DAVID KERTAI & PETER A.

MIGLUS

NEW RESEARCH ON LATE ASSYRIAN PALACES

 Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg

HEIDELBERGER STUDIEN
ZUM ALTEN ORIENT
BAND 15

Herausgegeben von

Harald Hauptmann
Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften

Peter A. Miglus
Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte und Vorderasiatische Archäologie
Universität Heidelberg

HEIDELBERGER ORIENVERLAG
Heidelberger Studien zum Alten Orient – Band 15

NEW RESEARCH
ON LATE ASSYRIAN PALACES

Conference at Heidelberg
January 22nd, 2011

edited by

DAVID KERTAI & PETER A. MIGLUS

2013
HEIDELBERGER ORIENTVERLAG
 Dieses Buch ist zu beziehen bei
HEIDELBERGER ORIENTVERLAG
Heinrich-Fuchs-Str. 83, D-69126 Heidelberg
Postfach 10 28 60, D-69018 Heidelberg

Gedruckt mit Hilfe der Geschwister Boehringer Ingelheim Stiftung für Geisteswissenschaften
in Ingelheim am Rhein

Bibliographische Information der Deutschen Bibliothek

Die Deutsche Bibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der
Deutschen Nationalbibliographie; detaillierte bibliographische
Daten sind im Internet über http://dnb.ddb.de abrufbar
ISBN 978-3-927552-50-0

© Heidelberger Orientverlag – Verena Hug, Hubert M. Renner, Udo Simon GdbR – 2013
Alle Rechte vorbehalten

Druckerei ARWIL Warszawa 2013

Dieses Buch ist auf holz- und säurefreiem, alterungsbeständigem Papier gedruckt
 Table of contents

Acknowledgements 1

Preface 3

Eleanor Guralnick †
The Palace at Khorsabad: A Storeroom Excavation Project 5
David Kertai
The Multiplicity of Royal Palaces. How Many Palaces did an Assyrian King Need? 11
Steven Lundström
Revising the Building History of the Old Palace in the City of Ashur 23
Maria G. Masetti-Rouault
Interpreting the Changes in the Plan of the Assyrian Palace in Tell Masaikh
(Lower Middle Euphrates, Syria) 31
Peter A. Miglus
Considerations on the East Palace at Ashur 41
Mirko Novák
The Neo-Assyrian Residence at Tall Halaf 53
Dirk Wicke & Tina Greenfield
The ‘Bronze Palace’ at Ziyaret Tepe 63

Iraqi Excavation Projects

Riad Duri †, Qais Hussein Rasheed & Hussein A. Hamze
Iraqi Investigations in the Public District of Ashur during the 2002 Season 83
Muzahim M. Hussein, David Kertai & Mark Altaweel
Nimrud and its Remains in Light of Iraqi Excavations from 1989-2002 91

BIBLIOGRAPHY 109

PLATES
 THE ASSYRIAN GOVERNOR’S PALACE OF GŪZĀNA

Mirko Novák (Bern)1 (Plates XXIX–XXX)

Among the architectural structures excavated by Max Freiherr von Oppenheim and his team
in Tell Halaf during two campaigns in 1911–1913 and 1929 was the so-called ‘Nordost-Palast’
(‘Northeastern Palace’). This building, situated at the north-eastern corner of the citadel mound,
was considered to be the dwelling palace of Kapara, the Aramaean ruler who was responsible for
major building activities in ancient Gūzāna like the Hilani palace with its rich pictorial decorations.
The reasons for this interpretation were the allegedly missing representational functions in the
Northeastern palace and the proposed identity of the stratigraphical situation in both palaces.
However, doubts on this interpretation arose quite quickly after the final publication of the
architecture of Tell Halaf. The similarities of the layout of the Northeastern Palace with Late
Assyrian palatial architecture were too obvious to be coincidental. Hence, at least the later phase of
the building was considered to be Late Assyrian in date by most of the more recent authors dealing
with Tell Halaf.
Thus, one of the major goals of the renewed Syrian-German mission working in Tell Halaf was to
get further information on the chronology, function and structure of the building. In the following,
I will give a short overview of the preliminary results of this now interrupted excavation project.

Location
Tell Halaf is located in Upper Mesopotamia, close to the spring of the main branch of the Khabur
river (Pl. I). Water supply was guaranteed by a large number of karstic springs, which gave the name
Ra’s al-Ain ‘Head of the Spring’ to its vicinity. Thus, the site lies in a fertile area with plenty of water
supply for both irrigation and rainfall agriculture. Moreover, it is situated at one of the main trade
routes in the Near East connecting Assyria proper with Upper Mesopotamia, the Northern Levant
and the Mediterranean shore: in Assyrian sources this route was named ĥarrān šarri ‘King’s Road’.
Tell Halaf and close-by Tell Fekheriye, the Mittanian capital Waššukanni near the modern town
of Ra’s al-Ain, form a twin city together, characterised by several periodical shifts in occupation.
Both are situated immediately at the Baghdad-Railroad, which nowadays defines the Syrian-Turkish
border.
Tell Halaf consists of a c. 5 ha large citadel mound and a c. 60 ha large Lower Town adjacent to its
south and nowadays almost completely overbuilt by modern houses.

1
I thank David Kertai very much for the invitation to participate in the workshop and the publication of the papers. I
am also indebted to him for improving the English manuscript.
54 Mirko Novák

Max von Oppenheim’s Excavations in the Northeastern Palace

Tell Halaf was explored in 1899, 1911–1913 and 1929 by Max Freiherr von Oppenheim.2 His
excavations uncovered large parts of the fortified Iron Age citadel mound and some areas of the
vast Lower Town, among them a temple of the Assyrian period and the so-called ‘cultic room’ of
the Aramaean period.
The most famous buildings on top of the citadel mound were the ‘Western Palace’, built in the so-
called Hilani style, and the adjacent ‘Scorpion’s Gate’, both richly decorated with statues and reliefs
and dated to the reign of a certain Kapara, an Aramaean ruler of the town (Fig. 1). Tombs were
discovered both in the north-western and the southern part of the citadel, the latter buried under
a huge mud brick terrace.

The vast building excavated in the northeast of the citadel was interpreted as the dwelling palace
of the same Kapara (Pl. XXIXa). Nevertheless, no inscription supported this designation or dating.
It was built on an outcrop of the natural limestone terrace immediately above a strong natural
spring, which formed the main drinking water supply for the inhabitants of the citadel. This spring
was accessible from the central part of the citadel through the so-called Spring’s Gate, while the
inhabitants of the Northeastern Palace could reach a well above the spring through an entrance of
the building, the so-called Well’s Gate.
The foundation of the Northeastern Palace consisted of an artificial massive mudbrick platform,
which partly covered the earlier citadel’s fortification wall.
The former excavators recognized two building phases with a pavement of baked bricks in the first
phase and another one made of limestone slabs in the second phase (Pl. XXIXb). The later floor
level was built about half a meter above the previous one. Both phases were also distinguishable
by a considerable change of the architectural layout although the earlier phase remained mostly
unexplored. Some gateways were marked by huge limestone thresholds or stone curtain holders
(Pl. XXXa), both similar to items known from Assyrian palaces like e.g. Khorsabad.
As the excavators have considered, the building originally seemed to consist of only one large
courtyard with three adjacent wings of living rooms to its west, north and east, and an entrance
at its southern side. The northern wing was presumably not connected with the courtyard, but
formed an independent suite accessible only from the outside through the Well’s Gate. During the
second phase, the building was enlarged with the help of a second courtyard to the south. This
southern part of the palace has not been investigated so far.
The two phases were synchronized with the two levels attested both in the Hilani area and the
southern citadel’s gate (Naumann in Langenegger, Müller & Naumann 1950: 376–380). Thus the
overall stratigraphy of the citadel mound of Gūzāna seemed to be clear and uncomplicated – a
clarity that of course generally does not occur at all! However, since the areas of the Western and
the Northeastern Palaces are not connected by excavations, there is still a lack of stratigraphical
arguments for a comparative chronology.3

2
The results of the excavations were published in Schmidt 1943, Langenegger, Müller & Naumann 1950; Moortgart
1955; Hrouda 1962; Cholidis & Martin 2010. A reappraisal of the former excavations is given by Orthmann 2002. The
textual findings were published by Friedrich et al. 1940.
3
On the attempt of reconstructing the comparative stratigraphy cf. Pucci 2008. The problems are demonstrated by
Novák 2010.
 The Governor’s Palace in Guzana 55

The only building on the citadel considered Assyrian in date was the so-called ‘Assyrian House’,
excavated about 100 m south of the Northeastern Palace. Nearby, in the debris of small houses,
a number of tablets was discovered, belonging to the archive of a certain Mannu-kī-(māt)-Aššur,
governor of Gūzāna. The same Mannu-kī-(māt)-Aššur is attested as limmu (eponym) of the year
793 BC, giving thus an approximate date of the archive. Due to this find, the ‘Assyrian House’
was interpreted as the residence of the Assyrian governor, situated within a largely ruined citadel
(Langenegger, Müller & Naumann 1950: 206).

