Tardunni is a conventional reading of a name associated with the Darband-i Belula rock relief in Iraqi Kurdistan. The monument preserves a victory scene and a disputed inscription.

Weathered Belula rock carving showing a large standing warrior, smaller captives and columns of cuneiform at the right
Darband-i Belula rock relief. Photograph by Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin, uploaded to Wikimedia Commons in March 2019. Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0.

A name attached to a mountain monument

Tardunni, also written Tar…dunni, is a conventional reading associated with the relief at Darband-i Belula, in the Horen Shekhan area near the Iraq–Iran border. It is a different monument from Anubanini’s relief at Sarpol-e Zahab in Iran. Photographer Osama S. M. Amin’s firsthand account describes the cliff setting and the difficulty of reaching it. [1] The carving provides evidence for an ancient ruler’s display of victory; his full biography remains unknown.

The warrior and two captives

The photograph shows a large warrior with a bow, short weapon, cap and short garment. One smaller captive lies or sits beneath his foot; another kneels nearby. Cuneiform occupies the right side. [4] Scale and weapons convey dominance, while costume-based identification of the captives remains an interpretation.

What the inscription has been taken to say

In his 1936 History of Early Iran, George G. Cameron described Tardunni as Ikki’s son and noted an Akkadian inscription invoking Shamash and Adad. His footnote identifies the monument as the stele at Sheikhan and cites earlier epigraphic publications. [2] Amin reports several alternative readings of the personal names from Sulaymaniyah Museum specialists. [1] “Tardunni” is therefore a useful conventional label, not an entirely secure transcription or a basis for assigning a seventh place in a royal succession.

Dating remains an archaeological question

Cameron tentatively linked the ruler with Lullubium and Anubanini’s period. [2] Marf and colleagues’ 2025 study proposes the nineteenth or eighteenth century BCE through stylistic comparisons, including a bracelet motif, and considers Simurrum. [3] The disputed name and date do not establish a complete royal succession or a documented ethnic genealogy to modern Kurds.

Documentation and preservation

Marf and colleagues record bullet damage and mould-making residue, comparing Belula with a March 2003 photograph. They recommend non-damaging replicas, three-dimensional records and local heritage education. [3] Preserving this material evidence is part of safeguarding the history of today’s Kurdistan.

Sources and further reading

  1. Osama S. M. Amin, “Never Before Seen: The Belula Pass Rock Relief,” 14 April 2015; firsthand site account and reported museum interpretations.
  2. George G. Cameron, History of Early Iran (University of Chicago Press, 1936), p. 41 and note 58; freely available through UChicago ISAC.
  3. Dlshad A. Marf, Nawzad Abdullatif Abdulkarim, Sarwat Hamdan Majeed, Mohammed Ali Karim and Jamal Muhammed Salah, “The new discovery of the Khoshik rock relief and endangered rock reliefs on the eastern banks of the Sirwan River,” Aran Journal 1/1 (August 2025), pp. 480–489, especially 484–489.
  4. Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin, Darband-i Belula relief photograph; Wikimedia Commons upload 23 March 2019, own work, CC BY-SA 4.0.