and occupied the strong mountains. After them I ascended the mountains,
22. I fought a hard battle in the midst of the mountains (and) utterly destroyed them. I brought back from the mountains chariots, troops, (and) horses trained to the yoke. The terror of the glory
23. of Assur my lord overwhelmed them; they descended (and) took my feet. Taxes and tribute I imposed upon them. From the city of Khupushkia I departed.
24. To Sugunia the stronghold of Arame of Ararat 2 I approached. The city I besieged, I captured; their numerous soldiers I slew.
25. Its spoil I carried away. I erected a pyramid of heads at the entrance of his city; 14 towns which (were) dependent on it I burned with fire. From Sugunia
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26. I departed; to the sea of the country of Nairi 1 I descended. I purified my weapons in the sea; I sacrificed victims to my gods. In those days an image of my person
27. I made; I inscribed upon it the glory of Assur the great lord, my lord, and the mightiness of my empire; I erected (it) overlooking the sea. On my return
28. from the sea I received the tribute of Asû of the land of Guzan in abundance, horses, oxen, sheep, wine, (and) two camels with two humps;
29. to my city of Assur I brought (them).—In the month Iyyar, on the 13th day, 2 I departed from Nineveh. I crossed the Tigris. I passed through the mountains 3 Of Khasamu and Dikhnunu.
30. To La’la’te 4 a city of Akhuni the son of Adini I approached. The terror of the glory of Assur my lord overwhelmed [them, to the mountains …]
31. they ascended. The city I threw down, dug up (and) burned with fire. From La’la’te I departed. [To Ki … qa the stronghold]
32. of Akhuni the son of Adini I approached. Akhuni the son of Adini to the multitude [of his troops trusted, and to make] combat and battle [came against] me. Under the protection of Assur
33. and the great gods, my lords, I fought with him; I utterly defeated him. I shut him up in his city. From the city of Ki … qa I departed;
34. to Bur-mar’âna 5 a city of Akhuni the son of Adini [I approached. The city] I besieged, I captured. I destroyed with my weapons 300 of his fighting-men. A pyramid of heads
35. I erected [at the entrance to his city]. The tribute of
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[paragraph continues] Khapini 1 of Til-abna, 2 of Ga’uni of Sa[llu], … of Giri-Dadda 3
36. [of Assu], silver, gold, oxen, sheep, (and) wine I received. From the city of Bur-mar’âna I departed; in boats of seal-skin the Euphrates
37. I crossed. The tribute of Qata-zilu of Kummukh, 4 silver, gold, oxen, sheep, (and) wine I received. To the city of Paqarrukhbuni 5
38. (and) the cities of Akhuni the son of Adini on the farther bank of the Euphrates I approached. I utterly destroyed the country. Its cities to ruins
39. I reduced. I filled the broad plain with the corpses of his warriors; 1300 of his fighting-men I slew with weapons.
40. From the city Paqarrukhbuni I departed; to the cities of Mutalli 6 of the city of the Gamgumians I approached. The tribute
41. of Mutalli of the city of the Gamgumians, silver, gold, oxen, sheep, wine, (and) his daughter with a large dowry I received. From the city of Gamgumê
42. I departed; Lutibu the stronghold of Khânu of the country of the Sam’alians I approached. Khânu of the country of the Sam’alians, Sapalulme 7
43. of the country of the Patinians, 8 Akhuni the son of Adini, Sangara of the country of the Carchemishians, trusted to their mutual alliance and prepared for
44. battle; they came against me to fight. By the supreme
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power of Nergal who marches before me, with the forceful weapons
45. which Assur the lord has granted (me) I fought with them, I utterly defeated them. Their combatants
46. I slew with weapons; like Hadad 1 I poured the deluge upon them, I heaped them up in the ditches; with the bodies
47. of their warriors I filled the broad plain; with their blood I dyed the mountains like wool. (His) many chariots [and troops], (and) horses
48. trained for the yoke I took from him. 2 I erected a pyramid of heads at the entrance to his city. His cities I threw down, dug up (and) burned with fire.
