Chapter 07 · 911 – 609 BCE
Neo-Assyrian
Empire, library, terror, scholarship.

~730 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
SAA 19 058. Report on an Estate in Dur-ayumma (CTN 5 p. 321)
“(1) [T]o the king, my lord: your servant Inurta-ila'i. Good health to the ki[ng, my lord]! (4) There is an estate of 10 hectares of arable land in Dur-Ayumma [...] (7) On its side [......] (Break) (r 2) I am (now) sending [...] ... to the king, my lord.”
Source: Luukko, M. 2012. The Correspondence of Tiglath-pileser III and Sargon II from Calah/Nimrud. SAA 19. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa19/P393626/
Read the full tablet entry~730 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
SAA 19 059. Equipping Troops (CTN 5 p. 306)
“(1) [To the king], my [lo]rd: [your servant Inurta]-ila'i. [Good health to the k]ing, my lord! (4) [As to the ...] about whom the king, my lord, [wrote to me ...] a beautiful [da]ughter (6) [......]... (7) [......] a table (8) [...... that] I am equipping him (9) [...] there is no [...] (10) [As to what the king], my [lord], wrote to me (11) [...... ev]er sin[ce] (Break) (r 1) I descended [......] (r 2) [Regarding] the 30 infantrymen [about whom the king, my lord, wr]ote, [......].”
Source: Luukko, M. 2012. The Correspondence of Tiglath-pileser III and Sargon II from Calah/Nimrud. SAA 19. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa19/P224480/
Read the full tablet entry~730 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
SAA 19 060. Building a Garrison on the Tigris (CTN 5 p. 215)
“(1) To the king, my lord: your serv[a]nt Duri-Aššur. (3) [A]s to the work about which the king, my lord, wrote to me, the (protective) wall is finished. (5) The father(s) have performed the king’s naṭu ritual. The river wood has been cut and broken pieces have been smeared (with) bitumen. 28 wooden stockades have been placed, the door of the main gate has been installed and the key and loc[k] have been made. The drainage pipes of the courtyard have been coated with bitumen. The [...] of the dariku-container has been installed. The rest of the barracks have been completely built and roofed. I…”
Source: Luukko, M. 2012. The Correspondence of Tiglath-pileser III and Sargon II from Calah/Nimrud. SAA 19. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa19/P393627/
Read the full tablet entry~730 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
SAA 19 061. Hampered by Snow (CTN 5 p. 143)
“(1) [To] the king, my lord: your [servant] Duri-Aššur. (3) The forts of the king, my lord, are very well. The king, my lord, can be glad. (8) Perhaps the king, my lord, will say: "Why did you not send me m[y] messenger in the custody of [your] messe[nger]?" (r 2) There is very much snow; I have sent out scouts but they have turned back, saying: "Where can we go?" (r 6) As soon as the snow decreases, they will set off and enter (the Palace). (r 9) Informers are bringing news of the enemy.”
Source: Luukko, M. 2012. The Correspondence of Tiglath-pileser III and Sargon II from Calah/Nimrud. SAA 19. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa19/P224475/
Read the full tablet entry~730 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
SAA 19 062. My Major-Domo is Coming (CTN 5 p. 148)
“(1) To the king, my lord: your servant Duri-Aššur. The very best of health to the king, my lord! (6) As to what the king, my lord, wrote to me: "Let your major-domo come" – right now, he is provisioning all my [men], who are there, and they will (then) come quickly.”
Source: Luukko, M. 2012. The Correspondence of Tiglath-pileser III and Sargon II from Calah/Nimrud. SAA 19. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa19/P224500/
Read the full tablet entry~730 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
SAA 19 063. Duri-Aššur to the King (CTN 5 p. 204)
“(1) To the king, my lord: your servant Duri-Aššur. The best of health to the king, my lord! The f[orts] and the land of the ki[ng, my lord], are well. The king, [my lord], can be [glad] indeed. (9) [PN ......] (Rest destroyed or too broken for translation)”
Source: Luukko, M. 2012. The Correspondence of Tiglath-pileser III and Sargon II from Calah/Nimrud. SAA 19. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa19/P393628/
Read the full tablet entry~730 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
SAA 19 064. Another Letter Fragment from Duri-Aššur to the King (CTN 5 p. 320)
“(1) To the king, m[y] lord: your servant D[uri]-Aššur. (3) [The be]st [of heal]th to the [king], my lord! [The fort]s of the king, [m]y lord, are [ve]ry, [ver]y well. (r 1) The k[ing, my lo]rd, can be [gl]ad.”
Source: Luukko, M. 2012. The Correspondence of Tiglath-pileser III and Sargon II from Calah/Nimrud. SAA 19. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa19/P224502/
Read the full tablet entry~730 BCE · Reconstructed composite — see ORACC entry for manuscript witnesses
SAA 19 065. Ullubaean Deportees in Inurta-ila’i’s Care (CTN 5 p. 111)
“(1) To the king, [my] lord: your servant Nabû-e[ṭiranni]. (3) Good health to [my] lord! May Nabû (and) Marduk bless the ki[ng], my [lo]rd! (6) I have asked what my lord ordered me to concerning the Ullubaeans in the service of Inurta-ila’i: the equipment has been [pi]led up, his shortage is all [rig]ht. (13) Inurta-ila'i [says]: "I will set out [...] on the 27th." (r 2) [After] setting out, he will be [in] Kilizi (and) [may] command my troops. (r 6) I will have marching drills [wi]th him, and he will then (go). I have made an outlet canal (and) the fl[ood] has passed by.”
Source: Luukko, M. 2012. The Correspondence of Tiglath-pileser III and Sargon II from Calah/Nimrud. SAA 19. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa19/P224414/
Read the full tablet entry