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VOLUME 65

NUMBER 2

2015

CONTENTS
129

ORIT SHAMIR and STEVEN A. ROSEN: Early Bronze Age Textiles from the
Ramon I Rock Shelter in the Central Negev

140

BRENT DAVIS, AREN M. MAEIR and LOUISE A. HITCHCOCK: Disentangling


Entangled Objects: Iron Age Inscriptions from Philistia as a Reflection of
Cultural Processes

167

JOE UZIEL, ESTHER ESHEL and NAHSHON SZANTON: A Late Iron Age
Inscribed Sherd from the City of David

179

K. LAWSON YOUNGER, JR.: The Assyrian Economic Impact on the Southern


Levant in the Light of Recent Study

205

DANIEL VAINSTUB and PETER FABIAN: An Idumean Ostracon from orvat


Naal Yatir

214

AMIHAI MAZAR and IDO WACHTEL: urvat Eres: A Fourth-Century BCE


Fortress West of Jerusalem

245

REVIEWS

250

HEBREW BOOKS AND PAPERS

Page layout by Avraham Pladot


Typesetting by Marzel A.S. Jerusalem
Printed by Old City Press, Jerusalem

I
E
J

Israel
Exploration
Journal

65
2

VOLUME 65 NUMBER 2
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL 2015

ABBREVIATIONS

ISRAEL EXPLORATION JOURNAL

Published twice yearly by the Israel Exploration Society and the Institute of
Archaeology of the Hebrew University, with the assistance of the Nathan
Davidson Publication Fund in Archaeology, Samis Foundation, Seattle WA,
and Dorot Foundation, Providence RI

Founders
A. Reifenberg, D. Amiran

Former Editors
Michael Avi-Yonah, Dan Barag, Jonas C. Greenfield, Baruch A. Levine,
Amihai Mazar, Miriam Tadmor

Editorial Board
Shmuel Aituv, Aren M. Maeir and Zeev Weiss, Editors
Tsipi Kuper-Blau, Executive Editor
Joseph Aviram, President, Israel Exploration Society

Editorial Advisory Board


Gideon Avni, Ofer Bar-Yosef, Shlomo Bunimovitz, Israel Ephal,
Baruch A. Levine, Ronny Reich, Myriam Rosen-Ayalon

IEJ is now available online on JSTOR

Email: iej.editors@gmail.com
Books for review: Israel Exploration Journal, P.O.B. 7041, Jerusalem 91070,
Israel
Guidelines: http://israelexplorationsociety.huji.ac.il

Copyright 2015 Israel Exploration Society


ISSN 0021-2059

The Editors are not responsible for opinions expressed by the contributors

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Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research


Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan
American Journal of Archaeology
Archiv fr Orientforschung
Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament3, ed. J.B. Pritchard,
Princeton, 1969
The Biblical Archaeologist
Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research
Babylonian Talmud
Chicago Assyrian Dictionary
Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum
Discoveries in the Judaean Desert
Dead Sea Discoveries
Eretz-Israel: Archaeological, Historical and Geographical Studies
Excavations and Surveys in Israel
Israel Antiquities Authority Reports
Israel Exploration Journal
Journal of the American Oriental Society
Journal of Biblical Literature
Journal of Cuneiform Studies
Journal of Egyptian Archaeology
Journal of Near Eastern Studies
W. Donner and W. Rllig: Kanaanische und aramische Inschriften 13,
Wiesbaden, 19621964; 15, 2002
The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land (English
Edition), Jerusalem, 1993
Palestine Exploration Quarterly
Palestinian Talmud
Quarterly of the Department of Antiquities in Palestine
Revue dAssyriologie et dArchologie Orientale
Revue Biblique
Pauly-Wissowas Realencyclopdie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft
Revue de Qumran
Vetus Testamentum
Zeitschrift fr Assyriologie
Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palstina-Vereins

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION RATES


2016: $73 including postage or equivalent payable to
the Israel Exploration Society, P.O.B. 7041, Jerusalem 91070, Israel.
All subscribers are entitled to a 25% reduction on the publications of the Society.
Subscribers should give full name and postal address when paying their
subscription, and should send notice of change of address at least five weeks before
it is to take effect; the old as well as the new address should be given.
Single issue: $37 or equivalent.

VOLUME 65

NUMBER 2

2015

CONTENTS
129

ORIT SHAMIR and STEVEN A. ROSEN: Early Bronze Age Textiles from the
Ramon I Rock Shelter in the Central Negev

140

BRENT DAVIS, AREN M. MAEIR and LOUISE A. HITCHCOCK: Disentangling


Entangled Objects: Iron Age Inscriptions from Philistia as a Reflection of
Cultural Processes

167

JOE UZIEL, ESTHER ESHEL and NAHSHON SZANTON: A Late Iron Age
Inscribed Sherd from the City of David

179

K. LAWSON YOUNGER, JR.: The Assyrian Economic Impact on the Southern


Levant in the Light of Recent Study

205

DANIEL VAINSTUB and PETER FABIAN: An Idumean Ostracon from orvat


Naal Yatir

214

AMIHAI MAZAR and IDO WACHTEL: urvat Eres: A Fourth-Century BCE


Fortress West of Jerusalem

245

REVIEWS

250

HEBREW BOOKS AND PAPERS

Page layout by Avraham Pladot


Typesetting by Marzel A.S. Jerusalem
Printed by Old City Press, Jerusalem

I
E
J

Israel
Exploration
Journal

65
2

VOLUME 65 NUMBER 2
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL 2015

ABBREVIATIONS

ISRAEL EXPLORATION JOURNAL

Published twice yearly by the Israel Exploration Society and the Institute of
Archaeology of the Hebrew University, with the assistance of the Nathan
Davidson Publication Fund in Archaeology, Samis Foundation, Seattle WA,
and Dorot Foundation, Providence RI

Founders
A. Reifenberg, D. Amiran

Former Editors
Michael Avi-Yonah, Dan Barag, Jonas C. Greenfield, Baruch A. Levine,
Amihai Mazar, Miriam Tadmor

Editorial Board
Shmuel Aituv, Aren M. Maeir and Zeev Weiss, Editors
Tsipi Kuper-Blau, Executive Editor
Joseph Aviram, President, Israel Exploration Society

Editorial Advisory Board


Gideon Avni, Ofer Bar-Yosef, Shlomo Bunimovitz, Israel Ephal,
Baruch A. Levine, Ronny Reich, Myriam Rosen-Ayalon

IEJ is now available online on JSTOR

Email: iej.editors@gmail.com
Books for review: Israel Exploration Journal, P.O.B. 7041, Jerusalem 91070,
Israel
Guidelines: http://israelexplorationsociety.huji.ac.il

Copyright 2015 Israel Exploration Society


ISSN 0021-2059

The Editors are not responsible for opinions expressed by the contributors

AASOR
ADAJ
AJA
AfO
ANET
BA
BASOR
BT
CAD
CIS
DJD
DSD
EI
ESI
IAA Reports
IEJ
JAOS
JBL
JCS
JEA
JNES
KAI
NEAEHL
PEQ
PT
QDAP
RA
RB
RE
RQ
VT
ZA
ZDPV

Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research


Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan
American Journal of Archaeology
Archiv fr Orientforschung
Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament3, ed. J.B. Pritchard,
Princeton, 1969
The Biblical Archaeologist
Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research
Babylonian Talmud
Chicago Assyrian Dictionary
Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum
Discoveries in the Judaean Desert
Dead Sea Discoveries
Eretz-Israel: Archaeological, Historical and Geographical Studies
Excavations and Surveys in Israel
Israel Antiquities Authority Reports
Israel Exploration Journal
Journal of the American Oriental Society
Journal of Biblical Literature
Journal of Cuneiform Studies
Journal of Egyptian Archaeology
Journal of Near Eastern Studies
W. Donner and W. Rllig: Kanaanische und aramische Inschriften 13,
Wiesbaden, 19621964; 15, 2002
The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land (English
Edition), Jerusalem, 1993
Palestine Exploration Quarterly
Palestinian Talmud
Quarterly of the Department of Antiquities in Palestine
Revue dAssyriologie et dArchologie Orientale
Revue Biblique
Pauly-Wissowas Realencyclopdie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft
Revue de Qumran
Vetus Testamentum
Zeitschrift fr Assyriologie
Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palstina-Vereins

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION RATES


2016: $73 including postage or equivalent payable to
the Israel Exploration Society, P.O.B. 7041, Jerusalem 91070, Israel.
All subscribers are entitled to a 25% reduction on the publications of the Society.
Subscribers should give full name and postal address when paying their
subscription, and should send notice of change of address at least five weeks before
it is to take effect; the old as well as the new address should be given.
Single issue: $37 or equivalent.

