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ADAD-N?R?R? III'S FIFTH YEAR IN THE SABA'A STELA.
HISTORIOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND

Shuichi Hasegawa

Presses Universitaires de France |

« Revue d'assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale »

2008/1 Vol. 102 | pages 89 à 98

ISSN 0373-6032
ISBN 9782130570042

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http://www.cairn.info/revue-d-assyriologie-2008-1-page-89.htm

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Pour citer cet article :
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Shuichi Hasegawa, « Adad-n?r?r? III's Fifth Year in the Saba'a Stela. Historiographical
Background », Revue d'assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale 2008/1 (Vol. 102), p. 89-98.
DOI 10.3917/assy.102.0089

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[RA 102-2008]

Revue d’Assyriologie, volume CII (2008), p. 89-98

ADAD-NĒRĀRĪ III’S FIFTH YEAR IN THE SABA’A STELA

HISTORIOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND

Shuichi H

ASEGAWA

The significance of the Saba’a Stela lies not only in the fact that it is one of the few

inscriptions of Adad-nērārī III (810-783 BCE) but also in its reference to the king's fifth year as
the beginning of his western campaign. Adad-nērārī’s inscriptions are all but summary
inscriptions,

and this is the only chronological data mentioned in his inscriptions. This date,

however, has been a matter of debate among scholars, because it does not coincide with other
Assyrian sources. This study offers a new solution that is based on historiographical analysis of
the text.

The Saba’a Stela was discovered in 1905 at Saba’a, south of Jabal Sinjar in north Iraq.

The text on the stela consists of thirty-three lines which are inscribed under an image of the
king and divine symbols. The stela measures 192 x 47 cm (top) / 50.5 cm (bottom), and is in
poor condition.

The text of the stela, published by E. Unger, can be divided into seven sections :

dedication (ll. 1-5) ; 2) Adad-nērārī III’s genealogy (ll. 6-11a) ; 3) campaign to the land of Hatti
“in  the  fifth  year”  (ll.  11b-18a) ;  4)  tribute  from  Mari’  king  of  Damascus  (ll.  18b-20) ;  5)
erection of the statue in Zabanni (ll. 21-22) ; 6) introduction of Nergal-ēreš (ll. 23-25) ; and 7)
curses (ll. 26-33).

Text
1. [ana]

⸢d⸣

IŠKUR gú-gal AN u ⸢KI-tim DUMU

a-nim⸣ qar-du šar-⸢hu⸣

2. [gí]t-ma-⸢lu ša⸣ pu-un-⸢gu⸣-lu ku-bu-uk-kuš a-ša-⸢red⸣
3.

⸢d⸣

í-gì-gì qar-rad

DIŠ.U šá hi-it-lu-pu nam-ri-ri ra-kib

4. [UD].⸢MEŠ⸣ GAL.MEŠ ha-líp me-lam-me ez-⸢zu⸣-te mu-šam-qit HUL.MEŠ
5. [na-a]-⸢ši⸣ qi-na-an-zi KÙ-te mu-šab-riq NIM.GÍR EN GAL-e EN-šú
6. [

10-ÉRIN].⸢TÁH⸣ MAN GAL-u MAN dan-nu MAN ŠÚ MAN KUR aš+šur MAN la šá-

na-⸢an⸣ SIPA tab-ra-te
7. [ÉN]SI MAH šá ni-iš qa-ti-šú ⸢na⸣-dan zi-bi-šú ih-šu-hu

8. [DINGIR].⸢MEŠ⸣ GAL.⸢MEŠ⸣ SIPA-su

GIM šam-me TI.LA UGU UN.MEŠ

9. [KUR aš]+⸢šur⸣ ú-⸢ṭí⸣-bu-ma ú-ra-pi-šú KUR-su A

šam-ši-10 MAN dan-nu

1. The term “summary inscription” was first suggested by H. Tadmor (1973 : 141). The concept of the term is

similar to that of E. Schrader’s “Übersichtsinschriften” (Schrader 1872 : 130 ; Tadmor, ibid., 141, n. 2).

2. The Stela is exhibited in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum (catalogue number 2828).
3. Unger 1916 ; Donner 1970 : 52-53 (ll. 11-22) ; Tadmor 1973 : 144-48 ; Weippert 1992 : 44, n. 16 (ll. 21-

22) ; RIMA 3, A.0.104.6.

4. W. Schramm (1973 : 112) reads : [DINGIR.M]EŠ GAL.[MEŠ šá

] SIPA-⸢su⸣.