Fig. 1. Plan of the Citadel of Gūzāna showing the remains of the “Northeastern Palace” and the “Assyrian House”
(taken from Langenegger et al. 1950).

Doubts on the Interpretations

In the decades following the final publication the knowledge of Late Assyrian palatial archi-
tecture and its appearance in the provinces has grown rapidly. Hence some authors have drawn
attention to some formal and structural similarities between the Northeastern Palace and Late
Assyrian palatial architecture, mainly after its enlargement to a multi-court entity in its second
phase (cf. Orthmann 2002: 40–44). Late Assyrian elements such as the mudbrick platform,
covering the former fortification wall, or the thresholds and curtain holders supported this idea.
W. Orthmann even suspected that there was an entrance between the courtyard and the large
room to its north, which had just not been realized by the excavators (Fig. 2). If so, both units
would form a reception suite, typical for Late Assyrian palatial architecture (Turner 1970a).
56 Mirko Novák

Furthermore, findings such as some pieces of basalt statues4 and bronze statuettes5 and most of the
other objects published by B. Hrouda all date to the Assyrian period, showing a lack of inventories
from the Aramaean period.
Nonetheless, W. Orthmann proposed dating the earlier level to the Kapara period, while only
dating the later phase to the time of Assyrian dominion. The reason was that the similarities to Late
Assyrian architecture were only visible during the later phase, if one considers the stratigraphical
reconstruction by Oppenheim and his team correct: the original layout was thus reduced to just
one central courtyard and that there was no entrance from the courtyard to the unit at its north.
Obviously, an unquestionable reconstruction of the layout and chronology of the building was not
at all possible without more reliable data.6
Another problem left by the old excavations was the interpretation of the ‘Assyrian House’ as the
residence of the Assyrian governor. The office of the governor of Gūzāna was so important, that
its holder had the right to be the limmu in the 16th year of each Assyrian king (Dornauer 2010: 67;
Novák in Baghdo et al. 2009: 97). Hence he belonged to the 20 most powerful men of the whole
empire, superseded only by the central officers and a few governors of more important provinces!
(cf. Mattila 2000). Thus he seems to have been too powerful to live in such a modest and simple
building with just seven (!) rooms.

Renewed Excavations7
In 2006, new excavations have resumed in Tell Halaf. Among the goals defined by the Syrian-
German mission (Baghdo et al. 2009; Martin & Novák 2010; Baghdo et al. 2012) was the investigation
of the chronology, stratigraphy and structural layout of the Northeastern Palace. One task was to
find out when precisely the building was enlarged by the addition of a southern wing and how the
layout of this second wing looked like. The second goal was to explore the area of the presumed
gateway between the northern courtyard and the large room to its north. The final aim was to
expose inventories from both building phases allowing a better understanding of their chronology
and function.
The morphology of the surface made clear even before any new activities that Oppenheim and his
team had left their excavation areas uncovered when they finished their expedition in 1929. Structures
of the exposed walls were still visible, although strongly damaged by erosion and removals. It was
therefore quite easy to locate the wall between the courtyard and the presumed throne-room to
its north. A trench was opened at the calculated point of a ‘buttress’ recognized by Oppenheim
in the central part of the wall. The level of the later phase was quickly reached. The stratigraphy
of Oppenheim was reconfirmed insofar as a mudbrick terrace was explored, which functioned as
the basement of the whole building. The original floor made of baked bricks and the later floor
made of stone slabs were still preserved (Novák & Abdel Ghafour in Baghdo et al. 2009: 42–46).

4
Cholidis & Martin 2010: pl. 80, no. 42 was found in the debris of the Northeastern Palace.
5
A possible find spot of the bronze statuette, published by Moortgat-Correns 1989, was the Northeastern Palace as
well.
6
The wide range of possible chronological, architectural and cultural interpretations can be seen in the comparison
of the controversial reconstructions proposed by Orthmann 2002 and Pucci 2008.
7
The new Syro-German project is co-directed by Abdel Mesih Baghdo (Damascus/Hassake), Lutz Martin (Berlin) and
the present author. The prehistoric levels are investigated by Jörg Becker (Halle). I thank the General Directorate of
Antiquities and Museums and all the authorities of the Syrian Arab Republic for their helpful support and all colleagues
involved in the project for their ambitious work, which made this overview possible.
 The Governor’s Palace in Guzana 57

The elevation of the latter was approximately 0.5 m above the first one. As it turned out, a gateway
indeed existed, at least during the later phase. The threshold consisted of baked bricks, which were
discovered broken in pieces. The door was about 2.5 m broad and flanked by two square buttresses
at both sides. Obviously the door was blocked in a later phase. That is the reason why it had not
been recognized by Oppenheim. In the earlier phase the situation is still unclear since the wall
was different in breadth and is still covered by its broader successor. Nevertheless, a remarkable
installation was discovered below the later doorway, a rectangular basin built up with baked bricks
and protected by marble slabs on its outside. Bitumen mortar was placed between the bricks as well
as between the bricks and the stones. Thus the installation was suitable for water related activities,
although its precise function is not clear (Novák & Abdel Ghafour in Baghdo et al. 2009: 43, figs.
4–2).
Anyhow, the results of this small trench opened the possibility that the building really followed
Assyrian building patterns. The solution to the question of dating the palace had to be looked for
in the southern wing.
Here, a larger area was opened just north of several test trenches of Oppenheim, in which a large
mudbrick terrace was investigated (Pl. XXXb). They were situated just a few meters north of a deep
erosion channel, which had cut away the northern part of the ‘Assyrian House’, thus providing
the chance for a kind of step trench with the perspective of a quick overview on the stratigraphy.
Indeed, this goal was reached successfully. A number of rooms was explored in this area, providing
insights into both its chronology and function.

Stratigraphy
The architectural remains in the area under investigation rest on a massive mudbrick terrace. Its
bottom has not yet been identified, but its attested height is more than 3.5 m. Its surface was covered
with a pebble layer on which the earliest floor was situated. The walls are well preserved to a height
of more than 2 m.
In the central part of the opened trenches, a courtyard was explored (Pl. XXXc). Here, the original
pavement consisted of baked bricks (labelled Phase C8 in the local stratigraphy). In the second phase
(Phase C7) the courtyard was made smaller by the insertion of small compounds along its western
and eastern sides. The later floor lay approximately 0.5 m above the original floor. It is characterized
by a paved road, which is running diagonally through the courtyard from the Northwest to the
Southeast. The pavement is made of flat limestone and basalt slabs, the basalt used exclusively for
the outer row. Below this road a channel is attested. The rest of the courtyard floor consisted of
pebbles. Finally, in a third phase of the building (Phase C6), a final new pebble floor was constructed
immediately above the second phase floor.
The situation inside the courtyard is repeated within all the other rooms excavated in this
area so far: There are three phases with a major change in architectural layout between the
first and the second floor. Thus, the stratigraphy is identical to the one in the ‘Northeastern
Palace’ as recognized by Oppenheim and his team: The basement formed by a free standing,
high and massive mudbrick terrace, the original building phase immediately on its top with a
courtyard floor made of baked bricks. A second building phase is attested approximately half
a meter higher with significant changes in layout and the use of stone slabs as floor pavement.
58 Mirko Novák

The final phase preserves the ground plan of the second phase and is characterized by simple
pebble floors. This makes it quite probable that both areas, correlated so strongly by the same
architectural characteristics and stratigraphy, belong to one and the same building.
Fortunately, on top of almost each excavated floor large room inventories were discovered,
providing evidence for the chronology of the building.