The Assyrian Economic Impact on the Southern


Levant in the Light of Recent Study*
K. LAWSON YOUNGER, JR.
Trinity International University Divinity School
ABSTRACT: In light of recent discussions concerning the impact of the Neo-Assyrian Empire in the Levant, this article investigates the growth and development of
that empires complex political, ideological and economic policies and practices.
Based on this data, it seeks to evaluate recent scholarly proposals concerning
Assyrias negative economic impacts in order to obtain a more comprehensive and
balanced understanding.

ANDREAS FUCHS (2009) titles one of his essays Waren die Assyrer grausam?
(Were the Assyrians Cruel?). F.M. Fales, however, has titled an article On Pax
Assyriaca in the EighthSeventh Centuries BCE and Its Implications (2008a),
and has extensively studied pax Assyriaca in his recent book, Guerre et paix en
Assyrie (2010a). There seems to be a contradiction. For many, the only thing that
they know about the Assyrians is their infamous cruelty, their calculated frightfulness, their ideology of terror (Olmstead 1918; 1921; Oppenheim 1964: 120;
Saggs 1963). And so the very thought of pax Assyriaca seems utterly contradictory an oxymoron, if ever there was one!
With regard to Assyrian involvements in the Levant, two very different views
have also been expressed by archaeologists. The site of Tel Miqne-Ekron seems to
be a particular point of contention. On the one hand, S. Gitin, the sites excavator,
has attributed the significant increase in olive-oil production during the seventh
century at Ekron to the mercantile interests of the Neo-Assyrian kings that formed
a new super-national system of political control in the eastern Mediterranean
basin which produced the pax Assyriaca, 70 years of unparalleled growth and
development, and an international trading network which spanned the Mediterranean, stimulating Phoenician trade and colonization in the west (Gitin 1995:
6162; see also Gitin 1997; 2003).
On the other hand, scholars like J.D. Schloen and, most recently, A. Faust have
assessed the evidence from Ekron quite differently. Schloen (2001: 146147) has
argued that the Assyrians had no interest in manipulating the economy, but only in
extracting wealth. He states: there is no evidence that the Assyrians understood
or were concerned with the economic development of the territory they ruled,
*

Earlier drafts of this article were read at the World Congress of Jewish Studies (Jerusalem, 2013) and the American Oriental Society (2014).

IEJ 65 (2015): 179204

179

180

K. LAWSON YOUNGER, JR.

except in the most rudimentary sense of making it easy for themselves to tax or
confiscate its wealth. And it is anachronistic to credit them with understanding the
economics of how this wealth was produced. Indeed, their readiness to resort to
punitive scorched-earth tactics, including the destruction of long-term capital
investments in fruit trees, which take generations to replace, betrays an overriding
concern not with trade and profits but with the militaristic political and religious
values that motivated their conquest in the first place.1
Faust (2011: 73) has voiced the same view, appealing to the work of the
Assyriologist A.K. Grayson for support. As expressed by Grayson (1991:
216217), The Assyrian view of the economy of the empire was simplistic: the
ruled territories were there to supply the central state with as much wealth and
labour as could be squeezed out of them, and no thought was given to long-range
schemes and profits. On this basis, Faust concludes that the areas that were
annexed by the Assyrians (and later by the Babylonians) became or remained poor
and desolate. The prosperity, as seen in the olive oil industry, was always outside
of the borders of the empire (emphasis mine).2
Therefore, he has posited that the growth of the olive-oil industry was not the
result of Assyrian involvements,3 but of an even more elaborate system that
evolved in Philistia, just outside the borders of the Assyrian Empire. This prosperity was connected with the Mediterranean economy, to the Phoenician maritime
international trade. Faust and Weiss (2005) have suggested that the prosperity of
Philistia and Judah resulted from the prosperous Phoenician maritime trade,
which consumed all the surpluses produced in these polities. Faust (2011: 77)
sums up his thinking this way: it should be stressed that only the regions that
were outside direct Assyrian control prospered, and the Assyrian provinces were
in a deep recession. Apparently, the Assyrians did not make any effort to assist in
the recovery of these regions, nor did they attempt to restore the economic activity
there. They sacked the regions, and continued to tax them, only caring to take
what could be taken easily and immediately. They did not waste time, money and
1
2

Schloen (2001: 146147) quotes Tadmors observation (1975: 37) that the Neo-Assyrian economic interests were in luxury items.
Faust 2011: 78; Faust and Weiss 2005. Faust confused Mesopotamian empires, stating: Interestingly, the entire prospering system of Philistia and Judah, and all its
components, ceased to exist in the late 7th (or early 6th) century, when it was
conquered by Assyrias successor, the Neo-Babylonian Empire. This clearly demonstrates that the Mesopotamian empires were not interested in economic development.
They came to sack and to take tribute, but they did not invest with the aim of extracting
more tribute later (Faust 2011: 73). Clearly, this is methodologically problematic in
that it does not distinguish between the Neo-Babylonian and the Assyrian policies, but
steamrolls them together.
Stager (1996) attributed the prosperity in Philistia to the period of the Egyptian hegemony over Philistia and Judah (but see Gitin 2003).

THE ASSYRIAN ECONOMIC IMPACT ON THE SOUTHERN LEVANT

181

effort in order to maximize their profit, and did not invest in the conquered
regions.
Now, in order to say something meaningful about the southern Levantine situation, I will return to my initially posed oxymoron. It is very clear that our
knowledge of the Assyrians as being cruel and our formulation of the phrases calculated frightfulness and ideology of terror are the product of intensive study by
historians of the Assyrian royal inscriptions and Assyrian palace reliefs.4 These
give the impression that the Assyrian Empire was a uniquely efficient and
remorseless warmongering and bloodthirsty military machine, with quasiHitlerian connotations (Fales 2008a: 17) the evil empire of antiquity! This
overly essentialist view of Assyria as nothing but a brutal autocratic state that
constantly attacked defenseless opponents5 was widespread in twentieth-century
scholarship, as Eckart Frahm (2006: 87) has demonstrated, although there were
notable exceptions: the late Hayim Tadmor and his students tried to provide a
more sophisticated evaluation of Assyrian power and propaganda and the socalled Italian school applied structuralist and semiotic approaches to the study of
Assyria (see also Younger 1990: 61124). The fact is that an overly literal reading
of the Assyrian royal inscriptions can result in an erroneous transfer, not only of a
presumed historical objectivity but also of an exaggerated factual relevance,
onto the official inscriptions that were made out by the court scribes and
ideologues on behalf of the Assyrian rulers, with the exclusive and declared aim
of aggrandizing Assyrian kingship before god and man alike (Fales 2008a: 17).
In short, there is a danger of falling victim to their propaganda!
There is also another ever-present methodological danger, namely that of
latent Orientalism coming into play. I am not saying that any of these scholars
are guilty of a conscious orientalism. Rather, I am acknowledging that for all of us
western scholars, the potential for an unconscious essentializing of what the
ancient Orient6 was, and is, is always possible, unless we make an effort to be
cognizant of the problem.
However, it appears to me that the real problem here is not a latent orientalism
but an imbalance in assessing the Assyrian economy by not accessing sufficiently
the non-royal textual materials. The plethora of non-royal documents7 from the
state archives of the Assyrian Empire provides a radically different outlook on

4
5
6
7

Fuchs (2011) notes especially the mass of textual and relief materials that document
the Assyrian conduct of war.
See the comments of Fales 2010a: 1314.
See the comments of Fales 2010a: 1330; Holloway 2002: 427444; Frahm 2006.
Often these inscriptions are labeled everyday texts. Yet it is important not to convey
the idea that these are somehow totally and irreconcilably in opposition to the Assyrian royal inscriptions; indeed, some of these texts had direct implications for the
administration of the empire.

