All tablets.

SAA 21 152. Tablet of Ashurbanipal' s Magnates Concerning Horses (ABL 0623)

(1) A tablet of the magna[tes of Assurbanipal] to the eunuch of [NN] and the deputy [...] of the city [...]: (5) The horses [...] (6) horses [...] (7) the interest o[f ...] (8) mules [...] (Break) (r 1) Don’t be negligent and si[n]! ... (r 2) Guard the letter, it must be present with the horses at the review. They will read [it] in the ki[ng’s] presence, it is evidence.

~660 BCE·Neo-AssyrianSAA 21

SAA 21 154. Extispicy About the Camp of the King of Assyria (ABL 0901)

(1) A tablet of Ibb[u]tu to Nergal-eṭir, his brother: (3) Good health to my brother! (5) I have heard that when the king of Assyria retreated, he pitched camp at the Ibatuna. (r 1) Now then I’m writing to my brother: let my brother ask the god, let there be an exti[spicy] about this matter. [Will] the fields [...]? (r 9) Write me whatever the god says to my brother.

Daily Life·Economy

SAA 21 155. Letter of Ea-zera-qisa, Ruler of Bit-Amukani, to His Mother (ABL 0896)

(1) A tablet of Ea-zera-qiša to Humbuštu, his mother: I am well, you may be glad. (4) They are now backbiting me in the presence of the king, saying, “He and Nabû-šezib are friends of the king of Babylon, they have from the beginning known these things with the king of Babylon.” (9) (When) the king asked me (about it), I hesitated, (then) said: “I will undergo the ordeal (and) lift up the iron axe, but I swear I knew nothing nor was imparted of anything!” (13) Now when I heard that Nabû-šezib has removed his women and his family from Puqudu and settled them in Bit-Amukani, and now that the…

SAA 21 156. Letter of the Palace Overseer to His Sons (ABL 1125)

(1) A tablet of the pala[ce] overseer to [my] sons Inda[biya] and Uraš[...]: (5) Why haven't I heard any news of you for as many days as I am, and why haven't I sent a messenger [with ... ] to you? (10) [N]ow the[n] I have sent my messenger to you. (r 4) Send [me n]ow a report of youself and your health in his hands!

SAA 21 157. The Land is in Revolt, My Lord Must not Be Languid Weak! (ABL 1127)

(Beginning destroyed) (2') [who had ...] upon him [...], killed him, trusting in [...]. (4') Now [that the country] is in revolt, my lord must not relax and must not be languid! (8') Let my [lo]rd come and stay in Der, and just as Ummanigaš has done, let him do and finish doing accordingly. Let them besiege the Elamites and (break) (r 4) [......] them (r 5) [...] bring (r 6) [... will] scare them. (r 7) [Those who he]ar and (r 8) [...] enter there (r 9) [... will r]ebel (r 10) [Let them m]ove up [...] (Rest destroyed)

SAA 21 158. Fragment Relating to the Šamaš-šumu-ukin War (CT 54 161)

(Beginning destroyed) (2') We will [... Šamaš-šumu]-ukin [...], (3') [...] another [ki]ng [......]. (4') He [...] to [......] (5') [...] of Nabu-deni-epuš and [NN] (6') [...] and the levy of 20 soldiers [......] (7') [...] ... [......] (8') [...] Babylon [......] (9') [...] messages [......] (10) [...] to the magnates of/who [......] — (Rest destroyed)

SAA 21 159. Adini Is a Castrate (ABL 1443)

(Beginning destroyed) (2') who came with him, should be arrested until I come into the presence of the king, my lord. (4') And no[w] he is provokingly saying, “Adini is a (castrated) choir boy,” and, “the king replaced my fetter at your (pl.) expense.” He is also speaking like this: “Adini — how (well) does the king know him?” (r 1) The king should rescue him from my hands! (r 2) 500 sheep and ewes of my cousin Ṣubû [...] (Rest destroyed)

