The interest which these ancient letters inspire in us was felt in the seventh century b.c., for there are two Assyrian [pg 337] copies of early Babylonian letters, preserved in the remains of Ashurbânipal's library. One was a letter from the Babylonian King Adadi-shum-uṣur to Ashur-nirari and Nabûdaian, kings of Assyria, about b.c. 1250.[855] It is too fragmentary to translate. Another[856] is a letter from a King of Assyria to his father, who is King of Babylon. The names are lost, and its contents cannot now be made out. It was a copy made for Ashurbânipal, and has his “library mark.”[857]
V. Sennacherib's Letters To His Father, Sargon
The proof that the letters are Sennacherib's
Among the Ninevite collections we can single out several periods where the history is supplemented by the letters. Thus Sennacherib's letters to his father, Sargon, chiefly deal with events in Armenia, which must have transpired during Sargon's last few years, when his annals and other historical inscriptions are silent. This view of them was first worked out by the present writer,[858] and later with increased material by R. C. Thompson.[859] Briefly put, the argument from them is this: a person called Sennacherib, who might be any officer from the times of Sargon onward, writes to the king, whom he does not address as his father, on the reports which have reached him from a number of officials, concerning events in Armenia. We have, however, two letters which refer to the same events, naming the same officials and certainly from the same Sennacherib. In one of them he is twice referred to as the king's son. The officials named are all found in documents of the reign of Sargon, or the early part of Sennacherib's reign. The King of Armenia is named Argista in one of these reports to the king, which belongs to the same group. The King of Assyria himself is said to be at Babylon at the time. One report quoted comes from Tabal, and is brought by the major-domo of the Princess Aḫat-abisha, probably the daughter of Sargon, who was married by him to the King of [pg 339] Tabal. We have independent copies of these reports, quoted by Sennacherib, which enlarge our knowledge of the events. Hence, there can be no doubt that we have here Sennacherib's letters to his father, Sargon, while that king was absent in Babylonia. We are, therefore, able to reconstruct a chapter of Assyrian history, on which the historical monuments have nothing to say. The first letter reads thus:[860]
A letter concerning events in Armenia
To the king, my lord, thy servant Sennacherib. Peace be to the king, my lord. There is peace in Assyria, peace in the temples, peace in all the fortresses of the king. May the heart of the king, my lord, be abundantly cheered. The land of the Ukkai has sent to me, saying, when the King of Armenia came to the land of Gamir, his forces were utterly defeated; he, his commanders, and their forces were driven off; [then comes a broken space from which the few traces left refer to “two commanders,” someone who “came,” someone or something “was captured,” someone “came to me,” something “of his country,” something “he appointed.”] This was the news from the land of the Ukkai. Ashur-riṣûa has sent, saying, “News from Armenia. What I sent before, that is so. A great slaughter took place among them. Now his land is quiet. His nobles are dead. He has come into his own land. Ḳaḳḳadânu, his tartan, is taken, and the King of Armenia is in the land of Uazaun.” This is the news from Ashur-riṣûa. Nabû-li', the commander of Ḥalṣu, has sent to me, saying, “Concerning the garrisons of the fortresses which are on the border, I sent to them for news of the King of Armenia. They report that when he came to the land of Gamir, his forces were all slain, three of his nobles together with their forces were killed, he himself fled and entered into his own land; but that as yet his camp is not attacked.” This is the news from Nabû-li'. The King of Muṣaṣir, his brother, and his son, have gone to greet the King of Armenia. A messenger from Ḥupushkia has gone to greet him. The garrisons of the fortresses which are on the boundary all send news like this. The letter of Nabû-li', the major-domo of Aḫat-abisha, brought from Tabal; to the king, my lord, I have sent it on.
Another letter regarding the movements of the Armenian king
The second letter[861] began in exactly the same way, so far as one can judge from the traces of the first seven lines. As [pg 340] before, Sennacherib quotes reports, which he has received, in the sender's own words. From what is left of the first report we learn that the King of Armenia had ordered the forces at his command to capture the commanders of the King of Assyria and bring them alive to him. The city of Kumai is named as the place where these commanders were. As yet the sender “is cut off” and has not withdrawn from his post. But, as he has heard, so he has sent to the king's son: