The displayed item has provided the oldest Aramaic inscription to date and the first Assyrian-Aramaic bilingual text. It consists of a life-size statue of a certain Hadad-yith'i, unearthed near Guzana at Tell al-Fuẖarīyyā. From a historical standpoint, it is interesting to note that in this inscription, Hadad-yith'i gave himself the title of king in the Aramaic text, which was intended for his subjects. In the part that would be read by the Assyrians, however, he presented himself simply as a governor. His ruse is a good indication of the ambiguous political loyalty of certain cities and regions at that time.
Substance: basalt.
Height: 170 cm.
Era: Iron Age: mid-9th century BCE.
Michel Fortin, Syria, Land of Civilization. Les Éditions de l'Homme, Musée de la Civilisation de Québec 1999 (p. 69).
Bordreuil, Pierre; Millard, Alan-Robert; Abou Assaf, Ali. La statue de Tell Fekheryé: la première inscription bilingue assyro-araméenne. Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres. Année 1981 (125-4 pp. 640-655).
Highlights of the National Museum of Damascus. DGAM (Direction Générale des Antiquités et des Musées de Syrie). Ministère de la Culture, 2006.
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