SAA 21 160. Report on Elam and the City Garrison (CT 54 006)

(Beginning destroyed) (2) [...] did not co[me with] me. (3) [My lord s]hould know [...] I am not lazy. (5) [...] until now [wit]h the horses [of] Assyria. (7) The messenger(s) [whom] I sent [t]o my lord, having encircled the whole [cit]y, stood with me, and they listen to everything I’m telling them. (14) When Nabû-šumu-iqiša, the chief of trade, returned from Elam, a person possessed by a demon [appeared] in the land, saying: “[The Elamites] have attacked!” (r 3) The torc-owners were frightened. But when I sent [... to] Elam, there was nothing [to fi]nd out [in] Elam. You may stand still. (r…

SAA 21 161. (no title) (CT 54 543)

(1) Good health t[o my brother]! (2) Come, and until [...] (3) bring that silver [...] (rest (about 20 lines) broken away) (beginning broken away) (r 2) saying, “[......] (r 3) he will send them to Kudurru and [NN ...]. (r 5) And letters [...] (r 6) you put down, and [...] (r.e. 1) Dutan[u ......]

SAA 21 005. I'll Break This No-Brother of Mine

Beginning destroyed (r 2') [......] this no-brother of mine has done [......] to me, and I [...]. (r 4') I swear [by Aššur and M]arduk, my gods, [that][...] ... Šamaš ... [will...] his leadership b[efore… (and) deliver himinto my hands, [a]t night [before day ...]has lighted up on him. (r 7') And if [he should escape], [...] in the place where he goes [...](and) I shall brea[k] his ...[...] (r 9') [[Now then I have written to y]ou. [Let me] quickly [see] an answer to [my] l[etter! Your] fr[eedom] is [in] m[y hands]. (rest uninscribed)

SAA 21 013. Confiscating Scholarly Tablets in Borsippa (CT 22, pl. 01, 001a)

(1) The king’s word to Šadanu: I am well, you can be glad. (3) The day when you see my tablet, take into your hands Šumaya, son of Šuma-ukin, Bel-eṭir the brother of Aplaya son of Arkat-ili, and the scholars of Borsippa, whom you know, and dig up all the tablets that exist in their houses and all the tablets that are deposited in Ezida; (10) the tablets of the royal amulets for the rivers of the purifications of Nisan (I), the amulet for the rivers of Tishri (VII) of the Bīt salā’ mê ritual, the amulet for the rivers of the day’s verdict, the four amulets for the head of the king’s bed and…

SAA 21 055. Elam's Ungratefulness (ABL 1260)

(1) The king's word to Ambap[pi] and the Rašias old and young: I am well; you can be glad. (5) From the beginning I have rendered favours to Elam, but they have not returned my favours. I protected their refugees from kings to noblemen, gave them bread and water and sent them (back) to their country, but they held back the messengers whom I had sent to greet them,neglected returning my servant who had sinned against me, gave the writing-board of my gods to the hands of [that] servant who had sinned against me, protected h[is ....], and placed him in heaven. (r 3) Now, [when I w]rote to…

SAA 21 056. Teumman Defeated at Bit-Imbî (CT 54 567)

(Beginning destroyed) (1') [N]ow then ... they have split up Elam. The chief eunuch has seized Bit-Imbî, Sikdê the commander of archers, brother of Ummanaldasu, his sons have been killed, and their heads have been brought before me. (8') The wife of Teumman, king of Elam, and his sons have been taken to me, and 11,000 soldiers have been killed at Bit-Im[b]î. (12') When I sent Šamaš-da’’i[nan-ni ...] to Sam’una, the sheikhs of Sam’una, Lahiru, Dibirina, Dummuqu, Nugu’, Huwaya and Bab-duri, these sheikhs who had raised hands and whose hands I had grasped, [infli]cted a massacre in Šulaya and [pl…

SAA 21 064. Congratulations on the Battle of Bit-Bunakki (CT 53 908)

