TY - JOUR
T1 - Sargon in Samaria—Unusual formulations in the royal inscriptions and their value for historical reconstruction
AU - Aster, Shawn Zelig
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 American Oriental Society. All rights reserved.
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - How different were the claims of Assyrian royal inscriptions from actual Neo-Assyrian practice? This essay explores this question by examining two unusual claims made by Sargon II in relation to his rule of Samaria. The first claim, which appears both in the Khorsabad annals and in a Nimrud prism, should be translated “I again settled Samaria, more than (it had) previously (been settled) .” Based on the historical reconstruction derived from archaeological data, I argue that this phrase refers to the movement of exiles into areas in the western part of the province of Samaria. These areas in the western part of the province, around the sites of Aphek, Hadid, and Gezer, experienced significant population increases in the Assyrian period. The second passage, in Sargon’s Great Display Inscription from Khorsabad, refers to Sargon’s treatment of non-deported Samaritans. It should be translated “I trained the remnant in their crafts .” The historical reality behind this claim is the shift in agricultural techniques and activities in Samaria as a result of the Assyrian conquest. The Assyrian domination of Samaria required the production of grain surpluses, which needed to be made available in the Aphek-Gezer region in the western part of the province of Samaria. In each of the claims from the royal inscriptions examined in this essay, we see that the royal inscriptions credit the king with activities performed by the provincial governor. They change the description of the activity to make it “fit for royalty .”
AB - How different were the claims of Assyrian royal inscriptions from actual Neo-Assyrian practice? This essay explores this question by examining two unusual claims made by Sargon II in relation to his rule of Samaria. The first claim, which appears both in the Khorsabad annals and in a Nimrud prism, should be translated “I again settled Samaria, more than (it had) previously (been settled) .” Based on the historical reconstruction derived from archaeological data, I argue that this phrase refers to the movement of exiles into areas in the western part of the province of Samaria. These areas in the western part of the province, around the sites of Aphek, Hadid, and Gezer, experienced significant population increases in the Assyrian period. The second passage, in Sargon’s Great Display Inscription from Khorsabad, refers to Sargon’s treatment of non-deported Samaritans. It should be translated “I trained the remnant in their crafts .” The historical reality behind this claim is the shift in agricultural techniques and activities in Samaria as a result of the Assyrian conquest. The Assyrian domination of Samaria required the production of grain surpluses, which needed to be made available in the Aphek-Gezer region in the western part of the province of Samaria. In each of the claims from the royal inscriptions examined in this essay, we see that the royal inscriptions credit the king with activities performed by the provincial governor. They change the description of the activity to make it “fit for royalty .”
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85078731931&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.7817/jameroriesoci.139.3.0591
DO - 10.7817/jameroriesoci.139.3.0591
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SN - 0003-0279
VL - 139
SP - 591
EP - 610
JO - Journal of the American Oriental Society
JF - Journal of the American Oriental Society
IS - 3
ER -