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1.3 Documents of practice
These documents come primarily from Assur,^3 Tell Billa,^4 and Tell
al-Rimah,^5 but also from sites in northern Syria such as Tell Fakha-
riya,^6 Tell Chuera,^7 Tell ”èh Óamad,^8 and Tell Sabi Abyad.^9 Some
of these tablets come from the archives of the leading noble fami-
lies, documenting their public and private activities, and some from
the archives of the royal administration. They mostly concern loan
and sale.- C A L
2.1 Organs of Government
2.1.1 The Administration
2.1.1.1 The political rise of Assyria begins in the reign of A““ur-
uballi†I (fourteenth century) with a series of military successes that
enable it to expand into northern Syria ( Jezirah). Diplomatic rela-
tions with Egypt underline this development: Assyria treats Pharaoh
at first with deference but soon thereafter as a political equal.^10 Power
is in the hands of the king, in a very centralized system. The prince
was perhaps a co-ruler, which would account for oaths sworn by the
name of the king and his son (cf. MAL A 47). The kingdom was
divided into provinces (pà¢utu) administered by governors (bèl pà¢àti),
who were responsible for provisioning and transport,^11 and into dis-
tricts (¢alßu) run by commandants (¢assi¢lu), who were in charge of
supply services (provisioning, stores, and census of land holdings).
These two offices were later combined in that of the “aknu. Villages
were represented by “mayors” (¢azànù) and “inspectors” (rab àlàni),
assisted by officials responsible for collecting the local grain tax and
distributing rations to workers. Alongside this local administration,(^3) Pedersén, Archives.. .; Ebeling, KAJ; Schroeder, KAV.
(^4) Finkelstein, “Billa...”
(^5) Saggs, “Tablets... 1965”; Wiseman, “Tablets... 1966.”
(^6) Güterbock, “Tablets...”
(^7) Kühne, “Verwaltungsarchiv...”
(^8) Cancik-Kirschbaum, Briefe.. ., ix–xii, for bibliography relating to the site.
(^9) Akkermans and Rossmeisl, “Excavations...”
(^10) Cf. EA 15 and 16, cited by Kuhrt, Near East... 1, 350–51.
(^11) Kühne, “Aspects.. .,” 5–6.
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