(1) [The king's word to] Tammari[tu]: I [am well]; you [can be] glad. (3) I have heard [what Aššur] and my gods have done;) they met with a [figh]t [where they] went, and inflicted a massacre in Bit-Bunakka. (8) Also, those cities which they destroyed, (10) [......] (11) [......] placed (12) [......] I rejoiced (13) [......] the gods (14) [......] (15) my [......] (r 1) [...]. I also heard [that the god]s have assisted you to defeat the Dinšarreans in my name, and I rejoiced. (r 6) God (himself) [with] his bow fought this whole [fi]ght that took place [in Pa]rsua, [beca]use my name is upon you…

SAA 21 065. Pressing for Nabû-bel-šumati and His Accomplices (647-xi) (JCS 54, 079-086)

(1) The king's word to the elders of Elam: I and the whole of Assyria are well. (3) As to your clandestine consultation, "Why does Assyria treat us like this?" — you know perfectly well why you have been treated in this way, and you have the affront of asking such a question now! (8) It is because of Nabû-bel-šumati, Nabû-qati-ṣabat and Kiribtu that you have been treated in this way. (10) When Ummanigaš came to grasp my feet and I sent my army with him, and (when) they went and defeated Teumman, did we lay our hands on the temples, cities or anything? Did we take spoils of war? Did we not…

SAA 21 068. Why Did [You] Side with Indabibi? (ABL 1167)

(Obverse destroyed) (beginning broken away) (r 2') [... the w]atch o[f ...] (r 3') [...] the king, my lord, [...] (r 4') [...] into [...] (r 5') [...] sid[ed] with them (r 6') [...] my legal adversary (r 7') [...] Now why did (r 8') [...] si[de with] Indabibi? (r 9') [...] thos[e wo]rds of mine [...] (r 10') [...] from h[ere] (Rest destroyed)

SAA 21 072. Doing a Favour to the [Elders of Elam] (CT 53 968)

Beginning destroyed (1') [... who] s[inned] against my treaty; [I did not] ordain [them to die]. But y[ou …] (3') [...I] have not d[one a favour for] you [...] (4') a favour for you (pl.) [......] (5') From th[is] day on [you will ...] (6') and you will see [......] (7') I rejoi[ce]d [......] (8') seed [......] (9') in y[our] (pl.) presence [......] (10') do not [ ...] (11') I[f ......] (12') not [......] (13') and [......] (four lines broken away) (r 1) [sa]ying: "Re[port ......] (r 2) [w]hom they assign[ed ......] (r 3) and Elam [......] (r 4) came to p[ass] by my hands [...] (r 5) mutually…

SAA 21 075. Granting the Kingship of Dilmun (647-VI-13) (AAA 20 106)

(1) The king's word to Hunda[ru, king of Dilmun]: I am well, you [can be] gl[ad]. (3) Concerning what [you wrote] through [your] emissaries: (4) "Nabû-bel-šumati did not send [...] (5) within [...] (6) against the king [......] (7) who in [......] (8) against [......] (9) "Sen[d ......] (10) because he cam[e ......] (11) ... [......] (12) [......] (13) [......] (14) [...] I do not s[ee ......] (15) [...] ... [......] (16) will [no]t rea[ch ......] (17) "Y[ou .....] (18) [w]hy [......] (19) [...] rain to [......] (20) [...] not [......] (21) wind [......] (22) [I] have heard that [......] (23)…

SAA 21 090. My Protégés Are Exempt (CT 54 469)

(Beginning destroyed) (4') [......] their [...] status. (5') [...] I will consolidate their [privil]eged status, and [...]. (6') You, who are my protégés, will be exempt [by order of ...], my god. (8') [As to what] you wrote, “The men (9') [of NN] and the offspring of Dummuqu (10') [... h]ave returned there,” you (11') [...] the house of D[ummu]qu (12') [...] ... [...] (rest broken away) (beginning broken away) (r 1') [......] ... (r 2') [...... W]hen you said, (r 3') “I will give [the ...]s to the king,” (r 4') [......] when (r 5') [......] your fixed-time messenger (r 6f') [......] I have…