182

K. LAWSON YOUNGER, JR.

Assyrian foreign policy than the one portrayed in the royal inscriptions and the
palace reliefs by themselves (Fales 2010a). The heavy reliance on the royal
inscriptions is understandable in that these have been more accessible to scholars.
However, with the State Archives of Assyria project, as well as the publication of
other newly discovered Neo-Assyrian texts, a more comprehensive and balanced
view of the Neo-Assyrian Empire is possible.8 This is what has stimulated Fales
work on pax Assyriaca. He defines it as follows: Pax Assyriaca may probably
be best described as an enforced policy, of juridical and administrative character,
that aimed at political and socioeconomic stability in the lands that had fallen
under Assyrian hegemony that served the general economic interests of the
empire (2008a; 2010a).
Thus, pax Assyriaca was concerned with obtaining maximal profit in these
lands from the appropriation of primary production (agriculture and animal breeding), secondary production (commodities or luxury items) and human resources
(generalized work force and specialized craftsmen). To obtain the maximal profit,
there was a need for good management that encouraged ulmu tat de paix (Fales
2010a: 220). As Miller (2009: 128) notes, It was advantageous to the Assyrians
to restore some normalcy and economic viability to the areas they had conquered,
for the purposes of maintaining a prosperous trading network. However, the main
goal was always the establishment of ulmu. So, in the case of particularly rebellious client kingdoms (like Israel or Damascus), this could look quite different
than in compliant areas.9
Space does not permit me to pursue this in the same manner and detail as Fales
(2010a) in his book. On the other hand, Fales has not addressed the view about the
impacts of the Assyrian economy in the Levant as expressed by the scholars cited
above. Thus, I attempt to draw from some of these non-royal documents, as well
as from various other sources, to help envision a more complex image of the
Assyrian Empire and its economic pursuits than the simplistic view painted by the
royal inscriptions alone.
In the first place, the non-royal documents do not show that the Assyrian provinces were in a deep recession or that the Assyrians did not invest in the
8

There have been substantial improvements in the situation for the study of the economy of the Neo-Assyrian Empire since the essay of Postgate 1979 (see esp. pp.
194197), though there are still many areas that have not changed dramatically.
Naaman (1993: 106) suggested that the Assyrians apparently regarded most of the
Galilee as unimportant both economically and politically thus, following deportation of part of the population, it was left in a state of partial abandonment and
desolation. While possible, there may be another explanation: that the Assyrians had
a special interest in securing the Via Maris through part of the former territory of the
northern kingdom. The major concern of the Assyrian kings was maintaining access to
the Philistine coast and Egypt so that Assyrian economic goals might be realized (see
Younger 1998: 225).

THE ASSYRIAN ECONOMIC IMPACT ON THE SOUTHERN LEVANT

183

conquered regions. By non-royal documents, I am not referring just to the NeoAssyrian economic texts written in cuneiform, but to those written in the other
language of the empire, Aramaic (Fales 2007; 2010b). These must also be considered in any assessment of the economic situation in the empire period. Thus, a site
like Tell Shioukh Fawqani (ancient Br-marna), located on the Euphrates in north
Syria by no means a primary administrative city bears important testimony
to the need to integrate all of this data into any reconstruction of the Assyrian
Empires economy.
The impression that immediately emerges from a survey of these documents is
that there was capital and that investment, including contracts with the king
himself (Radner 1999b: 103; Van der Mieroop 2004: 81), was productive of
worthy returns.10 Furthermore, these documents attest to trade and commerce
throughout the empire, with merchants and caravans (both Assyrian and nonAssyrian)11 crisscrossing its territory via numerous routes. The texts also witness
to the Assyrian states investment in canals on the Habur and the Euphrates, verified through archaeology, such as at Tell amad (ancient Dr-Katlimmu)
(Fales 2008b; Bernbeck 2008).There was continuity in the Neo-Assyrian period
with the earlier Middle Assyrian agricultural development policy (PongratzLeisten 1997: 326). While the Middle Assyrian dunnu (fortified agricultural
centre) was no longer the pattern, the Neo-Assyrian agricultural estates and
programmes of development were clearly based on this earlier model.12 An interesting example can be seen in the development in the Wadi Ajaj region in the days
of Adad-nrr III under the authority of the strong man Plil-re/Nergal-re
with 331 towns being established, a type of colonization (Weippert 1992: 62;
Bernbeck 1993: 97145; 2008: 359363; Morandi Bonacossi 2000: 369370).
The capital investment of the state in the complex fort-system all along the
Upper and Middle Euphrates, now so thoroughly documented by the French
archaeological teams,13 demonstrates a type of limes system (Herles 2007) that
both protected the agricultural integrity of the Jezirah and the important trade
routes of the empire. In fact, the constant attention given by the Assyrian monarchy to the protection and maintenance of the trade routes is evidence that the
10

11

12
13

The Assyrian crown invested money within the empire, with cities, temples and officials receiving their share. Part of the commodities distributed came back into the
crowns property by way of taxation, and it is also through taxes that the king benefitted from private trade. See Radner 1999a: 138; Postgate 1979: 205206.
Radner (1999b: 105) observes: It can hardly be argued that a certain ethnic group
dominated the trade in the Neo-Assyrian empire. It seems that persons from all over
the empire and beyond could act as tamkrus.
The Middle Assyrian dunni + GN/PN seems to be replaced with the Neo-Assyrian
kapar + PN (Pongratz-Leisten 1997: 328).
Tenu 2006a; 2006b; 2008; 2009: 222223; Kepinski 2006; 2009; al-Shukri 1988;
1997.

184

K. LAWSON YOUNGER, JR.

Assyrians had definite concerns about long-distance trade and its cultivation (see
below).
The Assyrians deep and abiding interest in establishing karrni ports/quays
and bt karrni trading posts14 evinces that trade was of paramount value. The
recent study of the Neo-Assyrian kru-system by Yamada (2005) demonstrates
this point (see also Lanfranchi 2003; Pongratz-Leisten 1997). The name pattern
kr-X port or quay of X, in which X is most often a divine or royal name, was
purposely chosen to show that the Assyrians were ready to enhance the local
economy by encouraging trade along their new frontiers (Yamada 2005: 62;
Lanfranchi 2003: 113). As observed by Yamada, the Assyrian kings committed
themselves to the intensive building of these new krus on the frontiers, no less
than in the Mesopotamian heartland, in order to consolidate their rule over the
new territories. Most of these were settled by Assyrians and were intended to
serve either as the Assyrian centre in a reorganized province or as an outpost,
surrounded by independent local polities (Yamada 2005: 62). The clustering of
these krus in the Levant and in the Zagros mountains was not fortuitous (fig. 1).