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SHUICHI HASEGAWA

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10. [MAN ŠÚ] MAN KUR aš+šur A ⸢A⸣

šùl-ma-nu-MAŠ šá-pir mal-ki PAP-eš mu-šá-pi-ih

11. [MAN].MEŠ KÚR.MEŠ ina MU 5.KÁM <šá>

ina GIŠ.GU.ZA MAN-ti GAL-iš

12. [ú]-⸢ši⸣-bu-ma KUR ad-ki ⸢ÉRIN⸣.HI.<A>-at KUR aš+šur ⸢DAGAL⸣.MEŠ ana KUR
«hat» hat-te-⸢e⸣

13. [a-na] ⸢DU⸣ lu aq-bi ana

ÍD pu-rat-te ina me-li-šá e-bir MAN.MEŠ-ni

14. [māt hatte]

⸢DAGAL⸣-te šá ina tar-ṣi

šam-ši-10 AD-ia

id-nin-ú-ma

15. ⸢ik-ṣu⸣-[ru ÉRIN.HÁ.MEŠ]-šú-un

ina qí-bit aš+šur

⸢AMAR.UTU⸣

IŠKUR

iš-tar

DINGIR.[MEŠ]
16. ⸢tik-lì-ia⸣ [pul]-⸢hu me-lam⸣-mu is-hu-pu-šú-nu-te-ma GÌR.[II.MEŠ-ia]
17. iṣ-ba-tú GUN ma-⸢da⸣-[tú...] x x x [...]

18. ana KUR aš+šur ú-ru-ni am-h[u-ur...] [ana KUR ša ANŠE-šú DU]

19. lu aq-bi

ma-ri-’ ina URU di-maš-qí ⸢lu⸣ [...e-sir-šu...]

20. <1>

ME GUN KÙ.GI 1 LIM GUN KÙ.BABBAR GUN [...amhur]

21. ⸢ina⸣ u₄-me-šú-ma ú-še-piš-ma ṣa-lam be-lu-te-ia li-ta-[at qur]-⸢di-ia⸣
22. [ip]-šet qa-ti-ia ina qer-bi-šú al-ṭur ina AN

za-ban-ni

⸢ul⸣-[zi]z-šú N[A₄

( ?)

]

5. The supplement of <ša> here was first suggested by B. Meissner (1917 : 55).
6. Cf. i-na šur-rat LUGAL-ti-ia i-na mah-re-e BALA-ia ša i-na GIŠ.GU.ZA LUGAL-ti ra-bi-iš ú-ši-bu “in

the beginning of my lordship (and) in my first palû after I sat on the throne in majesty” (Adad-nērārī II, A.0.99.1, ll.
8-9) ; ina šur-rat MAN-ti-a ina mah-ri-i BALA-ia šá ... ina GIŠ.AŠ.TI MAN-ti GAL-iš ú-ši-bu “in the beginning of
my lordship (and) in my first palû after ... I sat on the throne in majesty” (Aššur-naṣirpal II, A.0.101.1, ll. 43-44). The
phrase LUGAL-ti / MAN-ti rabîš appears only in the context of the beginning of a king’s reign. For this reason, S.
Page (1969 : 458) takes it as indication of the co-regency between Adad-nērārī III and Semiramis, his mother.
However, this šá is better understood as “since”, and thus the sentence should be translated “since I sat on the throne
in majesty.” See A. Poebel 1943 : 82, n. 297.

7. After ana KUR, Unger’s copy reads hat-hat-te áš-ud. Schramm (1973 : 112) reconstructs : KUR Hat-te

<ra-pa>-áš-⸢te⸣. Tadmor had reconstructed previously (1969 : 47, n. 12, 13) as hat-te GAL-te but later (1973 : 145)
as hat-te-⸢e⸣ (also RIMA 3). Tadmor, judging from the collation based on a photograph and a latex sqeeeze,
comments (1973) that the line ends with hat-te-⸢e⸣ with no further characters (Tadmor’s communication from J. D.
Hawkins).

8. For this ana, I follow Grayson who explains it as nota accusativi (RIMA 3, footnote). Unger (1916 : 14-15)

states that this is a meaningless vertical line. Cf. Donner 1970 : 52, n. 11. Schramm holds that it can be discarded
(1973 : 112). Unger did not transliterate it, nor did Tadmor (1973 : 145). On the use of ana as nota accusativi in
another inscription from Adad-nērārī III's reign, see Hasegawa in press.

9. Unger (1916 : 10) and Donner (1970 : 52) reconstruct [nakrūte (KÚR.MEŠ)], but Tadmor’s reconstruction

[KUR hat-te] seems more likely (1969 : 47, n. 13 ; 1973 : 145) ; Grayson follows him in RIMA 3. Schramm’s
reconstruction [šá KUR hat-te] (1973 : 112) is another possibility.

10. In an inscription from Šamšī-Adad V (823-11 BCE), father of Adad-nērārī III, a similar phraseology ina

tarṣi PN AD-ia appears (RIMA 3, A.0.103.1, ll. 39-40).

11 . This restoration is only tentative. Compare ummāni-šú DUGUD-tú ik-ṣur-ma in the Babylonian

Chronicle, (BM 21946, Obv. l. 21 : Wiseman 1956 : 70 ; Grayson 1975 : 100). Unger (1916 : 10) and Donner
(1970 : 52) reconstruct si-d[i

( ?)

-ir

( ?)

-t]a

( ?)

-šú

( ?)

-un, which is less probable. Tadmor (1973 : 145) reconstructs ⸢ik

⸣ [ú IGI.DU₈]-šú-un “withheld their tribute”, which is followed by Grayson in RIMA 3. In Pazarcık Stela (Obv. ll.

7-10), Adad-nērārī III stated that the rebellious kings caused him and his mother to cross the Euphrates. This
reinforces the restoration of ll. 14-15 of the Saba’a Stela, in which Adad-nērārī considers an offensive action of his
enemies (“organised their [army]”) taken during his father’s reign as a casus belli, rather than only “withholding [of]
tribute.” See Hasegawa in press.

