Assyrian Province Research Articles

The settlement of Yauna, ‘Ionian’ identity and the Greek presence on the Syrian coast in the second half of the eighth century BC: a reassessment of two letters from the Nimrud correspondence

AbstractWe offer a reassessment of two letters from the state correspondence of Tiglath-pileser III of Assyria (r. 744–727 BC) with the earliest references to a town called Yauna and a people called the Yauneans, as encountered on the eastern Mediterranean coast by the newly established imperial administration. Past scholarship connected these Assyrian terms with the ethnonym ‘Ionians’ and/or the toponym ‘Ionia’. The study narrows down the location of Yauna, drawing also on a review of the coastal sites that have produced Greek ceramic imports: although identification remains elusive, Yauna was certainly situated in the territory of the kingdom of Hamath, and later the Assyrian province of Ṣimirra. Discussion of the historical and cultural background of Yauna’s foundation highlights its significance for the ‘transfer debate’ and the phenomenon of the ‘Greeks overseas’. We argue that the Assyrians first encountered the Yauneans in this locality and that, to them, they were originally simply the inhabitants of Yauna. Due to the similarities perceived between them and (other?) Greeks appearing in the eastern Mediterranean, the Assyrians came to apply the ethnonym universally to all these people, who eventually adopted it for themselves. Thus, we support the argument that the term ‘Ionian’ originated in external nomenclature.

The long 7th century BCE at Tel Shiqmona (Israel): a high resolution chronological tool for the Levant and the Mediterranean

The 7th century in the southern Levant is characterized by Assyrian rule and subsequent Egyptian domination. Despite the relatively violent nature of this century, and abundant historical documentation, occupations both in the southern Levant and Lebanon are dated with low resolution. This deficiency was mainly created by a lack of destruction layers within this century, resulting in a dearth of chronological anchors for ceramic developments. At Tel Shiqmona, a unique purple-production centre that had been frequently destroyed, an unparalleled sequence of five layers of late Iron Age destructions/abandonments has been preserved, spanning a little over 100 years. These enable the definition of detailed typological developments of Phoenician transport jars. Being a widely distributed commercial vessel, exhibiting frequent typological changes and originating from a limited number of workshops, these jars constitute the best chronological index yet for the late Iron Age Levant. This paper presents the Tel Shiqmona sequence, outlines the typological development of the jars and explains their chronological designations. The benefits of defining archaeological sub-divisions within the 7th century BCE are highlighted by two examples: the chronology of Tyre; and settlement/geopolitical dynamics in the Assyrian province of Megiddo. It is argued that this chronological tool can be applied broadly around the Mediterranean.

The Neo-Assyrian Empire in the Southwest: Imperial Domination and Its Consequences

The Neo-Assyrian Empire in the Southwest: Imperial Domination and Its Consequences

Archaeology and History of Eighth-Century Judah

Archaeology and History of Eighth-Century Judah

In Search of ḪArḫar (The Neo-Assyrian Kar-Šarrukin) in the Central Zargos Mountains, Western Iran: A New Proposal

From the reign of Ashurnasirpal II (883-859 BC) until Ashurbanipal (668-627) numerous locations and fortresses in western Iran are mentioned in the Assyrian sources. According to these inscriptions the major fortress was Ḫarḫar, located alongside the Great Khorasan Road. After the reign of Tiglath-Pileser III (744-727) significant political changes occurred in the central western Zagros, and in the reign of Sargon II (726-705) Ḫarḫar was turned into an Assyrian province with the aim of operating as an outpost for monitoring Media. Some researchers believe that Ḫarḫar must be located in the Mahidasht plain in the west of Kermanshah Province, but up until now no definite location has been proposed. Recent studies, however, suggest that in all probability the site of ancient Ḫarḫar is to be identified with the mound of Tapeh Kheibar in the north/north-west Mahidasht (Kouzaran region). The results of field survey and surface collection indicate that in the Iron Age Kheibar was a huge fortress with an area of c. 20 ha, strongly fortified and protected by a deep, broad moat around its outer part. The location, description, and appearance of the site very closely match the depiction of Ḫarḫar in a relief from Room II of the palace of Sargon at Khorsabad showing an Assyrian attack on the city. It is therefore proposed that Tapeh Kheibar is to be identified with the site of ancient Ḫarḫar.

