The Neirab Funerary Stelae

The two basalt stelae were found at Neirab in the late nineteenth century and entered the Louvre soon afterward. They commemorate Sin-zer-ibni and Si' Gabbor, priests associated with Sahar, Neirab's moon god. Their recovery predates modern controlled excavation, so the precise tomb architecture and stratigraphic context are not documented to present standards. The paired objects are nevertheless securely identified by their Aramaic inscriptions, Louvre inventory numbers AO 3026 and AO 3027, and longstanding publication as KAI 225-226.

Each monument combines a carved funerary image with an alphabetic Aramaic epitaph. The texts identify priestly owners, speak about the grave and the deceased's welfare, and warn against disturbing the burial or removing the monument. AO 3027, the Si' Gabbor stele shown in the selected image, presents the deceased seated before an offering table. The inscriptions belong together as evidence for an Aramaic-speaking cult community, but their wording and iconography should be analyzed separately rather than merged into a single reconstructed text.

Letter forms, language, and historical setting place the monuments in the seventh century BC, when northern Syria was incorporated into the Neo-Assyrian imperial world. Neirab lay near Aleppo and preserved a local moon cult within that larger political system. Mesopotamian and Syrian lunar religion had deep roots, but the stelae provide a specifically local Aramaic witness. Their priestly titles and burial language demonstrate that imperial-era religious life remained locally organized even as Assyrian administration linked the region politically.