Reports were sent from many places in Assyria and Babylonia to the capital.[[36]] In this way conditions unfavorable for observation could be overcome: if observation was impossible in Nineveh because of clouds, it may have been performed successfully somewhere else. In a letter of Bel-ušezib (RMA 274) it is taken for granted that an eclipse not observable in Nineveh will have been seen at some other observing post, and the following cities are enumerated where one should ask for information: Assur, Babylon, Nippur, Uruk, and Borsippa. In these at least the writer of RMA 274 expected observation to have taken place. Results of observation were exchanged by means of messengers; no. 3 r.1ff is an example of such a case.
Some senders of Reports give their place of origin after their name at the end of the text; while this is not necessarily the place at which they observed, it is the most likely place. In connection with the names, the cities of Assur. Uruk, Borsippa, Dilbat and Cutha are mentioned. A thorough investigation of the places from which Reports were sent can be found in Oppenheim's article.[[37]] From this it appears that Reports were also sent from Babylon, although none of the reporters is explicitly called "from Babylon" in his name.[[38]]
We do not know how the Reports were brought to Nineveh from these other cities, but it certainly was done quickly, so that actions against dangerous omens could be performed without delay.
TABLE II. Distribution of Reports in Time
| Date | Number of Reports |
|---|---|
| -708 | 1 |
| -679 | 2 |
| -678 | 3 |
| -677 | 4 |
| -676 | 4 |
| -675 | 3 |
| -674 | 14 |
| -673 | 7 |
| -672 | 9 |
| -671 | 11 |
| -670 | 4 |
| -669 | 10 |
| -668 | 19 |
| -667 | 5 |
| -666 | 14 |
| -665 | 6 |
| -663 | 1 |
| -656 | 3 |
| -648 | 1 |
36 This fact was discussed, and some explanations offered, by Oppenheim, Centaurus 14 122ff. He assumes. e.g., that some of the Reports containing observations without omens were intended for establishing the beginning of the lunar month.
37 Centaurus 14 101ff.
38 Note however that Bel-ušezib seems to have lived in Nineveh, see F. M. Fales and G. B. Lanfranchi, East and West 31 (1981) 10.
Hermann Hunger
Hermann Hunger, 'Distribution of Senders Around the Country', Astrological Reports to Assyrian Kings, SAA 8. Original publication: Helsinki, Helsinki University Press, 1992; online contents: SAAo/SAA08 Project, a sub-project of MOCCI, 2020 [http://oracc.org/saao/saa08/thesenders/distributionofsenders/]