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A NEO-ASSYRIAN PROVINCIAL PALACE AT TELL BILLA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 August 2021

Petra M. Creamer
Petra M. Creamer*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology 3 Tuck Dr. Dartmouth CollegeHanover, NH [email protected]
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Abstract

The Neo-Assyrian site Šibaniba (modern Tell Billa) served as a provincial center at the very edge of what is traditionally known as the “Assyrian Heartland”. Excavations in the early 1900s under Dr. Speiser of the University of Pennsylvania uncovered architecture in the southwestern portion of the mound, but a loss of records and lack of publication have prevented any comprehensive publications or analysis of the archaeological material. The architecture from Level I in the southwest corner is the remains of a palace from the latter half of the Neo-Assyrian period – comprised of an inner, paved courtyard and surrounding rooms. The analysis of this palace complex is carried out herein, with a discussion of its positioning and importance, especially during Nineveh's tenure as imperial capital. Overall, Šibaniba, despite being located so close to the Heartland, was an important administrative center in its own right – illustrated by a restructuring of the citadel's organization in the later Neo-Assyrian period and its inclusion in Sennacherib's irrigation program.

الملخص

الموقع الآشوري الجديد في شيبانيبا (تل بيلا) هو مركز إقليمي على الحافة الخارجية لما يعرف تقليديا باسم "القلب الآشوري ". نتيجة للتنقيبات التي تمت في بداية فترة عقد 1900 تحت اشراف الدكتور سبايسر من جامعة بنسلفانيا تم اكتشاف مباني عمرانية في الجنوب الغربي من التل، ولكن فقدان السجلات وعدم نشر ما عثر عليه في آنه حال دون نشر ادبيات او تحاليل شاملة للمواد الأثرية التي عثر عليها. العمران من المستوى الأرضي رقم 1 في الزاوية الجنوبية الغربية هو من بقايا القصر من النصف الأخير من العصر الآشوري الجديد – ويتكون من باحة داخلية مرصوفة والغرف المحيطة بها . تقدم هذه الدراسة ضمنا تحاليل لمجمع القصر هذا بالإضافة الى نقاش يدور حول موقع القصر وأهميته خصوصا خلال الفترة التي كانت فيها نينوى هي عاصمة الإمبراطورية . كانت شيبانيبا مركزا إداريا مهما بحد ذاتها رغم كون موقعها قريب جدا من القلب الآشوري – ويتبين ذلك من خلال إعادة هيكلة تنظيم القلعة في الجزء المتأخر من العصر الآشوري الجديد وشمولها (أي شيبانيبا) في برنامج الري الذي وضعه سناحريب Sennacherib.

Type
Research Article
Information
IRAQ , Volume 83 , December 2021 , pp. 25 - 44
Copyright
Copyright © The British Institute for the Study of Iraq 2021

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