ABC 21 (Synchronic Chronicle) (2)

The Synchronic Chronicle (ABC 21) is a historiographical text from ancient Babylonia. It deals with the relations between Assyria and its southern neighbor Babylonia (which is called Karduniaš), and is an important source for those who want to study the chronology of this period, as it offers many synchronisms. The tablet was written in c. 800 BCE.

The Synchronic Chronicle

For a very brief introduction to the literary genre of chronicles, go here. The translation on this webpage was adapted from A.K. Grayson, Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles (1975) and Jean-Jacques Glassner, Mesopotamian Chronicles (Atlanta, 2004)

The text, which informs us about a number of boundary conflicts and has a strong pro-Assyrian bias, is preserved on three tablets from the library of king Aššurbanipal in Nineveh. Tablet A is the main text, which can (at the edge) be supplemented with tablets B and C. The chronicle purports to render the text of a boundary stone between Assyria and Babylonia that stood somewhere on the east bank of the Tigris. This may be a literary fiction. The Babylonian version is Chronicle P.

The text must have been composed after the accession of Adad-nirari III in 810, but not much later, because there are no references to later troubles.

This is the second part of this webpage; the first page is here.

[iii.C9'] He filled the plain with the corpses of his warriors.

 

[iii.C8'] brought about the defeat of Marduk-balassu-iqbi.

[iii.C7'] ... Šamši-Adad, king of Assyria,

[iii.C6'] Šamši-Adad, king of Assyria, and Marduk-balassu-iqbi, king of Karduniaš,note

[iii.C5'] They fixed a boundary line by mutual consent.

 

[iii.C4'] ...

[iii.A10] Adad-nirari, king of Assyria, fought[A11] with Nabû-šuma-iškun

[iii.A19] The peoples of Assyria and Akkad were joined together.

[iii.A18] Together they made an entente cordiale.

[iii.A17] ... he received from him. They gave their daughters to one another in marriage.

[iii.A16] ... his land, he enclosed him.

[iii.A15] he took to Assyria.

[iii.A14] ... he conquered. Their vast booty

[iii.A13] ... numerous cities

[iii.A12] ...-banbala, Huda-...

[iii.A11] king of Karduniaš, and defeated him.

[iii.A21] They established a boundary to Til-ša-Abtani and Til-ša-Zabdani

[iii.A9] Nabû-šuma-iškun,note son of [Šamaš-muddamiq, ascended his father's throne?].

[iii.A8] Šamaš-muddamiq, king of Karduniaš, passed away.

[iii.A7] His chariots, and teams of horses, he took away from him.

[iii.A6] conquered him.

[iii.A5] king of Karduniaš, and

[iii.A4] Adad-nirari, king of Assyria, brought about the defeat[A5] of Šamaš-muddamiq,

[iii.A3] drew up a battle array at the foot of Mount Yalman and

[iii.A2] Šamaš-muddamiq, king of Karduniaš,

[iii.A29] He seized Daban. Akkad

[iii.C3'] The people of Assyria and Akkad were joined together.

[iii.C1'-C2'] [lacuna]

Together they made an entente cordiale.

[iii.A35] Cuthah, Babylon

[iii.A34] Šalmaneser defeated him and the rebellious troops who were with him.note

[iii.A33] Marduk-bêl-usate, the usurper,

[iii.A32] king of Karduniaš.

[iii.A31] went[A32] to the aid of Marduk-zakir-šumi,

[iii.A30] they equally divided. Šalmaneser, king of Assyria,

Column III

[iii.A1] At the time of Adad-nirari, king of Assyria,note

[iii.A28] Marduk-bêl-usate, his brother, rebelled against him.

[iii.A27] Marduk-zakir-šumi ascended his father's throne.

[iii.A26] Nabû-apla-iddina, king of Karduniaš, passed away.

[iii.A25] together they made. At the time of Šalmaneser, king of Assyria,

[iii.A24] An entente cordially

[iii.A23] Nabû-apla-iddina was the king of Karduniaš.note

[iii.A22] In the time of  Šalmaneser, king of Assyria,

[iii.A20] from Til-Bit-Bari, which is upstream on the Zab.