49. In those days I celebrated the greatness of the great gods; I proclaimed for ever the valour of Assur and Shamash. A great image of my royalty
50. I made; I inscribed upon it the exploits of my valour (and) the deeds of my glory. At the source of the river Saluara
51. at the foot of mount Amanus I erected (it). From mount Amanus I departed; the Orontes 3 I crossed; to Alimush 4
52. the stronghold of Sapalulme the Patinian I approached. Sapalulme the Patinian to save
53. his life [called to his aid] Akhuni the son of Adini, Sangara the Carchemishian, Khayânu the Sam’alian, Kate-[zilu the Komagenian], …
54. the Quan, 5 Pikhirim the Cilician, 6 Bur-anate the Yasbukian, Ada … the country of Assyria
COLUMN II
1. …
2. … I shattered [his forces]; the city I besieged, I captured. …
3. … his numerous chariots (and) horses trained to the yoke … I carried away …
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4. [His fighting-men] I slew [with] weapons. In the midst of this battle Bur-anate
5. … my hands captured. The great cities of the Patinian I in[vested. The countries]
6. of the Upper [Sea] 1 of Syria 2 and of the sea of the setting sun I swept like a mound under a storm.
7. The tribute of the kings of the sea-coast I received. On the shores of the broad sea, straight before me, victoriously
8. I marched. An image of my majesty I made to perpetuate my name for ever, overlooking the sea I e[rected it].
9. To the mountains of Amanus I ascended. Logs of cedar and thuya I cut. To the mountains
10. of mount Atalur where the image of Assur-irbi 3 was set up I marched. I erected an image by the side of his image. From the sea I went [down];
11. the cities of Taya …, Khazazu, 4 Nulia (and) But-âmu belonging to the Patinian I captured; 2800 fighting-men
12. I slew; 14,600 prisoners I carried away. The tribute of Arame the son of Gusi, 5 silver, gold, oxen,
13. sheep, wine, (and) couches of gold and silver I received.—In the year of my own eponymy, 6 on the 13th day of the month Iyyar from [Nineveh]
14. I departed; the Tigris I crossed, the mountains 7 of Khasamu and Dikhnunu I traversed. To Til-Bursip 8 the stronghold of Akhuni
15. the son of Adini I approached. Akhuni the son of
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[paragraph continues] Adini trusted to the multitude of his troops and came to meet me. I utterly defeated him. In [his city]
16. I shut him up. From Til-Bursip I departed; in boats of seal-skin the Euphrates at its flood I crossed. Al (?) … gâ, Tagi …
17. Sûrunu, Paripa, Til-Basherê 1 (and) Dabigu, six strongholds of Akhuni the son of Adini I [besieged], I captured. His numerous fighting-men
18. I slew: their spoil I carried away; 200 towns which (were) dependent on them I threw down, dug up (and) burned with fire. [From] Dabigu I (departed);
19. to Sazabê the stronghold of Sangara the Carchemishian I approached. The city I besieged, I captured. Their numerous fighting-men I slew;
20. their spoil I carried away. The towns which (were) dependent on him I threw down, dug up (and) burned with fire. The kings of the country [of the Hittites] all of them,
21. trembled before the splendour of my powerful weapons and my violent onset, and they took my feet. From … shun 2 the Patinian
22. 3 talents of gold, 100 talents of silver, 300 talents of copper, 300 talents of iron, i000 vases of copper, i000 vestments of embroidered stuff (and) linen, his daughter
23. with her abundant dowry, 20 talents of blue purple, 300 oxen, (and) 5000 sheep, I received. A talent of gold, 2 talents of blue purple, (and) 100 logs of cedar
24. I imposed upon him as tribute; each year I receive (it) in my city of Assur. From Khayânu the son