12. For the reconstruction of

⸢AMAR⸣.UTU, see Tadmor 1973 : 145, note for l. 16

sic !

13. Unger (1916 : 10) and Donner (1970 : 52) offer a reading iṣ-ba-tú biltu (GUN) ma-da-[tú lu

( ?)

ú-

kin

( ?)

]xx[...].

14. Following Tadmor’s reconstruction (1973 : 145). See also Sader 1987 : 238. Schramm (1973 : 112) offers

an alternative reconstruction : [ana tâmti rabīte alāka].

15. Unger (1916 : 10) and Donner (1970 : 52) reconstruct : [lu e-sir-šú ar-du-ti ēpuš

( ?)

16. Unger (1916 : 10) and Donner (1970 : 52) reconstruct : [ma-da-tú-šú am-hur].

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2008

ADAD-NĒRĀRĪ'S FIFTH YEAR IN THE SABA'A STELA

23. ⸢šaṭ

⸣-ri

IGI.DU-KAM LÚ.GAR.KUR URU né-med-

15 URU ap-ku ⸢URU ma⸣-re-e

24. KUR ra-ṣa-pi KUR qat-ni URU BÀD-duk-1.LIM URU kar-«a»-

AŠ PAB-⸢A URU sir⸣-qu

25. KUR la-qé-e KUR hi-in-da-nu URU an-at KUR su-hi URU aš+⸢šur⸣-DAB-bat
26. NUN-ú EGIR-ú šá ṣa-lam šu-a-tú ul-tú KI-šú i-⸢na⸣-šà-[ni-ni ana] ⸢KI⸣ [šá

]-ni-ma

27. ⸢man⸣-nu lu ina SAHAR.HA i-kát-ta-mu lu ina É á-⸢sak

( ?)

-ki

( ?)

⸣ u-še-ra-be

28. MU MAN EN-ia u MU šaṭ-ri i-pa-ši-ṭu-ma MU-šú i-šaṭ-ṭar aš+šur AD ⸢DINGIR.MEŠ⸣
29. li-ru-ur-šu-ma NUMUN-šú MU-šú ina KUR li-hal-li-qu

⸢AMAR⸣.UTU [...]

30. ⸢MAN⸣-su lis-kip ŠU.II-šú IGI.II

-šú ka-mu-su lim-nu-šú

UTU ⸢DI⸣.KUD ⸢AN u KI⸣

31. ⸢ik⸣-le-tú ina KUR-šú li-šab-ši-ma a-a i-ṭu-lu a-ha-⸢meš

IŠKUR⸣

32. gú-gul AN-e KI-⸢tim⸣  MU lis-su-uh GIM tib e-ri-bu-u  ⸢lit⸣-bi-ma
33. li-šam-qit KUR-s[u]

Translation

1-5) [To] the god Adad, master of watering heaven and underworld, son of the god

Anu, splendid hero, [pe]rfect (one) whose strength is massive, first and foremost of the Igigi
gods, warrior of the Anunnaku gods, the one who is clad in awe-inspiring radiance, the one who
rides the great [stormes] (and) is clad in furious aura, the one who causes to fall the evil, the one
who bears a pure whip, the one who causes lightning to flash, the great lord, his lord :

6-11a) [Adad-nēr]ārī, great king, strong king, king of the world, king of Assyria,

unrivalled king, brilliant shepherd, exalted city-ruler, whose prayer (and) giving of food
offerings the great gods desired (and) they made his shepherdship as healing grass to the people
of [As]syria (and) widened his land ; son of Šamšī-Adad (V), strong king, [king of the world],
king of Assyria, son of Shalmaneser (III), ruler of all kings, the one who scatters the enemy
kings/lands.

11b-18a) In the fifth year <since> I sat on the throne in majesty, I mustered the land

(and)  the  troops  of  wide  Assyria,  and  I  verily  commanded  to  march  to  the  land  of  Hatti.  I
crossed  the  Euphrates  in  its  flood.  The  kings  of  extended  [land  of  Hatti]  who,  in  the  time  of
Šamšī-Adad,  my  father,  became  strong  and  organised  their  [army]  —  by  the  command  of
Aššur,  ⸢Marduk⸣, Adad, Ištar, the gods, my support, the fearsome radiance overwhelmed them
and they seized my foot. They brought tribute and t[ax] [...] (and) I received (it).

18b-20) I verily commanded [to march to the land of Damascus]. [I verily confined]

Mari’ in the city Damascus, [... he brought to me] 100 talents of gold, 1000 talents of silver. [I
received it and took it to Assyria].

21-22) At that time I had made the image of my lordship and the victory of my heroism

(and) the deeds of my hand. I erected it in Zabanni/Anzabanni.

17. The sign AN here is probably a scribal error for URU. See Tadmor, ibid. 145 ; Weippert 1992 : 44, n. 16 ;

RIMA 3 : 209, footnote.

