Tablet with letter to Assyrian King Esarhaddon, 680-669 B.C.
London, British Museum, inv. K13174

A cuneiform text which, together with the next exhibit, is part of a group of over 170 letters sent to the king of Assyria in his capital of Niniveh by astrologers who lived at court or in other cities in the kingdom. They kept a constant watch on the sky, informing the king of any sign they might descry in it that they considered to be an important omen from the gods affecting the life of the kingdom.