A small tablet fragment acquired by the Iraq Museum raises interesting questions, although at first it appeared to be a simple duplicate manuscript from the large bilingual incantation series Udug-hul. Publishing this fragment has drawn attention to an interesting feature of Mesopotamian incantations, in which the āšipu-exorcist protects himself first, before addressing the patient. Although this practice has been known from Tablet 3 of Udug-hul incantations, it turns out that Assur exorcists occasionally inserted their own names into otherwise anonymous incantations and prayers, in order to ensure their own protection, which is a practice not known from other sites.

A recent survey in the western foothills of the Zagros Mountains has located five new Neolithic sites. We present here the occupational features and finds of this period in the Sar Pol-e Zahāb region, along with an interpretation of their distribution and associated settlement patterns. Our research indicates that the visible distribution of Neolithic sites is highly influenced by geomorphological factors. All sites are located on natural outcrops or on the edge of alluvial plains. Many others have certainly been buried beneath layers of later sedimentation. All of the sites identified by our survey are small and of modest elevation, with cultural remains, particularly ceramics, similar to Neolithic sites such as Guran and Sarāb in the central Zagros region and Jarmo and Tamarkhan in Mesopotamia. Based on the ceramic evidence and the location of the region, between the central Zagros mountains on the east and Mesopotamia on the west, we suggest that this vast area maintained an integrated ceramic tradition, which suggests an overall cultural homogeneity of these areas during the seventh and early sixth millennia B.C. In other words, these recent discoveries indicate that similarities in Neolithic material culture in the Māhidasht, Kermanshāh and Hulailan plains with material culture of regions in Mesopotamia are not accidental or random but indicative of a large coherent zone with unique ceramic and cultural traditions (the patterned ceramic tradition of Sarāb-Jarmo), extending from Iraqi Kurdistan east into the central Zagros range. Regarding the lack of eighth and seventh millennium B.C. sites in the northern reaches of the Iranian part of the Zagros range, we may consider the pathway of Sar Pol-e Zahāb a primary route for transporting obsidian to upland areas of the central Zagros. This also suggests a lasting network of cross-regional communications, since archaeological discoveries prove this pathway was the main node connecting these two cultural regions for a long period of time.

The Shahrizor Prehistory Project has targeted prehistoric levels of the Late Ubaid and Late Chalcolithic 4 (LC4; Late Middle Uruk) periods at Gurga Chiya (Shahrizor, Kurdistan region of northern Iraq), along with the Halaf period at the adjacent site of Tepe Marani. Excavations at the latter have produced new dietary and environmental data for the sixth millennium B.C. in the region, while at Gurga Chiya part of a burned Late Ubaid tripartite house was excavated. This has yielded a promising archaeobotanical assemblage and established a benchmark ceramic assemblage for the Shahrizor Plain, which is closely comparable to material known from Tell Madhhur in the Hamrin valley. The related series of radiocarbon dates gives significant new insights into the divergent timing of the Late Ubaid and early LC in northern and southern Mesopotamia. In the following occupation horizon, a ceramic assemblage closely aligned to the southern Middle Uruk indicates convergence of material culture with central and southern Iraq as early as the LC4 period. Combined with data for the appearance of Early Uruk elements at sites in the adjacent Qara Dagh region, this hints at long-term co-development of material culture during the fourth millennium B.C. in southeastern Iraqi Kurdistan and central and southern Iraq, potentially questioning the model of expansion or colonialism from the south.

This paper explores the meaning behind the two methods of sword carry depicted in the iconography of Ashurnasirpal II. While the sword is regarded as a prestigious weapon tied to the owner's identity, the implications of how such an understanding of the sword in the Neo-Assyrian Empire might further delineate the underlying messages of the palace reliefs of Ashurnasirpal II remain unaddressed in secondary literature. As a result, through a combination of a cognitive analysis in regards to the significance of the sword's appearance in Neo-Assyrian texts and iconography as well as an analysis of visual formulas in the palace reliefs of Ashurnasirpal II as identified by Mehmet-Ali Ataç, this paper argues that the visual representation of the sword is intended to communicate not only the wielder's power and wealth but also the wielder's exercise or restraint of divine authority based on the carry method displayed.

