In this formative study of the Babylonian and Assyrian letters, originally published over three articles in Beiträge zur Assyriologie, Delitzsch presents in transliteration and translation, 40 Akkadian letters, along with critical notes and remarks. These letters are addressed to the Queen-Mother and to the King and generally date from the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian periods and contexts. An example of early analysis of the still-young discipline of Assyriology, this study provides insights into the dynamics of royal life in the late Mesopotamian empires. Bringing the literature together allows for a level of comparison easily overlooked when documents are viewed without the benefit of other exemplars. An important piece of the then-emerging field of Assyriology, this collection will be appreciated by historians of the field as well as by those who wish to reexamine classic contributions to the study of Mesopotamia.

Friedrich Delitzsch (1850-1922) was a German Assyriologist and Biblical Scholar. He studied at Leipzig and Berlin and taught at Leipzig, Breslau, and Berlin. He was one of the founders of the Deutschen Orientgesellschaft.