a sort of corner stone under the gates or at the corners of the
wall. We should not expect their value to be high, and indeed they are
of but little worth when the corresponding annals on which they are
based has been preserved. For example, we have four different
recensions of a very long display inscription, as well as literally
scores of minor ones, also of a display character, from the later
years of Sargon. The minor inscriptions are merely more or less full
abstracts of the greater and offer absolutely nothing new. The long
display inscription might be equally well disregarded, had not the
edition of the annals on which it is based come down to us in
fragmentary condition. We may thus use the Display inscription to fill
gaps in the Annals, but it has not the slightest authority when it
disagrees with its original.

It is true that for many reigns, even at a fairly late date, the
display inscriptions are of great value. For the very important reign
of Adad nirari (812-785 B.C.), it is our only recourse as the annals
which we may postulate for such a period of development are totally
lost. The deliberate destruction of the greater portion of the annals
of Tiglath Pileser IV forces us to study the display documents in
greater detail and the loss of all but a fragment of the annals of
Esarhaddon makes for this period, too, a fuller discussion of the
display inscriptions than would be otherwise necessary. In addition,
we may note that there are a few inscriptions from other reigns, for
example, the Nimrud inscription of Sargon, which are seemingly based
on an earlier edition of the annals than that which has come down to
us and which therefore do give us a few new facts.

Since, then, it is necessary at times to use these display
inscriptions, we must frankly recognize their inferior value. We must