Akkadian Royal Letters in Later Mesopotamian Tradition

Erscheinungsjahr 2024
ISBN: 978-90-04-68593-2
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 55, 570 Seiten, Format (B × H): 160 mm x 240 mm, Gewicht: 1108 g

Reihe: Cuneiform Monographs

Akkadian Royal Letters in Later Mespotamian Tradition reconsiders the question of the authenticity of the letters attributed to earlier royal correspondents that were studied in Assyrian and Babylonian scribal centres ca. 700–100 BCE. By scrutinizing the letters’ contents, language, possible transmission histories ca. 1400–100 BCE and the epistemic limitations of authenticity criticism, the book grounds scepticism about the letters’ authenticity in previously undiscussed features of the texts. It also provides a new foundation for research into the related questions of when and why these beguiling texts were composed in the first place.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Frazer, Mary

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Alte Geschichte & Archäologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgements

Abbreviations

List of Tables

List of Figures

1 Introduction

1.1 An Exceptional Cuneiform Letter

1.2 A Larger Phenomenon

1.3 History of Research and Goals of This Study

1.4 The Text Corpus

1.5 Structure of This Study

2 The Authenticity of Letters A5–A17

2.1 The Significance of the Authenticity Question

2.2 Problems with the Authenticity Question

2.3 Establishing Inauthenticity

2.4 Weighing the Evidence: Subjective Assessments

2.5 Analyses of A5–A13, A15–A17, Letter-by-Letter

2.6 Summary and Conclusion

Editions

A Note on the Text Editions

Category A Letters with Identifiable Historical Settings

A1 Gilgamesh, “King of Ur” to an Unknown King

A2 A King of the Isin I Dynasty to a King of the Babylon I Dynasty

A3 Samsu-iluna to Enlil-nadin-šumi

A4 Kurigalzu to Unidentifiable Recipients

A5 Unidentifiable Sender to Nazi-Maruttaš

A6 Adad-šuma-u?ur to Aššur-narari III and Ili-padâ

A7 A Middle Elamite King to “the Babylonians”(?)

A8 “The Babylonians” (?) to a Middle Elamite King

A9 A King of the Isin II Dynasty to an Assyrian King

A10 Nebuchadnezzar I to “the Babylonians”

A11 The “Obedient Borsippans” to Assurbanipal

A12 Assurbanipal to “the Babylonians”

A13 “The Citizens of Babylon” (?) to Assurbanipal

A14 Šamaš-šuma-ukin to Assurbanipal

A15 A Late Assyrian King (Assurbanipal?) to Šadûnu

A16 Sîn-šarra-iškun to Nabopolassar, “His Lord”

A17 Nabopolassar to Sîn-šarra-iškun

Category B Letters with Uncertain Historical Settings

B1 An Officer to a (Kassite?) King of Babylon

B2 A (Middle?) Assyrian King to a (Middle?) Babylonian King

B3 Extracts from One or More Letters, including One from a Group to a Superior

B4 Extracts from Letters with Different Correspondents, including One between Kings

B5 Extracts from One or More Letters from a Foreign King(?) to the Babylonians(?)

B6 A Travelling Official to His Superior

B7 Extracts from One or More Letters including One from a Group to a Superior

B8 A Subordinate to a Provincial Governor (and a King?)

B9 Letter about Cultic Matters

Category C Possible Letters

C1 A Fugitive from the Land of Edamara?

C2 “Strengthen the Battle Equipment!”

C3 “I Will Drag the Loot of the Assyrians to the Steppe!”

C4 Nazi-Maruttaš and Šubši-mešrê-Šakkan

C5 “Let them Give One Chariot Fighter”

C6 A King Addresses Another about Tribute from the West

C7 The Assyro-Babylonian Border Dispute in the Eighth Century

C8 Mukin-zeri, a King of Elam, and Consistent Behaviour

C9 An Official to a King of the Land of Akkad (?)

C10 Assurbanipal to “the Babylonians” (?)

C11 The Cuneiform Elite 1

C12 The Cuneiform Elite 2

C13 “I Shall Listen to You”

C14 A Successful Military Campaign

Appendix 1: A5–A17 as Potential Sources for Political History

Appendix 2: The Hypothetical Transmissions of Letters A5–A17

Bibliography

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Mary Frazer, Ph.D. (2015), is Akademische Rätin at the Department of Ancient History at LMU Munich. Her research focuses on the cultural and political history of ancient Assyria and Babylonia ca. 700–100 BCE.