Sargon II's Khorsabad Annals
'I besieged and conquered Samaria... 27,290 people I carried away'
Found 1843 — Paul-Emile Botta, French consul at Mosul; later Victor Place (1852–54) and the Oriental Institute of Chicago (1928–35)
Where Khorsabad (Dur-Sharrukin), near Mosul, Iraq (Iraq)
Dates from c. 710–705 BCE (records 722–720 BCE) · Neo-Assyrian · Fall of Samaria and end of the northern kingdom
Now at Louvre Museum, Paris; Oriental Institute Museum (ISAC), Chicago; some slabs lost in the Tigris in 1855
Names a biblical person Sargon (Hoshea not named)
How Sargon II's Khorsabad Annals was found
Inscribed on the walls, door thresholds and bull colossi of Sargon's palace at Dur-Sharrukin (Khorsabad), the first Assyrian palace ever excavated.
What it is
Several editions of Sargon's annals and 'display' inscriptions in cuneiform. In his opening years he claims: 'I besieged and conquered Samaria (Samerina); 27,290 of its inhabitants I carried off; fifty chariots I took from them for my royal force... I resettled it with people from lands I had conquered and set my officer over them as governor.'
Why it matters for the Bible
This is the Assyrian account of the event that ended the kingdom of Israel, matching 2 Kings 17's report that Samaria was captured, its people exiled to Assyria, and foreigners settled in their place. Sargon takes the credit, though the Babylonian Chronicle and the Bible point to Shalmaneser V as the king who actually besieged the city; Sargon likely finished the matter in 720 BCE. The deportation figure gives a rare hard number for the 'lost tribes'.
The Hebrew word: gah-LAH
גָּלָה
גָּלָה is pronounced gah-LAH and means to go into exile; to be carried away (Strong's H1540).
People this discovery connects to
- Sargon — סַרְגוֹן (Sar-GONE) — Akkadian: 'the king is legitimate'
- Hoshea — הוֹשֵׁעַ (Ho-SHAY-ah) — salvation
Places
- Samaria — שֹׁמְרוֹן (Shom-RONE) — watch-mountain
Events
Fall of Samaria (722/720 BCE) · Exile of the northern tribes · Resettlement of Samaria by foreigners
Sargon II's Khorsabad Annals in Scripture
Isaiah 20:1 The only biblical mention of Sargon by name, once doubted until Khorsabad was dug.
Questions people ask
What is Sargon II's Khorsabad Annals?
Several editions of Sargon's annals and 'display' inscriptions in cuneiform. In his opening years he claims: 'I besieged and conquered Samaria (Samerina); 27,290 of its inhabitants I carried off; fifty chariots I took from them for my royal force... I resettled it with people from lands I had conquered and set my officer over them as governor.'
When was Sargon II's Khorsabad Annals discovered?
It was found in 1843 by Paul-Emile Botta, French consul at Mosul; later Victor Place (1852–54) and the Oriental Institute of Chicago (1928–35), at Khorsabad (Dur-Sharrukin), near Mosul, Iraq.
Where is Sargon II's Khorsabad Annals today?
Louvre Museum, Paris; Oriental Institute Museum (ISAC), Chicago; some slabs lost in the Tigris in 1855.
Which Bible verses does Sargon II's Khorsabad Annals relate to?
Isaiah 20:1.
Related discoveries
- קֶשֶׁרNimrud Prism of Sargon IIA second Assyrian telling of Samaria's fall and the exile of its people
- הוֹשֵׁעַSeal of Abdi, Servant of HosheaThe only Israelite object naming Israel's last king
- פּוּלAnnals of Tiglath-Pileser IIIMenahem's tribute, Pekah's overthrow, Hoshea's appointment, and 'Jehoahaz of Judah'
- כָּלַחNimrud IvoriesThousands of Phoenician and Syrian ivories — the same art that filled Ahab's palace — hoarded by Assyria
- גָּלוּתTel Hadid: Assyrian Cuneiform Tablets of Resettled ExilesTwo 7th-century contracts from a village where Assyria planted deportees — the mirror image of Israel's exile
- נִינְוֵהFall of Nineveh Chronicle (BM 21901)Babylonian record of the destruction of Assyria's capital in 612 BCE, as Nahum foretold
Sources
- Frame, The Royal Inscriptions of Sargon II (RINAP 2), 2021
- Wikipedia: Sargon II