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of Gabbaru who (dwells) at the foot of mount Amanus 10 talents of silver, 90 talents
25. of copper, 30 talents of iron, 300 vestments of embroidered stuff (and) linen, 300 oxen, 3000 sheep, 200 logs of cedar … 2 homers of cedar-resin
26. (and) his daughter with her dowry I received. I laid upon him as tribute 10 manehs of silver, 200 logs of cedar, (and) a homer of cedar-resin; each year
27. I receive (it). From Aramu the son of Agûsi 10 manehs of gold, 6 talents of silver, 500 oxen, (and) s000 sheep I received. From Sangara the Carchemishian 2 talents
28. of gold, 70 talents of silver, 30 talents of copper, 100 talents of iron, 20 talents of blue purple, 500 weapons, his daughter with a dowry, and 100 daughters of his nobles,
29. 500 oxen, (and) 5000 sheep, I received. I laid upon him as tribute a maneh of gold, a talent of silver, (and) 2 talents of blue purple; each year I receive (it). From Qata-zilu
30. the Komagenian I receive each year 20 manehs of silver (and) 300 logs of cedar.—In the eponymy of Assur-bel-kain, 1 on the 13th day of the month Tammuz, I departed from Nineveh;
31. the Tigris I crossed; the mountains of Khasamu and Dikhnunu I traversed. At Til-Barsip the stronghold of Akhuni the son of Adini I arrived. Akhuni
32. the son of Adini, before the splendour of my powerful weapons and my violent onset, to save his life, crossed [to the western bank] of the Euphrates;
33. to other countries he passed over. By the command of Assur the great lord, my lord, the cities of Til-Barsip (and) Aligu [I occupied. The city of] … Shaguqa as my royal city
34. I chose. I settled men of Assyria within (it). I founded palaces within it for the habitation of my
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majesty. To Til-Barsip the name of Kar-Shalmaneser, 1
35. to Nappigu the name of Lita-Assur, 2 to Aligu the name of Atsbat-la-kunu, 3 to Ruguliti the name of Qibit-[Assur] 4 I gave. In those days
36. the city of Ana-Assur-utir-atsbat, 5 which the Hittites call Pitru, 6 which (is) upon the river Sagura on the farther side of the Euphrates,
37. and the city of Mutkînu which is upon the hither side of the Euphrates, which Tiglath-Pileser, 7 the royal forefather who went before me had [captured] (and which) in the time of Assur-Irbi (?), 8
38. the king of Assyria, the king of the country of Aram 9 had taken away by force, these cities I restored to their (former) position, I settled men of Assyria in them.
39. While I was staying in the city of Kar-Shalmaneser the tribute of the kings of the sea-coast and of the kings of the banks of Euphrates, silver, gold, lead, copper,
40. vases of copper, oxen, sheep, (and) embroidered and linen vestments I received. From Kar-Shalmaneser I departed; mount 10 Sumu I traversed.
41. Into the country of Bit-Zamâni I descended. From Bit-Zamâni I departed; the mountains 11 of Namdanu (and) Merkhisu I traversed. Difficult paths (and) mountains
42. inaccessible whose peaks rose to the sky like the point
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of a sword I cut with axes of bronze. I caused chariots (and) troops to pass (them). Into the country of Enzite 1 in mount Shua 2
43. I descended. My hand conquered the country of Enzite throughout its extent. Their cities I threw down, dug up and burned with fire. Their spoil, their goods, their riches without number
44. I carried away. A great image of my majesty I made; I inscribed upon it the glory of Assur the great lord, my lord, and the power of my empire; I set (it) up (in) the city of Saluria at the foot (?) of Qirêqi.
