37°49′30″N40°32′24″E / 37.825°N 40.54°E /37.825; 40.54
| Kurkh Monoliths | |
|---|---|
 The Monolith stele ofShalmaneser III | |
| Material | Limestone |
| Size | 2.2 m (7 ft 3 in) and 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) |
| Writing | Akkadian cuneiform |
| Created | c. 852 BC and 879 BC |
| Discovered | Üçtepe Höyük, 1861 |
| Present location | British Museum |
| Identification | ME 118883 and ME 118884 |
TheKurkh Monoliths are twoAssyrianstelae ofc. 852 BC and 879 BC that contain a description of the reigns ofAshurnasirpal II and his sonShalmaneser III. The Monoliths were discovered in 1861 by a British archaeologistJohn George Taylor, who was the British Consul-General stationed in the OttomanEyalet of Kurdistan, at a site called Kurkh, which is now known asÜçtepe Höyük, in the district ofBismil, in the province ofDiyarbakir of Turkey. Both stelae were donated by Taylor to theBritish Museum in 1863.[1]
TheShalmaneser III monolith contains a description of theBattle of Qarqar at the end. This description contains the name "A-ha-ab-bu Sir-ila-a-a”, providing the first extrabiblical reference toAhab, king ofIsrael;[2][3] although this is the only reference to the term "Israel" in Assyrian and Babylonian records, which usually refer to the Northern Kingdom as the "House of Omri" in reference to its ruling dynasty—a fact brought up by some scholars who dispute the proposed translation.[4][5] It is also one of four known contemporary inscriptions containing the name of Israel, the others being theMerneptah Stele, theTel Dan Stele, and theMesha Stele.[6][7][8] This description is also the oldest document that mentions theArabs.[9]
According to the inscription Ahab committed a force of 2,000 chariots and 10,000 foot soldiers to the coalition against Assyria.[10]
The location of the discovery at the town called "Kurkh" was described as
about 14 miles fromDiyarbakir ... situated at the eastern end of an elevated platform ... on the right bank of theTigris, and close to the angle formed by the junction of theGiuk Su with the former, which receives also the waters of theAmbar Su, on the left bank opposite,
then in the OttomanEyalet of Kurdistan inAl-Jazira.[11] The location was also known as Kerh or Kerh-i Dicle and is now known as Üçtepe (in Kurdish: Kerx/Kerkh or Kerxa Kîkan[12]), in the district ofBismil, in the province ofDiyarbakir of Turkey.[13][14]: 117
Kurkh was initially identified byHenry Rawlinson as the ancient city ofTushhan.[11] This identification was challenged by Karlheinz Kessler in 1980, who proposed ancient Tidu.[15][16]
Taylor described his find as follows:
I had the good fortune to discover a stone slab bearing the effigy of an Assyrian king, and covered on both sides with long inscriptions in the cuneiform character, to within 2 feet of its base, which had purposely been left bare to admit of its being sunk erect in the ground, as a trophy commemorative of its capture by the king, and at the point probably where his legions effected their forced entry into the city. Some little way below it, on the slope of the mound, and nearly entirely concealed by debris, I exhumed another perfect relic of the same description.[11]
The stela depicting Shalmaneser III is made of limestone with a round top. It is 221 centimetres (87 in) tall, 87 centimetres (34 in) wide, and 23 centimetres (9.1 in) deep.[17]
The British Museum describes the image as follows:
The king, Shalmaneser III, stands before four divine emblems: (1) the winged disk, the symbol of the god Ashur, or, as some hold, of Shamash; (2) the six-pointed star of Ishtar, goddess of the morning and evening star; (3) the crown of the sky-god Anu, in this instance with three horns, in profile; (4) the disk and crescent of the god Sin as the new and the full moon. On his collar the king wears as amulets (1) the fork, the symbol of the weather-god, Adad; (2) a segment of a circle, of uncertain meaning; (3) an eight-pointed star in a disk, here probably the symbol of Shamash, the sun-god; (4) a winged disk, again of the god Ashur. The gesture of the right hand has been much discussed and variously interpreted, either as the end of the action of throwing a kiss as an act of worship, or as resulting from cracking the fingers with the thumb, as a ritual act which is attributed to the Assyrians by later Greek writers, or as being simply a gesture of authority suitable to the king, with no reference to a particular religious significance. It seems fairly clear that the gesture is described in the phrase 'uban damiqti taraṣu', 'to stretch out a favourable finger', a blessing which corresponds to the reverse action, in which the index finger is not stretched out. There is a cuneiform inscription written across the face and base and around the sides of the stela.[17]
The inscription "describes the military campaigns of his (Shalmaneser III's) reign down to 853 BC."[18]
The stela depicting Ashurnasirpal II is made of limestone with a round top. It is 193 centimetres (76 in) tall, 93 centimetres (37 in) wide, and 27 centimetres (11 in) deep. According to the British Museum, the stela "shows Ashurnasirpal II in an attitude of worship, raising his right hand to symbols of the gods" and its inscription "describes the campaign of 879 when Assyrians attacked the lands of the upper Tigris, in the Diyabakir region."[19]
The inscription on the Shalmaneser III Stela deals with campaigns Shalmaneser made in westernMesopotamia andSyria, fighting extensively with the countries ofBit Adini andCarchemish. At the end of the Monolith comes the account of theBattle of Qarqar, where an alliance oftwelve kings fought against Shalmaneser at the Syrian city ofQarqar. This alliance, comprising eleven kings, was led byIrhuleni ofHamath andHadadezer ofDamascus, describing also a large force[20] led by KingAhab ofIsrael.