18. Zabanni is identified with Tell Umm ‘Aqrubba (Kühne 1991). Cf. Shea 1978 : 106.
19. Weippert (1992 : 44, n. 16) reads : [e]p-šet qa-ti-ia AŠ(ina) qer-bi-šú al-ṭur AŠ(ina) URU Ha

-ban-ni ul-

[zis-s]u

.
20. This tentative reconstruction is based on the close phraseology in the inscription of Aššur-naṣirpal II

(A.0.101.38  ll.  40-43) :  ...  NA₄.NA.RÚ.A-ia šu-a-tú  i-na-šú-ú ina áš-ri šá-ni-ma i-šá-ka-nu  ina A.MEŠ  ŠUB-ú ina
IZI  i-qa-lu-ú ina SAHAR.MEŠ  i-ka-ta-mu ina É  ki-li ú-še-ra-bu-ši.  “...  who  removes  this  stele  of  mine,  puts  it  in
another place, throws (it) into water, burns it with fire, covers (it) with dirt, (or) takes it into a prison ...” Schramm
(1973 : 113) reconstructs : i-tú-ru  ⸢ana⸣

( ?)

aš[ar(K[I)-šá]-ni-ma

( ?)

. Grayson (RIMA 3) reconstructs i-⸢ laq

( ?)

-qu

( ?)

⸣-

ni-ma.

21. After ⸢AMAR⸣.UTU, Schramm (1973 : 113) reconstructs [bēlūt]-s[u].
22. Tadmor’s transliteration is IGI.MEŠ (1973 : 145).

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SHUICHI HASEGAWA

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23-25) The stone (which is) inscribed of Nergal-ēreš, provincial governor of the city

Nēmed-Ištar, the city Apku, the city Mari, the land Raṣappa, the land Qatnu, the city Dūr-
duklimmu, the city Kār-Aššurnaṣirpal, the city Sirqu, the land Laqê, the land Hindānu, the city
Anat, the land Suhi, the city Aššur-aṣbat.

26-33) A later prince who takes this image from its land to [somewhere] else, (and)

whoever either covers (it) with dust or brings (it) in a sanctum (or) erases the name of the king,
my lord and the inscribed name

and writes his (own) name : Aššur, the father of the gods,

may curse him, and destroy his seed (and) his name from the land. The god Marduk [...], may
overthrow his kingship and charge his hands and eyes in bondage. Šamaš, judge of heaven and
earth, may cause there to be darkness in his land so that they cannot see each other. Adad,
master of watering heaven and earth, may tear out (his) name (and) rise like an onslaught of
locusts (and) may strike hi[s] land.

In the light of other sources, the date of the inscription can be established. In l. 25 of the

Saba’a Stela, Hindānu is enumerated as one of the lands that belong to Nergal-ēreš.

According

to the Nineveh Stone Tablet (RIMA 3, A.0.104.9), Hindānu was added  by royal decree to the
territory of Nergal-ēreš in 797 BCE. The text of the Saba’a Stela was thus written between 797
and  783  BCE,  the  year  of  Adad-nērārī  III's  death.  Assuming  that  the  submission  of  Mari’  to
Adad-nērārī  took  place  in  796  BCE,

the text would have been written after 796 BCE and

before 783 BCE.

When, was the “fifth year” of Adad-nērārī III as recorded in l. 11 ? This question has

been a disputable subject for quite some time. To establish the chronology of Adad-nērārī III’s
reign,  two  sources  must  be  consulted:  the  Eponym  Canon  and  the  Assyrian  King  List.  The
Eponym Canon yearly enumerates the eponyms, including the kings’ names, and the Assyrian
King List records the length of each king’s reign. The chronology of the Assyrian kings in the
Neo-Assyrian  Period,  between  Šamšī-Adad  V  and  Tiglathpileser  III,  can  be  obtained  by
comparing these two sources. Yet, it is difficult to establish the reign of Adad-nērārī III due to
the discrepancy in these two sources. There are two views as to the king's reign : 1) 809-782
BCE ;  2)  810-783  BCE.  Based  on  the  assumption  that  there  is  an  error  in  the  Assyrian  King
List,  E.  Forrer  (1915 :  15-16)  and  E.  F.  Weidner  (1941-44 :  367)  suggest  the  former  view.
Weidner assumes that Adad-nērārī, unlike his predecessors, filled his eponym in his first regnal
year. The fourteen years ascribed to the reign of Šamšī-Adad V, father of Adad-nērārī III, must
accordingly be curtailed between one to thirteen years.

As a result of this “correction”, Adad-

nērārī III’s full regnal years began in 809 and ended in 782 BCE.

On the other hand, A. Poebel (1943 : 74-79) lays greater weight on the Assyrian King

List. Against Forrer and Weidner, Poebel suggests that it is unnecessary to assume the reign of
Šamšī-Adad V lasted fourteen years instead of the thirteen years recorded in the King List. He

23. Grayson (RIMA 3) translates MU šaṭri as “my name.”
24. The list of the sources, in which his name is mentioned, is found in Åkerman and Baker 2002 : 981a-

982a. His name is also rendered as “Pālil-ereš”. See Åkerman and Baker, 2002 : 981a ; Postgate 1970 : 33 ; Tadmor
1973 : 147, n. 32 ; Timm 1993 : 65, n. 29 with earlier literature.

25. Tadmor 1973 : 146-147 ; Millard and Tadmor 1973 : 62-64 ; Weippert 1992 : 53 ; Lemaire 1993 : 149,

153.