Fig. 1. Map of the Kru system (based on Yamada 2005: 5876)

14

Yamada (2005: 68) comments regarding the Iran Stele (Tadmor 1994: ITP, Stele II B:
1'9'): The term bt-kri, lit. house of kru, can mean a structure placed in the trading district of a city in order to supervise the transshipping of goods and taxation; thus

THE ASSYRIAN ECONOMIC IMPACT ON THE SOUTHERN LEVANT

185

In this regard, the activities of Sargon II in the land of the Medes are particularly insightful. Following his campaigns in 716715 BCE, Sargon established
two provinces in Media, renaming six cities of the Medes: Kiessim KrNergal (provincial capital); arar Kr-arrukn (provincial capital); Kielu
Kr-Nab; Qindau Kr-Sn; Anzaria Kr-Adad; and Bt-Bagaia (BtGabaia) Kr-Issr. Sargon turned these into Assyrian strongholds with
improved fortification walls. Just as Sargon established these krus in Media,
Tiglath-pileser III set up krus on the Levantine coast, one at the other end of the
empire at that time, namely, the city of Gaza.15
Lanfranchi (2003: 112113) has suggested that the ideological character of the
given Assyrian names for the cities demonstrates the relatively gentle Assyrian
approach in the region. The prefix for all six (kru) is following Assyrian practice attached to the name of an Assyrian god or of the reigning king.16 The
designation bt-kri, attested from the reign of Sargon II onward, may well refer to
the totality of these Zagros cities (Fuchs and Parpola 2001: xxvi). Lanfranchi
observes that the names chosen by Sargon were obviously aimed at showing that
the Assyrians, during and after the annexation, were ready and willing to enhance
the local economy by encouraging trade, an image which was otherwise aptly
stressed in other passages of the Khorsabad Annals. The favourable aspect of
such renaming of the Median towns was further enhanced by the clear contrast
with the forms of the names given in previous times to conquered or border
towns in the Zagros (Dr-Aur in Zamua and Dr-Tukult-apil-Earra in an area
bordering with Mannea), and even with the form of the name given to the new
Assyrian capital, Dr-arrukn. All these names were formed with the prefixed
word dr(u), fortress. Both the towns conquered or guarding the borders and the

15

16

it may be translated as custom-house in a number of contexts (see also below).


However, one may interpret the bt-kr in this context as the place of trade, btbeing taken as a place of Though the term bt-kri is in the singular, it might refer
not only to Ahta but to all the coastal cities enumerated here {TP III}: Siannu, Elliu,
imirra, Ri-urri and Ahta. Alternatively, the term may indicate the entire northern
Phoenician coast, including these cities. In any case, it appears that the bt-kri a
mui tmtim, with the second attribute bt abtate arrte, lit. house/place of the
royal needs, suggests that these coastal cities served as Assyrian trading centres,
supplying royal needs with the revenue from trade and taxation on the goods imported
by local sea-faring traders, Phoenician, Philistine, or Greek. It should be noted that a
similar use of the term bt-kri for a concentration of trading posts is also known for
the central Zagros, an area significant for its horse trade. See Tadmor and Yamada
2011: 8586, RINAP 1, Text 35, ii.13'.
Tadmor 1994: 188189, Summary 9:r.16; Tadmor and Yamada 2011: 132, Text 49,
r.16 (URU- a-na ka-a-ri a a-ur.KI [am-nu]). See Lanfranchi 2003; PongratzLeisten 1997; Naaman 2004: 5660.
Sennacherib followed this rule when he changed the name of Elenza to Kr-Sna-erba after annexing the city from Ellipi to the province of Kr-arrukn.

186

K. LAWSON YOUNGER, JR.

capital itself of the empire were presented as segregated places from where the
Assyrian king sternly controlled his neighbours and his subjects. In contrast, the
towns which were rebuilt and strengthened in order to subjugate the Median
lands (ana uknu Madyu) received names which patently suggested peaceful
trade relations between the Assyrian occupying forces and the local populations.17
Although the rulers of the Medes, as well as others in the region, are called
city lords (singular: bl li),18 a term that suggests the limited scope of their
power, they remained in power as long as they evinced loyalty.19 It seems that this
dual system with the Assyrian provincial administration on the one hand, and the
local city lords on the other, found an equilibrium that was profitable for both
sides (Radner 2003: 58).
A very important fact is that the Great Khorasan Road that part of the Silk
Road that leads from the Mesopotamian alluvium along the Diyala river into the
Zagros mountains to the Iranian plateau ran through the area in which the provinces of Kr-Nergal and Kr-arrukn (including the other cities that were
renamed) were located. Consequently, there can be little doubt that this was the
determining factor in the relatively gentle Assyrian approach and this despite
a strong Assyrian prejudice against mountain folk.20 The route of the Silk Road
was used already in Assyrian times (and long before) (Radner 2003: 5152).
Much, however, depended upon the good will of the local city lords, especially
as the tough climate could always be relied upon to pose problems enough. Thus,
the Assyrian officials were eager to interact positively with them, i.e. to maintain
ulmu (Radner 2003: 53). A particular type of Assyrian merchant is found in the
region, namely the royal agent for procuring horses (tamkr sis). These
merchants played a vital role in helping to supply Assyrias seemingly inexhaustible appetite for horses (Radner 2003: 4243; Fales 2010a: 117130).
Trade was an important feature of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. In fact, the very
boast of a regent of Karkami, Yariri, that he knew twelve languages and four
scripts (Younger 2014) and that this language acquisition was linked to trade (lit.

17
18
19

20

Lanfranchi 2003: 113. See also Pongratz-Leisten 1997: 338339, who argues the
same peaceful ideological function in the renaming of the Median cities.
Radner (2003: 52) likens these to robber-barons.
In contrast with the elites in the western regions conquered and turned into provinces
by the Assyrians, who were either executed or absorbed into the Assyrian administrative system, the city lords of the Medes kept their powers. This policy caused two
parallel power structures to coexist in the new Zagros provinces (Radner 2003: 53),
and evidence for special status of the city lords is amply attested in the correspondence
of Sargon with his eastern governors (Fuchs and Parpola 2001: 3573).
For detailed discussion of this Assyrian prejudice against the barbarian nature of
mountain folk, see Lanfranchi 2003: 8186.

THE ASSYRIAN ECONOMIC IMPACT ON THE SOUTHERN LEVANT

187

wayfaring21) speaks loudly to the highly active trade at the time, even though
Assyria was the master of the region.
The fact is that Assur was a city that served as a trade hub in the Old Assyrian
period; and during the Middle Assyrian period, the Assyrian merchants were
certainly active. Thus, a tradition of private enterprise was too solidly established
to have been superseded by state control of trade in the Neo-Assyrian period
(Postgate 1979: 207). Hence, it seems reasonable to surmise that during the NeoAssyrian period the inhabitants of the old Assyrian cities would have profitted
from their favoured position at the centre to expand, not reduce, their trading operations. They could not have viewed with equanimity the efforts of their kings to
promote the commercial life of other parts of the empire (like the Phoenician and
Babylonian cities, see below), unless they themselves were also prospering. Thus,
this mercantile spirit of the early beginnings never disappeared (Elat 1987). As
shown by Radner (1999b), Assyrian merchants (tamkru)22 continued to play a
prominent economic role during the first millennium, complementing the tributary mode of production that otherwise dominated the age of Assyrian
imperialism with trade connections based on exchange.23 Interestingly, a tamkru
is even mentioned in a Neo-Assyrian contract from Gezer as a witness: Qar-rpi,
the royal trade agent (mqar-ra-pi-i L.DAM.[GR]).24 This contract is dated to
652 BCE.
Alongside the kru system, there was also the dru system, with the name
pattern dr-X the fortress of X, where again X was usually a royal or divine
name (Pongratz-Leisten 1997: 328340). In contrast to the kru system, however,
the dru system functioned as military outposts protecting Assyrian interests,
serving as a reminder that the Assyrian king controlled his neighbours and subjects
21

22
23

24

The translation of 21 is: Concerning language, my lord (Astiruwa) continually gathered(?) to me every countrys son by wayfaring (VIA)ha+ra/i-wa/i-ta-hi-ta5-ti-i
= harwatahitati Abl. sing.? Hawkins (2000: 133) harwa(n)tahi(t)- (n.) wayfaring =
*harwa(n)t- road + -hi-ta5-ti-i.
Radner likens the Neo-Assyrian tamkru to people like Francis Drake, Christopher
Columbus, or Hernando Cortez.
Frahm 2006: 91, n. 74. As pointed out by Frahm, this mercantile spirit may help to
explain why Neo-Assyrian royal inscriptions sometimes display a care reminiscent of
a diligent accountants bookkeeping when they inventory the numbers of killed,
maimed, or deported enemies and indicate the amounts of booty and tribute delivered
to the king. Pictorial representations of atrocities the imperial Assyrian armies
committed during their campaigns in the Neo-Assyrian period seem to be imbued with
such a bookkeeping spirit as well: several palace reliefs show images of scribes carefully counting severed enemy heads (see, for example, WA 124945, from the palace of
Assurbanipal in Nineveh). Frahm concludes: If Karl Marx had known more about the
history of the ancient Near East, he would probably have looked with great interest at
the close relationship that existed in Assyria between capitalism and imperialism.
Gezer 1, the sale of an estate. For a translation and bibliography, see COS 3: 263264.

