New Proposed Chronological Sequence and Dates of Composition of Esarhaddon's Babylon Inscriptions

Abstract

The Babylon Inscriptions of Esarhaddon, perhaps the best-known group of texts in the extant corpus this seventh-century Assyrian king, have for decades presented a real challenge in cracking the various levels of ideology imbedded in their contents, as well as the chronological order in which they were written. The latter issue is closely tied to the fact that several clay prisms inscribed with these texts are all dated by the formula šanat rēš šarrūti, “accession year.” This paper will argue that the intentional dating of the Babylon Inscriptions reflects historical reality and that Esarhaddon's did not deliberately falsify the dates of inscriptions. It will also closely examine the contents of the known texts in this small subcorpus of this Assyrian king's official inscriptions and suggest new dates of composition for each text (especially Babylon A and Babylon D), as well as a new chronological sequencing of the inscriptions. Lastly, this paper will present updated editions of Babylon G and Babylon F based on an old nonphysical join proposed by A. R. Millard and a new international join discovered by the author.