State Archives of Assyria Literary Texts

State Archives of Assyria Literary Texts (SAALT) contains critical editions of literary texts based on texts from Assurbanipal’s library that fall outside the State Archives of Assyria proper and are not part of the CNA database. The discovery of this library by Hormuzd Rassam in the middle of the nineteenth century was the first great milepost of the infant discipline of Assyriology. Even now, a century and a half later, it remains the single most important group of texts discovered in Mesopotamia. Documents from the library concern almost every aspect of ancient Mesopotamian history and culture. Most of these texts, as distinct from the State Archives of Assyria, are written in Babylonian and include the gems of Mesopotamian literature and science. In selecting texts for the SAALT series, the term “literary” is taken in its widest interpretation.

The production of SAALT volumes is not based on the CNA database. Editors of texts are free to use their own transliteration system and format. However, since the transliterations are not based on the CNA database format, detailed glossaries and indices cannot be prepared. With this limitation, the volumes of the SAALT series are meant to be similar in nature to the SAA volumes, providing transliterations, translations, and critical commentary.

Volumes Published or in Press
SAALT 1
Christopher Walker and Michael Dick The Induction of the Cult Image in Ancient Mesopotamia: The Mesopotamian Mis Pî Ritual (2001)
Ordering Instructions 
Distributed exclusively by:   Eisenbrauns
                              P.O. Box 275
                              Winona Lake, IN 46590
                              USA

Phone:                     +1-574-269 2011
Fax orders (USA & Canada):    800-736 7921
other Fax calls:           +1-574-269 6788

Orders may be made by e-mail to: orders@eisenbrauns.com or
by going directly to the series on Eisenbrauns web page.
(Please note: Exclusive worldwide distribution of the Literary Texts series is by Eisenbrauns. The SAALT series is not sold by the Helsinki University Press or the Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project. Ordering SAALT volumes from the Press or the Project will only delay your order.)

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