188

K. LAWSON YOUNGER, JR.

(Lanfranchi 2003: 113). As Naaman (2001) has stressed in his investigation into
these two systems in the Levant, it is evident that the Assyrians used various strategies in different parts of the empire to enhance their commercial interests.25
A quick perusal of the everyday epistolary documents (which form about
50% of the overall documentation of the State Archives of Assyria) demonstrates
the deep interest of the crown in the ulmu peace of the provinces and in their
agricultural status, especially the issues concerning the quantity and quality of the
harvest. This was always a major concern.26 This was not simply all about what
could be extracted to the Assyrian centre, because the backbone of the Assyrian
Empire was the provincial system whose chief preoccupation was the supply of
the army (Postgate 1979: 202203). The importance and maintenance of royal
granaries (karm) can be seen in a number of Neo-Assyrian letters.27 Hence, there
was a need for the maintenance of food supplies throughout the empire, not only
for the military, but also for the moving of people.
As pointed out already (Younger 2003a; 2003b), the Assyrian deportations
were not death marches, but required a filtering process before the deportation.
The sources relate to us that the Assyrian officials were responsible for delivering
the deportees in good health to their respective destinations, even under the
penalty of death. The allocations of food rations for the deportees was an important factor in the movement process. For example, a high official named Aurallimanni writes to Tiglath-pileser III that he has 6,000 captives who will not
survive because he does not have enough grain to feed them. He suggests giving
3,000 of the captives to another official (ama-bunya) to be settled (Saggs
2001: 49 [ND 2634]; SAA 19:81).
In another letter, the king commands an official, Aur-remanni, and a scribe,
Nab-bl-au, to take joint responsibility for the captives they are transporting
and settling. They are even to care for the sick deportees: Seven times over you
shall not be careless; for that you would die. If there is anyone sick among the
deportees whom they bring to you, you shall gather (them) together from among
(the group). However many there are, they shall transport (them), (and) place
them in your presence until they are fit (Saggs 2001: 304305 [ND 2735], ll.
r.7'14'; SAA 19:6.).
At this point, it is important to say a word about the Assyrians interests in the
economies of their clients kingdoms. Faust (2011: 73) has drawn a distinction

25
26

27

And, of course, that their policy might have changed in the course of time.
The texts attest to an occasion of i-na M[U.A]N.NA uk-li la ba-i-ti: ina atti ukli l
bati in a year of non-existent food produce, that is, in a year marked by truly dire
weather conditions for the harvest, which could require price fixing (Postgate 1973:
4345, no. 15, line r. 52; 47, no. 16: line r. 8').
SAA 1:181 etc. See Pongratz-Leisten 1997: 327 and n. 16; Fales 2000: 52 on the horse
lists.

THE ASSYRIAN ECONOMIC IMPACT ON THE SOUTHERN LEVANT

189

between the Assyrian provinces that were in deep recession and the areas outside
the borders of the empire, where there was prosperity; he notes that this argues
against the Assyrians involvement in these areas beyond the empires borders.
Moreover, he concludes, there can be no doubt that it was the Phoenicians who
were responsible for the majority of the Mediterranean maritime trade and hence
the growth of the oil-olive industry at Ekron. While one can easily grant the point
that the Phoenician maritime trade network was a major factor in Ekrons
growth,28 the stark contrast that Faust paints between life on either side of the
border is problematic.
There are two documents that are particularly relevant to this issue, namely, the
situation of the Phoenician city-states bound by alliance with Assyria (i.e., client
states outside the border of the empire). The first document is a letter of QurdiAur-lmur to Tiglath-pileser III, of which Luukko (2012, SAA 19:2829, text
no. 22) has now provided a new edition (ND 2715; CTN 5, 31) (not dated, but
probably shortly after the defeat of Tyre in 734).
(14)

a-na LUGAL EN-ia (2) ARAD-ka


TA* UGU
URU.ur-a-a a LUGAL iq-bu-u-ni (4)
ma-a : DUG4.DUG4 : KI- lu
DG.GA

To the king, my lord: your servant


Qurdi-Aur-lmur. Concerning the
Tyrian (i.e. the king, Hiram) about
whom the king (Tiglath-pileser III)
said: Speak kind words with him!

(5)

(513)

(1)

mqur-di-a-ur-IGI (3)

ka-ra-a-ni.ME gab-bu ra-mu-ni (6) ARAD.ME- ki-i -bi--nu


-kar-ra.ME-ni (7) e-ru-bu -u-u idu-nu i-ma-a-ru-ni (8) KUR.lab-nana ina IGI- ki-i -bi--nu (9) e-li-u
-ru-du GI.ME -e-ra-du-ni (10) a
GI.ME -e-ra-da-a-ni (11) mi-ik-si a-ma-kis L.ma-ki-sa-ni.ME (12)
ina UGU ka-ra-a-ni.ME a
KUR.lab-na-na gab-bi (13) up-ta-qi-di
ma-ar-t a KUR?-e-((e))

28

All the ports of trade (karrni)


have been released to him (i.e. they
are in his control); his servants go in
(and) out of the trading posts (bt
karrni) as they wish (k libbunu);
(and) they sell and buy. Mount Lebanon is at his disposal (ina pnu);
(and) they go up and down as they
wish (k libbunu), (and) bring down
the timber. Whoever brings down timber, I collect his tax. I have appointed
tax-collectors (makisni) over the
ports of trade (karrni) of the entire
Mount Lebanon. They are standing
guard over the mountain.

Fales (2013: 59) puts it this way: In particular, the Assyrians greatly fostered for
their own benefit, the development of the olive oil industry, previously unknown in the
city {Ekron} but native to conquered Judah, and turned it into a product of prosperous
international commerce, presumably directed westwards to Egypt and North Africa

190

K. LAWSON YOUNGER, JR.

(14)

i-na-[u]-ru L.ma-ki-su (15) a ina


[UGU] kar-ra-a-ni.ME (16) a ina
URU.i-du-u-ni u-ra-du-ni-ni (17) apti-qi-di URU.i-du-na-a-a (18) uk-ta-idu-ni- a-ra-ma-ma (19) KUR.i-ta-a-a ina KUR.lab-na-na a-sa-pa[r]
(20) UN.ME -sa-ga-ri-ru (21) ur-ki-te
i-sa-par-u-ni L.ma-ki-su (22) i-ta-u
ina URU.i-du-ni -se-ri-bu (23) ki-i
an-ni-e aq--ba--nu (24) nu-uk
GI.ME e-ri-da-ni (25) dul-la-ku-nu
ina -bi e-pe- Edge (26) a-na
KUR.mu-ur-a-a a-na (27) KUR.pa-laas-ta-a-a la ta-da-na Rev.(l) -la-ma-a
la -ra-ma-ku-nu (2) a-na KUR-e la teli-a

The Sidonians chased away


the tax-collector (makisu) whom I appointed to the ports that had been
added to me in Sidon. Subsequently, I
sent the Itueans into Mount Lebanon,
(and) they caused the people to panic
(n ussagarir). Later on (when) they
(= the Sidonians) had written me, they
had taken the tax-collector (and) had
brought him into Sidon. Thus I said to
them (i.e. the Sidonians) as follows:

TA* UGU URU.ka-pu-na-a-a a


LUGAL iq-bu-u-ni (4) ma-a a-na mi-ni
t-ar-ri-di ta-di-na--nu (5) a-ki-i di-ni TA* .GAL la i--pa-ru-ni (6)
a-a-ab-ta dul-lu e-ta-pa-[] ur-ki-te
(7) IM.ka-ni-ku i-sa-pa-ru-ni la il-lakni (8) a-ur a-i TA* UGU a-na ul-lue (9) i-si-ta-te a-ta--a K.GAL-ma
(10) a -ni.ME la ar-ip a-ti-i (11)
ur-ta-am-mi L*.ERIM.ME MAN-nu u-a-bi-ta (12) KI-ia i-tal-ku-ni
L.SAG L*.GALbi-ir-te (13) i[na]
UGU--nu ap-ti-qi-di 30
L*.ERIM.ME (14) [KUR.]i-ia-naa-a ina -bi u-e-rib (15) E[N.N]UNt i-na-u-ru 30-ma L*.ERIM.ME
(16) i-pa-a-ru--nu