26. Weidner (1941-1944) also changes the ten years for Aššur-nērārī V's reign recorded in the King List to

eight years.

27. This view is followed by Schramm (1973 : 114-115) and Weippert (1992 : 49). Using the recent

modification in the date of the solar eclipse, which has been generally dated to 763 but is now corrected to 762, S.
Timm (1993 : 61, n. 11) has accordingly moved each of these dates later by one year ; so that, according to him,
Adad-nērārī III’s first regnal year falls in 808 BCE.

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2008

ADAD-NĒRĀRĪ'S FIFTH YEAR IN THE SABA'A STELA

assumes that from Adad-nērārī II (911-891 BCE) to Tiglathpileser III (745-727 BCE), the
eponym of each king falls in his second regnal year rather than the first.

This result emerges when calculating back from the accession year of Tiglathpileser III,

745 BCE, as recorded in K51, and using the length of reign of each king in the King List. The
reigns of the kings between Adad-nērārī III and Aššur-nērārī V should all be placed one year
earlier than in Forrer’s counting : Adad-nērārī III’s first regnal year should be in 810 with his
reign ending in 783 BCE. According to this calculation, it is unnecessary to shorten both Adad-
nērārī III’s and Aššur-nērārī V’s reigns as recorded in the Assyrian King List.

This

chronology has been widely accepted among scholars.

While Poebel’s chronology seems to settle the problem of the gap between the Eponym

Chronicles and the Assyrian King List, another chronological difficulty arises in l. 11 of the
Saba’a Stela. It indicates that the campaign against Hatti commenced “in the fifth year <since>
I sat on the throne in majesty” (ina MU 5.KÁM <šá> ina GIŠ.GU.ZA MAN-ti GAL-iš). The
fifth year of Adad-nērārī III is date to 806 BCE according to Poebel's chronology.

However,

the event entry of the Eponym Chronicles for the year 806 registers “to Mannea” (ana KUR
man-na-a-a), which is located in the far east, beyond the Zagros Mountain. On the other hand,
the entry for 805 BCE registers “to Arpad” (ana KUR ar-pad-da), which is placed in the land
of Hatti.

Poebel is aware of this problem and tries to solve it by explaining the campaign as

follows. The preparations for the campaign against Arpad in 805 BCE had already started a
year earlier, in 806 BCE, at the command of the Assyrian king. Yet, due to the brevity of the
Eponym Chronicles, the campaign was not recorded for 806 BCE (1943 : 84).

Similarly, H.

Tadmor (Millard and Tadmor 1973 : 62) suggests that the entries of the Eponym Chronicles
represent the locations of the king and his camp at the turn of the year when the report was sent
back to Assyria. If this hypothesis is correct, one may surmise that the Assyrian king and his
camp were in Mannea at the turn of the years 807-806 BCE, and that Adad-nērārī III launched a
campaign to Hatti in the middle of 806 BCE, while at the turn of the years 806-805 BCE, the
king and his camp were at Arpad. This hypothesis is highly conjectural because we do not even
know at what point in the year those entries were recorded.

By being aware that this hypothesis

is unfounded, Tadmor alternatively proposes returning to Forrer’s chronology, which dates
Adad-nērārī III’s fifth year to 805 BCE.

W. H. Shea (1978 : 105-106) proposes five possibilities for solving this problem : 1) the

fifth year of the Saba’a Stela refers to Adad-nērārī III’s personal reign after four years of co-
regency with his mother, Semiramis, i.e. 802 BCE ; 2) the military targets in the entries of the
Eponym Chronicles were reported from the field at the end of the campaign and were thus
recorded with the eponyms in the following years (Tadmor’s hypothesis) ; 3) Adad-nērārī III
conducted two different campaigns in 806 BCE, only one of which, i.e. Mannea, was recorded ;

28. A ten-year reign for Aššur-nērārī V was attested also in the SDAS King List. See Gelb 1954 : 223, col. iv,

l. 23.

29. Page 1968 : 147, n. 27 ; Cazelles 1969 : 108 ; Tadmor 1969 : 46, n. 3 ; Lipinski 1969 : 167, n. 37 ;

Donner 1970 : 56, n. 23 ; Cody 1970 : 328-329 ; Grayson 1976 : 140b, n. 48 ; Shea 1978 : 102-103 ; Millard 1994 :
13 ; Yamada 2003 : 75.

30. Poebel 1943 : 82, n. 299.
31. It should be noted that Poebel suggested this dating for Adad-nērārī III’s first campaign westwards in

opposition to the assumption, commonly held at that time, that ina GIŠ.GU.ZA MAN-ti GAL-iš in the Saba’a Stela l.
11 means the year when he ascended the throne after the four years of co-regency with Semiramis, his mother. This
assumption had been suggested by Unger (1916 : 19) and was followed by some scholars. Cf. Poebel, 1943 : 80-83.

32. Tadmor 1973 : 146. Oded (1972 : 25-26, n. 6) takes a similar attitude to this matter.

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4) the date of the Saba’a Stela is incorrect owing to a scribal error ;

5) the Eponym Chronicles

for this period are incorrect owing to a scribal error. Shea, in his conclusion, prefers the fifth
possibility because of some discrepancies between the two recensions of the Eponym
Chronicles.

