Chapter 07 · 911 – 609 BCE
Neo-Assyrian
Empire, library, terror, scholarship.
~715 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
SAA 15 041. Building Houses for Deportees (CT 53 158)
“(1) [To the king, my lord: your servant NN. Good health to] the king, my lord! (3) Concern[ing the ... about wh]ich the king, my lord, wrote [to me]: "The houses which are b[eing built] should be coate[d] with [bitumen] as in Ba[qarru]" — the king, my lord, knows that winters (lit. sn[ow] and ice) are very severe her[e]. Burnt bricks do not rem[ain] (whole) but disintegrate. Therefore [we] have built the house[s o]f mud-bricks. (14) The depor[tees wh]o came (16) [...] to the cit[y ...] (Rest destroyed)”
Source: Fuchs, A. & Parpola, S. 2001. The Correspondence of Sargon II, Part III: Letters from Babylonia and the Eastern Provinces. SAA 15. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa15/P313573/
Read the full tablet entry~715 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
SAA 15 042. Feeding Hittite Deportees (ABL 1082)
In plain English
To the king, my lord, from your servant — best wishes for your health. About the Hittite deportees you wrote to me concerning: you said in your letter that the earlier consignments of the stored barley had been handled twice, or improperly moved. Regarding the supplies that were at their disposal, I questioned the man in charge, asking him why they had already eaten the earlier rations. Whatever their explanation to the king was, I have now written about it, and there is mention of the standard grain measure — but the rest of the letter is broken away and lost.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“(Obverse) [To the king, my lo]rd: your servant [PN]. [Good] health to the king, [my] lord! [Concerning] the Hittites about whom the king, my lord, [wrote to me], saying: "You wrote [that] the previous [consignments] of stored barley [...] they have moved twice(?)" — [...] which were at their disposal [...] I asked him: "Why [...] did they eat the previous (rations)? [...]" What their statement to the king, [my] lord, was [...] I have (now) written [...] [...] the seah-measure [...] [...] ... [...] (Remainder broken)”
Source: engine:claude-fable-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-fable-5 · medium confidence
Read the full tablet entry~715 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
SAA 15 043. Retaliation for Deserters (CT 53 630)
“(Beginning destroyed) (2) They have bound [the ...] of the men [who] defected to me, and they ref[use] to eat bread in my presence, saying: "Why [... NN and ...]-palu'a-ikšud [...]? (Break) (e. 1) "What [......] (e. 2) to [......]”
Source: Fuchs, A. & Parpola, S. 2001. The Correspondence of Sargon II, Part III: Letters from Babylonia and the Eastern Provinces. SAA 15. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa15/P314042/
Read the full tablet entry~715 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
SAA 15 044. Fragment Mentioning a Hundred Chariots (CT 53 554)
“(Beginning destroyed) (2) "sur[ely ......] (3) "...[......] (4) this cit[y ......] (5) "to [him]se[lf ......] (6) "seized [......] (7) "...[......] (8) "all [......] (9) "the riv[er .......] (10) "the chief [.......] (Break) (e. 1) [...... sa]id to me: "100 chariots [......] (e. 2) [......]s to [......] (Rest destroyed)”
Source: Fuchs, A. & Parpola, S. 2001. The Correspondence of Sargon II, Part III: Letters from Babylonia and the Eastern Provinces. SAA 15. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa15/P313966/
Read the full tablet entry~715 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
SAA 15 045. Reviewing Implements in Bab-bitqi (ABL 1312)
“(1) To the king, [my lord]: your servant Nabû-[belu-ka''in]. Good health to the [king, my lord]! (4) Concerning the repo[rt about which the king, my lord], wrote to me: "Write [to NN]" — I have written to hi[m, and as soon as] he has provided a detailed [report], I shall send t[o the king, my lord, whatever] there is to report. (9) Concerning what the ki[ng, my lord, wrote to me: "Review] the implements and [...] in Bab-bitqi, [seal them with] your seals, and [entrust them in the hands] of Nergal-belu-uṣur!" — [now the]n I have revie[wed them ......] (Rest destroyed)”
Source: Fuchs, A. & Parpola, S. 2001. The Correspondence of Sargon II, Part III: Letters from Babylonia and the Eastern Provinces. SAA 15. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa15/P334846/
Read the full tablet entry~715 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
SAA 15 046. (no title) (CT 53 689)
“(Beginning destroyed) (2) [...] his ears [......] (3) [... A]gain, what I (4) [...] spe[ak] with him (5) [what the king], my lord, does [...] (6) [...] me, saying: "[...] with [...] (7) [...] assign [...] (Rest too fragmentary for translation)”
Source: Fuchs, A. & Parpola, S. 2001. The Correspondence of Sargon II, Part III: Letters from Babylonia and the Eastern Provinces. SAA 15. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa15/P314100/
Read the full tablet entry~715 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
SAA 15 047. (no title) (CT 53 790)
“(Beginning destroyed) (2) in the presence of [......] (3) Mannu-ki-Adad, the [......] (4) has made [......] (5) ar[rived ......] (Break) (r 2) terra[ce] house [......] (r 3) of ...[.....] (r 4) my inside [......] (r 5) not [......] (Rest destroyed)”
Source: Fuchs, A. & Parpola, S. 2001. The Correspondence of Sargon II, Part III: Letters from Babylonia and the Eastern Provinces. SAA 15. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa15/P314200/
Read the full tablet entry~715 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
SAA 15 048. Tabaleans on a Military Campaign (CT 53 039)
“(1) [To the king, my lord: your servant NN. Good health to the king, my lord]! (4) [......] (5) [......] (6) [... I departed from] Zabban [and en]tered [GN on the x]th. [The magnate]s had passed on [be]fore me, saying: "Keep (going)!" I went after them, moving on. Those Tabaleans, Pišermu and [...]kuka, are [in] my [pr]es[ence. If the ki]ng, my lord, commands, they may stay behind [here]. (r 6) [Alte]rn[atively, let] them [g]o with me to where the camp is being assembled, so that their animals [...]. In whose care [should I l]eave them?”
Source: Fuchs, A. & Parpola, S. 2001. The Correspondence of Sargon II, Part III: Letters from Babylonia and the Eastern Provinces. SAA 15. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa15/P313454/
Read the full tablet entry