The only historical
inscription of any length belonging to the early Assyrian period,
which had been published up to a year ago, was the famous memorial slab
containing an inscription of Adad-nirari I, which was acquired by the
late Mr. George Smith some thirty years ago. Although purchased in
Mosul, the slab had been found by the natives in the mounds at Sherghat,
for the text engraved upon it in archaic Assyrian characters records the
restoration of a part of the temple of the god Ashur in the ancient city
of Ashur, the first capital of the Assyrians, now marked by the
mounds of Sherghat, which have already been described. The object of
Adad-nirari in causing the memorial slab to be inscribed was to record
the restoration of the portion of the temple which he had rebuilt,
but the most important part of the inscription was contained in the
introductory phrases with which the text opens. They recorded
the conquests achieved not only by Adad-nirari but by his father
Arik-den-ilu, his grandfather Bel-nirari, and his great-grandfather
Ashur-uballit. They thus enabled the historian to trace the gradual
extension and consolidation of the Assyrian empire during a critical
period in its early history.
* For the text and translation of the inscription, see King,
Studies it Eastern History, i (1904).
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