In these solutions, either harmonising the data both in the Saba’a Stela and the

Eponym Chronicles (solutions 1-3), or, assuming errors in either of the two (solutions 4-5), the
possibility  of  the  scribe’s  manipulation  of  numbers  was  not  considered.  Recently,  M.  De
Odorico’s  study  on  the  use  of  numbers  and  quantifications  in  the  Assyrian  royal  inscriptions
(1995) exemplifies that the Assyrian scribes, for propagandistic purposes, positively altered or
created numbers in the texts.

Tadmor (1958 : 30b-33a) demonstrates that the scribe’s manipulation of numbers could

have  also  occurred  concerning  the  year  counting  in  the  Assyrian  inscriptions.  He  enumerates
such examples of manipulating the year-count in Sargon II’s inscriptions. For example, Sargon
II, after he usurped the throne encountered internal conflicts in his accession year and his first
regnal  year;  then,  he  conducted  a  campaign  in  his  second  regnal  year.  This  first  campaign  is
recorded  in  “Assur  Charter”  as  campaign  of  “year  two”  to  his  second  palû,  while  “Sargon’s
Prisms” and Fragment A. 16947 date the same event to his first palû. Tadmor suggests that, the
latter  system  was  later  employed  to  conceal  the  fact  that  Sargon  did  not  conduct  a  campaign
during  his  first  regnal  year.  In  another  inscription  composed  during  the  last  years  of  Sargon,
even the campaign to Elam and Tu’munu was transferred from his second palû to his first palû.
Tadmor  points  out  (1958 :  31b,  n.  80)  that  the  same  tendency  can  also  be  observed  in  a
summary inscription from Khorsabad.

The image of a king fighting annually, like Sargon II, was also observed in other

Assyrian  kings’  inscriptions.  Analysing  the  stylistic  changes  in  Shalmaneser  III’s  annalistic
inscriptions,  S.  Yamada  (2003 :  73-79,  87-88,  esp. 77-79;  2009 :  xv-xviii)  points  out  that  the
palû annals were introduced in Shalmaneser III’s reign in order to display the king’s constant
military campaigning. By contrast, in the reign of Šamšī-Adad V, Shalmaneser III’s successor,
girru replaced palû, as the king could not conduct a campaign until his fifth regnal year. In the
reigns of Tiglathpileser III and Sargon II, both known for their military achievements, the palû
annals  were  indeed  renewed.

Yamada's studies reveal some inconsistency in the stylistic

features of Assyrian annalistic inscriptions in the ninth and eighth centuries BCE, and shed light
also on the text of the Saba’a Stela.

Though Saba’a Stela is classified in the genre of summary inscription, its author

evidently attempts to relate the military achievement of Adad-nērārī III to a chronological fixed
point by using the expression “in the fifth year <since> I sat on the throne in majesty”. The
expression “in the X year” (ina MU X.KÁM), which originated in Babylonia, is foreign to the
Assyrian royal inscriptions.

The use of this Babylonian expression for the regnal year may

33. Recently Kuan (1995 : 98) adopted this assumption and suggested that the author of the Saba’a Stela

mistakenly wrote the sign for five, which is very similar to that of sign for six in cuneiform. See also Hughes 1990 :
196, n. 68.

34. Shea 1978 : 106, n. 26.
35. Weidner (1941-44 : 52-53) explained the difference between the palû-counting of the Annals of Sargon II

and that of the Prism-Inscription : the author of the latter counted the “Kriegsjahr” in which the king himself took
part, while the years that the king was ina māti or only his proxy led the campaign, were not counted. The problem of
dating the events in the beginning of Sargon II’s reign has recently been studied by Fuchs (1994 : 81ff).

36. Yamada 2003 : 84-85; 2009 : xxviii-xxix. See also Tadmor 1958 : 30-31.
37. This expression appears in Shalmaneser III’s inscription. A.0.102.1. 41) i-na MU 1.KÁM-ma šu-a-ti “in

that very year”. Cf. Yamada 2009 : xi, n. 9.

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ADAD-NĒRĀRĪ'S FIFTH YEAR IN THE SABA'A STELA

also indicate a scribe’s attempt to conceal the inactivity of the king.

The entry of the Eponym

Chronicles for Adad-nērārī III’s first regnal year (810 BCE, following Poebel’s chronology)
indeed records “in the land” (i-na KUR), suggesting that the king did not campaign in that year.

Considering the manipulation of years in the Assyrian royal inscriptions for concealing the
king’s military inactivity, it would not be surprising if the scribe of this text counted the year
from the first military campaign in 809 BCE rather than from the first regnal year (810 BCE),
when the king did not campaign. For this purpose, the scribe employed the foreign Babylonian
expression ina MU X.KÁM. This means that there is no scribal error but a scribal
manipulation.

This hypothesis postulates the existence of an annalistic text of Adad-nērārī III,

in which his military campaign was yearly counted. The scribe of the Saba’a Stela possibly
used such an annalistic text as a source for his composition.