Chronology
The material, which was discovered in all three phases of the building, was undoubtedly Late
Assyrian in style and dating (Becker & Novák in Baghdo et al. 2012: 227–231). The vast number
of complete ceramic vessels and sherds belong to the highly standardized Late Assyrian corpus,
showing the well-known range of types and wares. As the fabrics indicate, most of the pottery
was locally produced, thus indicating a complete adaptation of Assyrian traditions in Gūzāna
(Sievertsen in Baghdo et al. 2012: 142–149).
Contrary to the situation in the palace area, there are a number of find spots in Tell Halaf in which
non-Assyrian Iron Age pottery was discovered. In the earliest levels below the ‘Western Palace’ and
at the northern slope some sherds of Early Iron Age Anatolian ‘Groovy Pottery’ were found, later
replaced by wheel-made local pottery in the Aramaean layers. In the later phases, Assyrian pottery
production completely replaced the local Aramaean traditions (Sievertsen in Baghdo et al. 2012).
All other objects discovered in the early and middle phases of the palace are also Late Assyrian in
style, e.g., the cylinder seals and seal impressions, terracotta figurines and metal tools, fibulae and
pendants.8 In the second phase some fragments of cuneiform tablets were found, dating to the late
8th or early 7th century BC. The whole range of objects is very similar to those found in some of
the elite houses explored in the southern part of the citadel and in the lower town. The inventories
from the third and latest phase of the building find their closest parallels to what is known as
‘post-Assyrian’ from several sites like e.g. the ‘Red House’ in Dūr-Katlimmu (Sievertsen in Baghdo
et al. 2012: 146–149). Late-Babylonian cuneiform tablets found by Oppenheim in the central part
of the citadel indicate that Gūzāna was still inhabited after the collapse of the Assyrian Empire in
612/608 BC (Becker & Novák in Baghdo et al. 2012: 230). There are signs of a violent destruction
of the palace during the 6th century BC.
Since the stratigraphy is identical to the one found in the northern part it is more than likely that
both parts belong to one and the same building and that the palace was from its beginning onwards
structured as a multiple court unity, extending alongside the whole eastern part of the citadel.
The foundation of the palace must date to a time during or slightly after the change of
pottery production style. If we consider the historical sources to get a more precise dating one
is reminded of the Tell Fekheriye statue, discovered in the early 1980s in the ancient town of
(W)Aššukanni/Sikani, about 2.5 km east of Tell Halaf (Abu Assaf, Bordreuil & Millard 1982). It
is the depiction of a certain Hadda-yiš’i (Assyrian Adad-iti), inscribed with an Aramaean-Assyrian
bilingual text. Hadda-yiš’i claims to be ‘governor’ (Assyrian version) and ‘king’ (Aramaic version)
of Gūzāna. An identification of his father Šamaš-nuri with the Assyrian eponym of the year 866
BC (cf. Dornauer 2010) would indicate that Gūzāna was already completely incorporated into the
Assyrian provincial system during the reign of Shalmaneser III, the period to which the statue should
thus date. Šamaš-nuri was probably already governor of Gūzāna during the reign of Ashurnasirpal

8
Cf. several contributions in Baghdo et al. 2009 and 2012.
 The Governor’s Palace in Guzana 59

Fig. 2. Plan of the northern part of the Northeastern Palace including a reconstructed doorway between the
courtyard and the ‘throne room’ (taken with courtesy from Orthmann 2002).

Fig. 3. Plan of the remains of the southern part of the Northeastern Palace during the second building phase (C7)
with projection of the plan of the ‘Assyrian House’ (drawn by Gabriele Elsen-Novák, partly using a plan from
Langenegger et al. 1955).
60 Mirko Novák

II. This is the time at which the foundation of a governor’s palace in a Late Assyrian style might have
taken place. It is likely that already one generation before, after the submission of Bīt-Baĥiani to
Ashur, the material culture of Gūzāna started to adopt Assyrian elements to an considerable extent.
The mentioned Mannu-kī-(māt)-Aššur, governor of Gūzāna and owner of an archive discovered by
Oppenheim (Friedrich et al. 1940), surely inhabited the palace, as a reconsideration of the find spot
of the tablets made clear (Becker & Novák in Baghdo et al. 2012: 228–229). It is situated close to the
southern boundary of the mudbrick terrace of the palace and can be linked stratigraphically to its
second phase. When the building was reconstructed, a part of the archive was simply thrown away
and deposited on the surface south of it.
This raises the question of the precise date and reason for the reconstruction. It surely happened
sometime after 793 BC, the year in which Mannu-kī-(māt)-Aššur held the office of the limmu. What
was the reason for these activities? Let’s have another look on the history.
Only two events disturbed the peaceful history of Gūzāna after its incorporation into the Assyrian
Empire. In 808 BC Adad-nerari III undertook a campaign against the city. Due to the lack of any
further information, the reason for that military act remains completely obscure. However, this
event is too early to be responsible for the renovation of Gūzāna’s political centre. In 761–758
BC Gūzāna participated, together with Arrapĥa and Kalĥu, in a revolt against the eunuch Šamši-
ilu, the true ruler of the empire at that time.9 The city was besieged for two years and then finally
captured. After that, it remained the seat of a governor until the fall of the Assyrian Empire in 609
BC. So this event fits perfectly to give us an explanation: probably the seat of the chief rebel of the
town, its governor, was damaged during and after the siege. These damages might have required
the renovation of the palace and gave the opportunity for some major changes (Becker & Novák
in Baghdo et al. 2012: 227–229).
The period between the second and the third phase might have been a slight and unspectacular one.
Probably the building simply became dilapidated due to its age. This last renovation should have
taken place during the final years of the Assyrian Empire or the early years of the Late Babylonian
Empire according to the date of the inventories (Becker & Novák in Baghdo et al. 2012: 229).
Summing up, the question about the chronology of the Northeastern Palace – due to its extension
one should rather speak of the ‘Eastern Palace’ – seems to be clear now: Founded in the middle
of the 9th century BC it was reconstructed for the first time about one century later and for the
second time another 150 years later, slightly before or after the collapse of the Assyrian Empire. It
was abandoned during the 6th or early 5th century BC. However, it is hoped that the discovery of
further textual material will help to confirm or correct the chronology and make it more precise.

Functional Structure
Since it became very likely that the palace included from its initial phase not only the part excavated
by Oppenheim but also another area south of it, the layout can be reconsidered as subdivided into
multiple units, each of them centred on a courtyard. The main entrance is not yet localized, but it
can be excluded that it was situated within the northern wing. It probably must be looked for in
the area southwest of Oppenheim’s excavations. If so, the whole northern part of the building
can be recognized as having been the innermost unit of the palace. Thus, it functioned as the
‘private’ suite, according to the Late Assyrian scheme of residential and palatial architecture. This
would fit to the low degree of monumentality and the missing of representative wall decorations

9
On the events and their background cf. Fuchs 2008.
 The Governor’s Palace in Guzana 61

there. On the other hand, the spatial arrangement of the recently explored southern rooms also
contradict the idea of a representative architecture. Instead, their inventories strongly suggest a use
for the storage and preparation of food as well as for weaving activities. The representational and
administrative units of the palace are still uncovered and must have been located somewhere north
or northwest of the recently excavated areas.
A surprise was the rediscovery and localization of the ‘Assyrian House’ (Fig. 3). Its position was still
visible as a steep depression since the area was not refilled after Oppenheim’s excavations. Several
parts of the walls and floor of this building were re-explored. It turned out that it is not only
situated immediately south of the newly excavated rooms of the southern wing (only separated
from them by a deep erosion channel) but actually formed a unit within it. The southern end of
the stone-paved road through the recently discovered palace courtyard ends immediately next to
where the northern boundary wall of the ‘Assyrian House’ was located, although it was no longer
preserved due to erosion. Thus, the main, or rather the only, access into the ‘Assyrian House’ was
from the courtyard, indicating that the house was actually the southernmost unit of the palace
itself (Fig. 4)! This is confirmed by the fact that the floors of the ‘Assyrian House’ have precisely
the same elevation as the floors of the second phase of the palace. Unfortunately, the function of
this unit remains obscure.

Conclusion
After five campaigns of the renewed excavations in Tell Halaf some important results were reached
concerning the chronology, layout and interpretation of the ‘Northeastern Palace’. It can be
concluded that the building was founded in the initial phase of Assyrian dominance over Gūzāna
as the seat of the governor. It covered almost the whole eastern third of the citadel and was built
on top of a high, freestanding mudbrick terrace. A series of interlinked units gave it its internal
structure, each of them centred on a courtyard. Thus, the layout of the building strictly followed
Assyrian architectural patterns.
Three phases of occupation can be distinguished: The earliest one dating to the middle of the
9th century according to the date of its inventories. The major renovation at the beginning of the
second phase was undertaken in the middle of the 8th century, probably as a result of damages
caused by the uprising of Gūzāna in 761–758 BC. And the last phase is dated to the final Assyrian
decades or the time of the Late-Babylonian Empire. Hence the lifespan of the palace covers the
whole period of Assyrian and probably also Babylonian dominion in Upper Mesopotamia. Since
the ‘Assyrian House’ turned out to be part of the palace proper, it should be erased from the
literature as an independent architectural feature. The designation ‘Northeastern Palace’ is best
replaced by ‘Eastern Palace’ or, to be more precise, the ‘Assyrian Governor’s Palace’.
Further excavations will have to reveal more information on the architectural layout of the palace.
Especially, the administrative and representative wings of the palace are still to be identified. The
question about the occupation of the terrain during the Aramaean period remains open. It is to
be hoped that the political situation in Syria will not cause irreversible damages making these plans
obsolete.
62 Mirko Novák

Fig. 4. Plan of the Assyrian Governor's Palace of Guzana according to Oppenheim's

and the recent excavations (rendering by Zora Grossen).
Plates
 Late Assyrian Palaces

Map of the Near East (drawn by Kertai, based on Parpola & Porter 2001).
Plate I
Mirko Novák Plate XXIX

a. Overview on the northern part of the Northeastern Palace, photo taken in 1912
(archive of the Max Frei-herr von Oppenheim Stiftung, Köln).

b. Remains of the two succeeding floor levels in the Northeastern Palace, photo taken in 1912
(archive of the Max Freiherr von Oppenheim Stiftung, Köln).
Plate XXX Mirko Novák

a. Assyrian threshold and curtain holder in the northern part of the Northeastern Palace, photo taken in 1912
(archive of the Max Freiherr von Oppenheim Stiftung, Köln).

