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A CONSPIRACY TO MURDER SENNACHERIB? A REVISION OF SAA 18 100 IN THE LIGHT OF A RECENT JOIN

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 August 2021

Stephanie M. Dalley  and
Luis R. Siddall
Stephanie M. Dalley
Affiliation:
Oriental Institute and Wolfson College, Honorary Senior Research Fellow, Somerville College, University of [email protected]
Luis R. Siddall
Affiliation:
Research Fellow, Australian Institute of Archaeology, [email protected]
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Abstract

SAA 18 100 (ABL 1091) is a cuneiform text that has been at the heart of historical reconstructions of the assassination of the Assyrian king, Sennacherib, since it was first properly studied by S. Parpola in 1979. In 2005, J. C. Fincke discovered a new fragment of the document (28-3-23 [K.21923]) and joined it to the then known fragment (80-7-19, 28). Fincke's join offers the opportunity to study the tablet anew. We present the first full scholarly edition of the fragments and a new historical interpretation of the text that challenges the accepted understanding of its date, nature, content, and the information it provides on the assassination of Sennacherib. SAA 18 100 appears to be an archival copy of a letter originally sent to Nineveh that reported on matters concerning the Assyrian court heard in Babylonia. The best-preserved report concerns a supposed plot looking to frame the king's son, Urdu-Mullissu, in a conspiracy, and might be a product of the pro-Esarhaddon machinations of the royal court during the final years of Sennacherib's reign.

اللوح ABL 1091 (SAA 18 100) هو نص مسماري كان ركنا أساسيا في وصف عملية اغتيال الملك الآشوري سناحريب Sennacherib حيث تمت أول دراسة دقيقة لهذا اللوح من قبل س . باربولا S. Parpola في عام 1979. وفي عام 2005 أكتشف جيه سي فينك J. C. Fincke شظية جديدة من هذا اللوح (28-3-23 [K.21923]) وأوصلها بالقطعة المعروفة من اللوح (80-7-19,28). وقد وفر هذا التوصيل الذي قام به فينك Fincke فرصة لدراسة اللوح من جديد . ويقدم هذا البحث أول طبعة علمية كاملة لهذه الشظايا من اللوح مع تفسير تاريخي جديد للنص يتحدى المفهوم المقبول لتاريخه وطبيعته ومحتواه والمعلومات التي يوفرها حول اغتيال سناحريب Sennacherib. ويبدو ان اللوح ABL 1091 ما هو إلا نسخة أرشيفية من رسالة بعثت أصلا الى نينوى تخبر عن إشاعات تدور في بابل حول البلاط الآشوري . وأكبر إشاعة كانت واحدة تخص خطة مفترضة تتوخى ربط ابن الملك أوردو ماليصو Urdu-Mullissu بمؤامرة، وقد تكون ناتجة عن مكائد أفراد البلاط الملكي المساندين لإيسارهادون pro-Esarhaddon خلال الفترة الأخيرة من حكم الملك سناحريب Sennacherib.

Type
Research Article
Information
IRAQ , Volume 83 , December 2021 , pp. 45 - 56
Copyright
Copyright © The British Institute for the Study of Iraq 2021

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