SAA 21 092. Arrest These Men! (CT 54 582)

(Beginning destroyed) (1') [D]N-nada, Ibnâ, Barik-ilu son of Marduk, Nergal-ipuš son of Nur-ili, Arit-abini son of Mušezib-ilu, Kudurru son of Ša-Nabû-šû, Mušezib-ilu, Ṭabihu, [servant of the] major-domo, [Na]bû-gamil son of Nabû-ušallim, [Mar]duk son of Kidin-Ea, Nabû-eriba son of Ayakki-ibni, in total, 11 (men): (r 5) arrest these men — not one of them may be missing — and [pla]ce them in his custody. [He should ta]ke them into my presence. (Rest destroyed)

SAA 21 093. King's Word to the People of Kar-Nergal and Bit-Dakkuri (CT 54 586)

(beginning broken away) (1') [The king’s word to NN], to [...], the people of Kar-Nergal [...] and Bit-Da[kkuri], old and young, every one [of my servants: I am well], you can be [glad]. (6') You [......] (7') [...] yourselv[es ...] (8') [...] Akkadians [...] (9') [...] ... [......] (rest broken away) (beginning broken away) (r 1') [......] ... [...] (r 2') [...] one boy [servant (and) ...] (r 3') [... were at]tacked, thereby [......] (r 4') They are [de]ad [......]. (r 5') May the foxes not [......]! (r 6') Now righten [......], (r 7') uproot [......] (r 8') [h]orse[s ......] (r 9') [...] ...…

SAA 21 098. I Look Forward to Their Defeat (ABL 1253)

(Beginning destroyed) (1') [...]s to [......] (2') [...] the circumference [......] (3') [...] them ...[......] (4') [...] my corn until [......] (5') you have placed [...]. Now [......] (6') [...] I’m wa[iting] for their defeat [......] (7') [...] And he must no he[ar ......] (r 1) [... t]o the da[y ......] (r 2) [... u]pon [...... ...] (r 3) [...] ... [...... ...] (r 4) [...] the top of [......] (r 5) [...] ... [......] *ABL 1253 (Rest destroyed)

SAA 21 099. Fragment Referring to the Nabayateans (CT 54 571)

(Beginning destroyed) (3') [...... s]inned (4') [......] placed (5') [... the Nabat]eans (6') [... w]rote (pl.) to you (7') [...... t]heir [...] (8') [...... re]turned [...]. (9') [As to (...) what you wro]te (10') [......] ... (11') [...... as]ked (12') [......] (13') [......] ... (14') [......] Ninurta (15') [......] you (16') [...... cur]ses (Rest destroyed)

SAA 21 100. Advising the Kings of Assyria and Elam (CT 54 569)

(Beginning destroyed) (1') [......] servants (2') [......] when/if (3') [......] does not know [whether] they are [in] Assyria, and [the ...] of the king of Babylon [......] does not know whether they are [in Ela]m. (8') [...... t]ogether (9') [......] that with us (10') [...... you d]id (11') [......] (b.e. 16') [..... to G]N (r 1) [... I sen]t them (r 2) [... g]oes [...], oxen (r 3) [...] ... good sense (r 4) [... are sa]ying, ”[...] has advised [the king of] Assyria,” [and ... are sa]ying, ”he has advised [the king of Ela]m.” (r 8) [...] their [del]iberations (r 9) [... Now i]f you (r 10) […

SAA 21 104. Shipping Grain to Elam (ABL 1385)

