Position in chronology
SAA 02 008. Zakutu Treaty (ABL 1239+)
Translation — scholar edition
SAA 2(1) The treaty of Zakutu, the queen of Senna[cherib, ki]ng of Assyria, mother of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, (3) with Šamaš-šumu-ukin, his equal brother, with Šamaš-metu-uballiṭ and the rest of his brothers, with the royal seed, with the magnates and the governors, the bearded and the eunuchs, the royal entourage, with the exempts and all who enter the Palace, with Assyrians high and low: (9) Anyone who (is included) in this treaty which Queen Zakutu has concluded with the whole nation concerning her favourite grandson [Assurba]nipal, (12) anyone (of you) who should [...] fabricate and carry…
State Archives of Assyria, volume 2 — scholar edition (ORACC).
Transliteration
[a]-⸢de⸣-e ⸢šá⸣ MÍ.za-ku-u-te MÍ.KUR šá m30—⸢PAB*⸣-[MEŠ—SU] / ⸢MAN⸣ KUR—aš AMA maš-šur—PAB—AŠ MAN KUR—aš-šur / TAv mdGIŠ.NU₁₁—MU—⸢GI⸣.NA PAB ta-li-me-šú / TAv mdGIŠ.NU₁₁—UG₅.GA—TI.LA ù / re-eḫ-te PAB-MEŠ-šú TAv NUMUN LUGAL TAv / LÚ.GAL-MEŠ LÚ.NAM-MEŠ LÚ.šá—ziq*-ni / ⸢LÚ⸣.SAG-MEŠ LÚ.GUB—IGI TAv LÚ.⸢zak⸣-ke-e / ù LÚ.TU—KUR gab-bu o* TAv DUMU-MEŠ KUR—aš-šur / ⸢LÚ.qàl⸣-lu LÚ.dan-⸢nu*⸣ man-nu šá ina…
Scholarly note
Neo-Assyrian treaty or loyalty oath, edited by Simo Parpola & Kazuko Watanabe (SAA 2, 1988). Binding agreement invoking divine sanction. ORACC text P334814.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.earth/artifacts, P334814). source
Translation excerpted from Parpola, S. & Watanabe, K. 1988. Neo-Assyrian Treaties and Loyalty Oaths. SAA 2. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa02/P334814/.
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Marks the boundary between proto-writing and writing. We can see signs being used systematically — but not yet phonetically. The leap to recording speech itself comes a few centuries later.
The earliest historical document in human history. Before this, we have lists, accounts, and dedications. Here, for the first time, a ruler tells us what happened — with names, places, and consequences.