45. From the country of Enzite I departed; the river Arsania 3 I crossed. To the country of Sukhme I approached. Uashtal its stronghold I captured. The [land] of Sukhme throughout its extent
46. I overthrew, dug up (and) burned with fire. Sua their governor with my hand I captured. From the country of Sukhme I departed; into the country of Dayaeni 4 I descended. The city of Dayaeni
47. with all its territory I conquered. Their cities I threw down, dug up (and) burned with fire. Their spoil, their goods (and) abundant wealth I took. From the country of Dayaeni I departed;
48. to Arzasku 5 the royal city of Arrame of Ararat I approached. Arramu of Ararat before the splendour of my powerful weapons
49. and my violent onset trembled and abandoned his city; to the mountains of Adduri he ascended.
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[paragraph continues] After him I ascended the mountains. A hard battle in the mountains I fought; 3400
50. of his soldiers I slew with weapons. Like Hadad 1 I poured a deluge upon them. (With) their blood I dyed (the mountains) like wool. His camp I took from him;
51. his chariots, his litters (?), his horses, his colts, (his) calves, his riches, his spoil, (and) his abundant goods I brought back from the mountains. Arramu, to save
52. his life ascended the inaccessible mountains. In the energy of my manhood I trampled on his country like a wild bull; I reduced his cities to ruins. Arzasku together with the towns
53. which (were) dependent on it I threw down, dug up (and) burned with fire. I erected pyramids of heads at the entrance of his great gate. [Some of the survivors] alive within
54. [the pyramids I immured]; others I impaled on stakes round about the pyramids. From Arzasku I departed; to the mountains
55. [of Eritia I ascended]. A great image of my majesty I made. The glory of Assur my lord and the mighty deeds of my empire which I had wrought in the land of Ararat upon it
56. [I inscribed. On the mountains of Eri]tia I set (it) up. From mount Eritia I departed; the city of Aramale 2 I approached. Its towns I threw down, dug up (and) burned with fire.
5 7. From Aramale I departed; to the city of Zanziuna [I approached], … he trembled; he took my feet.
58. Horses trained to the yoke, oxen (and) sheep I received from him. I granted pardon to [him] … [On] my [return?], to the sea
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59. of the country of Nairi 1 I descended; I purified the forceful weapons of Assur in the sea. [I sacrificed] victims. [An image of my majesty] I made; the glory
60. of Assur the great lord, my lord, the exploits of my valour and the deeds of my renown I inscribed upon it. [From the sea] I departed; to the country of Guzan
61. I approached. Asâu the king of the country of Guzan with his brothers (and) his sons came forth to meet me [and took the feet] of my majesty. Horses
62. trained to the yoke, oxen, sheep, wine (and) 7 camels with two humps I received from him. A great image of my majesty I made. The glory of Assur the great lord, my lord,
63. and the illustrious deeds of my empire which I had wrought in the land of Nairi I inscribed upon it; in the middle of his city, in his temple, I set (it) up. From the country of Guzan I departed;
64. to Shilaya the stronghold of Kâki the king of the city of Khupushkia I approached. The city I besieged, I captured. Their numerous fighting men I slew; 3000 of them as prisoners, their oxen,
65. their sheep, horses, colts, (and) calves to a countless number I carried away; to my city of Assur I brought (them). The defiles of the country of Enzite I entered; by the defiles of the country of Kirruri
66. which commands 2 the city of Arbela I came out.—As for Akhuni the son of Adini, who with the permission of the kings my fathers had acquired power and strength, in the beginning of my reign, in the eponymy
67. of the year called after my own name I departed from Nineveh, Til-Barsip his stronghold I besieged, I
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surrounded him with my soldiers, I fought a battle in the midst of it,
68. I cut down his plantations, I rained upon him arrows (and) javelins, before the splendour of my weapons (and) the glory of Assur he trembled and abandoned his city,
69. to save his life he crossed the Euphrates,—(again) in the second year in the eponymy of Assur-bunâya-utsur 1 I pursued after him; Shitamrat, a mountain peak on the bank of the Euphrates,
70. which hangs from the sky like a cloud, he made his stronghold. By the command of Assur the great lord, my lord, and Nergal who marches before me, I approached the mountain of Shitamrat,