Settlement, Economy, and Demography under Assyrian Rule in the West


 
 
 The “Assyrian Century,” the period of Assyrian rule in the Levant, is usually regarded as an era of prosperity and economic progress. As far as the southern Levant is concerned, this reconstruction more or less reflects the reality on the southern edge of the region—in the areas of Philistia, Judah, and Edom. But what was the situation in the northern part of the country, in the territories of the former kingdom of Israel and adjacent territories, regions that had become Assyrian provinces? It is the aim of this paper to scrutinize the archaeological data from these regions in order to shed light on the settlement and demographic reality in those provinces, and furthermore to reassess Assyrian policy in the west. After summarizing previous research, the article will present the available archaeological data, which will then be compared with that from the southern part of the country in order to enable a reexamination of the Assyrian empire’s policy in the west.
 
 

The Stele of Adad-nērārī III and Nergal-ēreš from Dūr-Katlimmu (Tell Šaiḫ Ḥamad)

A Neo-Assyrian royal stele from Dūr-Katlimmu, modern Tell Šaiḫ Ḥamad in Syria, bears two cuneiform inscriptions, one in the name of Adad-nērārī III of Assyria (r. 810–783 BC), the other in the name of Nergal-ēreš, governor of the Assyrian province of Raṣappa. Both inscriptions concern the god Salmānu and his temple at Dūr-Katlimmu for whose reconstruction and refurbishment Adad-nērārī and Nergal-ēreš take credit.

The Development of the Middle Assyrian Provinces

In this paper, a description of the Middle Assyrian provincial system arranged geographically, beginning with the heartland and continuing to the west, north and east, and chronologically, from the 13th to the 11th centuries BC, is undertaken. The expansion of this system was directly linked to the territorial expansion of the Middle Assyrian kingdom. Whereas most of the provinces can be followed from the 13th to the 11th century, some of them appear only for a shorter, limited period of time. According to present evidence, it seems that the term ḫalzu (district) was substituted by the concept pāḫutu (province) at the end of the reign of Tukultī-Ninurta I (1233–1197 BC) or shortly after his death.

Beyond Aššur: New Cities and the Assyrian Politics of Landscape

This article investigates the making of Assyrian landscapes during the late second and early first millennia B.C.E. From the late 14th century B.C.E. onward, the Assyrians designated the emergent core of their territorial state as the “Land of Aššur” in their royal inscriptions. However, over the course of the next several centuries, the cultural geography of the Land of Aššur was continuously redefined while gradually shifting northward from the arid environs of the city Aššur to the well-watered and resourceful landscapes around the confluence of the Tigris and the Upper and Lower Zab Rivers. Contemporaneously, the landscapes of the Upper Tigris basin (southeastern Turkey) and the Jazira witnessed extensive settlement and cultivation as Assyrian provinces and frontiers. Drawing on archaeological survey evidence and a critical reading of the textual accounts of urban foundations, this paper argues that such mobility of Assyrian landscapes was part and parcel of broader processes of environmental and settlement change in Upper Mesopotamia. Assyrian annalistic texts point to an elaborate rhetoric of landscape that portrays state interventions in the form of city foundations and building programs, construction of irrigation canals, planting of orchards, opening of new quarries, and settlement of populations. Furthermore, the making of commemorative monuments such as rock reliefs and stelae allowed the Assyrian state to inscribe symbolically charged places in foreign landscapes and incorporate them into the narratives of the empire. By drawing attention to the long-term trends of settlement in Upper Mesopotamia during the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages and the agency of landscapes, the article contextualizes the Assyrian political rhetoric of development at the time of a highly fluid world of geographical imagination.

Was Dor the Capital of an Assyrian Province?

The article discusses the status of the city of Dor under the Assyrian empire. Three kinds of evidence are analyzed in detail: the textual evidence, the archaeological results of the excavations conducted at the site and the status of Dor along the axis of time. The textual and the archaeological evidence reveal the importance of Dor's harbour for the Assyrians and its importance in the maritime trade along the east coast of the Mediterranean in the 7th century BCE, but they provide no decisive evidence about its place in the Assyrian province system. An examination of the status of Dor during the 11th–5th centuries BCE indicates that it was always the capital of a political entity, or of a distinct district within the larger province system. The analysis opens the door to the possibility that Dor was the capital of a separate Assyrian province that encompassed the coastal area between Mount Carmel in the north and the Jarkon River in the south, but more evidence is needed to decide whether this was indeed the case, or that Dor was a port in the confines of the province of Megiddo.