Another piece of evidence may support the hypothesis that the scribe used an annalistic

text, when composing the Saba’a Stela. The expression “<since> I sat on the throne in majesty”
(<šá> ina GIŠ.GU.ZA MAN-ti GAL-iš) in l. 11 has close parallels in other Assyrian royal
inscriptions. It is remarkable that almost all those parallels are accompanied with the phrases
“in my accession year” (ina šurrât šarrūtīya) and “after I nobly ascended the royal throne” (ina
mahrê palêya ša ina kussê šarrūte rabîš ūšibu). This refers to the beginning of the king’s reign
(particularly the first phrase [See Table 1]).

The use of the expression ina GIŠ.GU.ZA MAN-

ti  GAL-iš  alone  in  our  text  may  indicate  that  the  author  of  the  Saba’a  Stela  shortened  the
original  annalistic  text :  he  took  the  expression  ina  GIŠ.GU.ZA  MAN-ti  GAL-iš  from  the
description  of  Adad-nērārī  III’s  accession  year ;  and  joined  it  with  ina MU  5.KÁM  from  the
later part of the text ; but forgot to add ša between them.

The scribe’s propagandistic intention may be reflected also in the use of “in” (ina) in l.

11. Using the expression “in the fifth year” (ina MU 5.KÁM), the text dates Adad-nērārī III’s
campaign to “the land of Hatti” to his “fifth year.” It certainly creates an impression that the
subjugation of “the (entire) land of Hatti” was achieved only “in the fifth year” of Adad-nērārī.
On the other hand, the Eponym Chronicles record that the Assyrian army advanced to Arpad in
805 BCE, after which Assyria conducted four continuous campaigns to the west (805 to Arpad,
804 to Hazazu, 803 to Ba’li, 802 to the Mediterranean

) and another in 796 BCE (to

38. It also indicates the Babylonian influence in the Assyrian royal inscriptions at that time, as possibly

reflected also in the Nineveh Tablet. Cf. Tadmor 1958 : 30b, n. 74 for the Babylonian form of the year. Tadmor
(1958 : 31) assumed that the difference of the year-count between the sources resulted from the activity of two
different schools of scribes which differently counted years. Cf. Fuchs 1994 : 84, n. 4.

39. The scribe might have been Babylonian or of the Babylonian scribal tradition, as seen in the expression

ina MU 5.KÁM. Here the use of this expression is similar to that of palû in the Shalmaneser III and Sargon II’s
inscriptions. Cf. Tadmor 1958 : 29, n. 60 ; Yamada 2003 : 81-84.

40. Another possibility, though less likely, is that the author of the Saba’a Stela used Eponym Chronicles or

their prototype and erroneously calculated Adad-nērārī III’s reign from 809 BCE, the eponym year of Adad-nērārī
III. The line just above the line of year 809 BCE in the Eponym Chronicles had been considered as a dividing line
between Šamšī-Adad V’s reign and that of Adad-nērārī III. Poebel (1943 : 76-77), however, shows that the line
indicates the beginning or the end of an eponym period. Nevertheless, the scribe, who inscribed the text on the
Saba’a Stela, might have interpreted it, as scholars before Poebel did, as the beginning of Adad-nērārī III’s reign.

41. Poebel (1943 : 82, n. 297) illustrates two similar expressions from the Old Akkadian texts. The exception

is for example, Aššur-bēl-kala’s inscription (A.0.89.2, ‘Col. iii’ 22’) i-na 4-te ša-at-te ⸢ša i-na⸣ [kussê šarrūte ūšibu
...] “In the fourth year after [I ascended the royal throne]”. Although the sentence is fragmentary, the restoration fits
the context well. For the meaning of the expression šurrât šarrūtīya ina mahrê palêya, see Yamada 2000 : 12, n. 6 ;
Tadmor 1958 : 27-29.

42. This hypothetical annalistic text might have been compiled after Hindānu was added to the territory of

Nergal-ēreš in 797 BCE. Cf. Kuan 1995 : 97.

43. I identify tâmtim in the event entry for 802 BCE in the Eponym Chronicles as the Mediterranean.

Brinkman (1968 : 217, n. 1359), indicating that there is no example of eponyms referring to a body of water in the

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Manṣuate).  Tadmor  (1973 :  146),  considering  that  the  main  historical  subject  of  the  Saba’a
Stela  is  Adad-nērārī  III’s  military  achievements  in  these  years,  suggests  that  the  scribe’s
intention in noting “in the fifth year” may have been to indicate that those events occurred after
the king’s fifth year. Even so, this theory does not explain why the scribe employed  the term
“in” (ina) here. With due regard to the propagandistic character of Assyrian royal inscriptions,
it is likely that the scribe took this phrase from an annalistic text and intentionally left “in” (ina)
in this sentence, in order to give an impression, as if the conquest of “the (entire) land of Hatti”
had been achieved in a single year. This intention is obviously reflected in the phrase “In one
year I verily submitted the land Amurru (and) the land Hatti at my feet” in ll. 4-5 in the Tell al-
Rimāḥ Stela of Adad-nērārī III (RIMA 3, A.0.104.7), whose author is also Nerga l-ēreš.

To summarise, the historiographical analysis of the Saba’a Stela may reveal the

author’s manipulation in the text, in order to, on the one hand, conceal the king’s inactivity in
his first regnal year, and on the other hand, exaggerate the king’s conquest of the “land of Hatti”
in a single year. These two manipulations serve to present the image of the ideal Assyrian king
at that time, who unremittedly conducts military campaigns and subjugates the wide area in a
short period of time.