(316a)

(3)

(14Rev. 2)

Bring down the timber, do your


work therein; (but) you shall not
sell it to the Egyptians or to the
Philistines. Rev.(1) Otherwise, I
will no more permit you to ascend
the mountain.
Concerning the people of
Kapuna about whom the king said
thus: What have you given them for
their safety? Even before they wrote
to me from the palace, I had already
started the work (and) had done (it).
Later on, they sent me a sealed document. (But while) it had not (yet)
come to me, still I had raised (my)
hands in order to erect the towers; but
I did not construct the city gate of the
inner quarters (i.e. the acropolis). (But
after receiving the sealed document) I
immediately left/dropped (everything), took over their kings men
(and) they came with me. I appointed
a eunuch over them as fort commander; (and) I caused 30 []ianeans
to enter into it. They will keep the
w[at]ch, (and) thus by 30 men they
will release them.

(emphasis mine). In my opinion, the term foster is an excellent way of envisioning


this. See also Naaman 2003: 87.

THE ASSYRIAN ECONOMIC IMPACT ON THE SOUTHERN LEVANT

a LUGAL iq-bu-u-ni (17) ma-a 10


.ME KUR.ia-su-ba-a-a (18) ina bi URU.ka-pu-na e-rib (19) A.ME
ina -bi dan-nu UN.ME i-ma-ru-u
(20) ki-ma TA* A.ME--nu ina
URU.im-mi-u (21) i-ta-ku-nu ina PADI?.A? ina URU.ka-pu-na (22) u-erab--nu

191

(16b22)

As to what the king ordered:


Bring 10 Yasubaean households into
the city of Kapuna! The water is hard
(lit. strong with minerals) there; the
people will become ill. As soon as
they have been settled with their water
in the city of Immiu, I will bring them
with (their) rations into Kapuna.

(rest uninscribed)
Qurdi-Aur-lmur reports on three matters.29 The first concerns the issue of
Assyrian control of Phoenician trade. Interestingly, there is a rich contrast in this
section of the letter between the Assyrian carrot and the Assyrian stick policies.30
In the first instance, the Assyrian carrot can be vividly seen. Qurdi-Aurlmur follows through with the kings command dibb bti issu dubbu speak
kind words with him (i.e. with Hiram, the Tyrian ruler). The Assyrian governor
declares his obedience to kings injunction to utter dibb bti to the Phoenician
monarch through his report of his manifestly laissez-faire policy: other than a tax
collected on timber, the Tyrians do as they please (k libbunu note that this is
emphasized twice in the passage)!
(lines 514a)
All the ports of trade (karrni) have been released to him (i.e. they
are in his control); his servants go in (and) out of the trading posts
(bt karrni) as they wish (k libbunu); (and) they sell and buy.
Mount Lebanon is at his disposal (ina pnu); (and) they go up and
down as they wish (k libbunu), (and) bring down the timber.
Whoever brings down timber, I collect his tax. I have appointed taxcollectors (makisni) over the ports of trade (karrni) of the entire
Mount Lebanon. They are standing guard over the mountain.
In contrast to this, the Assyrian stick is manifest in the stern threats that QurdiAur-lmur reports to have made to the less submissive Sidonians:
(lines 14bRev. 2)
The Sidonians chased away the tax-collector (makisu) whom I
29
30

See also the brief remarks on this letter in Fales 2013: 5760.
Parpola (2003: 102) explains that Neo-Assyria operated through a combination of the
chilling fear that its ruthless military machine and drive to expand inspired in its opponents and the numerous benefits it offered to those who chose to cooperate
(emphasis mine). See also Oded 1992: 6168, 140. This is what I am designating my
carrot and stick policy.

192

K. LAWSON YOUNGER, JR.

appointed to the ports of trade that had been added to me in Sidon.


Subsequently, I sent the Iteans into Mount Lebanon, and they
caused the people to panic (n ussagarir). Later on (when) they
(the Sidonians) had written to me, they had taken the tax-collector
(and) had brought him (back) into Sidon. Thus I said to them (the
Sidonians) as follows: Bring down the timber, do your work therein;
(but) do not sell it to the Egyptians or to the Philistines. Rev. (1)
Otherwise, I will no more permit you to ascend the mountain.
Because the Sidonians rebelled against the collection of Assyrian taxes, QurdiAur-lmur sent in the Assyrian police force, namely the Iteans31 who caused
panic among the Sidonians. The result was their submission. While the Assyrian
governor allowed the Sidonians to cut timber, he nevertheless placed a clear
restriction on their selling any of it to the Egyptians or the Philistines.32 He threatened to revoke their access to the mountain timber if they ignored him and sold it
to these peoples.
This letter highlights the opposition between kind and harsh words or
carrot and stick policies as integrated instruments of a full diplomatic and
economic technique (see also Fales 2009 for a study of dibb bti dubbu). While
some scholars have interpreted this restriction not to sell to the Egyptian or
Philistines as applying to all the Phoenicians, it is clear from the letters context
that there is an important distinction being made here between the Tyrians and the
Sidonians: the restriction only applied to the Sidonians and it was an embargo
that the Assyrian king, Sargon II, appears to have later lifted.33
So although Tyre was not a province, having its own king, the Assyrians, nonetheless, were highly involved in the city-states economy! And this is even more
31
32

33

On the It tribe, see Younger, in press (chapter 10).


Faust (2011: n. 12) makes the statement As far as Assyria was concerned both Phoenicia and Philistia had a similar status, and any attempt to differentiate between them is
problematic if viewed from an Assyrian perspective. Clearly, the Assyrian position
was the opposite of their statement! I realize that in the context they are discussing
the models that consider the region as a periphery, or a semi-periphery, etc. But they
have evidently not read the Assyrian texts very closely in order to come to this conclusion.
Yamada 2005: 69 states: Tiglath-pileser IIIs control of ports and trading posts along
the Mediterranean coast was extended further southward with his campaigns against
Philistia in 734. In this campaign, Tiglath-pileser III conquered Gaza and despoiled
the royal property and the people. Though Hanunu, king of Gaza, survived on the
throne, the Assyrians established their presence in the city, setting up image(s) of the
Assyrian gods and of the king in the palace, and establishing an Assyrian customhouse (bt-kri a mt Aur). The relevant passage (ITP, Summ. 9:16) may read: [
-ka-a]-ri- a-na -ka-a-ri a KUR A-ur.KI [am-nu] [I counted] his customhouse as an Assyrian one.

THE ASSYRIAN ECONOMIC IMPACT ON THE SOUTHERN LEVANT

193

so in the case for Sidon. The Assyrians had control over the bt karrni trading
posts, whether these were located in the territory of their provinces or clients
(Yamada 2005: 69). Naaman (2001: 275) correctly notes that the Assyrians established their officials not only in provinces, but also in vassal kingdoms, including
Judah: Economic considerations played a major role in the Assyrian operations
in the territories of vassal kingdoms and pastoral groups, and Assyria competed
with its vassals for the revenues gained from the maritime and continental
commercial activity. He also noted that the presence of Assyrian officials in
vassal kingdoms is known, or may be inferred, for Arvad, Byblos, Tyre, Ashdod,
Gaza, Edom and Judah. The letter on which I have expounded is only one piece of
the evidence to which Naaman was alluding. The fact is that in another letter (ND
2686; SAA 19, 23) Qurdi-Aur-lmur reports the contents of a sealed Aramaic
letter sent by Nab-ezib, who was the qpu official representative staying at the
Tyrian court to watch over Assyrian interests.34 The Assyrian carrot policy
towards Tyre required an intentional decision, just as in the case of Sidon, which
required the Assyrian stick.
There is a second matter discussed in the letter: namely, the status of the fortification works in the city of Kapuna. I will simply note that the Assyrian king
wanted to know the situation in the construction of the citys fortifications (specifically the towers and gate). In short, the Assyrian governor was responsible for
seeing this project to completion.
The third issue of this letter is about the care of ten deported Yasubean households via the city of Immiu to the city of Kapuna.
The second document that has bearing upon our subject is the treaty between
Esarhaddon and Baal, king of Tyre (SAA 2:5, iii):
(iii6')

