Nabû at the Frontiers of the Assyrian Empire: An Inscribed Bronze Necklet from Yasin Tepe, Iraqi Kurdistan

Abstract

Abstract This paper presents an inscribed bronze necklet discovered at Yasin Tepe, one of the largest tell-type sites in the Sulaymaniyah Governorate in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. The necklet was found on the floor of a large building complex of the Neo-Assyrian period that probably belonged to an elite family living at the site. The two-line inscription dates to around the eighth to seventh centuries BCE, and mentions the dedication of a son by his father to the god Nabû, implying the diffusion of his worship to the frontier of the Assyrian empire. Nishiyama wrote Sections 1–4, and Yamada Section 5, respectively; both share the responsibility for Section 6. Abbreviations follow M. P. Streck et al. (eds.), Reallexikon der Assyriologie, vol. 15. Berlin/Boston, except for RINAP 2 = Frame 2020; RIMA 2 = Grayson 1991, RIMA 3 = Grayson 1996.