Control of the Military Commanders on the Administrative Title imy-r kAwt

Abstract

Assyrians kings had special interest in astronomy due to its significance in their personal and political lives in order to foretell the future and interpret natural phenomena. Hence, they established several observatories in numerous cities and recruited dozens of astronomers , whose mission was delivering periodic reports on forthcoming phenomena in their regions in order to avoid any risks that the country or the king may face.Given that the Sumerian language continued to be used in royal writings and letters during the 1st millennium BCE, some Assyrian astronomers had to clarify in their reports the intended meaning of the Sumerian symbols, many of which bear multiple meanings when translated into Akkadian language, as though being embedded in a dependent clause. Their aim was to prevent reciters from misinterpreting the intended meaning of the terms included in the letter before the king.In some cases, the intended Akkadian equivalents were written in small-sized glyphs below the Sumerian terms—in other words, the interpretation was embedded between the lines.