[x x L*.qe-e-pu ina] UGU-ika -kun-u-ni me!-me!-ni ina! na!-x


[x x x x x x] (7') [x x x x x x]-ka
L.par--mu-te KUR-ka ina milki [ qe-e-pi? x x x x] (8') [x x x x x]u-ni L*.qe-e-pu is-si--nu i-[x x x x
34

35

(iii6'14')

[If the official representative


(qpu) whom] I have appointed over
you [] someone/anything in []
[] the elders of your land [...] with
the consent35 [of the official representative (qpu) ] the official

The qpu is also mentioned in another letter of Qurdi-Aur-lmur (ND 2430; SAA
19, 24:15). Moreover, a qpu official was assigned to supervise the Arabs, attested in
Tiglath-pileser IIIs Summary Inscription (Summ. 4:26?) (see Ephal 1982: 3335).
The role of the Assyrian qpu at Tyre, as prescribed in the later treaty between
Esarhaddon and Baal, king of Tyre (see below), was to inspect the contents of Tyrian
correspondence with other countries. Nab-ezib probably played a similar role
(Yamada 2008: 299).
ina mil-ki []. While Parpola and Watanabe (1988: 25) translate the elders of your
country [convene to take] counsel, there is a problem with the text reading ina, not
ana (which would be required for their translation). Borger (1983: 158) translated mit

194

K. LAWSON YOUNGER, JR.

x x x] (9') [x x x x x x]x x
GI.M.ME x[x x x x x x x x x x]
(10') [x x x x x x x x x x x x] [x x x x]
a x[x x x x x] (11') [x x x x x x x x x x x
x] ina IGI-ka ta!-lak-an-[ni la x x
x] (12') [x x x x x x ] pi-i- la ta-me m-ma ba-la-at L*.[qe]-e-bi! [x
x x x] (13') e-gir-tu a a-ap-par-kanni ba-la-at L*.qe-e-bi! la ta-pat-t[i
0] (14') m-ma L*.qe-e-pu la qur-bu
ina IGI- ta-da-gal ta-pat-ti -la-a
L*!.A!KIN! DU?

______________________________

representative (qpu) [will ] with


them [] [] of the ships [] (untranslatable) [You may not any
ship/letter? (eleppu/egirtu?)] which
comes to you; [if ], you shall not
listen to him/it, [you shall not ]
without the official representative
(qpu); In addition, you shall not open
a letter that I send you without (the
presence of) the official representative
(qpu). If the official representative
(qpu) is not present, you shall wait for
him (and then) you shall open (it), or
the messenger (mr ipri) [will come?].
______________________________

(15')

(15'17')

um-ma GI.M mba-a-lu lu


UN.ME KUR.ur-ri ina KUR.pilis-ti lu ta-u-me (16') KUR.aur.KI gab-bu ta-ma-a-au-u-ni ammar ina GI.M-ni ma-urPAB-A MAN KUR.a-ur.K[I] (17')
UN.ME am-mar ina GI.M
ina --nu la i-a-i-u ina KUR!-nu u-sa-u!-ru
______________________________

If (there is) a ship belonging to


Baal or to the people of Tyre that
shipwrecks within (the territorial waters of) the land of the Philistines or
the entire land of Aur (i.e. Assyrian territory), everything which is on
the ship belongs to Esarhaddon, king
of Assyria. Moreover, nobody shall
harm any of the people on board the
ship! They shall return to their land.
______________________________

(18')

(18'22')

an-nu-te KAR.ME
KASKAL.ME ma-ur-PAB-A
MAN KUR.a-ur a-na mba-a-lu
ARAD- ip-qi-[du-ni] (19') a-na
URU.a-ku-u URU.du-u-ri ina na-gi-e
KUR.pi-lis-te gab-[bu 0!] (20') ina
URU.ME ta-u-me KUR.aur.KI i-di tam-tim gab-[bu 0] (21')

These are the ports of trade


(karrni) and the trade routes (lni)
which Esarhaddon, king of Assyria,
entr[usted]/assi[gned] to his servant
Baal: (trade routes) to (ana) Akko
(and) Dor; al[l] (the ports) in (ina) the
entire district of the Philistines; in addition, (the ports) in (ina) all the cities

Rat. In my opinion, a better solution in this context, which is dealing with the administrative requirements for Baal to follow in accordance with Esarhaddons qpu, is to
understand ina milki to have the nuance of with the consent (see CAD M 2:69, s.v.
milku, 3). Thus, the passage seems to be stressing that decisions should be made with
the consent of the qpu.

THE ASSYRIAN ECONOMIC IMPACT ON THE SOUTHERN LEVANT

195

ina URU.gu-ub-lu KUR.lab-na-[na]


URU.ME ina KUR-i gab-b[u 0]
(22') am-mar URU.ME [ ma-]urPAB-A MAN KUR.a-ur mba-a-lu
URU.ME [x x]

within Assyrian territory on the seacoast; in addition, (the port) in (ina)


Byblos.

(23'30')

(23')

KUR.ur-ra-a-a pit!-ti! maur-PAD-A MAN KUR.a-ur.[KI]


i-din!-[--ni] (24') ina
GI.M.ME--nu am-mar erab-u-ni ina URU.ME m[x x
x] (25') URU.ME- URU.E.ME-
KAR.ME- a a-na na-e-e [x x x x
x x x] (26') am-mar a-i-ta-te--nu-uni ki-i ina la-bi-[ri x x x x x x x] (27')
in-na-ga-ru-u-ni me-me-ni pi-ir-k[u x
x x x x x x x] (28') ina
GI.M.ME--nu la i-a-i ina
K[UR.x x x x x x x] (29') ina na-gi-
URU.E.ME- e-rim-tu [x x x x x x
x x x x] (30') ki-i la-bi-ri KUR.i-du[na-a-a x x x x x x x x x]

(Concerning) Mt. Lebanon, all


the cities in the mountains, as many
cities [that belong to Es]arhaddon,
king of Assyria, Baal [may enter
these] cities. According to what
Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, ga[ve to
him], the Tyrians are [to stay] in their
ships; and all those who enter into the
towns of [Baal?], his cities, his villages, his ports of trade which [] for
collecting [tax ], (and) all of their
outlying areas, shall [pay tax], as in
the past. Nobody shall [do] injustice
[to the ones] who were hired [ ];
(and nobody) shall harm their ships. In
the lan[d of ], in his district, in his
villages,36 [ ] as in the past the
people of Sidon []

(Break)

(Break)

Several important observations can be made based on a fresh study of the treaty.37
First, in lines 6'16', the role of the Assyrian qpu at Tyre is outlined in particular, the requirement that he be present when letters to the Tyrian king are opened
(esp. lines 13'14'). Second, in line 7', Parpola and Watanabe (SAA 2; 1988:
25) translated the elders of your country [convene to take] counsel (ina milki).
In my opinion, a better solution in a context dealing with the administrative

36
37

erimtu the meaning is uncertain.


The beginning of the treaty is not well preserved, but the preserved portion contains
some stipulations that are very informative about Assyrian control over Tyre and other
ports and trading posts along the Mediterranean coast. The individual stipulations are
separated from each other by dividing lines. The newly published Neo-Assyrian cylinder from Gezer (Ornan, Ortiz and Wolff 2013) is a reminder of the significant
involvements in the region. The article reviews all the Neo-Assyrian glyptic found in
Israel/Jordan and demonstrates the importance of Gezer as an Assyrian administrative
centre.