The Samarran phenomenon has been under discussion since the early 20th century. Over the past several decades, increasing evidence has indicated that it was geographically distributed in a very large area across the Near East. In this regard, the eastward spread of the Samarran phenomenon across the Iranian frontier was little known, because related finds had mostly been recovered in the 1960–70s. This article highlights the discovery of new evidence in the transitional zone that connects the Zagros highlands with the Mesopotamian lowlands. During recent surveys in the plains of Mehran, Meimak, Soumar and Sarpol-e Zahab, a number of sites were found. They yielded ceramics identical with those already reported from nearby late Samarran sites such as Chogha Mami, Songor A and Rihan I. Chronologically, surface materials indicate that these newly found Iranian sites should belong to the late phase of Samarran period, coinciding with the so-called Chogha Mami Transitional (CMT). As seen from the natural setting of the sites along streams, and due to the predominance of nomadic herders in this transitional zone, we may assume that transhumant herders played a role in the eastward spread of the late Samarran phenomenon via the river valleys and that the site's inhabitants might have been familiar with a primitive irrigation system. Furthermore, it is speculated that the cold dry climatic event of 8.2 kya might have resulted in an increased intensity of population in the lowlands. Nevertheless, the subsequent climatic optimum appears to have paved the way for the eastward spread of late Samarran/CMT elements. Regardless of what was the major trigger of such an expansion, however, intensive economic interactions of societies probably played a role in the very early sixth millennium B.C., when natural raw materials such as bitumen were imported from western/southwestern Iran to central/southern Mesopotamia.

This paper is a study of the rebellion against the Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II in the city of Ḫalziluḫa in 882 bc, which is an unusual instance of a rebellion by Assyrians being recorded in the Assyrian royal inscriptions. This paper explores the significance of the rebellion from two angles: the ideological problem of rebellion by Assyrians, and the psychological impact on Assyrian troops of killing their fellow Assyrians. Within the ideology of the royal inscriptions, Assyrians did not normally rebel against the incumbent king, who was in all ways presented as a model ruler. It will be argued that Ashurnasirpal therefore made efforts in his inscriptions to stress that the Assyrian rebels in Ḫalziluḫa inhabited territory that had been lost to Assyria prior to his reign, and had become “de-Assyrianised” and “uncivilised.” It will be argued that a similar message was conveyed to the Assyrian soldiers through the ceremonies surrounding the creation of a monument at the source of the River Subnat, and that this message helped the soldiers to “morally disengage” from the act of killing other Assyrians, thus avoiding “moral self-sanctions” for an otherwise morally problematic act.

Our study establishes that two tablets from the Iraq Museum are marriage contracts dating to the Old Babylonian period and in particular from the city of Isin. The dating formula of IM 201688 refers to a hitherto unpublished year name for Erra-imittī, who became king of Isin in 1868 BC. The event concerns the making of four large copper lions as a votive offering. This might have been done in preparation for a military campaign in connection with the rivalry between Isin and Larsa. The dating formula of IM 183636 is completely damaged. However, the text includes a witness described as a citizen of Isin. These two tablets are a very useful addition to the limited number of published OB marriage contracts and especially those from Isin. The tablets were written using formulaic legal expressions in Sumerian throughout with the exception of proper names. Both texts show a remarkably equal treatment of the two spouses in matters relating to compensation in the event of divorce.

This paper presents the results of the work of the new field initiative launched by the British Museum at the Darband-i Rania pass in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The pass is located at the northeastern corner of Lake Dokan, where, though now subsumed into the lake, the Lower Zab flows from the Peshdar into the Rania Plain. It is a strategic location on a major route from Mesopotamia into Iran, and control of both the road and the river must always have been important. The aim of the work, which commenced in autumn of 2016, is to explore a cluster of sites that commanded the pass, with a particular focus on the first millennium b.c. Excavation is being carried out principally at two sites: Qalatga Darband, a large fortified site at the western end of the pass, and Usu Aska, a fort inside the pass itself. The occupations of these two sites are predominantly Parthian and Assyrian respectively. Smaller operations have also been carried out at Murad Rasu, a multi-period site situated on a headland across the waters on the southern shore of Lake Dokan. The results have included the discovery at Qalatga Darband of a monumental complex built of stone and roofed with terracotta roof tiles containing the smashed remains of Hellenistic statuary. Other features indicative of Hellenistic material culture are Mediterranean-type oil-presses and Corinthian column bases and capitals. At Usu Aska remains are being uncovered of an Assyrian fortification of massive proportions.

New evidence allows us to demonstrate that a regional trade connected North Syria with both central Anatolia and Babylonia well into the 17th-Century bc. Archaeological evidence indicates that a specific type of vessel, the globular flask, was produced at Zincirli Höyük in the mid-17th century for the purpose of storing and transporting wine. The simultaneous appearance of these vessels as far afield as Kültepe and Sippar-Amnānum lines up with Late Old Babylonian attestations of alluḫarum-pots in 17th-c. texts from Sippar, Babylon, and Dūr-Abiešuḫ. These, we argue, must refer to the same vessels called aluārum in earlier Old Assyrian texts from Kültepe from the 19th century. Taken together, this evidence points towards the existence of a previously unsuspected trade network centered on the ancient Syrian state of Mamma that thrived in the decades between the collapse of the Old Assyrian Trade Network and the accession of Hattušili I. Through a dialogue between textual and archaeological materials, we are not only able to reveal the persistence of long-distance exchange for a century previously believed to lack it, but provide more context for the political transformations taking place at the end of the Middle Bronze Age.

This paper analyses the architecture of the large fortified building excavated at Tell Khaiber in southern Iraq, the first known example of monumental architecture from the Sealand Kingdom. It examines the development of this highly unusual building, analyses the spatial properties and apparent functions of the structure, reviews possible architectural parallels, and considers what the architecture might reveal about Tell Khaiber's role in the context of the Sealand state. The outer form and organisation of the building indicate a fortified structure with a high priority afforded to defence. The interior of the Tell Khaiber building is divided between a smaller, earlier structure, enclosing conventionally arranged architecture with apparently executive and administrative functions, and a larger extension, densely packed with accommodation for a large number of personnel. When considered alongside textual sources on the Sealand state, which provide evidence about the geo-political context in which the Tell Khaiber building was constructed, it is possible to suggest the role such a building may have had in the development of the Sealand Kingdom. The form of the Tell Khaiber building may also be important in understanding the nature of the contested border between the Sealand Kingdom and its Babylonian neighbours.

The Royal Cemetery at Ur, with its almost two thousand graves, is one of the most impressive archaeological settings in southern Mesopotamia. Although most of the graves have been assigned to the Early Dynastic Period, more than three hundred graves have been dated to a timeframe from the Late Akkadian Period to the end of the third millennium B.C. However, the precise dating of many of these graves is under debate because stratigraphic data are often lacking, and the material culture used for dating has mainly been cylinder seals and other small finds. Due to the poor quality of the data published by Woolley, pottery has rarely been used to establish chronological determinants that could be useful in dating the graves. Thanks to the Ur Digitization Project, the field records from the Ur excavations are now available online. Among them are the Field Notes, which often contain pottery drawings, reproduced to scale. This paper re-analyses some of the graves in the Royal Cemetery at Ur that have been dated to the final part of the third millennium B.C. This analysis is based on a typological approach to the pottery assemblages that allows revised chronological determinants for dating selected grave contexts.

Alkaline glazes were first used on clay-based ceramics in Mesopotamia around 1500 B.C., at the same time as the appearance of glass vessels. The Roman Empire used lead-based glazes, with alkaline natron glass being used only to produce objects of glass. Chemical analysis has had some success determining compositional groups for Roman/Byzantine/early Islamic glasses because of the discovery of major production sites. Parthian and Sasanian glass and glazed wares, however, have been found only in consumption assemblages, which have failed to inform on how they were made. Here we reanalyse compositional data for Parthian and Sasanian glazes and present new analyses for Parthian glazed pottery excavated at the early third century A.D. Roman military outpost of Ain Sinu in northern Iraq. We show that some Parthian glazes are from a different tradition to typical Mesopotamian glazes and have compositions similar to Roman glass. We propose that Roman glass was recycled by Parthian potters, thereby suggesting that as yet undiscovered Mesopotamian glass production centres ordinarily supplied glass for indigenous glazed pottery. Furthermore, if recycling glass to make glazed pottery was extended to indigenous glassware, this may provide an explanation for the paucity of Parthian and Sasanian glass in the archaeological record.