Aššur-bel-kala 09

• si-te-et ú-ma-mi — Literally 'the remainder/rest of the wild animals'; sitētu (remainder) + ummāmī (wild animals/beasts). The precise referent in the context of the fragmentary text is uncertain.
• su-te₉-e.MEŠ — Suteans — a semi-nomadic group frequently mentioned in Assyrian annals; the logographic rendering te₉ is unusual and may reflect a scribal variant.
• KUŠ.DUḪ.ŠI-e.MEŠ — Inflated animal skins used as river-crossing floats (Akkadian: nēmedu/tudittu?); standard interpretation in annalistic contexts for crossing rivers on skin rafts. The exact Akkadian reading of DUḪ.ŠI in this context is debated.
• ši-di aḫ-la-mì-i — Literally 'bank(s) of the Ahlamu'; the Ahlamu are a semi-nomadic people, often linked with or distinguished from Arameans. The term šīdu can mean 'bank (of a river)' or 'side/flank'.
• ÍD.sa-gu-ra — The Sagur River (modern Sajur), a tributary of the Euphrates in northern Syria; identification is well-established in Assyrian geographical texts.
• KUR.na-ʾa-[...] — Land name broken; possibly Naʾiri or another geographic designation; restoration is uncertain.

LAYER 1 — Visual examination: The obverse face (top-centre image) shows a small, roughly rectangular clay tablet approximately 4–5 cm wide. The surface is a warm orange-red fired clay. Multiple ruled horizontal lines are visible separating text registers; the wedge impressions are moderately clear in the upper registers but become more crowded and difficult to resolve in the lower rows. The left edge shows some surface pitting and minor spalling. Several vertical and diagonal wedge clusters are identifiable, consistent with Akkadian royal inscription script. The right edge is partially broken. The reverse (third image) is largely uninscribed and shows the British Museum accession numbers '134497 / 1932 / 12-12 / 492'. Edge views show additional erosion. LAYER 2 — Transliteration-based translation: The text is a fragment of an Aššur-bel-kala (Ashur-bel-kala) Assyrian royal annalistic inscription (Q005990), recording military campaigns involving crossing of the Euphrates, operations against Aramean groups, Suteans, and activities in the Lebanon/Sagur River region. CROSS-CHECK: The photo resolution is insufficient to confirm individual sign readings against the transliteration with confidence; the general layout and number of lines (~10–11) is consistent with the transliteration provided. Broken passages at the right edge of the obverse are visible and consistent with the brackets in the transliteration. The wedge density in the lower registers is too compressed to verify specific readings. The identification as Aššur-bel-kala annals is supported by RIMA 2 A.0.89 parallels (Grayson, RIMA 2, 1991).