Atype of royal inscription that was particularly common in Assyria, apparently introduced by Adad-nirari I at the beginning of the 13th century B.C. Written in a literary style, they were yearly reports of the king’s major activities, primarily of military expeditions and building works. Annals are of considerable historical importance, as they allow for greater precision in establishing the chronological sequence of events in a particular reign, although the often stereotyped phraseology of the texts reminds us that they were not considered to be unbiased historical records but served to underpin the ideological basis of Assyrian kingship.
Historical Dictionary of Mesopotamia. EdwART. 2012.