A mere glance at the contents of his other letters will show their
connection with these events. In one,(864) he sends Naragê, a colonel,
with twenty men who had plotted against the king and were caught. He
mentions the capture of a second tartan, Urṣini, in Ṭurushpîa and the
mission of Urṣini’s brother, Apli-uknu, to see him there. The King of
Armenia had entered Ṭurushpîa with a number of restless men. In
another,(865) he reports the return to Assyria of a messenger from the
Ukkai, who had gone up into Armenia; and mentions Muṣaṣir. In a
third,(866) he reports that “Gurânia, Nagiu, the fortresses of Armenia and
Gimirri, are giving tribute to Armenia.” But that “when the Armenians went
to Gimirri, they were badly defeated.” The rest is so injured as to give
little sense. In another,(867) he names Ariê and Ariṣâ, Dûr-Shamash,
Barzanishtun, the city of Ishtar-dûri, and Shulmu-bêl-lashme; but the text
is so defective that one cannot discern what he had to say about them. In
another,(868) he acknowledges the king’s order to send scouts into the
neighborhood of Ṭurushpîa. In another,(869) he writes that “the Mannai in
the cities of Armenia on the coast of the sea rebelled, that Apli-uknu,
the commander of Muṣaṣir, and Ṭunnaun, the commander of Kar-Sippar, went
to the borders of the Mannai, to garrison Armenia and made a slaughter
there, that all the commanders are present.” But these are not the only
references to him. Ṭâb-shâr-Ashur(870) writes to the king that he has
received a letter from Ashur-riṣûa: “Thus it is written in it, saying, a
messenger of the Ukkai went to Armenia, he has sent a letter to the
palace, and these are the contents of the letter, on the morning of the
sixth, this letter came to me; he sent, saying, the Ukkai have heard
concerning Ariê that he went against him (the king of Armenia) and his
city.” Then the letter becomes very defective, but we hear again of Kumai
and Eliṣ (clearly the Eliṣada above). Ṭâb-shâr-Ashur again mentions
Ashur-riṣûa,(871) saying that a letter of his was brought, which referred
to the King of Armenia entering some city. But too little is preserved to
make out the message. In a report(872) about beams of wood, collected by
Ashur-riṣûa, he is associated with Ariê, and Uriṣâ, evidently the Ariṣâ
above, and the city Kumai. Finally, on a letter by Gabbu-ana-Ashur he is
mentioned in a most significant way. The writer says: “Concerning the news
which the king gave me about the garrisons of Armenia, from the time that
I entered the city Kurban, my messengers went to Nabû-li’, to
Ashur-bêl-danân, to Ashur-riṣûa; they came to me.” After a break he goes
on, “Like this I have heard; the Armenian (king) has not gone out of
Ṭurushpîa.” After some more uncertain traces, he adds: “On the
twenty-third of Tammuz I entered into Kurban, on the twentieth of Ab I
sent a letter to the king, my lord.” It is evident that Nabû-li’,
Ashur-bêl-danân, and Ashur-riṣûa were the commanders most concerned in
these events.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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