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 05 132. Letter of Accompaniment (ABL 0978)

“(1) To the ki[ng], my [lord], your servant [Aššur]-remanni. Good health to the king, my lord! (4) The land of the king, my lord, is well; the mood of the land is very good. (8) As to the people about whom the king, [my lord, wrote me ......] (Break (r 1) I am herewith sen[ding them to the king, my lord].”

Source: Lanfranchi, G.B. & Parpola, S. 1990. The Correspondence of Sargon II, Part II: Letters from the Northern and Northeastern Provinces. SAA 5. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa05/P334656/

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

SAA 05 133. King of Hubuškia Arrives with Tribute (ABL 0890)

“(1) [T]o the king, [my lord]: your servant Šulmu-beli. Good health to the king, my lord! (4) (When) I was coming back from Dur-Šarruken, my messenger, coming from Anisu, met me in Adian and said: (9) "Ianzû, (king) of Hubuškia, has entered Wa[isi] on the 24th, and is going to Harra[nia]. If he does not go up to Harrania, he will be in Burte on the 26th; else if he does go up to Harrania, he will be in Burte on the 27th. (r 9) "The horses and his oxen and sheep came in one day ahead of him opposite Anisu. [He has wi]th him [x] horses, [x ox]en and [x shee]p [plus] their [......]." (e. 1) [I]f the king, my lord, so orders, I sha[ll go] and speak [wi]th him.”

Source: Lanfranchi, G.B. & Parpola, S. 1990. The Correspondence of Sargon II, Part II: Letters from the Northern and Northeastern Provinces. SAA 5. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa05/P334612/

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

SAA 05 134. A Message from Hubuškia (ABL 0931)

“(1) [To the king], my [lord: your servant Š]ulmu-beli. [Good] health to the king, my lord! (4) [As to what I wr]ote [t]o the king, my lord: "The Hubu[škian has wri]tten to me: 'Let [my] messenger come [to yo]u'" — (8) [n]ow then [......] (Rest destroyed)”

Source: Lanfranchi, G.B. & Parpola, S. 1990. The Correspondence of Sargon II, Part II: Letters from the Northern and Northeastern Provinces. SAA 5. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa05/P334629/

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

SAA 05 135. Information about the King of Hubuškia (ABL 1466)

“(1) To the [king, my lord]: your servant [Šulmu-beli]. Good health t[o the king, my lord]! (4) I entered [...] on the 30th of Adar (XII); on the 1[st of Nisan (I)] the Hubuškian [......] (7) in Hubuškia [......] (Reverse too broken for translation)”

Source: Lanfranchi, G.B. & Parpola, S. 1990. The Correspondence of Sargon II, Part II: Letters from the Northern and Northeastern Provinces. SAA 5. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa05/P334921/

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

SAA 05 136. Urzana on his Way to Assyria (ABL 0891)

“(1) To the king, my lord: your servant Šulmu-beli. Good health to the king, [my] lord! (4) Urzana is staying in Alamu on the 10th ; on the [11th] he will be in Hiptuna, [on the 12th] in Muši, [on the 13th] in Issete, [on the 14th in Arbe]la. (Break) (r 2) We have se[nt ...] 56 horses, [x oxe]n, and 2,000 sh[eep]; 100 [...], the audience gift, [...]. (r 7) Let the king, [my] lo[rd, decide] what his [orders are] and write [me].”

Source: Lanfranchi, G.B. & Parpola, S. 1990. The Correspondence of Sargon II, Part II: Letters from the Northern and Northeastern Provinces. SAA 5. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa05/P334613/

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

SAA 05 137. Arrival of Tributaries (CT 53 414)

“(Beginning destroyed) (2) [... to]gether with [Na]nû, the e[unuch ...] came across (the mountain) to Hiptuna on the 12th bringing 2 horses and [x] oxen with them. (7) Their [gu]ides [......], but they [are co]ming. (r 1) [As to what the ki]ng, my lord, [wro]te to me: "[I]f they come, [nob]ody should speak with th[em]" — (r 6) I have appo[inted] recruits [wi]th them. [No]w, what are t[he king my lord's orders]? (Rest destroyed)”

Source: Lanfranchi, G.B. & Parpola, S. 1990. The Correspondence of Sargon II, Part II: Letters from the Northern and Northeastern Provinces. SAA 5. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa05/P313827/

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

SAA 05 138. Forwarding Local Rulers to the King (CT 53 192)

“(Beginning destroyed) (1) [As to the city lords about whom] the king, my lord, w[rote to me, I am herewith sending t]o the king, my lord: (2) [Ad]â, along with the Ni[...ean, the ...ean], the Uluean, [the ...ean], and the Meṣaean, along with Da[...], (5) [in all] 7 subjects of the kin[g, my lord, together with] Lullupa[yu ...]. (8) [...] Da[...] (9) [...] Am-ra'i [...] (10) [...] cam[e ...] (11) [...] as [...] (Rest destroyed)”

Source: Lanfranchi, G.B. & Parpola, S. 1990. The Correspondence of Sargon II, Part II: Letters from the Northern and Northeastern Provinces. SAA 5. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa05/P313607/

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

SAA 05 139. Troops from Muṣaṣir Summoned by the King (ABL 0448)

“(1) As to the men from Muṣaṣir whom the king summoned, they are in Sihana, on the plain. Shall we send word and have them brought here, or should they stay in the plain?”

Source: Lanfranchi, G.B. & Parpola, S. 1990. The Correspondence of Sargon II, Part II: Letters from the Northern and Northeastern Provinces. SAA 5. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa05/P334312/

Read the full tablet entry