Table 1. Phraseology in the expression ina šurrât šarrūtīya ina mahrê palêya ša ina kussê šarrūte rabîš
ūšibu that appears in the Assyrian royal inscriptions

Kings and References in RIMA

ina šurrât šarrūtīya

ina mahrê palêya

ša ina kussê šarrūte rabîš ūšibu

Aššur-bēl-kala : A.0.89.2, ‘Col. i’ 8’

(X)

Aššur-dan II : A.0.98.1, 6-7

(X)

Adad-nērārī II : A.0.99.1, Obv. 8-9

Aššur-naṣirpal II : A.0.101.1, Col. i 43-44

Aššur-naṣirpal II : A.0.101.17, Col. i 61-63

Aššur-naṣirpal II : A.0.101.18, 2’

(X)

Shalmaneser III : A.0.102.1, 14

Shalmaneser III : A.0.102.2, 14-15

Shalmaneser III : A.0.102.6, 28

Shalmaneser III : A.0.102.10, 19-20

Shalmaneser III : A.0.102.11, Obv. 13’b-15’a

Shalmaneser III : A.0.102.14, 22-23

Shalmaneser III : A.0.102.16, 6

Shalmaneser III : A.0.102.1001, Obv. 3’-4’

Tiglathpileser III : the Stele from Iran,
Stela I/A, 36-37

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Brinkman, J.A. 1968. A Political History of Post-Kassite Babylonia 1158-722 B.C. (Analecta Orientalia 43). Roma.

form ana + toponym, suggests identifying it as the “Sealand” of Southern Babylonia. The identification of the “Sea”
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Arvad (Millard and Tadmor 1973 :59; Weippert 1992 : 50). The unpublished second fragment of the Šēḫ Ḥamad
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45. Before the phrase, there is

šámaš DI.KUD UB.MEŠ AN.DÙL-šú DÙG.GA UGU-ia iškunu.

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ABSTRACT

The present article discusses the “fifth year” of Adad-nērārī III’s reign as mentioned in the Saba’a Stela

from a historiographical point of view. The king’s “fifth year” has long been a matter of debate. Inconsistencies in
the  chronological  data  provided  by  the  Eponym  Chronicles  and  the  Assyrian  King  List  have  given  rise  to  various
solutions. Poebel’s dating of the king’s reign, i.e., 810-783 BCE, makes Adad-nērārī’s “fifth year” 806 BCE, the year
of the campaign “to Mannea”, according to the Eponym Chronicles. Yet, Mannea beyond the Zagros Mountain lies
in the opposite direction to where the campaign was allegedly conducted by Adad-nērārī in his “fifth year”, namely,
to “the land of Hatti”. The proposed solutions, such as assuming a two-year campaign in 806-805 BCE, or assuming
an  error  either  in  the  Saba’a  Stela  or  in  the  Eponym  Chronicles,  fail  to  consider  the  possibility  of  numbers  being
manipulated by the scribe. The employment of the Babylonian year count in the inscription, a count foreign to the
Assyrian royal inscriptions, may reveal the scribe’s intention to conceal the king’s inactivity of his first regnal year,
i.e.,  810  BCE,  the  date  of  “in  land”  according  to  the  Eponym  Chronicles.  The  manipulation  serves  to  present  the
image of an ideal Assyrian king, which first emerged during Shalmaneser III’s reign.

RÉSUMÉ

Cet article traite d'un point de vue historiographique de la « 5

année » du règne d'Adad-nērārī III, telle

qu'elle est mentionnée dans la stèle de Saba'a. Cette « 5

année » est depuis longtemps sujette à débat. Les

incohérences des données chronologiques fournies par les Chroniques Eponymales et la Liste Royale Assyrienne ont
donné lieu à plusieurs solutions. La datation du règne de ce souverain donnée par Poebel, c.-à-d., 810-783 av. J.-C.,
fait de la « 5

année » d'Adad-nērārī l'an 806 av. J.-C., l'année de la campagne « contre les Mannéens » selon les

Chroniques Eponymales. Néanmoins, le pays des Mannéens, situé au délà du Zagros, se trouve dans la direction
opposée à celle où la campagne aurait été conduite par Adad-nērārī dans sa « 5

année », à savoir, « le pays de

Hatti ». Les solutions proposées, telle que supposer une campagne de deux ans en 806-805 av. J.-C., ou une erreur
dans la stèle de Saba'a ou dans les Chroniques Eponymales, ne permettent pas de considérer la possibilité d'une
manipulation de nombres par le scribe. L'emploi d'un comput annuel à la babylonienne dans cette inscription,
comput étranger aux inscriptions royales assyriennes, peut révéler l'intention du scribe de dissimuler l'inactivité du
roi dans sa 1

ère

année de règne, c.-à-d. 810 av. J.-C., la date « dans le pays » selon les Chroniques éponymales. Cette

manipulation sert à présenter une image d'un roi assyrien idéal, qui a émergé pour la première fois durant le règne de
Salmanazar III.

Department of Christian Studies, College of Arts, Rikkyo University

Nishi-Ikebukuro 3-34-1, Toshima-ku, Tokyo 171-8501, Japan