b. Overview of the southern part of the Northeastern Palace, photo taken in 2009
(photo by Günther Mirsch).

c. Stratigraphy in the southern part of the Northeastern Palace, photo taken in 2006
(photo by Günther Mirsch).
Bibliography
 Abbreviations

AfO Archiv für Orientforschung (Berlin – Graz / Wien)

AfO Beih. Archiv für Orientforschung Beihefte (Berlin – Graz / Wien)
AJA American Journal of Archaeology: The Journal of the Archaeological Institute of
America (New York)
Akh Purattim Akh Purattim - Les Rives de l’Euphrate. Mémoires d’archéologie et d’histoire
régionales interdisciplinaires (Lyon)
Akkadica Akkadica. Périodique bimestriel de la Fondation Assyriologique Georges Dossin
(Louvain)
Al-Rāfidān Al-Rāfidān. Journal of Western Asiatic Studies (Tokio)
Anatolica Anatolica. Annuaire international pour les civilisations de l'Asie antérieure, publié
sous les auspices de l'Institut historique et archéologique néerlandais à Istanbul
(Leiden)
ANES Suppl. Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Supplement Series (Louvain – Paris – Sterling)
AOAT Alter Orient und Altes Testament (Kevelaer – Neukirchen-Vluyn)
AoF Altorientalische Forschungen (Berlin)
Athenaeum Studi di Letteratura e Storia dell’Antichità (Como)
AVO Altertumskunde des Vorderen Orients. Archälogische Studien zur Kultur und
Geschichte des Alten orients (Münster)
BaF Baghdader Forschungen. DAI. Abteilung Baghdad (Mainz)
BAH Bibliothèque archéologique et historique (Paris)
BAR Int. Series British Archaeological Press International Series (Oxford)
BATSH Berichte der Ausgrabung Tall Šēĥ Ħamad/Dūr-Katlimmu (Berlin – Wiesbaden)
BCSMS Bulletin. The Candian Society for Mesopotamian Studies (Toronto)
BIA Bulletin of the Institute of Archaeology (London)
BIWA Beiträge zum Inschriftenwerk Assurbanipals : die Prismenklassen A, B, C = K, D,
E, F, G, H, J und T sowie andere Inschriften (Wiesbaden); see Borger 1996
CM Cuneiform Monographs (Groningen)
CHANE Culture and History of the Ancient Near East (Leiden – Boston)
DAA Denkmäler antiker Architektur (Berlin)
DaM Damaszener Mitteilungen (Mainz)
EtTr Etudes et Travaux. Travaux du Centre d'Archéologie Méditerranéenne de l'Académie
Polonaise des Sciences (Warszawa)
HANEM History of the Ancient Near East Monograph (Padova)
HdO Handbuch der Orientalistik (Leiden – Boston – Köln)
ICAANE 4 H. Kühne (ed.) 2008. The reconstruction of environment. Natural Resources and
Human Interrelations through Time ; Art History - Visual Communication,
Proceedings of the 4th International Congress on the Archaeology of the
Ancient Near East (Wiesbaden)
ICAANE 6 P. Matthiae (ed.) 2010. Near Eastern Archaology in the past, present and future.
 Heritage and Identity. Ethnoarchaeological and interdisciplinary approach, results
and perspectives. Visual expression and craft production in the
definition of social relations and status. Proceedings of the 6th International
Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East (Wiesbaden)
Iraq Iraq (London)
ISIMU Revista sobre Oriente Próximo y Egipto en la antigüedad (Madrid)
JNES Journal of Near Eastern Studies (Chicago – New York)
KAL Keilschrifttexte aus Assur literarischen Inhalts (Wiesbaden) = WVDOG 116, 117,
121
MDOG Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft (Berlin)
Mesopotamia Mesopotamia. Rivista di Archeologia. Epigrafia e Storia Orientale Antica (Torino)
OIP Oriental Institute Publications (Chicago)
PIHANS Publications de l'Institut Historique et Archéologique Néerlandais à Stamboul
(Leiden)
RA Revue d‘assyriologie et d‘archéologie orientale (Paris)
RGTC Répertoire géographique des textes cunéiformes (Wiesbaden)
RIMA Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia. Assyrian Periods (Toronto – Buffalo –
London); see Grayson 1987, 1991, 1996
RIMB Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia. Babylonian Periods (Toronto – Buffalo –
London); see Frame 1995
RIME Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia. Early Periods (Toronto – Buffalo – London);
see Frayne 1990, 1993
RINAP The Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Assyrian Period (Winona Lake)
RlA Reallexikon der Assyriologie (Leipzig / Berlin)
SAA State Archives of Assyria (Helsinki)
SAAB State Archives of Assyria. Bulletin (Padova)
SAAS State Archives of Assyria Studies (Helsinki)
StAT Studien zu den Assur-Texten (Saarbrücken)
Subartu Subartu. European Centre for Mesopotamian Studies (Turnhout)
Sumer Sumer. Journal of Archaeology (and History) in Iraq. The Republic of Iraq.
Directorate General of Antiquities (Baghdad).
SVA Schriften zur vorderasiatischen Archäologie (Saarbrücken).
Synthese Synthese. Editions Recherche sur les civilisations (Paris)
Syria Syria. Revue d’art oriental et d’archéologie (Paris)
WA World Archaeology (London – New York)
WO Die Welt des Orients. Wissenschaftliche Beiträge zur Kunde des Morgendlandes
(Wuppertal – Stuttgart – Göttingen)
WVDOG Wissenschaftliche Veröffentlichungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft
(Leipzig / Osnabrück / Berlin / Saarbrücken / Saarwellingen / Wiesbaden)
ZA Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie (Leipzig / Berlin)
ZOrA Zeitschrift für Orient-Archäologie (Berlin – New York)
 Bibliography

Abu Assaf, A., Bordreuil, P. & Millard, A. R. 1982. La statue de Tell Fekheriyé et son inscription

bilingue assyro-araméene, Etudes Assyriologiques 7, Paris.
Agha, A. A. & Al-Iraqi, M. S. I. 1976. Nimrud: ‘Calah’, Baghdad.
Ahmad, A. Y. 2000. Excavation at Qadhiah: the Texts of Tukulti-Ninurta II (890–884 B.C.), al-
Rāfidān 21, 51–59.
—  2002. Adad-Nērāri III’s Historical Texts from Kalhu, Sumer 52, 27–31.
Albenda, P. 1986. The Palace of Sargon, King of Assyria: Monumental Wall Reliefs at Dur-
Sharrukin, from Original Drawings Made at the Time of Their Discovery in 1843–1844 by
Botta and Flandin., Synthese 22, Paris.
—  1978. Assyrian Carpets in Stone, Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society of Columbia University
10, 1–34.
—  1994. Les dessins de Flandin, in Fontan 1994, 184–195.
—  2005. Ornamental Wall Painting in the Art of the Assyrian Empire, CM 28, Leiden.
Albenda, P. & Guralnick, E. 1986. Some Fragments of Stone Reliefs from Khorsabad, JNES
45/3, 231–242.
Al-Hayani, H. H. 2000. Aus den irakischen Grabungen in Assur 1999–2000. Spätassyrische
Privathäuser in der Stadtmitte, MDOG 132, 55–63.
Andrae, W. 1909. Der Anu-Adad-Tempel in Assur, WVDOG 10.
—  1913. Die Festungswerke von Assur, WVDOG 23.
— 1938/21977. Das wiedererstandene Assur, Berlin/München.
Andrae, W. & Lenzen, H. 1933. Die Partherstadt Assur, WVDOG 57.
André-Salvini, B. 1995. Remarques sur les inscriptions des reliefs du palais de Khorsabad, in
Caubet 1995, 15–45.
Annus, A. & Lenzi, A. 2010. Ludlul bēl nēmeqi. The Standard Babylonian Poem of the Righteous
Sufferer, SAA Cuneiform Text 7.
Baghdo, A. M. et al. (eds.) 2009. Tell Halaf: Vorberichte über die erste und zweite syrisch-deutsche
Grabungskampagne, Vorderasiatische Forschungen der Max Freiherr von Oppenheim-
Stiftung 3/I, Wiesbaden.
Baghdo, A. et al. (eds.) 2012. Tell Halaf: Vorbericht über die dritte bis fünfte syrisch-deutsche
Grabungskampagne. Vorderasiatische Forschungen der Max Freiherr von Oppenheim-
Stiftung 3/II, Wiesbaden.
Barnett, R. D. 1976. Sculptures from the North Palace of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh (668–627
BC), London.
114 New Research on Late Assyrian Palaces