The Kingdom of Arpad (Bīt Agūsi) and 'All Aram'

The role of Bīt Agūsi in the politics of ninth-eighth centuries BCE in Northern Syria is surveyed. Seven stages in the existence of the Kingdom of Bīt Agūsi are identified. In stage 1 (858-ca. 842 BCE) Bit Agūsi apparently had no political alliances with its neighbors. In stage 2 (841- 823 BCE) Bit Agūsi was subjugated to Assyria. In stage 3 Bit Agūsi led the opposition against the Assyrian hegemony and became independent from ca. 823 at the earliest. Stage 4 is characterized by the supremacy of Aram-Damascus between 823 at the earliest and 805 at the latest. In Stage 5 (ca. 800-754 BCE) the rise of the Kingdom of Hamath-and- Lu 'ash in the south until 754 BCE and of Urartu in the North are surveyed. In stage 6 (754-744 BCE) Bīt Agūsi rose to prominence and probably controlled Hamath. In stage 7 (743-740 BCE) Assyria subdued Bit Agūsi, and reduced it into an Assyrian province.

Les Samaritains: Histoire d'Une Légende (review)

Hebrew Studies 36 (1995) 212 Reviews because of its attention to sources (especially Samuel-Kings), the use of rabbinic and mediaeval Jewish interpretation and her mastery of the Hebrew text (rather than an English translation). This commentary is an indispensable tool for the study of the Book of Chronicles. William M. Schniedewind University of Cali/ornia-Los Angeles Los Angeles. CA 90095-1511 LES SAMARITAINS: HISTOIRE D'UNE LEGENDE. By JeanDaniel Macchi. Le Monde de la Bible 30. pp. 191. Geneva: Labor et Fides, 1994. Paper, SF 35.00. In the last three decades a great amount has been published about the origin of the Samaritans and their religious traditions. It is now clear that the "received" understanding of the biblical account in 2 Kings 17 must be seen as tendentious and that the roots of Samaritanism cannot lie in the time after the fall of Samaria at the hands of the Assyrians in the eighth century B.C.E. Macchi's book, whose second subtitle is "Israel and the Province of Samaria," is a worthy addition to the recent literature on the subject. It presents a detailed and focused analysis of the political, social and religious background of Samaria and the bearing it has on the problems of the origin and character of the religion of the Samaritans. Drawing together the major primary and secondary sources on the subject, Macchi shows not only that the text of the wirkungsgeschichtlich all-important passage 2 Kings 17 cannot reflect the actual events which it purports to describe, but also that the developments in IsraeVSamaria in no way support the image of Samaritanism as a semi-pagan, syncretistic religion. In the first chapter Macchi briefly presents the Samaritans and their history. He describes Samaritanism as a different form of Judaism (un autre Judai'sme) because of the many similarities between the two groups. What distinguishes them from each other is their disparate visions of the history of Israel. After outlining the main traits of the Samaritans' view of that history as it is expressed in their chronicles, he examines the reliability of these works and rightly concludes that they cannot form the basis of a historical inquiry. The historical origin of the Samaritans must be sought in a much later time than either Judaism or Samaritanism claims. With other modem au- Hebrew Studies 36 (1995) 213 Reviews thors, Macchi places it in the Hasmonean period. He correctly emphasizes that talk of a "Samaritan schism" even for that later period is out of place. In chapter two Macchi presents his detailed analysis of 2 Kings 17. As others before him have done, he shows that the text as it stands now is the result of a long literary development. Macchi distinguishes three main phases: vss. 1-23 go back to the deuteronomistic school of the exilic period; the polemics in vss. 24-33, 41 were added in the post-exilic period; and fmally, vss. 34-40 reflect the more open attitude of the redactors of the books of Chronicles which are to be dated in the period from the end of the Persian rule to the Hellenistic era. A great part of 2 Kings 17 reflects the polemics of returned Judean exiles against the inhabitants that they encountered in the country. The pericope cannot be construed as a correct depiction either of the origins of the Samaritans or of the actual situation in the Assyrian province of Samaria after 722 B.C.E. Chapter three is the longest chapter. It describes the events that led to the disappearance of the kingdom of Israel as an independent entity, the practice of deportations in the neo-Assyrian empire, and the socio-political organization in the Assyrian provinces. Macchi calculates that of several hundred thousand inhabitants of Israel, a few thousand were deported, that is, probably less than ten percent of the total popUlation. Because the deported were chosen from among the intelligentsia, the political structure of the province was destabilized. But despite the deportations and the settlement of foreigners in Samaria by the Assyrians, the ethnic composition of the popUlation was not fundamentally changed. The final chapter gives a brief description of the religion of...

