history? First of all, it was developed from the building inscription
and not from the boast of the soldier. That this throws a new light on
the Assyrian character must be admitted, though here is not the place
to prove that the Assyrian was far more than a mere man of war. All
through the development of the Assyrian historiography, the building
operations play a large part, and they dominate some even of the so
called Annals. But once we have Annals, the other types of
inscriptions may generally be disregarded. The Annals inscriptions,
then, represent the height of Assyrian historical writing. From the
literary point of view, they are often most striking with their bold
similes, and that great care was devoted to their production can
frequently be proved. But in their utilization, two principles must
constantly be kept in mind. One is that the typical annals inscription
went through a series of editions, that these later editions not only
omitted important facts but "corrected" the earlier recitals for the
greater glory of the ruler, real or nominal, and that accordingly only
the earliest edition in which an event is narrated should be at all
used. Secondly, we should never forget that these are official
documents, and that if we can trust them in certain respects the more
because they had better opportunities for securing the truth, all the
greater must be our suspicion that they have concealed the truth when
it was not to the advantage of the monarch glorified. Only when we
have applied these principles in detail to the various documents can
we be sure of our Assyrian history and only then shall we understand
the mental processes of the Assyrian historians.




ABBREVIATIONS