This book describes ten different government archives of cuneiform tablets from Assyria, using them to analyze 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.

Winner of the 2014 Frank Cross Moore Award, American Schools of Oriental Research

'… a superb monograph: a real must-have for all university libraries, colleges of higher education and anyone interested in the material nature and purpose of writing in Near Eastern Bronze Age cultures.'

Sandra Jacobs Source: Strata: Bulletin of the Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society

'At nearly five hundred pages, this ninety-nine dollar volume is a bargain, a treasure trove of data, meticulously organized and enhanced by Postgate’s great erudition, keen judgment, and profound appreciation of the mechanics of Late Bronze Age bureaucratic practice.'

M. P. Maidman Source: Journal of the American Oriental Society