The Assyrian kings amassed immense treasures, mainly from the booty and tribute brought by the army to the temples of the Empire. These treasures, chiefly gold and silver were used to ornament the temples, the divine statues and the statues of the king. One letter, probably addressed to Esarhaddon, reports the weight of gold and silver used for different purposes: 23 minas of gold in the agatestandard including the votive gifts were melted down to use for gilding.
A further 1 talent and 19 minas of gold, 18 1/6 minas of gold and 21 minas of silver were deposited in the Sîn temple. The letter lists the items made of (this?) precious metals: “Two big royal images, 50 images of cherubs and winds, of silver, 3 silver doorjambs, 1 silver kettle. All this work is done. Their weight is each 5 talents of silver less 12 minas.”681A letter of Rašil, probably sent to Assurbanipal presents a similar picture: “’The 12 minas of gold which came in to me as gifts for Bēl I have made into rosettes and ...ornaments for Zarpanitu.’ I will now fashion the seals which the king, my lord, gave me. The gems going on the crown of Anu, and those gems of yours going on the sun disks are stored in the treasury of the temple of Aššur.”682The letter of Nabû
bānîa‹‹ē refers to a gold statue, which has been finished. “The gold for the copper statue has arrived. Let whomever the king, my lord, commands, come and weigh it out, so we can apply it.
The ... with which they weigh(ed) the gold are in the treasury, a sealed building. When whomever the ki[ng, my lord], is going to send [comes], let him bring a seal(ed order) with him, and we[igh out] the gold [for the statue] with it.”683
There are a few, unfortunately fragmentary letters, which refer to the collection of silver – as a kind of tribute or a regular silver due(?) – from various subjects of the Empire. A fragmentary letter reports to Sargon II that the emissaries of Ekron have brought 7 talents and 34 minas of silver to an Assyrian official (Šarru[...]) who was on his way with other emissaries (from Gaza) to the Palace.684
When Adda‹āti reported to Sargon II that the silver dues which had been imposed upon the local population by prefects and village managers (altogether 18 minas of silver) had been handed over to him,685he referred most probably to a kind of tribute paid by the local population (of the Damascus region) as a redemption of the ilku.686
680FALES– POSTGATE1992, 78 (ADD 932), 1))[x] hundred10 talents in one wooden ch[est], 2) 525 talents in one wooden chest, 3) 7,000 silver bowls in one wooden chest, 4) 108 silver bricks, 5) 720 silver bowls, 6) 69 boltsof silve[r], 7) 8 shields of silver, 8) 4 yoke finialsof silver, 9) the scraps of silver are together (with it): 10) all, in one wooden chest. 11) 450 vessels of si[lver], 12) be[longing to] the [chie]fcupbearer, Rev. 1) in one wooden ches[t], 2) [... of go]ld therein; 3) [... ca]pital therein.
681COLE– MACHINIST1998, 28 (ABL 1194), 13-16.
682COLE– MACHINIST1998, 174 (ABL 498), 9-19.
683COLE– MACHINIST1998, 127 (ABL 531), 5-Rev. 2.
684SAGGS2001, 150 (ND 2064); LUUKKO2012, 178 (ND 2064).
685PARPOLA1987, 176 (NL 20, ND 2437); LUUKKO2012, 173 (ND 2437).
686See RICHARDSON2011, 22.
Booty and tribute
Sennacherib, the crown prince let his father, Sargon II know that he had already collected the silver and – according to the royal order: “Withhold the silver!” – had withheld it and was going to send it to the king.687MannukīNergal informed the king, that “On the 22ndof Marchesvan (VIII) I brought the money into the New Palace and put it into a cedar (box). The (royal) signet ring and the land are well.”688This official collected the silver dues or tribute, brought it into the treasury of the New Palace and sealed it with the royal signet ring. Another official also reported to the king that he had collected the silver (and the barley?), and after &ilBēl had sealed them, he was sending it to the king.689
The keys of the treasuries were in the hands of the priests. The same letter refers to the priest of the temple as follows: “No one can open (it) without the authority of the priest and Nabûē#ir
napšāti. I have now written to the king, my lord, that the king send me anyone whom the king, my lord, pleases to open (the treasury), so that I can finish (the work) and give it to the king, my lord.”690Another letter to Assurbanipal refers to Pūlu, the lamentation priest of the temple of Nabû. “[...(and)] all the [tr]easuries are under his supervision: he is the one to open and seal them.
He enters the ritual bath house of Bēl and Nabû. (There) twice a year the loins of Marduk are ungirded. All the precious stones and jewelry are under his custody; he does not show them to anybody with him.”691
The treasures of the temples sometimes attracted the interest of desperate Assyrian officials, who badly needed resources to maintain their offices. One of the letters of MārIssar, a royal delegate of Esarhaddon to Babylonia describes a case when “the governor of DūrŠarruku has already previously opened my seals, taken 10 minas of si[lv]er, 1,400 sheep and 15 oxen [belonging to the gods Š]imalu’a and [›um‹u]m and [distributed them] to [...] his retinue. … The governor[s]
who were before h[im] did not take anything from the tem[ples] – now he has recklessly opened a treasury of the god and the king, my lord, and taken silver from it. If the Prefect of the land and the governors of Nineveh and Arbela took silver from temples, then he too might take it. It is treasure of the god and the king, my lord; why is it being squandered? Let the king, my lord, send a trusty bodyguard to investigate (the matter); the man who put the governor up to this should be punished. [Let] (the others) [kn]ow and be frightened off, [or el]se [the govern]ors will dissip[ate] a[ll the treasures o]f the temples. The king, my lord, should know this.”692This letter quite adequately shows the tension between the frozen riches in the temple treasuries and the military (and the civilian) administration who wanted to use these resources to maintain their troops (and offices).
