Page  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  21  22  23  24  25  26  27  28  29  30  31  32  33  34 

 Quantity:  Proceed to checkout

ASSYRIAN TRADE TABLET - ($35 US)

Cuneiform-Aramaic

800 BC replica

Large stone cast tablet, brown ochre hydrostone, 140 x 100 mm (5.5 x 3.75 inches), cuneiform inscription on both sides, with parchment description.

Replica of a multi-lingual Assyrian inventory tablet inscribed in late Neo-Assyrian cuneiform and stamped with an Aramaic docket identifying the contents.

To facilitate administrative tasks of the Assyrian Empire the use of the Aramaic was sanctioned because the Aramaic language was far better known in distant parts of the empire than Akkadian and was the lingua franca of the merchants who travelled the highways.

The empire chancelleries adopted a simplified standard form of Aramaic for correspondence with such areas and Aramaic dockets were attached to Assyrian and Babylonian tablets giving brief indication of names and dates and a summary of the contents. This is classified as "Official Aramaic." The main record was still inscribed in the language of the kingdom but the brief Aramaic stamps were attached because more people could understand them.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The Neo-Assyrian Empire was a period of Mesopotamian history which began in 934 BC and ended in 609 BC. During this period, Assyria assumed a position as a great regional power, vying with Babylonia and other lesser powers for dominance of the region. Assyria finally succumbed to the rise of the Chaldean dynasty, with the Fall of Nineveh in 612 BC. More than half a century later, the Babylonians and Assyrians both became provinces of the Persian Empire.

Neo-Assyrian cuneiform is the final stage of the long evolution of the cuneiform script. The number of glyphs was reduced and the glyph shapes were standardized and simplified, so that modern cuneiform sign inventories are usually based on the Neo-Assyrian glyph shapes.

Neo-Assyrian cuneiform remained in use alongside the Aramaic alphabet well into Parthian times. The Aramaic language from the 8th century was adopted for correspondence with Aramaean provinces and Assyrian scribes are often depicted in pairs, one writing in Akkadian on a tablet, the other writing in Aramaic on parchment.

Postage:

Ground: $6 Australian dollars - Australia New Zealand

Air: $8.50 USD - Asia, India, Pacific, Japan

Air: $10 USD - USA & Canada

Air: $12 USD - Europe, Scandinavia, Britain, Germany, Italy, Greece, Spain, Mediterranean, Africa, South America & most other locations.

Combined postage when required postal insurance or more expensive registered mail available on request.

Local Australian ground postage 2-3 days
Airmail Europe, USA & Canada 7-14 days

Page  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  21  22  23  24  25  26  27  28  29  30  31  32  33  34