196

K. LAWSON YOUNGER, JR.

requirements for Baal to follow in accordance with Esarhaddons qpu is to


understand ina milki to have the nuance of with the consent of (see above, n. 35).
Thus, the passage seems to be stressing that decisions should be made with the
consent of the qpu. Third, lines 15'17' outline maritime law regarding ships
belonging to Baal or to the people of Tyre that wreck within (the territorial waters
of) the Philistines or Assyrian territory. All the contents belong to Esarhaddon.
Presumably, the ownership of shipwrecks within Tyrian territorial waters
belonged to the Tyrians.38 Yet in lines 18'22', Esarhaddon39 assigned to Baal
numerous ports of trade (karrni) and land routes of trade (lni) (distinguished
in the text by the use of the prepositions ina and ana, respectively; see table 1). To
all these Baal has unrestricted access!
Table 1. Structure of Esarhaddons Consignment List to Baal of Tyre
Direction

Cities and Districts

South of Tyre (1) a-na URU.A-ku-u URU.Du-u-ri


(2) ina na-gi-e KUR.pi-lis-te gab-[bu]
North of Tyre (3) ina URU.ME ta-u-me KUR.Aur.KI i-di tam-tim gab-[bu]
(4) ina URU.Gu-ub-lu

Type of Control

Direct Assyrian control


Indirect Assyrian control
Direct Assyrian control
Indirect Assyrian control

Three observations can be made about the structure of this consignment list.
First, the geographical areas are preceded by either the preposition ana (to) or
ina (in). While ana and ina can be used with both lu/arrnu and kru, ina is
more often the idiom with kru (CAD K 231237, kru A). So I have understood
the use of ana to indicate access to roads to the cities (the lni of line iii 18') and
ina to indicate access to ports (karrni). This interpretation is supported by the
specification in line iii 20', where the preposition ina appears, that the relevant
Assyrian cities are on the seacoast.
Second, the list ports of trade (karrni) and trade routes (lni) seems to
divide into two parts. The first part enumerates the cities and district south of Tyre
(Akko, Dor, the district of Philistia); the second part specifies the cities and
38

39

Yamada 2005: 70 notes: This unusual legislation (concerning shipwrecks), contradicting international maritime conventions (Elat 1991), must have been a heavy
burden on Tyrian sea trade. For the analysis of this stipulation, see Elat 1991: 2729.
This section has not been understood, and there is still dispute even after the publication of several editions and translations. See Weidner 193233; Borger 1956:
107109; Reiner 1969; Pettinato 1975; Parpola and Watanabe 1988: 2526; Naaman
1994; Yamada 2005: 7173; Cogan 2013: 9199.

THE ASSYRIAN ECONOMIC IMPACT ON THE SOUTHERN LEVANT

197

district to the north of Tyre (all the cities within Assyrian territory on the
seacoast, Byblos).
Third, there is an alternation between the cities and regions under direct Assyrian control and those under indirect Assyrian control. These treaty stipulations,
beyond any shadow of a doubt, make it unambiguous that the Assyrians were intimately involved in the maritime trade of the Phoenicians.
From the review of these two documents, it can be clearly seen that the
Assyrians were involved in the economy of their clients, to the degree that they
felt necessary. An important testimony to how the Assyrians impacted the economies of client kingdoms can also be seen in the Old Aramaic inscription of Barrakib excavated at the site of Zincirli.40 The relevant part states:
Introduction (lines 14a)
I am Bar-Rakib, son of Panamuwa, king of Samal, the servant of
Tiglath-Pileser (III, 745727 BCE), lord of the four quarters of the
earth.
The Accession (lines 4b7a)
On account of the loyalty of my father and on account of my loyalty,
my lord, the god Rakib-El, and my lord, Tiglath-pileser, caused me to
reign upon the throne of my father.
The Ascension of the Dynasty (lines 7b15)
And the house of my father profited, more than all others. And I ran
at the wheel of my lord, the king of Assyria, in the midst of powerful
kings, lords of silver and lords of gold. And I took control of the
house of my father. And I made it better than the house of any powerful king. And my brother kings were desirous for all that is the good
of my house.
COS 2: 160161 (2.38)
According to Bar-Rakib, being a vassal of the Assyrian king was a positive thing.
To this textual witness, the bilingual Hieroglyphic Luwian and Phoenician
Inscription from ineky should be added (dating from c. 700 BCE). The Phoenician version states (note especially lines 7b10a):
(1)

I am Aw[ariku, son of X], (2) the line of descent of Mopsos, [king of


the Danunians(?)] (3) the blessed of Baal, who [enlarged] (4) the house
of the land of the plain of [Adana], [by the grace of] (5) Baal and by the
grace of the go[ds]. [And] (6) I acqui[red] horse [upon horse, and
a](7) rmy upon army. And the king of [Assyria and(?)] (8) all the house
of Assyria was to me a father [and a] (9) mother. And the Danunians
40

For a brief overview of Assyrian client kingdoms, see Postgate 1992: 252255.

198

K. LAWSON YOUNGER, JR.

and the Assyrians (10) were a single house. And I built fortifications (11)
in the East eight, 8, and in the (12) West seven, 7. And there were
15. (13) And in plac[es ]xxx (14) [
] (15) ? and ?[
] (16) and the
(17)
oppressed / to the narrow, I settled th[ere May?] Baal Kura [give?]
(18) to this king (17) tranquility (?), deliverance, abundance, and
[every (?)] good. (18) And indeed [I built? ] this
The metaphors of father and mother that are used to describe the Assyrian king
and the house of Assyria paint a rich image, quite the opposite of brutal, oppressive overlords. The growth and prosperity of Adana is stressed throughout the
text, clearly linked to this special relationship between Awariku and the Assyrian
king (Sargon II or Sennacherib).
Even onomastica yield interesting insights. There were hardly any
Transjordanian deportees in the Neo-Assyrian Empire attested in the personal
names found in the Assyrian inscriptions. The Transjordanian vassals generally
profited from the pax Assyriaca, which protected them from raiding by the
Arabian nomads (see Zadok 2013: 264). Thus, with no revolts, there were no
deportations of Transjordanians.
CONCLUSION
There were complex demands throughout the Assyrian Empire that were in
constant flux. Therefore, the need to prioritize and take care of the various needs
was a definite and consistent concern. All this indicates that the economy of the
Neo-Assyrian Empire was not simplistic (contra Grayson) and that the ruled
territories were not there simply to supply the central state with as much wealth
and labour as could be squeezed out of them, with no thought given to long-range
schemes and profits.41
Clearly, the Assyrian kings were cruel in their warfare and were not concerned
about raising the standard of living of their various subject peoples, whether in
the provinces or in the client states. This was not a matter that deprived them of
sleep. What I am concerned with is balancing the over-emphasis that neglects the
important documents that are not part of the official royal inscriptions, and thus,
providing us with a more nuanced view of the Assyrian economic interests, rejecting the view that considers the Assyrians to be purely stupid brutes and bullies.
While in certain ways the Assyrians, like all others, muddled their way along to
empire (see some of the comments in Bagg 2013), there was an interest in
economic growth and development, as outlined above.

41

Graysons notion of the Assyrian economy is reductionist. It does not consider the
complexities and developments within this empires economy over the centuries of its
existence. For some important nuances, see Mller 1997; Radner 1999a; 1999b; 2001.

THE ASSYRIAN ECONOMIC IMPACT ON THE SOUTHERN LEVANT

199

Finally, it is crucial to bear in mind that on both the synchronic and diachronic
levels, every civilization, Assyria included, is characterized by a number of inherent contradictions. Frahm (2006: 92) has captured this well:
Few will deny any more that the sculptures from Nineveh and other
Assyrian capitals have impressive aesthetic qualities, and nobody
will question that the Assyrians, by creating their provincial system,
implemented a political order that had a great future. But we should
not forget, in our late discovery of the beauty of the artwork and our
admiration for the administrative skills of the Assyrians, that their
rulers, in order to achieve their goals even apparently noble goals
such as establishing unity and order , waged extremely aggressive
wars, deported whole populations from one end of their realm to the
other, and killed large numbers of civilians.
So, Waren die Assyrer grausam? and was there a pax Assyriaca by which trade
was enhanced? The answer to both questions is most certainly yes!
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