Bronze Age bureaucracy : writing and the practice of government in Assyria / Nicholas Postgate, Cambridge University.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Print version record.

Machine generated contents note: 1. Introduction -- 2. The Land of Assur in the Late Bronze Age -- 3. Writing in Assyria: The Scribes and Their Output -- 4. Archives at Assur -- 4.1. The Offerings House Archive -- 4.2. The Stewards' Archive -- 4.3. The Archive of Mutta the Animal-Fattener -- 4.4. The Archive of Babu-aha-iddina -- 4.5. A Family Archive -- 5. Archives in the Provinces -- 5.1. Tell al-Rimah, Ancient Karana or Qatara -- 5.2. Tell Billa, Ancient Sibaniba -- 5.3. Tell Chuera, Ancient Harbu -- 5.4. Tell Ali, Ancient Atmannu -- 5.5. Tell Sheikh Hamad, Ancient Durkatlimmu -- 6. The Government of Assyria and Its Impact -- 7. Nuzi, the Nearest Neighbour -- 8. Western Contemporaries: Alalah, Ugarit and Greece -- 9. The Records of Government.

This book describes ten different government archives of cuneiform tablets from Assyria, using them to analyse the social and economic character of the Middle Assyrian state, as well as the roles and practices of writing. The tablets, many of which have not been edited or translated, were excavated at the capital, Assur, and in the provinces, and they give vivid details to illuminate issues such as offerings to the national shrine, the economy and political role of elite households, palace etiquette, and state-run agriculture. This book concentrates particularly on how the Assyrian use of written documentation affected the nature and ethos of government, and compares this to contemporary practices in other palatial administrations at Nuzi, Alalah, Ugarit, and in Greece.

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