687SAGGS2001, 200 (ND 2719); LUUKKO2012, 158 (ND 2719), 8-15.
688SAGGS2001, 227 (ND 2637); LUUKKO2012, 163 (ND 2637), 3-Rev. 2.
689SAGGS2001, 306 (ND 2743); LUUKKO2012, 227 (ND 2743), 4-9.
690COLE– MACHINIST1998, 174 (ABL 498), 20-25.
691COLE– MACHINIST1998, 134 (ABL 951), 30-Rev. 3.
692PARPOLA1993, 369 (ABL 339), 7-Rev. 18.
TukultƯ-Ninurta II (890—884 B.C.) – GRAYSON 1991,A.0.100.5
69-73 884 Suপu, Ili-ibnî governor of the land Suপu 3 talents of silver, 20 minas of gold 76-79 884 indƗnu, Amme-alaba 10 minas of liqtu-gold, 10 minas of silver 90-92 884 Mudadda of the city Sirqu 3 minas of gold, 7 minas of refined silver 93-94 884 Sirqu, arƗnu, the Laqû 3 minas of gold, 10 minas of silver 98-101 884 Snjru of BƯt-alupê, amatƗiia, (the)
Laqû 20 minas of gold, 20 minas of silver
104-108 Dnjr-Katlimmu, … of the land Laqû refined silver, 10 talents of silver, 14 minas of [...]
113-114 884 Šadikannu 3 minas [of ...], one tub of silver Ashurnasirpal II (883—859 B.C.) – GRAYSON 1991,A.0.101.1
ii:119-125 879 BƯt-ZamƗni 2 talents of silver, 2 talents of gold
iii:64 875 atti, abinu of TƯl-abni 4 minas of silver, annual tribute 10 minas of silver iii:65-69 875 Carchemish, Sangara, king of the land
atti 20 talents of silver, a gold ring, bracelet, gold daggers iii:72-77 875 Kunulua, royal city of Lubarna, the
Patinu 20 talents of silver, 1 talent of gold, Shalmaneser III (858—824 B.C.) – GRAYSON 1991,A.0.102
2, ii:21-24 857 Patinu 3 talents of gold, 100 talents of silver, ann. tribute: 1 talent of silver
2, ii 24b-27a 857 BƯt-Gabbari [N] talents of silver, tribute: 10 minas of silver 2, ii:27b-28 857 BƯt-Agnjsi 10 minas of gold, 6 talents of silver
2, ii:28-29 857 Carchemish 2 talents of gold, 70 talents of silver, tribute: 1 mina of gold, 1 talent of silver.
2, ii:30 857 Kummuপi annually 20 minas of silver 14, 155 831 city Kinalua, land Patinu silver, gold, without measure Adad-nƝrƗrƯ III (810--783 B.C.) – GRAYSON 1991,A.0.104
6, 19-20 806 Damascus 100 talents of gold, 1,000 talents of silver 8, 17-20 806 Damascus 2,300 talents of silver, 20 talents of gold 7, 5-8 ? Amurrû, atti, Damascus, Samaria,
Tyre, Sidon 2,000 talents of silver Tiglath-Pileser III (745—727 B.C.) – TADMOR –YAMADA 2011
49, 24’-25’ 741 BƯt-Agnjsi, Arpad 30 talents of gold, 2,000 talents of silver, 11, 4’-7’ 738 Damascus 3 talents of gold, 300 talents of silver,
12, 6’-11’ 738 Unqi 300 talents of silver
48, 14’-16’ 734 Gaza […] talents of gold, 800 talents of silver 48, 19’ 734 Gaza 100 talents of silver
49, R. 6-8 734 Tyre 20 talents of gold, […]
42, 17’-19’ 733 Israel 10 talents of gold, […] talents of silver 47, R. 16’ 49,
R. 26 730 Tyre 150 / 50 talents of gold, 2,000 talents of silver 47, R.
14’-15’; 49, R.
27-29
730 Tabal 10 talents of gold, 1,000 talents of silver Sargon II (721—705 B.C.) – FUCHS 1994,Annalen
72a 717 Carchemish 11 talents of sagru-gold, 2,100 talents of silver 155-156 714 Muৢaৢir, Urzana 34 talents 18 minas gold, 160 talents 2 ½ minas silver 158-159 714 Muৢaৢir, Urzana [+]3 talents 3 minas gold, 162 talents [20] minas silver 272-275 710
aza’il, amdƗnu, Zabida, Amma-[…], AপপƯ-iddina, Aiasammu, 6 sheikhs of Gambulu
1 talent 30 minas silver 321-325 710 Babylon, Borsippa, offers for the AkƯtu
festival
154 talents 26 minas 10 sheqels of red gold; 1,604 talents 20 minas of shining silver
THUREAU-DANGIN 1912,MAYER 1983
347-367 714 palace of Urzana, Muৢaৢir 2,058 minas (1,029 kg) gold, 10,022.5 minas (5,011 kg) silver
368 714 tempel of aldi, Muৢaৢir [x]+183 minas ([x]+91,5 kg) gold, 9,740 minas and 6 sheqels (4,870 kg) silver
Booty and tribute
Fig. 35. Amounts of precious metal captured.
II.3.1.2 Bronze and iron
Both metals are of primary military significance, for although iron gradually replaced bronze in several areas, for example the weaponry,693 bronze kept its importance througout the Neo
Assyrian period.