This is the final installment in a tripartite critical edition of the inscriptions of the last major Neo-Assyrian king, Ashurbanipal, and the members of his family. The Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Assyrian Period 5/3 provides reliable, up-to-date editions and English translations of 106 historical inscriptions written in the Akkadian and Sumerian languages. These inscriptions account for all certainly identifiable and positively attributable inscriptions of Ashurbanipal discovered in Babylonia, in the East Tigris Region, and outside of the Assyrian Empire, together with inscriptions of some members of Ashurbanipal’s family—his wife Libbāli-šarrat, as well as his sons and successors Aššur-etel-ilāni and Sîn-šarra-iškun—and loyal officials. Each text edition is accompanied by an English translation, brief introduction, catalogue of exemplars, commentary, and bibliography. In addition to a critical introduction to the sources, RINAP 5/3 also includes relevant studies of various aspects of Ashurbanipal’s reign and the final years of the Assyrian Empire; translations of the “Chronicle Concerning the Early Years of Nabopolassar” and the “Fall of Nineveh Chronicle”; photographs of objects inscribed with texts of Ashurbanipal, Aššur-etel-ilāni, and Sîn-šarra-iškun; indexes of museum and excavation numbers and selected publications; and indexes of proper names. Expertly prepared by three leading philologists, this eagerly awaited work will be a key reference for Assyriologists, Near Eastern historians, biblical scholars, and scholars of ancient languages for decades to come.

The city of Ur—now modern Tell el-Muqayyar in southern Iraq, also called Ur of the Chaldees in the Bible—was one of the most important Sumerian cities in Mesopotamia during the Early Dynastic Period in the first half of the third millennium BCE. The city is known for its impressive wealth and artistic achievements, evidenced by the richly decorated objects found in the so-called Royal Cemetery, which was excavated by the British Museum and the University of Pennsylvania from 1922 until 1934. Ur was also the cult center of the moon god, and during the twenty-first century BCE, it was the capital of southern Mesopotamia. With contributions from both established and rising Assyriologists from ten countries and edited by three leading scholars of Assyriology, this volume presents thirty-two essays based on papers delivered at the 62nd Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale held in Philadelphia in 2016. Reflecting on the theme “Ur in the Twenty-First Century CE,” the chapters deal with archaeological, artistic, cultural, economic, historical, and textual matters connected to the ancient city of Ur. Three of the chapters are based on plenary lectures by senior scholars Richard Zettler, Jonathan Taylor, and Katrien De Graef. The remainder of the essays, arranged alphabetically by author, highlight innovative new directions for research and represent a diverse array of topics related to Ur in various periods of Mesopotamian history. Tightly focused in theme, yet broad in scope, this collection will be of interest to Assyriologists and archaeologists working on Iraq.

The Neo-Assyrian king Sargon II was one of the most important and famous rulers of ancient Mesopotamia. In this volume of critically important ancient documents, Grant Frame presents reliable, updated editions of Sargon's approximately 130 historical inscriptions, as well as several from his wife, his brother, and other high officials. Beginning with a thorough introduction to the reign of Sargon II and an overview of the previous scholarship on his inscriptions, this modern scholarly edition contains the entire extant corpus. It presents more than 130 inscriptions, preserved on stone wall slabs from his palace, paving slabs, colossi, steles, prisms, cylinders, bricks, metal, and other objects, along with brief introductions, commentaries, comprehensive bibliographies, accurate transliterations, and elegant English translations of the Akkadian texts. This monumental work is complemented by more than two dozen photographs of the inscribed objects; indices of museum and excavation numbers, selected publications, and proper names; and translations of relevant passages from several other Akkadian texts, including chronicles and king lists. Informed by advances in the study of the Akkadian language and featuring more than twice as many texts as previous editions of Sargon II's inscriptions, this will be the editio princeps for Assyriologists and students of the Sargonic inscriptions for decades to come.

This is the sixth volume of ancient cuneiform texts being prepared under the auspices of The Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia, and the first volume for the Babylonian periods. The purpose of the project is to locate and publish standard editions of the texts known as the Royal Inscriptions from ancient Mesopotamia (Sumer, Akkad, Babylonia, and Assyria). Since the texts were first deciphered in the nineteenth century, the close affinity between them and events and people in the Bible has stirred great interest.

The texts presented in this volume are from the important transitional period extending from the fall of the Kassite dynasty in the middle of the twelfth century BC to the collapse of Assyrian power towards the close of the seventh century. During these five centuries there were a number of short-lived dynasties in Babylonia, and for a time the area was controlled by its northern neighbour, Assyria. The first part of this period has been described as a 'Dark Age' in Babylonia's history, and the nadir of its political existence occurred in the early seventh century when the capital, Babylon, was captured and destroyed by the Assyrian ruler Sennacherib. Nevertheless, in the final century and a half of this period conditions in Babylonia improved and various forces built up the momentum that was to bring about the formation of the Neo-Babylonian empire and the shift of hegemony over western Asia from Assyria to Babylonia.

This volume contains a short introduction for each ruler. Every inscription is accompanied by an introductory statement, a catalogue of exemplars, a brief commentary, a bibliography, a transliteration and translation, and notes. Appropriate introductory materials and indexes are included. 'Scores, ' published on microfiche, are located in a pocket at the back of the book.