Chapter 07 · 911 – 609 BCE

Neo-Assyrian

Empire, library, terror, scholarship.

Illustration: Scholars examining clay tablets in an Assyrian archive at Nineveh
An archive at Nineveh, around 650 BCE.

~715 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

SAA 01 172. Raising Food and Fodder from Desert Towns (NL 088)

“(1) To [the king, my lord: yo]ur servant [Bel-duri]. (3) The king, my lord, [gave orders]: "[All] gover[nors] may raise food and fodder from the vi[llages of the dese]rt with you, and Adad-isse'a and Bel-lešir are to support Abi-lešir!" (9) They have not agreed to this though, but are disobedient, saying: "Why should our villages in the desert belong to all the governors? The villages are ... within each other!" (12) The king, my lord, should send word that they are to write down their desert villages. Ever since the king my lord has levied pack animals from Hamath, I have been on my own, and…”

Source: Parpola, S. 1987. The Correspondence of Sargon II, Part I: Letters from Assyria and the West. SAA 1. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa01/P224431/

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~715 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

SAA 01 173. A Report on the State of the Province (ABL 0224)

“(1) To the king, my lord: your servant Adda-hati. Good health to the king, my lord! (4) My [guard] is in excellent condition, the who[le dist]rict of [Hamath] is well. [The king], my [lord], can be glad. (9) We have not heard anything s[pecific] about the [Ara]bs si[nce the king], my lord, [went] to [...]; all is well.”

Source: Parpola, S. 1987. The Correspondence of Sargon II, Part I: Letters from Assyria and the West. SAA 1. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa01/P334165/

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~715 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

SAA 01 174. A Report on the State of the Province (ABL 0225)

“(1) To the king, my lord: your servant Adda-hati. Good health to the [king, my lord]! (4) [My gua]rd is in excellent condition, the whole district of Hamath is well. The king, my lord, can be glad. (11) We have not heard [anything specific about the Arabs si]nce the king, [my lord, went to] Assyria; all is well.”

Source: Parpola, S. 1987. The Correspondence of Sargon II, Part I: Letters from Assyria and the West. SAA 1. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa01/P334166/

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~715 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

SAA 01 175. Arabs Attack a Column of Booty (NL 019)

“(1) To the king, my lord: Your servant Adda-hati. Good health to the king, my lord! (4) (Ammili'ti) the son of Amiri readied himself with 300 she-camels, intending to attack the booty being [tran]sferred from Damascus to Assyria. (11) [I heard of this and] sent word to Bel-i[qbi]; he came and we went together to meet the booty. He saw us, ambushed us from behind, and we had a fight. [1],500 [boot]y sheep from the city of Huzaza, [1],500 sheep [......] city of [......], [...]2 men [......] men [...... (Break) (30) We returned and went in pursuit [after] him, getting as far as Il[...]ani, but could not catch up with him; (the terrain) was too difficult, [it was not fit] either for horses or for chariots [...... (Rest destroyed)”

Source: Parpola, S. 1987. The Correspondence of Sargon II, Part I: Letters from Assyria and the West. SAA 1. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa01/P224395/

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~715 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

SAA 01 176. Turning in Taxes and Organizing the Province (NL 020)

“(1) To the king, my lord: Your servant Adda-hati. Good health to the king, my lord! (4) The silver dues of the prefects and village managers imposed on the local population have been handed over: two talents and 18 minas of silver according to the standard of Carchemish. In addition I have sent to the king, my lord, half a shekel of gold, two [tog]as and three tunics with my messenger. (10) [When the king my lor]d gave [... to ...], he gave me 2,450 men; now Danâ has given me only 1,950, reducing (it) by 500 men. Those who were killed [...; ...] are in good health, the extra [...... (Break)…”

Source: Parpola, S. 1987. The Correspondence of Sargon II, Part I: Letters from Assyria and the West. SAA 1. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa01/P224417/

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~715 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

SAA 01 177. Organizing a Post Station (ABL 0414)

“(1) To the king, my lord: your servant Bel-liqbi. Good health to the king, my lord! (4) The town of Hēsa, a road station of mine, lacks people; the postmaster and the commander of the recruits are there alone and cannot attend to it (properly). Now, let me get together 30 families and place them there. There are men of Nabû-ṣalla the prefect living in Hēsa, a cohort of craftsmen; let him move them out, settle them in the town of Argite, and give them fields and gardens. (17) If it is acceptable to the king, my lord, let them send a letter to Nabû-uṣalla the prefect, and let me appoint Ia'iru…”

Source: Parpola, S. 1987. The Correspondence of Sargon II, Part I: Letters from Assyria and the West. SAA 1. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa01/P334284/

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~715 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

SAA 01 178. Report on the Arabs (ABL 0953)

“(1) [To the king, my lord]: your ser[vant Bel-liqbi]. Good health to [the king, my lord]! The king's land and dis[trict] are well. (6) Arabs have en[tered] into the interior (of the province), but the rains have arrived [...] and they are coming and going. (12) The ... [...] who entered the city of [...... (Break) (r 3) I [keep watch] over the desert; the watch is [as strict as possible].”

Source: Parpola, S. 1987. The Correspondence of Sargon II, Part I: Letters from Assyria and the West. SAA 1. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa01/P334643/

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~715 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses

SAA 01 179. No Iron to the Arabs! (CT 53 010)

“(1) [To the king, my lord: your servant Bel-liqbi. Good health to the ki]ing, [my lord]! The k[ing's land and d]istrict [are well]. (5) [The Ar]abs are settled on the other side of the [H]adina river; they come [...] ... and go, everything is [fine]. (8) I have driven the farmer(s) and gardener(s) [of Ammi]li'ti son of Amiri [out of] my towns and torn down a [...] of sheep he had constructed. Now, he came to me saying: "Why have you expelled my subjects? I shall write to the Palace!" I proposed a bargain, saying: "Your subjects molested my subjects. But since you are the king's servant, I…”

Source: Parpola, S. 1987. The Correspondence of Sargon II, Part I: Letters from Assyria and the West. SAA 1. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa01/P313425/

Read the full tablet entry