71. within which none of the kings my fathers had penetrated. In three days a soldier scaled the mountain, a hero whose heart led (him) to the fray, (who) climbed up on his feet. The mountain
72. I stormed. Akhuni trusted to the multitude of his troops and came forth to meet me; he drew up (his) array. I launched among them the weapons of Assur my lord; I utterly
73. defeated them. I cut off the heads of his soldiers and dyed the mountains with the blood of his fighting-men. Many of his (people) flung themselves against the rocks of the mountains. A hard battle in the midst of his city
74. I fought. The terror of the glory of Assur my lord overwhelmed them; they descended (and) took my feet. Akhuni with his troops, chariots, his litters (?) and the many riches of his palace,
75. whose weight could not be estimated, I caused to be brought before me; I transported (them) across the Tigris; I carried (them) to my city of Assur. As men of my own country I counted the inhabitants.—In this same year I marched against the country of Mazamua. 2 Into the defiles
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76. of the country of Bunais (?) 1 I entered: the cities of Nikdime (and) Nigdera 2 I approached. They trembled before the splendour of my powerful weapons and violent onset, and
77. took refuge on the sea 3 in coracles of willow. In boats of seal-skin I followed after them. A hard battle I fought in the middle of the sea (and) utterly defeated them.
78. The sea with their blood I dyed like wool.—In the eponymy of Dayan-Assur, 4 on the 14th day of the month Iyyar, I departed from Nineveh; the Tigris I crossed; to the cities
79. of Giammu on the river Balikh I approached. (Before) the fear of my lordship (and) the splendour of my forceful weapons they trembled and with their own weapons Giammu their lord
80. they slew. Into the cities of Kitlala 5 and Til-sa-Turakhi 6 I entered. I introduced my gods into his palaces; I made a feast in his palaces.
81. I opened (his) treasury; I saw his stored-up wealth; his riches (and) his goods I carried away; to my city of Assur I brought (them). From Kitlala I departed; to the city of Kar-Shalmaneser
82. I approached. In boats of seal-skin for the second time I crossed the Euphrates at its flood. The tribute of the kings of the farther 7 bank of the Euphrates, of Sangar
83. of the city of Carchemish, of Kundashpi of the city of Kummukh, 8 of Arame the son of Gusi, of Lalli of the city of Melid, 9 of Khayanu the son of Gabaru,
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84. of Girparuda of the country of the Patinians, (and) of Girparuda of the country of the Gamgumians, silver, gold, lead, copper (and) vases of copper
85. in the city of Assur-utir-atsbat on the farther side of the Euphrates, which (is) upon the river Saguri, which the Hittites
86. call Pitru, I received. From the banks of the Euphrates I departed; to the city of Khalman 1 I approached. They were afraid to fight (and) took my feet.
87. Silver (and) gold as their tribute I received. I offered sacrifices before Dadda 2 the god of Khalman. From Khalman I departed. To the cities
88. of Irkhulêni the Hamathite I approached. The cities of Adennu, 3 Mashgâ 4 (and) Argana his royal city I captured. His spoil, his goods,
89. (and) the riches of his palaces I removed; his palaces I delivered to the flames. From the city of Argana I departed; to the city of Qarqara I approached.
90. Qarqara his royal city I threw down, dug up (and) burned with fire; 1200 chariots, 1200 litters (?) (and) 20,000 men from Dadda-idri
91. of the [country] of Damascus, 700 chariots, 700 litters (?) (and) 10,000 men from Irkhulêni the Hamathite, woo chariots (and) 10,000 men from Ahab
92. the Israelite; 5 500 men from the Guans; 6 1000 men from the Egyptians; 10 chariots (and) 10,000 men from the Irqanatians; 7
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93. 200 men from Matinu-ba’al the Arvadite; 200 men from the Usanatians; 1 30 chariots (and) 10,000 men
94. from Adunu-ba’al the Shianian; 2 1000 camels from Gindibu’i the Arabian; 3 (and) … 00 men
95. from Ba’asha, the son of Rukhubi 4 of the country of Ammon 5—these 12 kings 6 he took to his assistance; to [offer]
96. battle and combat they came against me. With the mighty forces which Assur the lord has given (me), with the powerful weapons which Nergal who goes before me
97. has granted (me), I fought with them; from the city of Qarqara to the city of Kirzau I utterly defeated them; 14,000
98. of their fighting-men I slew with weapons. Like Hadad I rained a deluge upon them (and) exterminated (?) them.
