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HI STORI OGRAPHY

A SOURCE STUDY

ASSYRIAN HISTORIOGRAPHY

A Source Study

ALBERT TEN EYCK OLMSTEAD

ASSYRI AN

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

Assyrian Historians and their Histories

CHAPTER II

The Beginnings of True History

(Tiglath Pileser I)

CHAPTER III

The Development of Historical Writing

(Ashur nasir apal and Shalmaneser III)

CHAPTER IV

Shamshi Adad and the Synchronistic History

CHAPTER V

Sargon and the Modern Historical Criticism

CHAPTER VI

Annals and Display Inscriptions

(Sennacherib and Esarhaddon)

CHAPTER VII

Ashur bani apal and Assyrian Editing

CHAPTER VIII

The Babylonian Chronicle and Berossus

CHAPTER I

ASSYRIAN HISTORIANS AND THEIR HISTORIES

To the serious student of Assyrian history, it is obvious that we

cannot write that history until we have adequately discussed the

sources. We must learn what these are, in other words, we must begin

with a bibliography of the various documents. Then we must divide them

into their various classes, for different classes of inscriptions are

of varying degrees of accuracy. Finally, we must study in detail for

each reign the sources, discover which of the various documents or

groups of documents are the most nearly contemporaneous with the

events they narrate, and on these, and on these alone, base our

history of the period.

To the less narrowly technical reader, the development of the

historical sense in one of the earlier culture peoples has an interest

all its own. The historical writings of the Assyrians form one of the

most important branches of their literature. Indeed, it may be claimed

with much truth that it is the most characteristically Assyrian of

them all. [Footnote: This study is a source investigation and not a

bibliography. The only royal inscriptions studied in detail are those

presenting source problems. Minor inscriptions of these rulers are

accorded no more space than is absolutely necessary, and rulers who

have not given us strictly historical inscriptions are generally

passed in silence. The bibliographical notes are condensed as much as

possible and make no pretense of completeness, though they will

probably be found the most complete yet printed. Every possible care

has been taken to make the references accurate, but the fact that many

were consulted in the libraries of Cornell University, University of

Chicago, Columbia University, and the University of Pennsylvania, and

are thus inaccessible at the time when the work is passing through the

press, leaves some possibility of error. Dr. B. B. Charles, Instructor

in Semitics in the University of Pennsylvania, has kindly verified

those where error has seemed at all likely.--For the English speaking

reader, practically all the inscriptions for the earlier half of the

history are found in Budge-Kjing, _Annals of the Kings of

Assyria. 1_. For the remainder, Harper, _Assyrian and Babylonian

Literature_, is adequate, though somewhat out of date. Rogers,

_Cuneiform Parallels to the, Old Testament_, gives an up to date

translation of those passages which throw light on the Biblical

writings. Other works cited are generally of interest only to

specialists and the most common are cited by abbreviations which will

be found at the close of the study.]

The Assyrians derived their historical writing, as they did so many

other cultural elements, from the Babylonians. In that country, there

had existed from the earliest times two types of historical

inscriptions. The more common form developed from the desire of the

kings to commemorate, not their deeds in war, but their building

operations, and more especially the buildings erected in honor of the

gods. Now and then we have an incidental reference to military

activities, but rarely indeed do we find a document devoted primarily

to the narration of warlike deeds. Side by side with these building

inscriptions were to be found dry lists of kings, sometimes with the

length of their reigns, but, save for an occasional legend, there seem

to have been no detailed histories. It was from the former type that

the earliest Assyrian inscriptions were derived. In actual fact, we

have no right to call them historical in any sense of the word, even

though they are our only sources for the few facts we know about this

early period. A typical inscription of this type will have the form

"Irishum the vice gerent of the god Ashur, the son of Ilushuma the

vice gerent of the god Ashur, unto the god Ashur, his Lord, for his

own life and for the life of his son has dedicated". Thus there was as

yet little difference in form from their Babylonian models and the

historical data were of the slightest. This type persisted until the

latest days of the Assyrian empire in the inscriptions placed on the

bricks, or, in slightly more developed form, in the inscriptions

written on the slabs of stone used for the adornment of palace or

temple. For these later periods, they rarely have a value other than

for the architectural history, and so demand no further study in this

place. Nevertheless, the architectural origin of the historical

inscription should not be forgotten. Even to the end, it is a rare

document which does not have as its conclusion a more or less full

account of the building operations carried on by the monarch who

erected it.

