Table of Contents for Journal of Cuneiform Studies 78 (2026)
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In this contribution, we critically examine the claim that the Assyrian King List (AKL) reliably contains all Neo-Assyrian monarchs up to Shalmaneser V, presenting three historical scenarios in which it can be demonstrated that short-lived Assyrian kings ruled parallel to or between those listed in the AKL鈥檚 first-millennium BCE portion. The first of these is a new rebel king Tiglath-pileser who rose up against his nephew A拧拧ur-d膩n III in 763 BCE (most likely in the wake of a dramatic solar eclipse) and was enthroned in A拧拧ur, before being toppled again by A拧拧ur-d膩n III鈥檚 forces. The second is a new Shalmaneser who we assume succeeded A拧拧ur-n膩r膩r墨 V to the Assyrian throne late in 747 BCE but lost his throne to Tiglath-pileser III a little more than a year later in 745 BCE. The third is earlier in date, a short-lived A拧拧ur-uballi峁� whose reign was usurped by Adad-n膩r膩r墨 II in 912* BCE. Each king was enthroned at A拧拧ur, and enjoyed support from some, if not all of Assyria, but was subsequently defeated or deposed. Evidence of the partial erasure of two of these kings from the historical record can be identified. The new insights thus gained into the cutthroat Assyrian 鈥済ame of thrones鈥� demonstrate that the AKL is not a reliable list of all Neo-Assyrian rulers, but rather of those who reigned long and successfully enough to be included by its editors in an idealized, consecutive order. This reframes our perspective on the motivations behind the compilation of this remarkable text, and the nature of Assyrian kingship itself.
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The article presents an edition of a previously unpublished Old Babylonian tablet in the collection of the Kramer Institute of Assyriology of Bar Ilan University. The tablet contains three Sumerian compositions: Ninisina鈥檚 Journey to Nippur (Ninisina C), a hymn to Damu, and a hymn to An with wishes for 艩u-ili拧u (艩u-ili拧u B). Besides the philological edition, the article deals with formal features on the tablet such as subscripts, as well as with the possible reason(s) for grouping the three compositions together on one tablet.
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This article offers the first edition of the Hittite ritual composition cataloged as n. 442 in the Catalogue des Textes Hittites. The text is preserved on three fragments, with the best-preserved fragment represented by KUB 9.28. The synoptic edition of all manuscripts is introduced by a paleographic analysis and followed by a systematic commentary on all relevant grammatical and linguistic features. The structure and content of the ritual are examined in the broader framework represented by the Hittite ritual tradition of Hurrian origin. The paleography of the tablets, along with the presence of specific elements found also in the ritual of Ammi岣玜tna and in the itkalzi ritual, bring us to interpret the document as a late fourteenth century scribal product that reworks ritual traditions likely dating to the time of King Tut岣玜liya II/III.
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This article presents the first edition of a Neo-Babylonian cuneiform tablet containing a Sumerian Sa臐-ba incantation with an interlinear Akkadian translation. The purpose of the incantation was to strengthen an apotropaic design made of flour paste to keep demons away from the bed or house of a patient. It was utilized in a variety of different ritual settings. The tablet鈥檚 relationship to other known Sa臐-ba manuscripts is examined, and a Sippar provenience in the sixth century BCE or later is suggested based on paleographic and textual evidence.
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The present article publishes a remarkable school text housed in the Iraq Museum, likely originating from Sargonic Adab. The text, conical in shape, contains a list of fields, each measuring 1 iku, associated with a compilation of ad hoc personal names and unexpected terms. This study discusses the text鈥檚 content, origin, date, paleography, and its unusual names or expressions.
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The present contribution offers the edition of eight texts from the Ur III period that were confiscated by the Iraqi authorities and subsequently entrusted to the Iraq Museum. These tablets, believed to have originated from royal archives, provide insights into economic activities of royal concern in peripheral areas or within the hinterland of the state鈥檚 core. Thereby, they contribute to adding new pieces to the puzzle of our understanding of the economy and society of the Ur III state, beyond the provincial perspective that has traditionally shaped our understanding of the period.
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This article presents a new edition of the ritual Tablet of the ritual and incantation series 艩urpu (鈥淏urning鈥�), based on a newly identified manuscript, BM 38656, which supplements and significantly extends the previously unique exemplar VAT 13613. The new fragment preserves much of the Tablet鈥檚 lost second half, clarifies numerous damaged passages, and restores the conclusion of the ritual, including additional incantation incipits and ritual instructions. Together, the two manuscripts reveal the stable transmission of the ritual Tablet for the 伪 version of 艩urpu, and confirm that an entire stage of associated incantations鈥攐mitted in modern editions鈥攆ormed part of the ceremony. This study refines the structure, sequence, and performance of 艩urpu, contributes improved readings throughout, and provides a more secure textual basis for understanding first-millennium ritual practice.
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CT 15: 5鈥�6, an Old Babylonian tablet of unknown provenience, tells of the origins of I拧um, the divine night watchman: Ninlil bore him to her grandson 艩ama拧, set him on fire, and left him in the street. We learn of these events from words that I拧tar, whom we find fostering the newborn in Ekur, addresses to Enlil. First, this article proposes that Ninlil鈥檚 setting alight of I拧um and his subsequent fostering by I拧tar serve as a native Babylonian explanation for the long-since noted similarity between the name I拧um and the word 颈拧腻迟耻尘, 鈥渇ire鈥�: I拧tar, finding a baby on fire, named him after fire itself. Second, the article defends its preference for translating the key verbal form 耻拧迟腻岣玦锄尘补 as 鈥渟et ablaze.鈥� Third, it argues that CT 15: 5鈥�6 reflects a Mesopotamian, and more broadly ancient Near Eastern, motif of a young woman rescuing and naming a foundling. Fourth, it highlights the perennial difficulty of ascertaining the social reality underlying sources pertaining to Mesopotamian foundlings. And fifth, it reanalyzes Emar 256, an administrative document reflecting that difficulty.
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This article presents a new manuscript of the Sumerian literary composition 鈥淓nki鈥檚 Journey to Nibru,鈥� housed in the collection of the Mus茅es royaux d鈥橝rt et d鈥橦istoire, Brussels. MRAH O.343 is a two-column, Type I Old Babylonian tablet of uncertain provenance, preserving the complete text of the composition in 127 lines. The colophon permits its dating to the twenty-seventh year of 岣猘mmur膩pi. Analysis of scribal errors suggests that MRAH O.343 was copied from memory. Based on this manuscript, the obscure line 68a of the composition can now be restored with certainty.
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