A crucial problem which must be dealt with as a preliminary question in the matter of foreign relations, consists of establishing where the Assyrian imperial ideology considered the official border of the marginal provinces to end; that is to say, what countries and territories and communities were regarded as formally independent, and how relations with such entities were managed. This set of problems has obvious repercussions on the relations between kingdoms and on their different ranks, and on the relations between provincial government and foreign ruler ship; but also on the extension and the nature of Assyrian dominion in marginal lands.
The picture provided by our letters is not clear at all in this respect. While it seems roughly clear that some territories were considered fully independent because of the prerogatives which their rulers appear to have had in practice, this is not absolutely clear for many others. Hu-Tešub of Šubria was able to refuse the extradition of deserters to the Assyrian government (no. 35) or to bargain about this matter (no. 52), and to deny the consignment to Assyrian officials of timber cut in his own territories (no. 33). This points to his total autonomy from provincial government. Formally, also the sovereigns of Hubuškia and Muṣaṣir must be regarded as on the same level, as they were entitled to bring tribute to the Assyrian king (nos. 133 and 146).
On the other hand, the position of other territories is not well defined, nor is the institutional rank of their rulers clear. The case of Kumme, whose ruler might be identified with the often mentioned Ariye, may be paradigmatic in this regard. While Ariye is entitled to write directly to Assyrian crown prince Sennacherib (SAA I 2 9), or to meet with the ruler of Ukku (SAA I 4 1), the status of the ruler of Kumme is said in no. 117 to be that of bēl āli, "city lord," a title normally referring to (recently subjugated) vassal rulers. Further, in no. 95 we hear that Kumme was totally in the hands of Assyria, and was subjected to a foreman of cavalry (obv. 12-15). On the other hand, in this same letter Argišti of Urarṭu complains about not having received any greetings from Kumme since his accession — a reference which would point towards a partial autonomy of that city (and its leader), at least in Urarṭian eyes. Historical developments which may have led to a change in the status of Kumme are otherwise unknown to us.
This problem involves even the status of some correspondents who bear clearly Assyrian names. It is the case of Aššur-rešuwa, a man who wrote a large number of letters to Sargon (9 with his name preserved in the salutation, and 11 attributable to him on graphic and orthographic grounds), and who, just because of this plain fact, may be suspected to be a high official, even a provincial governor. Some of his letters deal with problems in Kumme (e.g., nos. 94, 97, I 05), and this would lead one to consider him as a governor in charge of that area.[[24]] On the other hand, in letter no. 117, quoted above, Aššur-rešuwa is listed, among others, as a "city lord." Further, in another letter (no. 106), Kummean citizens are described as no longer tolerating the Assyrian qēpu, while Aššur-rešuwa asks for the elimination of high-ranking Kummeans, giving room for the suspicion that he is the qēpu in question. Since the qēpu is normally understood as an "official of the Assyrian king abroad,"[[25]] this would imply an independent status for Kumme, contradicting all that has been delineated above.
The matter clearly calls for further study, and this is connected with the long-lasting debate about the prosopography and cursus honorum of Assyrian officials; our correspondence is a valuable means to begin to face this problem.
24 In no. 104, a governor named Nabû-uṣalla appears to be in charge of a community of Kummeans. As pointed out in the critical apparatus, it is not at all certain, however, that he actually was in charge of the city of Kumme as well.
25 CAD Q, p. 265 and 268, with bibliography.
Giovanni B. Lanfranchi
Giovanni B. Lanfranchi, 'The Concept of Independent States or Communities', The Correspondence of Sargon II, Part II: Letters from the Northern and Northeastern Provinces, SAA 5. Original publication: Helsinki, Helsinki University Press, 1990; online contents: SAAo/SAA05 Project, a sub-project of MOCCI, 2020 [http://oracc.org/saao/saa05/empireandminorstates/conceptofindependentstates/]