‘Tiglath-pileser, strong king, king of the universe, king of Assyria, king of the four quarters of the world. . . (further epithets and the king’s genealogy follow):
Thrice I marched to the lands of Nairi and conquered extensive lands of Nairi from Tumme to the lands of Dayenu, Himua, Paiteru, and Habhu. I received their tribute of horses in harness.
I conquered 12,000 of the troops of the land of the extensive Mushki (that is, Phrygia) in battle. I laid out by means of the bow the corpses of their fighting men right through the plain.
I took and uprooted 4,000 Urumu and Apishlu, insubmissive Hittite troops, and regarded them as people of my land.
I completely conquered the entire land of the Lullumu, the lands Salua, Qummenu, Katmuhu, and Alzi.
By the command of the gods Ashur, Anu and Adad, the great gods my lords, I marched to Mount Lebanon. I cut down and carried off cedar beams for the temple of the gods Anu and Adad, the great gods my lords. I continued to the land of Amurru, and conquered the entire land of Amurru. I received tribute from the lands of Byblos, Sidon, and Arwad; I (also) received a crocodile and a large female ape of the sea coast. Finally, upon my return I became lord of the entire land Hatti and imposed upon Ini-Teshub, king of Hatti (that is, king of Carchemish), a tax, a tribute, and cedar beams.
I marched to the city Milidia (Malatya) of the great land of Hatti. I received the tribute of Allumaru. I conquered the city Enzatu of the land of Ishuwa and the land of Suhmu. I uprooted prisoners from their midst and brought them to my land.
I have crossed the Euphrates 28 times — twice in one year —in pursuit of the Ahlamu Arameans. I brought about their defeat from the city Tadmor (Palmyra) of the land Amurru, Anat and the land of Suhu, as far as Rapiqu of Karduniash. I brought their booty and possessions to my city Ashur.
I marched against Karduniash (Babylonia): I conquered from the other side of the Lower Zab, the city Arman of Ugar-Sallu, as far as the city of Lubdu. I crossed over the River Radanu. I conquered the cities at the foot of Mounts Kamulla and Kashtilla. I took out their booty and possessions and brought them to my city Ashur.
On this campaign of mine I marched to the land of Suhu: I conquered (from) the city Sapiratu, an island in the Euphrates, as far as the city of Hindanu. I took prisoners from them, and brought them to my city Ashur.
By the command of the god Ninurta who loves me I marched to Karduniash. I conquered the cities Dur-Kurigalzu, Sippar of Shamash, Sippar of Annunitu, Babylon, Opis, which is on the far side of the Tigris, the great cult centres of Karduniash together with their fortresses. I brought about the defeat of their multitudes and took prisoners without number from them. I captured the palaces of Babylon which belonged to Marduk-nadin-ahhe, king of Karduniash, and burnt them. In the eponym of Ashur-shumu-eresh and in the eponym of Ninuaya, twice, I drew up a battle line of chariots against Marduk-nadin-ahhe, king of Karduniash, and defeated him.’
[A description of the buildings (temples and a royal palace) constructed thanks to the booty brought back from the campaigns follows.]
Artificial irrigation. In these parks, animals and plants from the conquered lands were brought as a representation of the diverse world conquered by the king. Stone representations of the hunted and killed animals (bulls and lions) were even left at the entrance of temples and palaces. These animals acted as protective (and deterrent) figures at the service of the king, who proved that he was able to control them.
One of the main purposes of the Assyrian expeditions in the mountains was the crucial access to the raw materials (especially timber) necessary for the king’s building programme. The latter included the restoration and expansion of Assyrian temples. In this regard, the ‘Annals’ were meant to be the foundation text left in the temple of Anu and Adad. In terms of architecture, Tiglath-pileser I’s reign constitutes the peak of the Middle Assyrian period, and was in marked continuity with the reign of Tukulti-Ninurta. This is the case not only for architecture, but also for seals and the other artistic expressions. After all, the reign of Tiglath-pileser I belonged to the Middle Assyrian period and it ended it with pride.
The same can be said for literary and administrative texts. It is probable that the Middle Assyrian Laws were written during the reign of Tiglath-pileser I. It is sure, however, that the collection of palace edicts belongs to his reign. This collection clearly displays the marked continuity between Ashur-uballit’s and Tiglath-pileser’s edicts. Alongside the collection and organisation of legal texts, the king also took care of literary texts, with the establishment of the first ‘library’. This library contained several Babylonian works brought back as booty by Tukulti-Ninurta and Tiglath-pileser himself. It has already been mentioned that Middle Assyrian ‘political’ literature, which peaked with the Tukulti-Ninurta Epic, provided now, in its final phases, the basis for further developments. Despite fitting perfectly in the constant development, both in terms of its elaboration and complexity, of Middle Assyrian royal inscriptions, annalistic literature constituted an innovation of this phase.
After Tiglath-pileser I, Assyria went through another obscure phase. It is possible that no sensational endeavour, like the one in Babylonia or the Mediterranean, took place. However, it is equally probable that Assyria continued to maintain its presence in the northern highlands and to establish relations in Upper Mesopotamia against the Aramean infiltrations. In this regard, the so-called Broken Obelisk clearly shows the Assyrian difficulty in keeping areas such as the Khabur Valley and the foothills of Tur Abdin under control. The Broken Obelisk is a monument that presents clear similarities with the texts of Tiglath-pileser I, but was probably written later, perhaps in the reign of Ashur-bel-kala. It attests to the constant effort and the relative success of the Assyrians in trying to turn into a reality the ideal of controlling Upper Mesopotamia, a dream that Assyria did not give up even in times of crisis. Even the archive of Giricano, from the reign of Ashur-bel-kala, clearly portrays how an Assyrian centre in the Upper Tigris functioned normally in this phase, at the eve of a major crisis.
World History