Barnett, R. D. & Falkner, M. 1962. The Sculptures of Aššur-naŝir-apli II, 883–859 B.C., Tiglath-

pileser III, 745–727 B.C. and Esarhaddon, 681–669 B.C., from the Central and South-West
Palaces at Nimrud, London.
Battini, L. 1998. Les portes urbaines de la capitale de Sargon II: étude sur la propagande royale à
travers les données archéologiques et textuelles, in J. Prosecký (ed.), Intellectual Life of the
Ancient Near East, Papers Presented at the 43rd RAI, Prague, July 1–5, 1996, 41–55.
Benech, C. 2003. Prospections magnétiques sur le site de Tell Masaïkh: premiers résultats, in
Rouault & Mora 2003, 583–584.
Bergamini, G. 1994. «Spoliis Orientis onustus» Paul-Émile Botta et la découverte de la civilisation
assyrienne, in Fontan 1994, 68–85.
Berthier, S. 2001. Le peuplement rural et les aménagements hydroagricoles dans la Moyenne vallée
de l'Euphrate entre la fin du VIIe et le XIVe siècle. Etude archéologique, in S. Berthier (ed.),
Peuplement rural et aménagements hydroagricoles dans la Moyenne vallée de l'Euphrate, Fin
du VIIe–XIXe siècle, Damas, 29–264.
Blaylock, S. 2009. Tille Höyük 3.1. The Iron Age: Introduction, Stratification and Architecture,
BIA Monograph 41, Oxford.
Bökönyi, S. 1990. Tierhaltung und Jagd. Tierknochenfunde der Ausgrabungen 1964 bis 1981,
Kāmid el-Lōz 12, Bonn.
Börker-Klähn, J. 1982. Altvorderasiatische Bildstelen und vergleichbare Felsreliefs, BaF 4, Mainz.
Borger, R. 1956. Die Inschriften Asarhaddons Königs von Assyrien, AfO Beiheft 9, Graz.
—  1988. König Sanheribs Eheglück, Annual Review of the Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia Project 6,
5–11.
—  1996. Beiträge zum Inschriftenwerk Assurbanipals : die Prismenklassen A, B, C = K, D, E, F,
G, H, J und T sowie andere Inschriften, Wiesbaden.
Botta, P. E. 1844. Letters de M. Botta sur ses découverst à Ninive, Seconde lettre, Journal asiatique
1, 91–103.
—  1849a. Monument de Ninive. Tome I: Architecture et sculpture, Paris.
—  1849b. Monument de Ninive. Tome II: Architecture et sculpture, Paris.
—  1850. Monument de Ninive. Tome V: Texte, Paris.
Bunnens, G. 1992. Melbourne University Excavations at Tell Ahmar on the Euphrates. Short
Report on the 1989–1992 Seasons, Akkadica 79/80, 1–13.
— 2000. Essays on Syria in the Iron Age, ANES Suppl. 7, Louvain.
Caubet, A. (ed.) 1995. Khorsabad, le palais de Sargon II, roi d'Assyrie, actes du colloque organisé
au musée du Louvre par le Services culturel les 21 et 22 janvier 1994, Louvre conférences et
colloques, Paris.
Chevalier, N. 1994. Victor Place : consulat et archéologie, in Fontan 1994, 94–101.
Cholidis, N. & Martin, L. (eds.) 2010. Tell Halaf V. Im Krieg zerstörte Denkmäler und ihre
Restaurierung, Berlin/New York.
 Bibliography 115

Cifarelli, M. 1995. Enmity, Alienation and Assyrianization: The Role of Cultural Difference in the

Visual and Verbal Expression of Assyrian Ideology in the Reign of Aššurnasirpal (883–859
B.C.), Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Doctor of Philosophy, Colombia University.
Collins, B. J. 2002. Animals in Hittite Literature, in B. J. Collins (ed.), A History of the Animal
World in the Ancient Near East, HdO I, 64, Boston, 237–250.
Collon, D. 2001. Knotted Girths, in J.-W. Meyer, M. Novák & A. Pruß (eds.), Beiträge zur
vorderasiatischen Archäologie: Winfried Orthmann gewidmet, Frankfurt am Main, 54–63.
Crabtree, P. J. 1990. Zooarchaeology and Complex Societies: Some Uses of Faunal Analysis for
the Study of Trade, Social Status and Ethnicity, Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory 2,
155–205.
Demange, F. 1994. Eugène Flandin, un peintre archéologue, in Fontan 1994, 86–93.
Dercksen, J. G. 2004. Old Assyrian Institutions, PIHANS 98.
Donbaz, V. 1992. The ‘house of kings’ in the City of Aššur, in H. Otten et al. (eds.) Hittite and
other Anatolian and Near Eastern Studies in Honour of Sedat Alp, 119–125.
Dornauer, A. 2010. Die Geschichte von Gūzāna im Lichte der schriftlichen Zeugnisse, in N.
Cholidis & L. Martin 2010, 47–68.
Duri, R. 2002. Aus den irakischen Grabungen in Assur 2001. Spätneuassyrische Wohnbebauung,
parthische Grabbauten und der Ostpalast, MDOG 134, 87–102.
Duri, R., Al-, Rasheed, Q. H. & Hamze, H. A. 2011. The Iraqi Excavations in the City of Assur
(1999–2002), Sumer 56, 111–150 (arab.).
Edzard, D. O. 1993–1997. s. v. Mušlālu A. Philologisch, RlA 8, 495–496.
Engel, B. J. 1987. Darstellungen von Dämonen und Tieren in assyrischen Palästen und Tempeln
nach den schriftlichen Quellen, Mönchengladbach.
Fiorina, P. 2001. Nimrud: les coquillages de Fort Salmanasar, in C. Breniquet & C. Kepinski (eds.)
Etudes Mésopotamiennes. Recueil de textes offerts à Jean-Louis Huot, Bibliothèque de la
Délégation Archéologique Française en Iraq 10, 163–175.
Fontan, E. (ed.) 1995. De Khorsabad à Paris: la découverte des Assyriens [exposition, Musée du
Louvre, Département des Antiquités Orientales, Paris, 20 nov. 1993 – 14 févr. 1994], Notes et
documents des musées de France 26.
Frahm, E. 1997. Einleitung in die Sanherib-Inschriften, AfO Beih. 26.
—  2008. Sanheribs Baubericht auf dem Tonprisma VA 5634, in Pedde & Lundström 2008, 201–
204.
— 2009. Historische und historisch-literarische Texte, WVDOG 121 (= KAL 3).
Frame, G. 1995. Rulers of Babylonia. From the Second Dynasty of Isin to the end of the Assyrian
Domination (1157–612 BC), RIMB.
Friedrich, J. et al. 1940. Die Inschriften vom Tell Ħalaf, AfO Beih. 6.
Fuchs, A. 1994. Die Inschriften Sargons II. aus Khorsabad, Göttingen.
116 New Research on Late Assyrian Palaces

—  1998. Die Annalen des Jahres 711 v. Chr. nach Prismenfragmenten aus Ninive und Assur,
SAAS 8.
—  2008. Der Turtān Šamšī-ilu und die große Zeit der assyrischen Großen, WO 38, 61–144.
Fuchs, A. & Parpola, S. 2001. The Correspondence of Sargon II, Part III: Letters from Babylonia
and the Eastern Provinces, SAA 15.
Galter, H. D., Levine, L. D. & Reade, J. E. 1986. The Colossi of Sennacherib's Palace and their
Inscriptions, Annual Review if the RIM Project 4, 27–32.
George, A. R. 1986. Sennacherib and the Tablet of Destinies, Iraq 48, 133–146.
Geyer, B. & Monchambert, J.-Y. 2003. La basse vallée de l'Euphrate syrien du Néolithique à
l'avènement de l'Islam, Beyrouth.
Grayson, A. K. 1987. Assyrian Rulers of the Third and Second Millennia BC (to 1115 BC) =
RIMA 1.
—  1991 Assyrian Rulers of the Early First Millennium BC (1114-859 BC) = RIMA 2.
—  1993. Assyrian Officials and Power in the Ninth and Eighth Centuries, SAAB VII/1, 19–52.
—  1996. Assyrian Rulers of the Early First Millennium BC (858-745 BC) = RIMA 3.
Graziosi, G. 1967. Architettura mesopotamica dal IX al VI secolo, Mesopotamia 2, 165–183.
Guralnick, E. 2002. New Drawings of Khorsabad Sculptures by Paul Émile Botta, RA 96, 23–56.
—  2008. Assyrian Clay Hands From Khorsabad, JNES 67/4, 241–246.
—  2010. Color at Khorsabad: Palace of Sargon II, in ICAANE 6, 781–791.
—  2011. Khorsabad Relief Fragment Project, in G. J. Stein (ed.), Oriental Institute Annual Report
2010–2011, 81–85.
Haller, A. 1954. Die Gräber und Grüfte von Assur, WVDOG 64.
—  1955. Die Heiligtümer des Gottes Assur und der Sin-Šamaš-Tempel in Assur, WVDOG 67.
Heinrich, E. 1984. Die Paläste im alten Mesopotamien, DAA 15.
Hesse, B. 1990. Pig Lovers and Pig Haters: Patterns of Palestinian Pork Production, Journal of
Ethnobiology 10, 195–225.
Hrouda, B. 1962. Tell Halaf IV. Die Kleinfunde aus historischer Zeit, Berlin.
—  1993–1997. Mušlālu B. Archäologisch, RlA 8, 496.
Hussein, M. M. 1996. Excavatoins in the Western Section of the Western Part of the Palace of
King Assur Nasir Pal II, Sumer 48, 6–24 (arab.).
—  1999–2000. Excavations in Nimrud the 17th season 1992, Sumer 50, 111–146.
—  2001–2002. Well 4 in Ashurnasirpal's palace in Nimrud, Sumer 51, 148–183.
—  2002. Excavations of the Department of Antiquities and Heritage at Nimrud, 1988–1993, in
L. al-Gailani Werr et al. (eds), Of Pots and Plans. Papers on the Archaeology and History of
Mesopatamia and Syria Presented to David Oates in Honour of his 75th Birthday, London,
143–157.
 Bibliography 117

