Apart from their scholarly activities. Esarhaddon's chief scribe Nabû-zeru-lešir and his son. Issar-šumu-ereš, who succeeded his father as chief scribe, also seem to have been involved in non-scholarly matters. There are some indications that the latter was a palace scribe before his promotion to the office of chief scribe. It is not known when exactly he was promoted to the rank of chief scribe after his father's death. Tn any case, the earliest extant letters written by Issar-šumu-ereš date to early 672.[[125]]
Nine letters of the present volume (nos. 48-50, 78-80, 87(?), 89 and 125) directly or indirectly pertain to Nabû-zeru-lešir, lssar-šumu-ereš. the chief scribe and the palace scribe.
Nabû-zeru-lesir is the author of a list (no. 50) which enumerates fourteen people permitted to enter the palace.[[126]] This list includes Nabû-zeru-lešir himself and his three sons, two daughters and daughter-in-law (names not mentioned). From other sources we know that his sons included Issar-šumu- ereš and the exorcist Sumaya.[[127]] The name of Nabû-zeru-lešir's third son is not known, but it is very likely that he was a scholar too. It seems that at the time this list was prepared only one of his sons was married, since only one daughter-in-law is mentioned.
Issar-šumu-ereš is most likely the author of a memorandum (no. 80) to the king. This memorandum shows that an essential part of the chief scribe's duty was the drawing up of financial records. Another typical task of the chief scribe is probably alluded to in no. 125 r.5-10. whose sender (name not preserved) urges the king to order "the chief scribe to write the name of the king on the stele, and at the same time to look up a favourable day for the (objects) to be placed in the door-jambs of the house.''
Both the chief scribe and the palace scribe must have been extremely Influential men at court, but this did not always result in riches and fortune, as the picturesque description of the chief scribe's house in no. 89 reveals: "The house of the chief scribe is a tiny house. Even a donkey would not enter there" (obv. 9-11).
The memorandum by Issar-šumu-ereš discussed above (no. 80) mentions a person called Kanunayu, who also occurs in no. 78 r.2 as "Kanunayu, the deputy (of the palace scribe)," whereas no. 79 is written by Kanunayu (title not given) and Mannu-ki-Libbali. lnterestingly, at the end of this letter, which concerns building works, Kanunayu and Mannu-ki-Libbali ask the king to give an order to Issar-sumu-eres, their own immediate superior. Is it possible .hat the palace scribe with whom Mannu-ki-libbali had problems (no. 78) was in fact lssar-šumu-ereš?
125 See SAA 10 5 = LAS II 3 and SAA 10 6 = LAS II 1.
126 Nabû-zeru-lešir's letters all date either to 679 ir 674, cf. PNA 2/II p. 911 s.v. Nabû-zeru-lešir 4.
127 SAA 6 314 r. 13, SAA 10 257 r. 7, and 291 r. 1.
Mikko Luukko & Greta van Buylaere
Mikko Luukko & Greta van Buylaere, 'Note on an Influential Family of Scholars', 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/noteonaninfluentialfamilyofscholars/]