by
Damien F. Mackey
Historical parallel – which I regard as being just the one historical event –
we have Tukulti-ninurta attacking Babylon and removing its Kassite king, Kastiliash so-called IV, in chains to Assyria; and we have Sargon II attacking Carchemish and removing its Hittite king, Piyashili (Pisiri), in chains to Assyria.
Tukulti-Ninurta I (c. 1243–1207 BC, conventional dating) was, in my scheme of things, the same neo-Assyrian king as Sargon II-Sennacherib:
Tukulti-Ninurta I and Sargon II-Sennacherib
(3) Tukulti-Ninurta I and Sargon II-Sennacherib
And, again in my scheme of things, Babylon was the same as Carchemish.
Now, in a recent article of mine on the subject:
Capital importance that Sargon II attached to the city of Carchemish
(4) Capital importance that Sargon II attached to the city of Carchemish
I drew an historical parallel between Tukulti-Ninurta’s defeat of the Kassite king, Kashtiliash, of Babylon, and Sargon II’s defeat of the Hittite king, Piyashili (Pisiri), of Carchemish (Karkemish, Karkamis).
Here is the gist of it:
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS JOURNALS—In “A New Historical Inscription of Sargon II from Karkemish,” published in the Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Gianni Marchesi translates a recently discovered inscription of the Assyrian King Sargon II found at the ruins of the ancient city of Karkemish. The inscription, which dates to around 713 B.C., details Sargon’s conquest, occupation, and reorganization of Karkemish, including his rebuilding the city with ritual ceremonies usually reserved for royal palaces in capital cities. The text implies that Sargon may have been planning to make Karkemish a western capital of Assyria, from which he could administer and control his empire’s western territories.
The cuneiform inscription was found on fragments from three different clay cylinders in 2015 as part of the Nicolò Marchetti-led Turco-Italian Archaeological Expedition at Karkemish. Now in ruins, the site is located on the Euphrates river on the border between present day Syria and Turkey.
Marchesi analyzed and translated the total of thirty-eight lines of partially broken Akkadian text, using reference material, academic literature and other inscribed Assyrian artifacts as reference points for filling in the gaps. The lines of text ranged from two-thirds complete to much less, and no line of text was completely intact.
“Even so, we can grasp much of the original text, which turns out to be very informative,” Marchesi writes. “In fact, unlike other Sargon cylinders, which contain relatively standard ‘summary’ inscriptions or annalistic accounts of the events of Sargon’s reign, the Karkemish Cylinder provides us with a completely new inscription, dealing almost exclusively with the newly conquered city on the Euphrates in a highly-elaborated, literary style.”
In the inscription, Sargon tells of the “betrayal” of … [Pisiri], the Hittite King of Karkemish who exchanged hostile words about Assyria with its enemy, King Midas of Phrygia. Sargon invades Karkemish, deports Pisiri and his supporters, destroys his palace, seizes his riches as booty and incorporates Pisiri’s army into his own. He resettles the city with Assyrians.
Mackey’s comment: A vital connection can be made between Carchemish and Babylon, I believe, if one first accepts my thesis that Sargon II (Sennacherib) was the same as Tukulti-Ninurta so-called I:
Tukulti-Ninurta I folds well into Sargon II-Sennacherib
(2) Tukulti-Ninurta I folds well into Sargon II-Sennacherib
Tukulti-Ninurta had fought and defeated Kashtiliash so-called IV, king of Babylon.
Kaštiliašu was captured, single-handed by Tukulti-Ninurta according to his account, who “trod with my feet upon his lordly neck as though it were a footstool”.
And we have just read - what I would consider to be the parallel version to this - where Sargon II defeats and deports Pisiri[s], king of Carchemish.
Previously, in my article:
Borsippa may strengthen the case for Carchemish as mighty Babel-Babylon
(2) Borsippa may strengthen the case for Carchemish as mighty Babel-Babylon
I spelled out the striking parallels between the two scenarios:
Historical parallel – which I regard as being just the one historical event – we have Tukulti-ninurta attacking Babylon and removing its Kassite king, Kastiliash so-called IV, in chains to Assyria; and we have Sargon II attacking Carchemish and removing, its Hittite king, Piyashili (Pisiri), in chains to Assyria. Spelt out, Tukulti-ninurta/Sargon II attacks and takes the city of Babylon/ Carchemish and captures the Kassite/Hittite king, Kashtiliash/Piyasili, taking him in chains to Assyria.
