This volume of Babylonian letters from Nineveh contains two kinds of texts: letters which can be dated to the reign of Esarhaddon, and letters from northern and central Babylonia datable to the reign of Assurbanipal or later kings. The latter are edited as a group of their own after the Esarhaddon letters. Fragmentary letters that cannot be assigned with certainty to either group have been included in the Esarhaddon group. The Assurbanipal section also contains a few letters dating from the reign of Sin-šarru-iškun (see p. XXXIII).
Most of the letters are addressed to the Assyrian king. Authors writing to the king include city governors of Babylon, Nippur, and Uruk. The precise status of other named authors is often unclear. These texts can loosely be described as political letters; they relayed information to the Assyrian king from what was effectively an intelligence network in Babylonia. Major topics of the letters include:
These letters are important primary sources for reconstructing the history of Babylonia and Assyria during the reigns of Esarhaddon and Assurbanipal in the seventh century B. C.
Frances Reynolds
Frances Reynolds, 'Babylonian Correspondence', The Babylonian Correspondence of Esarhaddon and Letters to Assurbanipal and Sin-šarru-iškun from Northern and Central Babylonia, SAA 18. Original publication: Helsinki, Helsinki University Press, 2003; online contents: SAAo/SAA18 Project, a sub-project of MOCCI, 2020 [http://oracc.org/saao/saa18/babyloniancorrespondence/]