Geographical Study and Urban Investigations in the Province of Ḫabḫu in the Light of Assyrian Sources

The province of ḫabḫu is one of the vast provinces located on the northern border of Assyria. This province was frequently mentioned in many cuneiform sources from the Neo-Assyrian period. It was a strategic center and a linking area on the famous Assyrian Royal Road It was coveted by the two main powers in the ancient Near East: namely the Kingdoms of Urartu and Assyria, because its location on commercial roads, its major mineral production and horses breeding areas. The Extensions and Geographical Scope of the Province of ḫabḫu: From some of the Assyrian kings' annals, we conclude that this Assyrian province represents a border area for Assyria, extending from the Upper Zab River to the border with the Hittites, i.e. from the Zab River seemed to have been the province's eastern border, which included Alluba, modern Zakho. It extended westwards to the Hittite border in central Asia and Anatolia. This means it used to include: Ibin Omar Island in south-eastern Turkey, Zakho, Amadiyah, Alqush, Shikhan and Aqrah, with its center located in the town of Amadiyah. The scholar managed to discover and match many of the villages, towns and cities that were affiliated to this province, of those that remained unidentified by researchers, with local sites and archaeological hills at present.

The Last Wars of the Kingdom of Judah

in the ancient Orient. These repercussions are especially apparent in cAbar-Nahar, the region between the Euphrates an(t the Sinai Peninsula, which was always sensitive to political changes in the East, 1)ecause of its geopolitical position. Judah 'and her neighbors had enjoyed a temporary respite during Assyria's decline, but now again they became a bone of contention, this time between Egypt and Babylonia. Each of these countries considered herself Assyria's heir in cAbar-Nahar, and each wished to set up a sphere of influence in this buffer-state region. The beginning of Judah's liberation from the Assyrian yoke can be traced to the murder of King Amon (II Kings 21: 23), who had been loyal to his Assyrian overlords (II Chron. 33:22-23). The coup d' tat of the court, the object of which was obviously political and anti-Assyrian,' took place in the year 640-39.2 This event can be understood, perhaps, as an event in the general Western uprising against Ashurbanipal, incited by tribes of Arabs. The king of Assyria still had enough military power to suppress the rebellion. He ended a military campaign by a march to the shore of Palestine and Phoenicia and severely punished the rebellious Ushu and Akko.3 Perhaps the counter-coup d'6tat of the cAm Ha ares of Judah, in which all the conspirators against Amon (II Kings 21:24) were put to death, came to forestall a retribution against Judah by the Assyrian king. It is possible also that Samaria, the Assyrian province, joined this revolt, if the exile of foreign residents to Samaria by Ashurbanipal (the biblical Asenapper), referred to in Ezra 4:9-10, came as a reaction to an uprising in that country and if this incident can be relegated to the period under discussion.4 It is not unlikely that the beginning of the Egyptian siege on Ashdod, the heart of an Assyrian province, belongs to this period. According to Herodotus (ii. 157), Ashdod was conquered by Pharaoh Psamtik after a siege of twenty-nine years, which ended, if our hypothesis is correct, in the years 611/10, at the end of the reign of Psamtik. At any rate, we cannot assume a later date for the siege of Ashdod if we accept Herodotus as a reliable source, and he usually is competent for this period.5 On the other hand, the year 640/39 is especially plausible when fitting this incident into the reign of Psamtik. If the above-mentioned arguments can be proved, they confront us with a new Assyrian-Egyptian-Judaean synchronization and attest to increased military activity in Palestine in 640/39.6 The first public appearance of the Kingom of Judah on the stage of the new in-