Hussein, M. M. & al-Gailani Werr, L. 2008. Recent Excavations in Nimrud, in J. Curtis et al. (eds),

New Light on Nimrud, Proceedings of the Nimrud Conference 11th–13th March 2002,
London, 83–98.
Hussein, M. M. & Suleiman, A. 2000. Nimrud. A City of Golden Treasures, Directorate of
Antiquities and Heritage, Baghdad.
Jabr, M. 1997–1998. Notes on the Assyrian Palace ‘Bit hilani’ in Nineveh. Sumer 49, 154–165 (arab.).
Jamieson, A. S. 2000. Identifying Room Use and Vessel Function. A Case-Study of Iron Age
Pottery from Building C2 at Tell Ahmar, North Syria, in Bunnens 2000, 259–303.
Jongsma-Greenfield, T. & Greenfield, H. 2013. Bronze and Iron Age Subsistence Changes in
the Upper Tigris: Zooarchaeology of Operation E at Ziyaret Tepe, Southeastern Turkey, in
V. Linseele et al. (eds.), Proceedings of the ICAZ–SW Asia Symposium, Brussels, June 28–30,
2011, ANES Suppl. 20, Leuven, 121-144.
Kertai, D. 2011. Kalĥu’s Palaces of War and Peace: Palace Architecture at Nimrud in the Ninth
Century BC, Iraq 73, 71–85.
Krafeld-Daugherty, M. 1994. Wohnen im Alten Orient, AVO 3.
Kühne, H. 1989–1990. Tall Šēĥ Ħamad/Dūr-Katlimmu 1985–1987, AfO 36–37, 308–323.
—  1995. The Assyrians in the Middle Euphrates and the Habur, in M. Liverani (ed.), Neo-Assyrian
Geography, Rome, 69–85.
Lackenbacher, S. 1994. La construction de Dur-Sharrukin, in Fontan 1994, 154–163.
Langenegger, F., Müller, K. & Naumann, R. 1950. Tell Halaf II. Die Bauwerke, Berlin.
Larsen, M. T. 1996. The Conquest of Assyria. Excavations in an Antique Land, 1840–1860,
London.
Layard, A. H. 1849a. The Monuments of Nineveh, from Drawings Made on the Spot, London.
—  1849b. Nineveh and its Remains. With an Account of a Visit to the Chaldæan Christians of
Kurdistan, and the Yezidis, or Devil-Worshippers, and an Inquiry into the Manners and Arts
of the Ancient Assyrians, Vol. 2, New York.
— 1849c. Nineveh and its Remains. With an Account of a Visit to the Chaldæan Christians of
Kurdistan, and the Yezidis, or Devil-Worshippers, and an Inquiry into the Manners and Arts
of the Ancient Assyrians, Vol. 1, New York.
— 1851. A Popular Account of Discoveries at Nineveh, London.
— 1853a. Discoveries in the ruins of Nineveh and Babylon, London.
— 1853b. A Second Series of the Monuments of Nineveh, Including Bas-Reliefs from the Palace
of Sennacherib and Bronzes from the Ruins of Nimroud; from Drawings Made on the Spot,
during a Second Expedition to Assyria, London.
Leichty, E. 2011. The Royal Inscriptions of Esarhaddon, King of Assyria (680–669 BC), The
RINAP 4, Winona Lake.
Lev-Tov, J. 2006. The Faunal Remains: Animal Economy in the Iron Age I, in M. W. Meehl, T.
Dothan & S. Gitin (eds.), Tel Miqne-Ekron excavations, 1995–1996, Field INE East Slope,
Iron Age I (Early Philistine Period), Jerusalem, 207–233.
118 New Research on Late Assyrian Palaces

Loud, G. 1936. An Architectural Formula for Assyrian Planning, RA 33, 153–160.

Loud, G. & Altman, C. 1938. Khorsabad II, The Citadel and the Town, OIP 40.
Loud, G., Frankfort, H. & Jacobsen, T. 1936. Khorsabad, Part I, Excavations in the Palace and
at a City Gate, OIP 38.
Luckenbill, D. D. 1924. The Annals of Sennacherib, OIP 2.
Lundström, S. 2009. Die Königsgrüfte im Alten Palast von Assur, WVDOG 123.
—  in press. Die Baugeschichte des Alten Palastes von Assur, in Proceedings of the 52e Rencontre
Assyriologique Internationale, Münster, Juli 2006.
Lundström, S. & Orlamünde, J. 2011. Die Orthostatenplatten Tiglathpilesars I. und Assurnasirpals
II. aus dem Alten Palast von Assur, WVDOG 135.
MacGinnis, J. 2012. Evidence for a Peripheral Language in a Neo-Assyrian Tablet from the
Governor’s Palace in Tušhan, JNES 71/1, 13–20.
Mallowan, M. E. L. 1950. Excavations at Nimrud 1949–1950, Iraq 12/2, 147–183.
— 1952. Excavations at Nimrud (Kalĥu), 1951, Iraq 14/2, 1–23.
— 1954. Excavations at Nimrud (Kalĥu), 1953 (continued), Iraq 16/2, 115–163.
— 1957. Excavations at Nimrud (Kalĥu), 1956, Iraq 19/1, 1–25.
— 1966. Nimrud and Its Remains, London.
Manuelli, F. 2009. Assyria and the Provinces. Survival of Local Features and Imposition of New
Patterns in the Peripheral Regions of the Empire, Mesopotamia 44, 113–128.
Marom, N. & Zukerman, S. 2011. Applying On-Site Analysis Of Faunal Analysis Assemblages
From Domestic Contexts: A Case Study From The Lower CIty of Hazor, in A. Yasur-
Landau, J. R. Ebeling & L. B. Mazow, Household Archaeology in Ancient Israel and Beyond,
Leiden, 37–54.
Martin, L. & Novák, M. 2010. Aramäer und Assyrer auf dem Tell Halaf, Archäologie in Deutschland
6, 6–11.
Masetti-Rouault, M. G. 1999. Aspects du paysage social et politique du Moyen-Euphrate syrien à
l'Âge du Fer, in L. Milano et al. (eds.), Landscapes. Territoires, Frontiers and Horizons in the
Ancient Near East. Papers presented to the XLIV Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale,
Venezia, 7–11 July 1997, vol. II, Geography and Cultural Landscapes, Padova, 129–138.
—  2001. Cultures locales du Moyen-Euphrate. Modèles et événements, IIe–Ier mill. av. J.-C.,
Turnhout.
—  2002. Rapporto preliminare sui lavori della missione nel sito di Tell Masaïkh nel 2001, in O.
Rouault & C. Mora (eds.), Il Progetto ‘Terqa e la sua regione (Siria): rapporto preliminare
2001’, Athenaeum LXXXIX/2, 570–581.
—  2003. Rapporto preliminare sui lavori della missione nel sito di Tell Masaïkh nel 2002", in O.
Rouault & C. Mora (eds.), Il Progetto "Terqa e la sua regione (Siria): rapporto preliminare
2002", Athenaeum XCI/2, 559–575.
 Bibliography 119

