may therefore have been carried to a greater
degree of perfection in the north. The Assyrian conquerors, if we may
judge from examples, were fond of asking for an oracle at every turn in
the political situation. The king intends to send an official to a
foreign land, but he is uncertain as to the wisdom of his decision.
Accordingly, he puts the case before the god. If this decision is taken,
he asks, Will the envoy carry out the orders of the king?

Thy great divinity knows it.
Is it commanded and ordained by thy great divinity,
O Shamash? Is it to come to pass?[511]

In a similar way, questions are asked with reference to the course of a
campaign. Will the Assyrian king encounter the king of Ethiopia, and
will the latter give battle? Will the king return alive from the
campaign? is a question frequently asked. Even for their quasi-private
affairs, the kings sought for an oracle. Before giving his daughter in
marriage to a foreign potentate, Esarhaddon desires to know whether the
one seeking this favor, Bartatua, the king of Ishkuza,[512]

is to be trusted, will he fulfill his promises, will he observe
the decrees of Esarhaddon, the king of Assyria, and execute them
in good faith?

Again, when the king is about to associate his son with himself in the
government, he first inquires whether this is agreeable to the
deity.[513] The king fears lest his son may cause trouble, may provoke
dissensions. Past experience prompts him to be careful before following
his inclination.

Is the entrance of Siniddinabal, the son of Esarhaddon, the king
of Assyria, whose name is written on this tablet, into the
government in accord with the command of thy great divinity? Is
it to come to pass?

The reference to the writing of the name is interesting. It would appear
that the question is actually written by the priest and placed before
the deity. The Greeks similarly put their questions to the Delphian
oracle in writing. May it be that among the Babylonians the answer of
the god was at times also handed down on a tablet, as the Greek and
Roman oracles were communicated in writing on the leaves of a tree?

If sickness entered the royal house, an oracle was likewise sought. The
king is sick. Is it ordained that he will recover? We are told in one
case that[514]

Nika, the mother of Esarhaddon, the king of Assyria, is sick.
She sees the hand of the goddess Nana of Uruk laid heavily upon