The Babil Stele of Assurnasirpal

Extract

The three fragments of a much worn Assyrian stele to be seen in Adana Museum were not, as might have been supposed, found locally in Cilicia. Instead they have been identified as pieces found by C. F. Lehmann-Haupt in the spring of 1899, in the course of a journey down the Tigris from Siirt to Mosul. They were discovered at the village of Babil, some 25 km. south-west of the modern town of Cizre, which is situated in south-eastern Turkey on the Tigris, at the point where the present Turkish-Syrian border joins the river. Babil also now lies directly on the Turkish border. Lehmann-Haupt related the site, circumstances and finds on two occasions in his published works. The finds included “eine Anzahl von Steinfragmenten mit assyrischen Inschriften”, six of which he described perfunctorily and with considerable inaccuracy. He correctly identified parts of a stele of Assurnasirpal II, but did not attempt any further reading of the worn and broken text.