Our correspondence reveals a number of instances of the political and social effects of imperial policies. As for the former, the whole "outside world" seems to have been totally conditioned by its relations with imperial politics. Imperial interference in the dynastic succession of an independent country, for instance, is attested by a very interesting fragmentary letter (no. 108), which is now basically understandable thanks to several recent joins. An unnamed individual has killed the legitimate queen of Habhu in order to raise an Urarṭian lady to the throne; faced with accusations of murder, he excuses himself by blaming the Urarṭian king for the assassination. The local populace, however, does not accept this fait accompli but mumbles: "An Urarṭian woman may not sit on the throne!" This situation has a parallel in the marriage of a daughter of Sargon to a ruler of Tabal, which was meant to Assyrianize that Anatolian dynasty.[[27]]
Another interesting case of imperial interference is provided by no. 31, where a king of Urarṭu pressures the ruler of Šubria by various means, among other things by demanding back "the jewellery that my father and I have given to you," thus recalling the binding value of gifts exchanged between dynasts.
Imperial interference in local politics was exerted both overtly and covertly. On the one hand, we have Argišti's request for homage from Kumme (no. 95), mentioned above; on the other, the case of an Urarṭian informer secretly going to Ariye captured by the Assyrians, reported in no. 55. But perhaps the most devastating effect on local social compactness was caused by recruitment to imperial armies, a phenomenon which must have taken p lace as a matter of fact. On the Assyrian side, Kummean troops would serve under their local rulers, but they would be strategically directed by Assyrian commanders (no. 97), whereas vassal rulers were required to take part in Assyrian military expeditions (nos. 199 and 200). On the Urarṭian side, Urzana of Muṣaṣir was asked to provide military aid during the Cimmerian attack (no. 145): a situation exactly opposite to that presented in no. 139, where Muṣaṣirian troops were called by the Assyrian king.
On another level, imperial interference was caused by problems inherent in the imperial systems themselves. Deserters from imperial armies, political fugitives, as well as criminals constantly tried to take refuge in bordering lands which were formally autonomous. Many letters attest this important social phenomenon. Nos. 32, 34, 35, 52 and 54 deal with Assyrian (and Urarṭian, no. 35) deserters in Šubria, a land which evidently represented a kind of "sanctuary" until the time of Esarhaddon, who annexed Šubria in 673 and disposed of the Assyrian and Urarṭian deserters there.[[28]] Searches for criminals sometimes caused embarrassing moments in political relations, cf. no. 53, where a renegade officer flees to Šubria taking with him the seal of the Assyrian governor.
The subjection of formerly independent territories to Assyrian rule apparently resulted in friction between various elements of the local population. While the representatives of the Assyrian king may have been tolerated or welcomed by local rulers, other sectors of the populace were often less tolerant, resulting in unrest and demands for the removal of the local Assyrian delegates. A small group of letters reveals such a situation in Kumme, where the opposition to the Assyrian qēpu resulted in demands against Ariye, the ruler (no. l07), and led to a serious confrontation with Aššur-rešuawa (no. 106). The story may have had a happy ending though (at least from the Assyrian point of view), for in one of the letters the Kummeans proclaim: "The king, our lord, is the lord of all; what can we say?" (no. 105).
Naturally, problems had occasionally to be solved by force: refusal to provide horses for the Assyrian king, for instance, was heavily punished (no. 202, probably in the Mannean area). Use of force, however, was not mandatory. The Assyrian approach to local problems may rather be perceived as generally cautious — a picture which decidedly contrasts with the stereotyped image of Assyrian cruelty and violence. In letter 203 an Assyrian governor fulfills the king's order to "speak kindly" to a local representative; another Assyrian official puts up a show of kindness in front of the men of Allabria (no. 202). Even long insubmissive mountain territories could be "appeased" by negotiations, which resulted in the acceptance of the "king's treaty," and with it, the re-imposition of labour and military duties (no. 78).
27 Lie Sar. p. 32:l97f.
28 Borger Esarh. p. 106, Gbr. II, III 23-34.
Giovanni B. Lanfranchi
Giovanni B. Lanfranchi, 'Political and Social Relations', 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/politicalandsocialrelations/]