None of the letters are explicitly dated. Their approximate dating to the reign of Esarhaddon is based on prosopographical evidence and on their contents, where they can be connected with events known from other sources. Therefore only a small group of letters can be elated to a specific year and very few of them more accurately to a specific month or day, and even then with certain reservations.[[27]] Fortunately, quite a number of letters can be roughly dated since they are linked with the crown princehood of Assurbanipal (and Šamaš-šumu-ukin), a well-documented period, or with a handful of known historical events which took place in Esarhaddon's reign (680-669) or shortly before it.
In chronological order, the most important events referred to or hinted at in the letters are as follows:
| 681-I | Esarhaddon's flight before his succession to power (no. 29)[[28]] |
| 681-X-20 | Sennacherib's death and the subsequent unrest in Assyria (no. 95)[[29]] |
| 680-II | Esarhaddon's accession (no. 29)[[30]] |
| 674 | Conclusion of a peace treaty between Assyria and Elam (no. 1) |
| 672-II-12 | Esarhaddon's succession treaty (nos. 21, 59-61, 71, 126, 150)[[31]] |
| 672-669 | Time of two crown princes, Assurbinipal and Šamaš-šumu-ukin (passim) |
| 670 | Conspiracy against Esarhaddon (especially nos. 59-61)[[32]] |
In the following table (Table I), approximate elates are proposed for the letters which can, one way or another, be linked with historical events known from Esarhaddon's reign. Naturally, the degree of certainty of these dates varies, from certain to very speculative. Column I gives the name of the ender, his profession and domicile (if known); column 2, the number of the letter in the volume; column 3, the proposed date; and column 4, the grounds for the dating or references to passages which elucidate the underlying reasoning.
| Sender, profession, domicile | Letter | Proposed date | Grounds for dating |
| Royal letters | |||
| Esarhaddon, king, Nineveh | no. 1 | 674 (or 673?) | After the peace treaty with Elam |
| Assurbinipal, crown prince, Nineveh | nos. 14-20 | all 672-669, most 670 | Crown princehood 672-669 |
| Šamaš-šumu-ukin, crown prince, Babylonia | nos. 21-24 | most likely in 670 | See Parpola, Iraq 34 (1972) 27 |
| Šamaš-metu-uballiṭ, prince, Nineveh | nos. 25-27 | 672-669 | As son of Esarhaddob it is not likely that he had sent any letters before Assurbinipal and Šamaš-šumu-ukin were made crown princes |
| Šerua-eṭerat, princess, Nineveh | no. 28 | most probably 672 or 671 | To Libbali-šarrat, wife of Assurbinipal, perhaps not long after the latter married Libbali-šarrat |
| Letters from Assyria | |||
| Mardî, servant of the governor of Barhalza | no. 29 | probably 680 | References to Esarhaddon's flight (1.6) and his accession (1. 13) |
| Ibašši-ilu pahhizu | no. 30 | perhaps 680 | The author had probably appealed to Sennacherib earlier. The lawsuit and his consequences are unlikely to have taken many years |
| Kudurru-son of Šamaš-ibni of Bit-Dakkuri, in the confinement in Nineveh | no. 31 | 674? | If the "previous expedition" referred to (obv. 6) is Esarhaddon's campaign in Babylonia in 675. Cf. Nissinen Prophecy, p. 133 |
| Nabû-zer-ketti-lešir, overseer | nos. 32-33 | early in Esarhaddon's reign (680-679?) | References (no. 32 r. 8, 33 r. 2) to Sennacherib's orders |
| Šumaya | nos. 34-35 | early 672? | To the crown prince |
| unidentified | no. 36 | 672-669 | The crown prince is mentioned |
| unidentified | nos. 37-38 | 672-670 | Crown prince. See Nissinen Prophecy, p. 129f |
| Nabû-tukulti, Nabù-šumu-lešir, Mutakkil-Adad | no. 41 | 672-671 | The crown prince is mentioned |
| Iqbi-Aššur, scribe of Kar-Shalamaneser | no. 44 | early part of Esarhaddons reign? | Iqbi-Aššur was active already in the late reign of Sennacherib |
| Nabû-zeru-lešir, chief scribe | no. 50 | before 672 (IV-8) | Cf. below, "Note on an Influential Family of Scholars" |
| Nabû-rehtu-uṣur | nos. 59-61 | 671-670 | Conspiracy against Esarhaddon. See Nissinen Prophecy, p. 117ff. |
| Anonymous | nos. 62-68 | 672-669 | No. 63 r. 4-5, 14, no. 66 r. 6 sons of the king; no. 65:2 Saši, r. 4 crown prince |
| Anonymous | nos. 69-70 | 672-670 | To the crown prince |
