T-1801:  The Esarhaddon Succession Treaty

This tablet records an oath of loyalty (adê) concerning the succession of Aššurbanipal, the crown prince of Assyria, imposed by his father, Esarhaddon, the king of Assyria, in 672 BCE. In this tablet, the governor of the Assyrian province of Kinalia and other local officials in the provincial administration swear a loyalty oath. The Tayinat tablet is another example of the so-called “Vassal Treaties” of Esarhaddon found in a temple at the Assyrian capital of Nimrud in northern Iraq. These oath tablets, which contain a long list of curses and warnings against breaking the oath, were most likely written in Assyria and then transported to their various intended capitals throughout the Assyrian Empire. It is believed a similar document might have been stored in the temple at Jerusalem, and eventually served as a template for parts of the legal texts in the Hebrew Bible.