—  2004. Rapporto preliminare sui lavori della missione nel sito di Tell Masaïkh nel 2003: il
cantiere F, in O. Rouault & C. Mora (eds.) Il Progetto "Terqa e la sua regione (Siria): rapporto
preliminare 2003", Athenaeum XCII/2, 536–544.
—  2005. Rapporto preliminare sui lavori della missione nel sito di Tell Masaïkh nel 2004", in O.
Rouault & C. Mora (eds.) Il Progetto "Terqa e la sua regione (Siria): rapporto preliminare 2004
(MK09)", Athenaeum XCII/2, 663–675.
—  2006. Rapporto preliminare sui lavori della missione nel sito di Tell Masaïkh nel 2005 (MK10),
in O. Rouault & C. Mora (eds.) Il Progetto "Terqa e la sua regione (Siria): rapporto preliminare
2005", Athenaeum XCIV, 749–756.
—  2007a. Rapporto preliminare sui lavori della missione nel sito di Tell Masaïkh nel 2006 (MK11),
in O. Rouault & C. Mora (eds.) Il Progetto "Terqa e la sua regione (Siria): rapporto preliminare
2006", Athenaeum XCV, 913–918.
—  2007b. Mari et le Moyen-Euphrate au Bronze Récent et à l'Âge du Fer : problèmes historiques,
Akh Purattim 1, 281–300.
—  2008. Rapporto preliminare sui lavori della missione nel sito di Tell Masaïkh (MK12), e sulla
prospezione nelle regione di Terqa, in O. Rouault & C. Mora (eds.), Il Progetto "Terqa e la sua
regione (Siria): rapporto preliminare 2007", Athenaeum XCVI, 844–849.
—  2009. Rapporto preliminare sui lavori della missione nel sito di Tell Masaïkh (MK13), e sulla
prospezione nella regione di Terqa, in O. Rouault & C. Mora (eds.) Il Progetto "Terqa e la sua
regione (Siria): rapporto preliminare 2008", Athenaeum XCVII, 660–663.
—  2010. Rural Economy and Steppe Management in an Assyrian Colony in the West: a View from
Tell Masaikh, Lower Middle Euphrates, Syria, in H. Kühne (ed.), Dūr-katlimmu 2008 and
Beyond, Studia Chaburensia 1, Wiesbaden, 129–150.
—  in press a. Rapport préliminaire de la Mission archéologique française à Tell Masaïkh (Syrie) en
2007 (MK13), Akh Purattim 3.
—  in press b. Rapport préliminaire de la Mission archéologique française à Tell Masaïkh (Syrie) en
2008 (MK14), Akh Purattim 4.
—  in press c. Rapport préliminaire de la Mission archéologique française à Tell Masaïkh (Syrie) en
2009 (MK14), Akh Purattim 4.
—  in press d. Rapport préliminaire de la Mission archéologique française à Tell Masaïkh (Syrie) en
2010 (MK15), Akh Purattim 4.
—  in press e. Globalization, Imperialism and Back: Political and Ideologic Reactions to Assyrian
Presence in Syria (IXth–VIIIth century BC), in M. Geller (ed.), Actes du Colloque International
Melammu VI: Globalization in the First Millennium. Sixth Symposium of the Assyrian
and Babylonian Intellectual Heritage Project, New Bulgarian University, Sofia, Bulgaria,
September 1st–3rd, 2008.
Masetti-Rouault, M. G., & Salmon, S. 2010a. The Neo-Assyrian Colony of Tell Masaikh, in the
Syrian Lower Middle Euphrates Valley. A Report about Last Excavations, in P. Matthiae et al.
(eds.), ICAANE 6, 385–396.
120 New Research on Late Assyrian Palaces

—  2010b. L'Assyrie en Syrie et en Anatolie au début de l'Empire: cultures en conflit, cultures en

contact, in I. Klock-Fontanille, S. Biettlot & K. Meshoub (eds.), Identité et altérité culturelles.
Le cas des Hittites dans le Proche-Orient ancien, Bruxelles, 145–162.
Matney, T. et al. 2002. Archaeological Excavations at Ziyaret Tepe, 2000 and 2001, Anatolica 28,
47–89.
—  2007. Report on Excavations at Ziyaret Tepe, 2006 Season, Anatolica 33, 23–73.
—  2009. Excavations at Ziyaret Tepe 2007–2008, Anatolica 35, 37–84.
—  2011. Excavations at Ziyaret Tepe, Diyarbakır Province, Turkey, 2009–2010 seasons, Anatolica
37, 67–114.
Matthiae, P. 1996. L’arte degli Assiri, Roma.
Mattila, R. 2000. The King’s Magnates. A Study of the Highest Officials of the Neo-Assyrian
Empire, SAAS 11, Helsinki.
Mayer, W. 1983. Sargons Feldzug gegen Urartu – 714 v. Chr. Text und Übersetzung, MDOG 15,
65–132.
— 1995. Politik und Kriegskunst der Assyrer, Münster.
Melville, S. C. 1999. The Role of Naqia/Zakutu in Sargonid Politics, SAAS 9.
Meuszyński, J. 1972. The Representations of the Four-winged Genies on the Bas-reliefs from
Aššur-naŝir-apli Times, EtTr 6, 28–70.
— 1976a. Neo-Assyrian Reliefs from the Central Area of Nimrud Citadel, Iraq 38, 37–43.
— 1977. Second Preliminary Report on the Polish Excavations at Kalhu (Nimrūd), EtTr 10, 417–
420.
— 1981. Die Rekonstruktion der Reliefdarstellungen und ihrer Anordnung im Nordwestpalast
von Kalĥu (Nimrūd) (Räume: (B.C.D.E.F.G.H.L.N.P), BaF 2.
Miglus, P. A. 1985. Zur großen Ziqqurrat in Assur, MDOG 117, 21–45.
—  1986. Ein mittelassyrischer Anbau am Alten Palast in Assur, MDOG 118, 191–216.
—  1989. Untersuchungen zum Alten Palast, MDOG 121, 93–133.
— 1996. Das Wohngebiet von Assur. Stratigraphie und Architektur, WVDOG 93.
—  2000. Die letzten Tage von Assur und die Zeit danach, ISIMU 3, 85–99.
—  2003–2005. s. v. Palast. B. Archäologisch, RlA 10, 233–273.
—  2004. Die Säule in Assyrien, in J. G. Dercksen (ed.), Assyria and Beyond. Studies Presented to
Mogens Trolle Larsen, PIHANS 100, 421–434.
— 2010. Festungswerke von Assur im 2. Jahrtausend v. Chr., in S. M. Maul & N. P. Heeßel, Assur
Forschungen. Arbeiten aus der Forschungsstelle »Edition literarischer Keilschrifttexte aus
Assur« der Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaft, 229–243.
— 2013. s. v. Tarbiŝu, RlA 12, 453–457.
Miglus, P. A. et al. 2002. Assur – Herbstkampagne 2001, MDOG 134, 7–39.
 Bibliography 121

Morandi Bonacossi, D. 1996. Landscapes of Power. The Political Organization of Space in the

Lower Khabur valley in the Neo-Assyrian Period, SAAB 10/2, 15–49.
—  2000. The Syrian Jazireh in the Late Assyrian Period. A View from the Countryside", in
Bunnens 2000, 349–396.
Moortgat, A. 1955. Tell Halaf III. Die Bildwerke, Berlin.
Moortgat-Correns, U. 1988. Ein Kultbild Ninurtas aus neuassyrischer Zeit, AfO 35, 117–133.
—  1989. Eineneuassyrische Bronze-Statuette vom Tell Halaf, DaM 4, 33–39.
Novák, M. 1996. Der Landschaftsbezug in der orientalischen Palastarchitektur, AoF 23, 335–378.
— 1999. Herrschaftsform und Stadtbaukunst. Programmatik im mesopotamischen
Residenzstadtbau von Agade bis Surra-man-ra’ā, SVA 7.
— 2010. Review of M. Pucci 2008, ZA 100, 309–316.
Nunn, A. 1988. Die Wandmalerei und der glasierte Wandschmuck im Alten Orient, HdO VII, I.6.
Oates, D. 1959. Fort Shalmaneser: An Interim Report, Iraq 21, 98–129.
— 1961. The Excavations at Nimrud (Kalĥu), 1960, Iraq 23, 1–14.
— 1962. The Excavations at Nimrud (Kalĥu), 1961, Iraq 24, 1–25.
— 1963. The Excavations at Nimrud (Kalĥu), 1962, Iraq 25, 6–37.
Oates, J. & Oates, D. 2001. Nimrud, an Assyrian Imperial City Revealed, London.
Orlamünde, J. 2004. Die Steinorthostaten Assurnaŝirpals II. aus Assur. Ein Überblick über die
Funde aus den Grabungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft 1903–1914, MDOG 136,
195–215.
Orthmann, W. 2002. Die aramäisch-assyrische Stadt Gūzāna, Saarbrücken.
Otto, A. 2006. Alltag und Gesellschaft zur Spätbronzezeit: Eine Fallstudie aus Tall Bazi (Syrien),
Subartu XIX.
Paley, S. M. 1976. King of the World: Ashur-nasir-pal II of Assyria 883 – 859 B.C, New York.
— 1985. Reconstruction of an Assyrian Palace, BCSMS 10, 11–24.
Paley, S. M. & Sobolewski, R. P. 1981. A New Reconstruction of Room Z in the North-West
Palace of Aššurnaŝirpal II at Nimrud (Kalĥu), Iraq 43/2, 85–99.
— 1987. The Reconstruction of the Relief Representations and Their Positions in the Northwest
Palace at Kalĥu (Nimrūd) II, BaF 10.
—  1992. The Reconstruction of the Relief Representations and their Positions in the Northwest
Palace at Kalĥu (Nimrūd) III (The Principal Entrances and Courtyards), BaF 14.
Parpola, S. 1983. Letters from Assyrian Scholars to the Kings Esarhaddon and Assurbanipal. Part
II: Commentary and Appendices, AOAT 5/2.
— 1987. The Correspondence of Sargon II, Part I: Letters from Assyria and the West, SAA 1.
— 1995. The Construction of Dur-Šarrukin in the Assyrian Royal Correspondence, in Caubet
1995, 47–77.
122 New Research on Late Assyrian Palaces

—  2008. Cuneiform Texts from Ziyaret Tepe (Tušĥan), 2002–2003, SAAB 17, 1–113.
Parpola, S. & Lanfranchi, G. B. 1990. The Correspondence of Sargon II, Part II: Letters
from the Northern and Northeastern Provinces, SAA 5.