It was not long until the inscriptions were incised on

limestone. These slabs, giving more surface for the writing, easily

induced the addition of other data, including naturally some account

of the monarch's exploits in war. The typical inscription of this

type, take, for example that of Adad nirari I, [Footnote: BM. 90,978;

IV. R. 44 f.; G. Smith, _Assyr. Discoveries_, 1875, 242 ff.;

Pognon, JA. 1884, 293 ff.; Peiser, KB. I. 4 ff.; Budge-King, 4 ff.;

duplicate Scheil, RT. XV. 138 ff.; Jastrow, ZA. X. 35 ff.; AJSL. XII

143 ff.] has a brief titulary, then a slightly longer sketch of the

campaigns, but the greater portion by far is devoted to the narration

of his buildings. This type also continued until the latest days of

the empire, and, like the former, is of no value where we have the

fuller documents.

When the German excavations were begun at Ashur, the earliest capital

of the Assyrian empire, it was hoped that the scanty data with which

we were forced to content ourselves in writing the early history would

soon be much amplified. In part, our expectations have been

gratified. We now know the names of many new rulers and the number of

new inscriptions has been enormously increased. But not a single

annals inscription from this earlier period has been discovered, and

it is now becoming clear that such documents are not to be

expected. Only the so-called "Display" inscriptions, and those with

the scantiest content, have been found, and it is not probable that

any will be hereafter discovered.

It was not until the end of the fourteenth century B. C. with the

reign of Arik den ilu, that we have the appearance of actual

annalistic inscriptions. That we are at the very beginning of

annalistic writing is clear, even from the fragmentary remains. The

work is in annals form, in so far as the events of the various years

are separated by lines, but it is hardly more than a list of places

captured and of booty taken, strung together by a few

formulae. [Footnote: Scheil, OLZ. VII. 216. Now in the Morgan

collection, Johns, _Cuneiform Inscriptions_, 33.]

With this one exception, we do not have a strictly historical document

nor do we have any source problem worthy of our study until the time

of Tiglath Pileser I, about 1100 B.C. To be sure, we have a good

plenty of inscriptions before this time, [Footnote: L. Messerschmidt,

_Keilschrifttexte aus Assur_. I. Berlin 1911; _Mittheilungen

der Deutschen Orient Gesellschaft_; cf, D. D. Luckenbill,

AJSL. XXVIII. 153 ff.] and the problems they present are serious

enough, but they are not of the sort that can be solved by source

study. Accordingly, we shall begin our detailed study with the

inscriptions from this reign. Then, after a gap in our knowledge,

caused by the temporary decline of Assyrian power, we shall take up

the many problems presented by the numerous inscriptions of Ashur

nasir apal (885-860 B.C.) and of his son Shalmaneser III (860-825

B.C.). In the case of the latter, especially, we shall see how a

proper evaluation of the documents secures a proper appreciation of

the events in the reign. With these we shall discuss their less

important successors until the downfall of the dynasty. The revival of

Assyrian power under Tiglath Pileser IV (745-728 B.C.) means a revival

of history writing and our problems begin again. The Sargonidae, the

most important of the various Assyrian dynasties, comprising Sargon

(722-705 B.C.), Sennacherib (705-686 B.C.), Esarhaddon (686-668 B.C.),

and Ashur bani apal (668-626 B.C.), furnish us a most embarrassing

wealth of historical material, while the problems, especially as to

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