The royal historiographer proceeds, after this, to give an account of his domestic administration, of the buildings which he had erected, and the various improvements which he had introduced.  Among the former he mentions temples to Ishtar.  Martu, Bel, Il or Ra, and the presiding deities of the city of Asshur, palaces for his own use, and castles for the protection of his territory.  Among the latter he enumerates the construction of works of irrigation, the introduction into Assyria of foreign cattle and of numerous beasts of chase, the naturalization of foreign vegetable products, the multiplication of chariots, the extension of the territory, and the augmentation of the population of the country.

A more particular account is then given of the restoration by the monarch of two very ancient and venerable temples in the great city of Asshur.  This account is preceded by a formal statement of the particulars of the monarch’s descent from Ninpala-zira, the king who seems to be regarded as the founder of the dynasty—­which breaks the thread of the narrative somewhat strangely and awkwardly.  Perhaps the occasion of its introduction was, in the mind of the writer, the necessary mention, in connection with one of the two temples, of Asshur-dayan, the great-grandfather of the monarch.  It appears that in the reign of Asshur-dayan, this temple, which, having stood for 641 years, was in a very ruinous condition, had been taken down, while no fresh building had been raised in its room.  The site remained vacant for sixty years, till Tiglath-Pileser, having lately ascended the throne, determined to erect on the spot a new temple to the old gods, who were Anu and Vul, probably the tutelary deities of the city.  His own account of the circumstances of the building and dedication is as follows:—­

“In the beginning of my reign, Anu and Vul, the great gods, my lords, guardians of my steps, gave me a command to repair this their shrine.  So I made bricks; I levelled the earth; I took its dimensions (?); I laid down its foundations upon a mass of strong rock.  This place, throughout its whole extent, I paved with bricks in set order (?); fifty feet deep I prepared the ground; and upon this substructure I laid the lower foundations of the temple of Anu and Vul.  From its foundations to its roof I built it up better than it was before.  I also built two lofty towers (?) in honor of their noble godships, and the holy place, a spacious hall, I consecrated for the convenience of their worshippers, and to accommodate their votaries, who were numerous as the stars of heaven.  I repaired, and built, and completed my work.  Outside the temple I fashioned everything with the same care as inside.  The mound of earth on which it was built I enlarged like the firmament of the rising stars (?), and I beautified the entire building.  Its towers I raised up to heaven, and its roofs I built entirely of brick.  An inviolable shrine(?) for their noble godships I laid down near at hand.  Anu and Vul, the great gods, I glorified inside the shrine.  I set them up in their honored purity, and the hearts of their noble godships I delighted.”