Parpola, S. & Porter, M. 2001. The Helsinki Atlas of the Near East in the Neo-Assyrian Period.

The Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project, Helsinki.
Pedde, F. & Lundström, S. 2008. Der Alte Palast in Assur. Architektur und Baugeschichte,
WVDOG 120.
Pfälzner, P. 2001. Haus und Haushalt, DaM 9, Mainz.
Pillet, M. 1962. Un pionnier de l'assyriologie: Victor Place, consul de France à Mossoul, explorateur
du palais de Sargon II (722–705 av. J.-C.) à Khorsabad (1852–1855) Avec les photos originales
de M. Tranchand, Paris.
Place, V. 1867a. Ninive et l'Assyrie 1, Paris.
—  1867b. Ninive et l'Assyrie 3, Paris.
— 1870. Ninive et l'Assyrie 2, Paris.
Poli, P. 2008. Wall Paintings from the Assyrian Palace of Tell Masaikh”, in ICAANE 4, 535–544.
—  2010. The Neo-Assyrian Glyptic from Tell Masaikh: Preliminary Results", in ICAANE 6, 961–
972.
Postgate, J. N. 1975. Excavations in Iraq 1973–74, Iraq 37, 56–67.
— 1992. The Land of Assur and the Yoke of Assur, WA 23/3, 247–263.
—  1995. The Home Provinces, in M. Liverani (ed.), Neo-Assyrian Geography, Rome, 1–17.
Postgate, J. N. & Reade, J. E. 1976–1980. s. v. Kalĥu, RlA 5, 303–323.
Powell, M. A. 1990. s. v. Masse und Gewichte, RlA 7, 457–517.
1954.� Die Wohnhäuser von Assur, WVDOG 64, Berlin
Preusser,����������
 ���������
C.�������
 ������
— 1955. Die Paläste in Assur, WVDOG 66, Berlin.
Pucci, M. 2008. Functional Analysis of Space in Syro-Hittite Architecture, BAR Int. Series 1738.
Radner, K. 1999. Ein neuassyrisches Privatarchiv der Tempelschmiede von Assur, StAT 1.
—  2002. Die Neuassyrischen Texte aus Tall Šeh Hamad, BATSH 6.
—  2004. Das mittelassyrische Tontafelarchiv von Giricano/Dunnu-ša-uzibi, Subartu 14.
Radner, K. & Schachner, A. 2001. From Tušan to Amēdi: Topographical Questions concerning
the Upper Tigris Region in the Assyrian Period, in N. Tuna et al. (eds.), Salvage Project of
the Archaeological Heritage of the Ilisu and Carchemish Dam Reservoirs Activities in 1999,
Ankara, 753–776.
Rainville, L. 2005. Investigating Upper Mesopotamian Households using Micro-Archaeological
Techniques, BAR Int. Series 1368.
Reade, J. E. 1968. The Palace of Tiglath-Pileser III, Iraq 30, 69–73.
— 1983. Assyrian sculpture, London.
 Bibliography 123

— 2000. s. v. Nineveh, RlA 9, 388–433.

— 2002. The Ziggurrat and Temples of Nimrud, Iraq 64, 135–216.
Reitz E. J. & Wing, E. S. 2008. Zooarchaeology, Cambridge.
Roaf, M. 1973. The Diffusion of the ‚salles a quatre saillants‘, Iraq 35, 83–91.
Rouault, O. 1998. Villes, villages campagnes et steppe dans la région de Terqa : données nouvelles",
in M. Fortin & O. Aurenche (eds), Espace naturel, espace habité en Syrie du Nord (Xe–IIe
millénaire av. J.-C.), Actes du colloque de Québec, mai 1997, BCSMS 33/TMO 28, Québec-
Lyon, 191–198.
—  2001. Terqa et sa région, (6e–1er millénaires av. J.-C.). Recherches récentes, Akkadica 122, 1–26.
—  2009. Assyrians, Aramaeans and Babylonians: The Syrian Lower Middle Euphrates Valley at
the End of the Bronze Age, Syria 86, 133–139.
Russell, J. M. 1998. The Program of the Palace of Assurnasirpal II at Nimrud: Issues in the
Research and Presentation of Assyrian Art, AJA 102/4, 655–715.
— 1999. The Writings on the Wall: The Architectural Context of Late Assyrian Palace Inscriptions,
Mesopotamian Civilizations, Winona Lake.
Schmidt, H. 1943. Tell Halaf I. Die Prähistorischen Funde, Berlin.
Schmid, J. & Novák, M. 2010. Ein ĥilāni im assyrischen Palast? Bemerkungen zur »Nordost-Ecke«
von Dūr Katlimmu, in J. Becker, R. Hempelmann & E. Rehm (eds.), Kulturlandschaft Syrien.
Zentrum und Peripherie, AOAT 371, Münster, 529–551
Scott, M. L. & MacGinnis, J. 1990. Notes on Nineveh, Iraq 52, 63–73.
Simpson, K. 1984. Archaeological Survey in the Vicinity of Tall al’Ashārah, AfO 31, 185–188.
Smith, G. 1875. Assyrian Discoveries; an Account of Explorations and Discoveries on the Site of
Nineveh, During 1873 and 1874, London.
Sobolewski, R. 1978. Preliminary Report on the Third Season of Polish Excavations at Kalĥu
(Nimrūd) (March – April 1976), EtTr 11, 253–265.
— 1982. The Polish Work at Nimrud: Ten Years of Excavation and Study, ZA 71, 248–273.
— 1982b. The Shalmanaser III Building in the Central Area of the Nimrud Citadel, in H. Hirsch
& H. Hunger (eds), Vorträge gehalten auf der 28. Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale in
Wien 6.–10. Juli 1981, AfO Beih., 329–338.
Sobolewski, R. & Mierzejewski, A. 1980. Polish Excavations at Nimrud/Kalhu/ 1974–1976:
Some Preliminary Remarks on the new Discovered Neo-Assyrian Constructions and Reliefs,
Sumer 36, 151–162.
Stearns, J. B. 1961. Reliefs from the Palace of Ashurnasirpal II, AfO Beih. 15, Graz.
Tadmor, H. 1994. The Inscriptions of Tiglath-pileser III, King of Assyria : Critical Edition, with
Introductions, Translations, and Commentary, Jerusalem.
Thureau-Dangin, F. 1931. Arslan Tash, BAH 16.
Turner, G. 1970a. The State Apartments of Late Assyrian Palaces, Iraq 32, 172–213.
124 New Research on Late Assyrian Palaces

— 1970b. Tell Nebi Yūnus: The ekal māšarti of Nineveh, Iraq 32, 68–85.
— 1976. Notes on the Architectural Remains of the North Palace, in R. D. Barnett (ed.), Sculptures
From The North Palace Of Ashurbanipal At Nineveh (668–627 BC), London, 28–33.
Verri, G. 2009. The Spatially Resolved Characterisation of Egyptian Blue, Han Blue and Han
Purple by Photo-Induced Luminescence Digital Imaging, Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry
394/4, 1011–1021.
Verri, G. et al. 2009. Assyrian Colours: Pigments on a Neo-Assyrian Relief of a Parade Horse,
British Museum Technical Research Bulletin 3, 57–62.
Vila, E. 2005. Analyse archézoologique de la faune de Tell Shiukh Fawqani, in L. Bachelot & F. M.
Fales (eds.), Tell Shiukh Fawqani 1994 – 1998, HANEM VI/2, Padua, 1081–1108.
Wäfler, M. 1975. Nicht-Assyrer neuassyrischer Darstellungen, AOAT 26, Kevelaer.
Werner, P. in preperation. Der Anu-Adad-Tempel.
Wilkens, B. 1998. The Faunal Remains, in S. M. Cecchini & S. Mazzoni (eds.), Tell Afis (Siria),
Scavisull’acropoli 1988–1992, Pisa, 433–450.
Winter, I. J. 1993. Seat of Kingship/A Wonder to Behold: The Palace as Construct in the Ancient
Near East, Ars Orientalis 23, 27–55.
Yasur-Landau, A., Ebeling, J. E. & Mazow, L. B. (eds.) 2011. Household Archaeology in Ancient
Israel and Beyond. CHANE 50, Leiden.
Zeder, M. A. 1991. Feeding Cities: Specialized Animal Economy in the Ancient Near East,
Washington.
— 1998. Regional Patterns of Animal Exploitation in the Khabur Basin, 7000 to 1500 BC, in P.
Anreiter et al. (eds), Man and the Animal World: Studies in Archaeozoology, Archaeology,
Anthropology and Palaeolinguistics in Memoriam Sándor Bökönyi, Budapest, 569–580.