| Mannu-ki-Libbali, scribe working under the palace scribe, Nineveh | no. 78 | 672-671 | Kushite girls. Presumably after the occupation of Egypt (671) |
| Mannu-ki-Libbali and Kanunayu, deputy of the palace scribe | no. 79 | 672-672 | No. 79 seems to be earlier than no. 78, since Mannu-ki-Libbali is still serving under the palace scribe in no. 79 |
| Nabû-sagib, son of the Parruṭu, goldsmith of the queen's household | no. 81 | late in Esarhaddon's reign? | Related to no. 65? |
| unidentified, Assur | no. 95 | 680 | Governor of Assur (?) acts after Sennacherib's death. Letters to Essarhaddon? |
| Mayors and elders of Assur | no. 96 | late in Esarhaddon's reign | If to be taken literally "your son's son" (r. 4) can only occur in the late reign of Essarhaddon; however, cf. LAS II A, p. 50 |
| Ubru-Nabû, scribe of the new palace in Calah | no. 105 | 675? | A reference to Sippar shortly before or after the Elamite raid? |
| Bel-iqiša, high official | no. 116 | 672-669 | Letters to the crown prince (r. 4). This letter has a different gretting formula from the other letters authored by him alone |
| Babilayu | no. 118 | 672-670 | Crown price |
| Nanî | no. 124 | 672-671 | To the crown prince |
| Letters ftom other parts of the empire | |||
| Itti-Šamaš-balaṭu | no. 126 | 672 or 671 | No. 126:10-26 referring to and quoting from Esarhaddon's succession treaty |
| unidentified, reffering to Damascus | no. 133 | 672-669 | Crown prince |
| Nabû-ra'im-nišešu and Salamanu (high military official and his deputy) | nos. 136-145 | 675-679 | See below. "The East and the Southeast," and n. 42 |
| unidentified (Nabû-ra''im-nišešu?) | nos. 146-147 | 673 (cf. SAA 2 p, XXXI) or 672-669 | Humbariš of Esarhaddon's succession treaty |
| Aššur-ušallim | no. 148 | 672 (-669) | Blessing the crown princes. Cf. SAA 4 p. LXXV n.247. |
| unidentified, Bit-Hamban | no. 149 | 672-669 | Crown prince |
| unidentified | no. 150 | 672 | Provided that adê refers to the succession treaty |
| unidentified | no. 155 | 672-669 | Crown prince |
| Additions to SAA 10 and 13 | |||
| unidentified scholar | no. 164 | 673? | Asakku. To be combined with the campaign against Šubria (?), see below. |
| Urdu-Nanaya | no. 165 | 671-669 | Cf. SAA 10 p. XXVI |
| Mar-Issar, scholar, Esarhaddon's agent in Babylonia | no. 171 | probably 671-669 | Mar-Issar's letters (SAA 10 347-370) date to 671-669 |
| Nabû-šumu-iddina, superintendent of the Nabû temple in Calah | nos. 175-177 | probably either late reign of Esarhaddon or early reign of Assurbinipal | Cf., e.g. PNA 2/II p. 885 s.v. Nabû-šumu-iddina 15 |
| Unassigned and unattributed letters | |||
| Nabû-ahhe-šallim | no. 181 | probably from the late reign of Esarhaddon | Balṭaya, cf. PNA 1/II p. 260 f s.v. Balṭti-Aia 6-7 |
| unidentified | no. 207 | 672-669 | Crown prince. See Nissinen Prophecy p. 129f |
| unidentified | no. 217 | 672-669 | If the Rear Palace in r. 7 is correct, then probably 672-669 |
It is very likely that most of the letters which cannot be dated even approximately to any specific year in Esarhaddon's time were written in the years 672-669, considering the high density of datable letters during these years. It is not excluded that a few of them could also belong to the early years of Assurbanipal' s reign.[[33]]
27 More exact dates are mentioned in no. 45, 52, 90, 100, 117. 125 and 197, but the correct year of these documents is not known.
28 Cf. S. Parpola. CRRAI 26 (1980). p. 178 n. 39.
29 Borger Esarh. p. 121: 681/0. Parpola. CR RAJ 26 (1980) 171 ff. Grayson Chronicles p. 81:34f.
30 See. e.g. Borger Esarh. pp. 45:87. 121: 68 1 /0. Grayson Chronicles p. 82:38. SAA 2 4 (accession treaty of Esarhaddon) and Leichty, CANE p. 951 f.
31 SAA 2 p. XXIX.
32 For a thorough discussion of the conspiracy, see Nissinen Prophecy, pp. 108ff and 127ff.
33 See the comments on nos. 129 and 143. For the dating of Esarhaddon letters. cf. the chronology of the letters in SAA 10 p. XXIXf and LAS IIA p. 48ff.
Mikko Luukko & Greta van Buylaere
Mikko Luukko & Greta van Buylaere, 'Datable Letters', The Political Correspondence of Esarhaddon, SAA 16. Original publication: Helsinki, Helsinki University Press, 2002; online contents: SAAo/SAA16 Project, a sub-project of MOCCI, 2022 [http://oracc.org/saao/saa16/datableletters/]