99. I filled the face of the plain with their wide-spread troops, with (my) weapons I covered with their blood the whole district;
100. (the soil) ceased to give food to its inhabitants; in the broad fields was no room for their graves; with (the bodies of) their men
101. as with a bridge I bound together (the banks of) the Orontes. In this battle their chariots, their litters(?)
102. (and) their horses bound to the yoke I took from them.
Footnotes
55:1 The spirits of heaven and earth.
55:2 [The identification of the king with the Sun-god is frequent in the cuneiform tablets of Tel el-Amarna, where it is an imitation of an Egyptian usage. It is probable that the application of the term to the Assyrian king was due to the early influence of Egypt.—Ed.]
55:3 [Literally "the pupil of the eyes."—Ed.]
56:2 Literally "had called me as a prophet (nabium) to the shepherding."
57:1 [Literally, "I burned for a holocaust." There seems to be a reference to human sacrifice; cf. 2 Kings iii. 27.—Ed.]
57:2 [In the time of Shalmaneser the kingdom of Ararat, with its capital near Lake Van, was distinguished from Nairi, with its centre at Khubuskia. See Records of the Past, new series, i. p. 106, note 7.—Ed.]
58:2 B.C. 857. The events of the year are summed up in the annals of the Black Obelisk, lines 26–31.
58:5 [Perhaps an Aramaic name signifying "the son of our lord."—Ed.]
59:1 Called Khabini by Assur-natsir-pal and on the Black Obelisk.
59:2 ["The mound of stones."—Ed.]
59:3 [Or perhaps Ki-giri-Dadda: he is called Giri-Dadi by Assur-natsir-pal, Records of the Past, new series, ii. p. 173, note 1.—Ed.]
59:5 Called Paqarkhubuna on the Black Obelisk, line 90.
59:6 [The name of Mutalli is the same as that of the Hittite king Mutal, formerly read Mautenar, who is mentioned in the Egyptian copy of the treaty concluded between Ramses II, the Egyptian monarch, and the Hittites of Kadesh.—Ed.]
59:7 [Or Sapa-lulve, the Saplil of the Egyptian texts.—Ed.]
59:8 Between the Afrin and the gulf of Antioch, extending southwards to the sources of the Orontes.
60:5 Twenty-five years later the king of Que was Kate or Katî; see Black Obelisk, line 132.
61:2 Literally, "the country of the west."
61:3 [The Assyrian king Assur-irbi is otherwise unknown, but he probably reigned in the interval between Samsi-Rimmon I, B.C. 1070, and Tiglath-pileser II, B.C. 950. For his identification with Assur-rab-buri, see note on line 37.—Ed.]
61:4 [The modern ’Azaz, about twenty-two miles north-west of Aleppo.—Ed.] .
61:5 [Called Agûsi in line 27, and on the Black Obelisk.—Ed.]
61:6 B.C. 856; Black Obelisk, lines 32–35.
61:8 [Probably meaning in Aramaic "Mound of the Son of ’Sip," a name which must be identified with that of Saph in 2 Sam. xxi. 18. Til-Bur´sip is also written Til-Bur´saip and Til-Bar´sip.—Ed.]
62:1 [Probably the modern Tel Basher; see Records of the Past, new series, i. p. 109, note 5, and ii. p. 166, note 3. The printed text of the inscription has to be corrected here.—Ed.]