(1) A tablet of Šamaš-šumu-ukin to the king, my brother: Good health to my brother! May Marduk, Zarpanitu, Nabû, Tašmetu and Nanaya bless my brother. (7) Concerning the ships of that emissary about which I wrote to my brother, saying, “I have ordered that they be released” — (10) since I had repeatedly written to my brother without getting an answer, I became afraid. (14) The king knows that Ummanigaš, that crown prince, is hot-headed. I thought, “Perhaps he will put something in the sacks holding this grain and cause poisoning.” (r 3) The king also knows that we — any of us — are not able to…

SAA 21 117. The Corpse of Nabû-bel-šumati Sent to the King (ABL 1284)

(Beginning destroyed) (1') a[s ...... (2') [...... (3') [not] ye[t ...... (4') work [...... (5') with you [...... ... (6') in heaven [...... ... (7') the Elam[ites ...... (8') like servants [...... (9') to the land of Ak[kad ..... (10') does not agr[ee ...... (11') As soon as one [...... (12') from H[idalu...... (13') the town Alu-š[arri...... ... (14') the town Sam'u[na...... (15') ... and Bit-K[isiya ...... (16') of the town Kišadihubu [...... (17') Susa together with the town [...... (Break) (r 2') As to his servant Nabû-bel-[šumati ...... (r 3') we [...] a canvas in [...... (r 4') “Catch…

SAA 21 140. Appeal to Assurbanipal (ABL 1264 + ADD 0091)

(Beginning destroyed) (1') I went [to] my [......] (and) ap[pealed] to Assurbanipal, my lord, [for ...]. He released [the town Til-šikari] t[o me] as a [g]rant, [in the ...]th year, in the outskirts of [GN]. (5') [..., Ahi-d]uri came to me. I gave him [a field], saying: “It may not come out [...] from the presence of Ištar; Ištar [will ...] where you [...].” (8') [No]w Ahi-duri has [taken] a farm outside Til-šikari (and) sent me 25 souls of 3 orchards, saying: “See what I have given to my son!” (11') [I told him]: “You must cultivate 1,200 homers of seed. Why did you give possession of [the…

SAA 21 151. The Archers Sent by the King Have not Arrived (CT 54 589)

(Beginning destroyed) (2') the king [......] (3') opened [and ......] (4') did not go [......] (5') to Zabban [......] (6') ... [......] (Break) (r 2) [...] the archers [whom the king, my lord, s]ent, have not a[rrived ...] (r 4) And the dais [...] (r 5) which is behind [...], (r 6) those with the king of Babylo[n ...] (r 7) Bit-A[m]ukani messa[ge ...] (Break) (l.e. 1) [...] Natan, the brother o[f NN] (l.e. 2) [...] who [...]

SAA 21 153. Tablet of Ashurbanipal' s Magnates Leftovers (ABL 1163)

(1) A tablet of the magnates of Assurbani[pal to the ...], who [take] care of the pebbles [......]: (3) What are these words of yours [...] (4) [...] the leftovers fro[m ...] (5) [... the l]oss that yo[u ...] (6) [......] ... [......] (Rest destroyed)

~655 BCE·Neo-AssyrianOur engine

Ashurbanipal 001

Documents Ashurbanipal's forced resettlement of conquered populations into Egypt and the Levantine town of Qirbit — a concrete case of Assyrian demographic engineering as an instrument of imperial control.

Ashurbanipal 002

Lists nine deities who legitimise Ashurbanipal's rule, each sponsoring a different royal quality — a snapshot of the theological machinery the Neo-Assyrian court used to underwrite imperial authority.

Ashurbanipal 003

Claims divine sanction for Ashurbanipal's literacy — the gods granted him 'a broad mind' to master the scribal arts — embedding scholarly kingship ideology at the heart of Assyrian royal self-presentation.

Ashurbanipal 004

Claims divine sanction not just for Ashurbanipal's military power but for his scribal learning — one of the clearest royal assertions that literacy itself was a gift of the gods and a mark of legitimate kingship.

Religion & Myth·Writing & Literature

Ashurbanipal 005

Claims divine sanction for Ashurbanipal's legendary scribal literacy — a rare royal boast that a king personally mastered cuneiform learning, framing intellectual mastery as a god-given mark of legitimate rule.