The English translation of the end of the Shalmaneser III monolith is as follows:
Year 6 (Col. ll, 78-I02)
610. In the year of Dâian-Assur, in the month ofAiru, the fourteenth day, I departed from Nineveh, crossed the Tigris, and drew near to the cities of Giammu, (near) the Balih(?) River. At the fearfulness of my sovereignty, the terror of my frightful weapons, they became afraid; with their own weapons his nobles killed Giammu. Into Kitlala and Til-sha-mâr-ahi, I entered. I had my gods brought into his palaces. In his palaces I spread a banquet. His treasury I opened. I saw his wealth. His goods, his property, I carried off and brought to my city Assur. From Kitlala I departed. To Kâr-Shalmaneser I drew near. In (goat)-skin boats I crossed the Euphrates the second time, at its flood. The tribute of the kings on that side of the Euphrates,---of Sangara of Carchemish, of Kundashpi of Kumuhu (Commagene), of Arame son of Gûzi, of Lalli the Milidean, of Haiani son of Gahari, of Kalparoda of Hattina, of Kalparuda of Gurgum, - silver, gold, lead, copper, vessels of copper, at Ina-Assur-uttir-asbat, on that side of the Euphrates, on the river Sagur, which the people of Hatti call Pitru, there I received (it). From the Euphrates I departed, I drew near to Halman (Aleppo). They were afraid to fight with (me), they seized my feet. Silver, gold, as their tribute I received. I offered sacrifices before the god Adad of Halman. From Halman I departed. To the cities of Irhulêni, the Hamathite, I drew near. The cities of Adennu, Bargâ, Arganâ, his royal cities, I captured. His spoil, his property, the goods of his palaces, I brought out. I set fire to his palaces. From Argana I departed. To Karkar I drew near.
611. Karkar, his royal city, I destroyed, I devastated, I burned with fire. 1,200 chariots, I,200 cavalry, 20,000 soldiers, ofHadad-ezer, of Aram (? Damascus); 700 chariots, 700 cavalry, 10,000* soldiers of Irhulêni of Hamath, 2,000 chariots, 10,000 soldiers of Ahab, the Israelite, 500 soldiers of the Gueans, 1,000 soldiers of the Musreans, 10 chariots, 10,000 soldiers of the Irkanateans, 200 soldiers of Matinuba'il, the Arvadite, 200 soldiers of the Usanateans, 30 chariots, [ ],000 soldiers of Adunu-ba'il, the Shianean, 1,000 camels ofGindibu', the Arabian, [ ],000 soldiers [of]Ba'sa, son ofRuhubi, the Ammonite, - these twelve kings he brought to his support; to offer battle and fight, they came against me. (Trusting) in the exalted might which Assur, the lord, had given (me), in the mighty weapons, which Nergal, who goes before me, had presented (to me), I battled with them. From Karkar, as far as the city of Gilzau, I routed them. 14,000 of their warriors I slew with the sword. Like Adad, I rained destruction upon them. I scattered their corpses far and wide, (and) covered (lit.., filled) the face of the desolate plain with their widespreading armies. With (my) weapons I made their blood to flow down the valleys(?) of the land. The plain was too small to let their bodies fall, the wide countryside was used up in burying them. With their bodies I spanned theArantu) as with a bridge(?). In that battle I took from them their chariots, their cavalry, their horses, broken to the yoke. (*Possibly 20,000).[21]
The identification of "A-ha-ab-bu Sir-ila-a-a" with "Ahab of Israel" was first proposed[22] byJulius Oppert in his 1865Histoire des Empires de Chaldée et d'Assyrie.[23]
Eberhard Schrader dealt with parts of the inscription on the Shalmaneser III Monolith in 1872, in hisDie Keilinschriften und das Alte Testament ("Cuneiform inscriptions and the Old Testament").[24] The first full translation of the Shalmaneser III Monolith was provided by James Alexander Craig in 1887.[25]
Schrader wrote that the name "Israel" ("Sir-ila-a-a") was unique among Assyrian inscriptions, as the usual Assyrian terms for theNorthern Kingdom of Israel were "The Land of Omri" or Samaria. This fact has been brought up by some scholars who dispute the proposed translation.[4][26] According to Shigeo Yamada, the designation of a state by two alternative names is not unusual in the inscription of Shalmaneser.
