27 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Royal-Memorial Inscription Attributed to King Sargon II Discovered in Western Iran

In western Iran, Iranian archaeologists discovered a part of a royal memorial inscription attributed to the Neo-Assyrian king Sargon II.

“During an excavation project in Qabaq Tappeh of Kermanshah province, a team of Iranian archaeologists has unearthed a portion of a royal memorial inscription, which is attributed to Sargon II, who was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire,” ISNA quoted archaeologists Sajad Alibeigi, who leads the survey, as saying.

The royal inscription, which bears 23 lines of writing in cuneiform, is deemed to be the most significant discovery of the survey so far, according to the archaeologist.

“Qabaq Tappeh was once an important and extensive settlement inhabited at least from the third millennium BC to the Islamic era,” Alibeigi noted.

King Sargon II.
King Sargon II.

Sargon II (721–705 BC) expanded and consolidated his father Tiglath-pileser III’s conquests. When he took the throne, he was immediately confronted with three major issues: dealing with the Chaldean and Aramaean chieftainships in southern Babylonia, the kingdom of Urartu, and the tribes to the north in the Armenian highlands, and Syria and Palestine.

These were, for the most part, Tiglath-pileser III’s conquests. Sargon’s problem was not only to preserve the status quo but also to expand his conquests in order to demonstrate the might of Ashur, the Assyrian empire’s national god.

Assyria was a northern Mesopotamian kingdom that grew into one of the ancient Middle East’s great empires.

In the 9th century BC, the Assyrian kings began a new period of expansion, and from the mid-8th to the late 7th century BC, a series of strong Assyrian kings — including Tiglath-pileser III, Sargon II, Sennacherib, and Esarhaddon — united most of the Middle East under Assyrian rule, from Egypt to the Persian Gulf.

Ashurbanipal was the last great Assyrian ruler, but his final years and the period following his death in 627 BC are unknown. In 612–609 BC, a Chaldean-Median coalition destroyed the state. The Assyrians were known for their cruelty and fighting prowess, but they were also master builders, as evidenced by archaeological sites at Nineveh, Ashur, and Nimrud.

Source: Tehran Times

Related Articles

Marble inlay floors found in a Sunken Roman villa in Baia, the Las Vegas of the ancient world

9 April 2023

9 April 2023

Expansion of research activities in the Terme del Lacus area in the sunken Baia park, known as the ‘Las Vegas’...

A Roman statue unearthed on the site of St Polyeuctus’ church, which once Constantinople’s largest church

5 April 2023

5 April 2023

At Saraçhane Archaeology Park, where the Church of St. Polyeuctus is situated, excavation work by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) teams...

Restoration of the Duomo of Florence has revealed original polychrome paint

1 December 2022

1 December 2022

During the restoration of the Porta dei Cornacchini and the marble cladding of the northern side of Florence’s Duomo, extensive...

A 5,000-year-old large house has been discovered in China’s Yangshao Village

7 December 2022

7 December 2022

Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology archaeologists have excavated the ruins of house foundations dating back more than...

Ancient Tamil Nadu’s Metalworking Legacy Traced Back to 3300 BCE

7 February 2025

7 February 2025

Recent archaeological research has uncovered compelling evidence that Tamil Nadu’s metalworking traditions date back to at least 3300 BCE, highlighting...

In Germany, volunteers unearthed the largest hoard of Slavic coins to date and bronze-age seven swords

29 November 2023

29 November 2023

Volunteer archaeologists found bronze age seven swords and from the 11th century 6000 silver coins in the northeastern German state...

New studies confirm that there was indeed a shipyard at Lothal, the commercial center of the Harappan civilization and world’s oldest port

6 September 2024

6 September 2024

Since the discovery of Harappan sites at Lothal, located about 30 kilometers inland from the coast of the Gulf of...

A Lynx Buried with Four Big Dogs in an Ancient Roman Well in Hungary

17 April 2024

17 April 2024

Archaeologists have discovered the skeleton of an adult male lynx accompanied by four big dogs in a Roman-era pit in...

700 Years After Dante’s Death, His Handwritten Notes Are Discovered

11 July 2021

11 July 2021

Dante Alighieri, an Italian poet, and scholar are best known for his masterwork La Commedia (also known as The Divine...

Research Uncovers a Long-Isolated North African Human Lineage in the Central Sahara from Over 7,000 Years Ago

4 April 2025

4 April 2025

A recent study conducted by a team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, including senior author...

Archaeologists discover 1200-year-old Wari temple complex in Peru

24 February 2023

24 February 2023

Archaeologists from the University of Illinois Chicago have uncovered a temple complex constructed by the Wari Empire 1,200 years ago...

4,000-year-old Snake-Shaped Pottery Handle Found in Taiwan

20 February 2024

20 February 2024

National Tsing Hua University archaeologists in Taiwan have discovered a snake-shaped pottery handle dating back approximately 4000 years. Researchers uncovered...

Using Google Earth and aircraft reconnaissance, archaeologists identify unknown sites and Serbia’s hidden Bronze Age megastructures

17 November 2023

17 November 2023

Using Google Earth and aircraft reconnaissance, archaeologists at University College Dublin identified more than 100 previously unknown sites. Satellite remote...

A new study reveals, Anglo-Saxon Kings were generally vegetarian, but peasants treated them to huge meat feasts

22 April 2022

22 April 2022

Very few people in England ate large amounts of meat before the Vikings settled, and there is no evidence that...

A woman was buried in a canoe on her way to the ‘destination of souls’ 800 years ago

25 August 2022

25 August 2022

According to new research, Up to 800 years ago, mourners buried a young woman in a ceremonial canoe to represent...