Continually has the king, my lord, said to me, thus, “The nature of my disease is this, thou hast not seen to it, its recovery thou hast not effected.” Formerly I said before the king, my lord, “The ulcer is incurable (?), I cannot prescribe for it.” Now, however, I have sealed a letter and sent it. In the presence of the king, let them read it, I will prescribe for the king, my lord. If it be agreeable to the king, my lord, let a magician do his work on him. Let the king apply a lotion (?). Shortly the sore will be loosed. This lotion of oils (?) let the king apply two or three times. The king will know if the king says ...
The rest is obscure, simply because we do not know what the disease, or remedy, was.
Shamash-mîtu-uballiṭ, probably the youngest son of Esarhaddon, writes to the king, but whether to his father or his brother Ashurbânipal does not seem clear, about the health of a lady, in whose well-being the king seemed to take interest.[940]
To the king, my lord, thy servant Shamash-mîtu-uballiṭ. Verily peace be to the king, my lord, may Nabû and Marduk be excessively gracious to the king, my lord. Verily the king's handmaid, Bau-gâmelat is excessively ill, she can eat nothing. Forsooth let the king, my lord, send an order and let a doctor come and see her.
Letters regarding the appointment of officials
There is also an interesting letter concerning the appointment of a successor to a dead official,[941] sent by a writer whose name is lost:
To the king, my lord, thy servant, ... verily peace to the king, my lord. May Ashur and Beltu be gracious to the king, my lord. Concerning the overseer of the house of the seers, who is dead, as I said in the presence of the king, my lord, to wit, his son, his brother's son, are alive. Now his son, his brother's son, and Simânai, the son of Nabû-uballiṭ, and the son of the father's brother, of Ashur-nâ'id, the deputy priest, with them, shall come into the presence of the [pg 377] king, my lord. Whoever shall find favor in the sight of the king, my lord, let the king, my lord, appoint.
It is clear that succession was not purely hereditary. Even when the son was alive, he might be passed over in favor of a cousin, or for a still more distant relation. There are many other interesting cases where the king inquires for the proper persons to be placed in the offices vacated through death or deposition. For example, when Esarhaddon began to set in order the temple services, he heard the following report:[942]
To the king, my lord, thy servant Akkullânu. Peace be to the king, my lord. Nabû and Marduk be gracious to the king, my lord. In the long desuetude of the customary rights of Ashur, regarding which the king, my lord, sent word to his servant, saying, “Who among the magnates have not complied, have not given, be it much or little (their default),” yesterday I could not write to the king, my lord. Now these are the magnates who have not given their dues: the governors of Barḫalza, Raṣappa, Kalzi, Isana, Bêlê, Kullania, Arpadda; these have failed to pay their dues. Raṣappa, Barḫalza, Diḳuḳina, the chief of the vineyards, Daian-Adadi, Isana, Ḫalziatbar, Birtu, Arzuḫina, Arbailu, Guzana, Sharish, Diḫnunna, Rimusu, all these have not given the barley and wheat due from them. And as to the overseer of the bakehouse, the overseer of the larder and the chief purveyors, concerning whom the king, my lord, inquired, they are removed from their posts, and this is alleged as the reason: The overseer of the bakehouse is a child, Sennacherib removed him; Ashur-zêr-iddin, the priest of Nineveh, slandered him. I was frightened at the troubles. He had not committed any great crime.... The overseer of the larder had broken (?) a dish of Ashur's, for this deed thy father removed him from charge of Ashur's dish, and appointed a turban-maker's son; he is without education. And concerning the chief purveyors, Sennacherib made a reduction of their allowances, and the son of the turban-maker receives the rest. Now for six years he has been dead and his son indeed stands in his office. Justice has been in abeyance since Sargon. Sennacherib was the remover. [pg 378] This is according to their reasons. The king, my lord, as he will, let him do.
The text is difficult, partly because some signs are defaced, partly because some words could be read more ways than one, and others are obscure. It seems quite clear that the cult of Ashur had greatly suffered. We know from the Ḥarrân census that certain lands were charged with dues to the temples, others with salaries to officials. The list of defaulters is of geographical value. The deposition of rightful temple officers and the intrusion of unworthy substitutes, on slight grounds, is charged to Sennacherib. He was evidently estranged from the cult of Ashur. Doubtless a comparison of other letters will clear up some of the obscurities, but sufficient is clear to indicate the importance of such documents.