Schrader also noted that whilst Assyriologists such asFritz Hommel[27] had disputed whether the name was "Israel" or "Jezreel",[24][28] because the first character is the phonetic "sir" and the place-determinative "mat". Schrader described the rationale for the reading "Israel", which became the scholarly consensus, as:
"the fact that here Ahab Sir'lit, andBen-hadad of Damascus appear next to each other, and that in an inscription of this same king [Shalmaneser]'sNimrud obelisk appears Jehu, son of Omri, and commemorates the descendantHazael of Damascus, leaves no doubt that this Ahab Sir'lit is the biblical Ahab of Israel. That Ahab appears in cahoots with Damascus is quite in keeping with the biblical accounts, which Ahab concluded after theBattle of Aphek an alliance with Benhadad against their hereditary enemy Assyria."[24]
The identification was challenged by other contemporary scholars such asGeorge Smith andDaniel Henry Haigh.[22]
The identification as Ahab of Israel has been challenged in more recent years by Werner Gugler and Adam van der Woude, who believe that "Achab from the monolith-inscription should be construed as a king from Northwestern Syria".[29]
According to the inscription, Ahab committed a force of 10,000 foot soldiers and 2,000 chariots to an Assyrian-led war coalition. The size of Ahab's contribution indicates that theKingdom of Israel was a major military power in theLevant during the first half of the 9th century BCE.[30] Due to the size of Ahab's army, which was presented as extraordinarily large for ancient times, the translation raised polemics among scholars. Nadav Na'aman proposed a scribal error in regard to the size of Ahab's army and suggested that the army consisted of 200 instead of 2,000 chariots.
Summarizing scholarly works on this subject, Kelle suggests that the evidence "allows one to say that the inscription contains the first designation for the Northern Kingdom. Moreover, the designation "Israel" seems to have represented an entity that included several vassal states." The latter may have included Moab, Edom and Judah.[31]
There are a number of issues surrounding the written words contained in the Monolith, mostly surrounding the text of the Battle of Qarqar. For example, the scribe lists one city asGu-a-a, which some scholars believe refers toQue. However, H. Tadmor believes that this is actually a mistake, withGu-a-a being an incorrect spelling forGu-bal-a-a, that is, Byblos. Other scholars have also pointed out that it would be more logical if Shalmaneser fought Byblos instead of Que, because it would make better geographic sense—since the other kings of the area are polities to the south and west of Assyria, it might be expected that another city-state in that area—Byblos—would fight at Qarqar, rather than Que, which is inCilicia.
Another issue with regard to spelling is the termmusri, which isAkkadian for "march". Tadmor says that the actual Musri people had been conquered by the Assyrians in the 11th century BC, and thus believes that this reference toMusri must be "Egypt", although some scholars dispute this.
Another major error in the text is the assertion that Assyria fought "twelve kings". Casual readers will note that the Monolith in fact lists eleven, but some scholars have attempted to explain that there really is a missing king, stemming from the description of "Ba'sa the man of Bit-Ruhubi, the Ammonite". One scholar suggests that the two entities be split into "Bit-Ruhubi"Beth-Rehob, a state in southernSyria and "Ammon", a state inTrans-Jordan.
The single case where "Israel" is mentioned is Shalmaneser's account of his battle with the coalition at Qarqar
The earliest certain mention of the ethnonym Israel occurs in a victory inscription of the Egyptian king MERENPTAH, his well-known "Israel Stela" (ca. 1210 BCE); recently, a possible earlier reference has been identified in a text from the reign of Rameses II (see RAMESES I–XI). Thereafter, no reference to either Judah or Israel appears until the ninth century. The pharaoh Sheshonq I (biblical Shishak; see SHESHONQ I–VI) mentions neither entity by name in the inscription recording his campaign in the southern Levant during the late tenth century. In the ninth century, Israelite kings, and possibly a Judaean king, are mentioned in several sources: the Aramaean stele from Tel Dan, inscriptions of SHALMANESER III of Assyria, and the stela of Mesha of Moab. From the early eighth century onward, the kingdoms of Israel and Judah are both mentioned somewhat regularly in Assyrian and subsequently Babylonian sources, and from this point on there is relatively good agreement between the biblical accounts on the one hand and the archaeological evidence and extra-biblical texts on the other.
The Assyrian royal annals, along with the Mesha and Dan inscriptions, show a thriving northern state called Israël in the mid—9th century, and the continuity of settlement back to the early Iron Age suggests that the establishment of a sedentary identity should be associated with this population, whatever their origin. In the mid—14th century, the Amarna letters mention no Israël, nor any of the biblical tribes, while the Merneptah stele places someone called Israël in hill-country Palestine toward the end of the Late Bronze Age. The language and material culture of emergent Israël show strong local continuity, in contrast to the distinctly foreign character of early Philistine material culture.
