ABC 21 (Synchronic Chronicle) (2)

For a very brief introduction to the literary genre of chronicles, go here. The translation on this webpage was adapted from A.K. Grayson, Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles (1975) and Jean-Jacques Glassner, Mesopotamian Chronicles (Atlanta, 2004)

The text, which informs us about a number of boundary conflicts and has a strong pro-Assyrian bias, is preserved on three tablets from the library of king Aššurbanipal in Nineveh. Tablet A is the main text, which can (at the edge) be supplemented with tablets B and C. The chronicle purports to render the text of a boundary stone between Assyria and Babylonia that stood somewhere on the east bank of the Tigris. This may be a literary fiction. The Babylonian version is Chronicle P.

The text must have been composed after the accession of Adad-nirari III in 810, but not much later, because there are no references to later troubles.

This is the second part of this webpage; the first page is here.

Column III

[iii.A1] At the time of Adad-nirari, king of Assyria,^note[Adad-nirari II of Assyria ruled from 911 to 891; the reign of his opponent, Šamaš-muddamiq of Babylonia, cannot be dated.]

[iii.A2] Šamaš-muddamiq, king of Karduniaš,

[iii.A3] drew up a battle array at the foot of Mount Yalman and

[iii.A4] Adad-nirari, king of Assyria, brought about the defeat^[A5] of Šamaš-muddamiq,

[iii.A5] king of Karduniaš, and

[iii.A6] conquered him.

[iii.A7] His chariots, and teams of horses, he took away from him.

[iii.A8] Šamaš-muddamiq, king of Karduniaš, passed away.

[iii.A9] Nabû-šuma-iškun,^note[A mistake. Šamaš-muddamiq was succeeded by Nabû-šuma-ukin.] son of [Šamaš-muddamiq, ascended his father's throne^?].

[iii.A10] Adad-nirari, king of Assyria, fought^[A11] with Nabû-šuma-iškun

[iii.A11] king of Karduniaš, and defeated him.

[iii.A12] ...-banbala, Huda-...

[iii.A13] ... numerous cities

[iii.A14] ... he conquered. Their vast booty

[iii.A15] he took to Assyria.

[iii.A16] ... his land, he enclosed him.

[iii.A17] ... he received from him. They gave their daughters to one another in marriage.

[iii.A18] Together they made an entente cordiale.

[iii.A19] The peoples of Assyria and Akkad were joined together.

[iii.A21] They established a boundary to Til-ša-Abtani and Til-ša-Zabdani

[iii.A20] from Til-Bit-Bari, which is upstream on the Zab.

[iii.A22] In the time of  Šalmaneser, king of Assyria,

[iii.A23] Nabû-apla-iddina was the king of Karduniaš.^note[Šalmaneser III ruled from 858 to 824; Nabû-apla-iddina can not be dated accurately.]

[iii.A24] An entente cordially

[iii.A25] together they made. At the time of Šalmaneser, king of Assyria,

[iii.A26] Nabû-apla-iddina, king of Karduniaš, passed away.

[iii.A27] Marduk-zakir-šumi ascended his father's throne.

[iii.A28] Marduk-bêl-usate, his brother, rebelled against him.

[iii.A29] He seized Daban. Akkad

[iii.A30] they equally divided. Šalmaneser, king of Assyria,

[iii.A31] went^[A32] to the aid of Marduk-zakir-šumi,

[iii.A32] king of Karduniaš.

[iii.A33] Marduk-bêl-usate, the usurper,

[iii.A34] Šalmaneser defeated him and the rebellious troops who were with him.^note[The inverted word order is typical for the Astronomical Diaries on which the Chronicles are based.]

[iii.A35] Cuthah, Babylon

[iii.C1'-C2'] [lacuna]

Together they made an entente cordiale.

[iii.C3'] The people of Assyria and Akkad were joined together.

[iii.C4'] ...

[iii.C5'] They fixed a boundary line by mutual consent.

[iii.C6'] Šamši-Adad, king of Assyria, and Marduk-balassu-iqbi, king of Karduniaš,^note[Šamši-Adad V succeeded Šalmaneser as king of Assyria in 823 and ruled until 811. Marduq-balassu-iqbi died in 813 and was succeeded by Baba-aha-iddina, whose first regnal year was 812.]

[iii.C7'] ... Šamši-Adad, king of Assyria,

[iii.C8'] brought about the defeat of Marduk-balassu-iqbi.

[iii.C9'] He filled the plain with the corpses of his warriors.

Column IV

[iv.A1] Šamši-Adad enclosed him and captured that city. Baba-aha-iddina

[iv.A2] he took together with his property and the treasure of his palace to Assyria.

[iv.A3] Der, Lahiru, Gananati,

[iv.A4] Dur-Papsukkal, Bit-Riduti, Me-Turan,

[iv.A5] and numerous [other] cities of Karduniaš

[iv.A6] he captured, together with their districts, their gods, and booty.

[iv.A7] Anu the Great, Humhumya, Šarrat-Deri, Bêlet-Akkadi,

[iv.A8] Šimalaya, Palil, Annunitu and Mar-Biti

[iv.A9] of Maliku he carried off. To Cuthah, Babylon,

[iv.A10] and Borsippa he went up and made pure sacrifices.

[iv.A11] He went down to Chaldea and the tribute of the kings

[iv.A12] he received of Chaldea. His officers

[iv.A13] received the tax of Karduniaš ...

[iv.A14] he made. They fixed the boundary-line.

[iv.A15] Adad-Nirari, king of Assyria,^note[Adad-nirari III was king of Assyria from 810 to 783. He succeeded Šamši-Adad V.] and ..., king of Karduniaš,

[iv.A16] bowed down ...

[iv.A17] in ...

[iv.A18] ... his craftsmen the gods.

[iv.A19] He brought back the abducted people and

[iv.A20] granted them an income, privileges, and barley rations.

[iv.A21] The peoples of Assyria and Karduniaš were joined together.

[iv.A22] They fixed the boundary-line by mutual consent.

[iv.A23] Let a later prince, who in Akkad

[iv.A24] wishes to achieve fame, write^[A25] about the prowess of his victories.

[iv.A25] Let him turn to this very stela

[iv.A26] continually and look at it that it may not be forgotten.

[iv.A27] Let the ... vizier heed all that is graved thereon!

[iv.A28] May the praises of Assyria be lauded forever!

[iv.A29] May the crime of Sumer and Akkad

[iv.A30] be bruited about in every quarter!

[iv.A31] Palace of Aššurbanipal, king of the universe, king of Assyria.^note[Colophon. Aššurbanipal was king of Assyria from 668 to 631 (or 627). The tablets were found in his library.]