Middle Assyrian Laws

About the Author

Although it is not certain who the author of the Middle Assyrian Laws was, the existing editions were composed during the reign of Tiglath-pileser I, the first king since Tukulti-Ninurta I to exert sovereignty over foreign territories. Tiglath-pileser was able to reorganize the Assyrian armed forces and expand to the west and the south. He also appears to have been the first Assyrian king to record his exploits as military annals, creating a context for other literary works, such as the law code.

Tiglath-pileser I's military exploits were described in great detail, although they defy a facile chronological order. He faced the threat of the Mushki, a people from the north (perhaps the ancestors of the later Phrygians), who crossed the Tigris River and threatened the city of Nineveh, one of the major urban centers in the Assyrian kingdom. Not only did Tiglath-pileser I claim to have defeated them, but he also pushed deep into Anatolia (modern-day Turkey), where small successor Hittite kingdoms existed, and created rock inscriptions near Lake Van. In another campaign he went west again and defeated the Phoenician states of Byblos (Jubayl) and Sidon on the Syrian coast, reaching the Mediterranean Sea. He also came across the Aramaean tribes, Semitic-speaking peoples who inhabited the regions in the Euphrates River region in Syria. They were not urbanites but independent, seminomadic pastoralist tribes who were able to raid the local areas, destroying agricultural production. Tiglath-pileser I claimed to have crossed the Euphrates River twenty-eight times to campaign against them, showing evidence that these tribes were a supreme nuisance to the Assyrian monarch. Tiglath-pileser I also campaigned against Babylon, plundering Babylon and other urban centers, similar to what his predecessor Tukulti-Ninurta I had done. However, Tiglath-pileser I probably did not stay long in Babylonia, perhaps because of an Aramaean attack into Assyria, which may have helped cause a famine. The major Assyrian city of Nineveh may even have been captured by the Aramaeans. This event may have helped to end this Assyrian king's reign, as Tiglath-pileser I was probably assassinated, beginning a period of anarchy in Assyria that lasted for more than one hundred years.

Tiglath-pileser I, like Tukulti-Ninurta I before him, had many cultural interests. Numerous building projects were completed during his reign, including the construction of temples, royal monuments, parks, and gardens. In addition, a great library was built in Assur. The main portion of the Middle Assyrian Laws dates to his reign, and a complete edition of his royal annals lined the walls of his palace at Calah (modern-day Nimrud). Furthermore, nine fragmentary Court Edicts (also known as Palace Decrees or Harem Decrees), compiled or copied during Tiglath-pileser's reign, have been found. These decrees are a list of twenty-three regulations for palace personnel (women and the officials assigned to them), showing an intimate interest on the part of the crown in the running of its internal affairs. At least nine kings are mentioned in the texts (the last being Tiglath-pileser I), providing evidence that the documents were copied or edited over at least three centuries. Similar decrees from the fourteenth century BCE have been found at Nuzi, a provincial site in northern Assyria.