Ashurbanipal 006

Claims Ashurbanipal completed Esarhaddon's unfinished temples — including Eḫursaggalkurkurra at Aššur — framing construction piety as dynastic continuity and divine sanction for his kingship.

Ashurbanipal 007

Records Ashurbanipal's restoration of Marduk's chariot and shrine roof, linking Assyrian royal piety toward Babylon's chief god to the ideological balancing act of ruling both Assyria and Babylonia simultaneously.

Ashurbanipal 008

Documents Ashurbanipal's restoration of Sîn and Nusku to their temples and his refurbishment of sanctuaries across Assyria and Akkad, anchoring the king's legitimacy in cultic patronage rather than military conquest.

Ashurbanipal 009

Attests the Sargonid practice of legitimating a crown prince through divine pre-election — Sîn's nomination in the womb — positioning Ashurbanipal's rule as cosmically ordained before Esarhaddon's formal designation.

Ashurbanipal 010

Ashurbanipal's titulature — king of Assyria, Babylon, Sumer, and Akkad simultaneously — encapsulates the ideological claim that one ruler could hold the entire Mesopotamian world-order, north and south, under a single divine mandate.

Ashurbanipal 011

Declares Ashurbanipal's kingship divinely foreordained from the womb by Aššur, Sîn, Šamaš, Adad, and Ištar — anchoring Sargonid legitimacy theology in a chain of gods stretching from conception to coronation.

Ashurbanipal 012

Records Ashurbanipal's lavish furnishing of Ezida at Borsippa — an ebony bed for Marduk, silver wild-bull guardians, and 83 talents of zaḫalû-metal — documenting Assyrian royal patronage of the great Babylonian sanctuaries.

Ashurbanipal 013

Preserves Ashurbanipal's own account of his divine mandate, naming seven patron deities across Assyrian and Babylonian pantheons — evidence of deliberate theological synthesis at the height of Sargonid imperial ideology.

Ashurbanipal 014

Fuses two registers of Sargonid kingship in a single text: the lone-archer lion hunt staged as cosmic spectacle, and the Addaru akītu-festival linking royal legitimacy to the queen of the gods.

Ashurbanipal 015

Ashurbanipal claims the wisdom of the antediluvian sage Adapa as personal divine endowment — coupling scribal mastery with military might to justify one king's embodiment of both priestly and warrior ideals.

Ashurbanipal 016

Chronicles the chaotic succession crisis in Elam after Urtaku's death — rival claimants dying of mouse-bite and dropsy before the demon-like Teumman seized the throne — framing Assyrian intervention as cosmic necessity.

Ashurbanipal 017

Records Elamite court violence — the killing of Indabibi and enthronement of Ḫumban-ḫaltaš III — framed as divinely ordained Assyrian dominance, linking Sargonid royal ideology directly to datable Elamite dynastic upheaval c. 655 BCE.

Ashurbanipal 018

Preserves Ashurbanipal's account of Elamite vassal Indabibi's submission — fragmentary but direct evidence of how Assyrian royal inscriptions legitimised dominance over post-Teumman Elam.

Ashurbanipal 019

Documents Assyrian military operations against Elamite royal survivors after the fall of Teumman, then records a diplomatic rupture: Ummanigaš detained Ashurbanipal's envoy and broke off communication — a prelude to renewed Assyrian-Elamite war.

Ashurbanipal 020

Records Ashurbanipal's desecration of Elamite royal tombs and the repatriation of Nanāya's cult statue to Uruk after 1,635 years — anchoring a precise, self-serving Assyrian chronology of divine abandonment and imperial restoration.

Ashurbanipal 021

Lists cult centers and temple furnishings restored by Ashurbanipal — including Emeslam at Cuthah, seat of Nergal — documenting the king's systematic program of sanctuary patronage across Assyria and Babylonia.