62:2 [This king must have been the successor of Sapalulve mentioned in Column I, and the predecessor of Girparuda mentioned in Column n, line 84.—Ed.]
63:1 B.C. 856. Black Obelisk, lines 35 sq.
64:1 "The Fortress of Shalmaneser."
64:3 "I have taken; (it is) not yours."
64:5 "To Assur I have restored, I have taken."
64:6 [The Pethor of the Old Testament, from which Balaam came. We learn from this and parallel passages that it stood on the eastern side of the Sagura, the modern Sajur, not far from the junction of this river with the Euphrates.—Ed.]
64:7 [Tiglath-pileser I, B.C. 1100. The name may be a modified form of that of Mitanni, for which see Records of the Past, new series, i. p. 113.—Ed.]
64:8 [The reading of the name is doubtful, the characters being partly obliterated. George Smith read Assur-rab-buri.—ED].
65:1 [For Enzite, the Anzitênê of classical geography, see Records of the Past, new series, i. p. 103, note 2.—Ed.]
65:2 [Or "belonging to the country of Isua." See the inscription of Tiglath-pileser I, Column III, line 91.—Ed.]
65:3 The Arsanias of classical geography, now called the Murad-Su.
65:4 [The Diyaveni or kingdom of the son "of Diaus" of the Vannic texts, which lay upon the Murad-Su in the neighbourhood of Melasgerd. One of its cities, Quais, is now represented by Yazlu-tash.—Ed.]
65:5 [Also called Arzaskun. The destruction of Arzasku and the defeat of Arrame seem to have led to the overthrow of his dynasty. Immediately afterwards Sarduris I, the son of Lutipris, built the citadel of Van, and founded a new kingdom on the shores of Lake Van.—Ed.]
66:2 [Aramalis would be a Vannic adjective, formed by a suffix li, and signifying "belonging to Arama." It had evidently been built by King Aramas or Aramis.—Ed.]
67:2 Literally "at the head of."
68:2 See Records of the Past, new series, p. 149, note 6.
69:1 [The reading of the last syllable is doubtful; we should perhaps read Bunae. See my "Memoir on the Vannic Inscriptions," Jrl. R.A.S., xiv. 3, p. 396.—Ed.]
69:2 Called Nigdiara on the Black Obelisk, line 51.
69:4 [B.C. 854. According to the Black Obelisk (ll. 54 sq.), however, the events here recorded took place two years later in B.C. 852, during the eponymy of Samas-bela-utsur.—Ed.]
69:6 Or Til-sa-Balakhi, "The mound of the Balikh."
70:1 [Or Khalvan, Aleppo. Compare Helam in 2 Sam. x. 17.—Ed.]
70:2 [According to K 2100. i. 7, 16, 17, Addu and Dadu were the names given to Rimmon in Syria, Adad or Hadad being a further name by which the god was known in Assyria. Besides Dadu we also find the forms Dadda and Dadi. In Hadad-Rimmon (Zech. xii. II) the two names of the Air-god are united, while a comparison of 2 Sam. viii. to with 1 Chr. xviii. 9 (Jo-ram and Hado-ram) shows that at Hamath Hado or Addu was identified with the national god of Israel. In the Babylonian contract-tablets the name of the Syrian god Ben-Hadad appears as Bin-Addu.—Ed.]
70:3 [Probably the Eden of Amos i. 5.—Ed.]
70:6 Probably the same as the Que.
70:7 [The "Arkite" of Gen. x. 17. The city is called Irqatu in the tablets of Tel el-Amarna.—Ed.]
71:1 [Us’û is referred to, the Ushâ of the Talmud, which, as Delitzsch has shown, was not far from Acre.—Ed.]
71:2 [The printed text has Si-za-na-â in mistake for Si-a-na-a. Probably "the Sinite" of Gen. x. 17 is meant.—Ed.]
71:6 Only eleven are mentioned. It seems probable that the scribe has omitted the name of one of the confederates.
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