Origin/Historian/Author: Assyrian, ca 700 BCE
Source: Cuneiform Parallels to the Old Testament, Robert William Rogers
Introduction
This Assyrian text was inscribed on a building discovered by the Deutsche Orientgesellschaft. It describes a bronze door erected by the king in the New Year’s festival house at Ashur (Kalat Shergat), dated to the reign of Sennacherib, ca 700 BCE. This text contains some cosmological references which supply useful hints concerning the development, or corruption, of the faith of the Assyrians.
Here we immediately notice the protagonist as Ashur, while in other Assyrian versions, like the Babylonian tradition he is called Marduk. Accompanied by Amurru, the god of the Amorites, they ride into battle against Tiamat. The author goes on to describe a consultation in the form of haruspication. With this acknowledgement, we begin to understand how some information had become more corrupt than even texts from the Old Babylonian period, which in itself was already a corruption of the older texts. A power struggle between members of an elite class, which escalated into a short war, had become known as a tale of a dragon queen, with monsters and cosmic forces at her will. This text offers a corrupt account of those events. While some information is relative, some is not and/or is out of place chronologically or genealogically.
Full Text Below
Obverse:
(5) A door of gleaming red bronze, which like a . . . the work of the god of the forge
(6) I caused to be made by my artistic skill; a representation of Ashur, when he went
to battle into the sea,
(7) as he bore the bow, while he drove upon the chariot and let loose the storm flood
(8) and a representation of Amurru, who drove with him as charioteer, according to the
command of Shamash and Adad
(9) given me in haruspication (him) I graved upon that door. The gods who go. before him
(10) and go behind him, who drive in chariots and go afoot, [also] as they before Ashur
(11) are ordered in line of battle and behind Ashur are ordered in line of battle; Tiamat,
1 the beings within her, among which came Ashur, the king of the gods
(12) to battle, I graved according to the command of Shamash and Adad, upon that door.
(13) The remaining gods, who go afoot, according to the command of Shamash and Adad
(14) before Ashur binds Tiamat; the beasts which Tiamat bears,
(15) to death given over, therefore run hither and thither afoot
(16) (with) their hands (?) . . . according to the command of Shamash and Adad as I had
Reverse:
determined for this door, I graved … of silver, gold, copper,
(2) I set up. Vessels of silver gold, copper
[The following lines are mostly unintelligible, but at the close comes a
list of the gods, represented in the sculptures on the bronze doors, as follows:]
(10) the image of Ashur, who goes to battle into the sea; the image of Sennacherib, king of Assyria;
(11) Sharur, Shargaz, Gaga, Nusku, Shulmanu, Tishkhu, Ninib, of the wall,
(12) Azag-suga (?) Khani, Sibitti; these are the gods who go before Ashur.
(13) Nin-lil, Sherua, Sin, Ningal, Shamash, Aja, Belit (?)
(14) Anu, Antum, Adad, Shala, Ea, Damkina,
(15) Belit-ilani, Ninib; these are the gods, who go behind Ashur.
[The following words are on the left margin]
(1) The victorious Prince, seated upon Ashur’s chariot.
(2) Tiamat with the creatures within her.