Assyrian Historiography: A Source Study

"Assyrian Historiography: A Source Study" by A. T. Olmstead is an academic exploration into how the ancient Assyrians wrote their history. The book emphasizes that you need to look closely at historical sources before you can tell the stories of Assyria. It talks about the different kinds of writings they left behind, how correct they are, and how they relate to who was in charge at the time. A major focus is on the early days of Assyrian historical records, acknowledging the difficulties in piecing things together because there isn't much detailed information from before Tiglath Pileser I ruled. The book also examines how Assyrian writing changed over time, moving from being influenced by Babylonian styles to creating their more organized accounts of events, setting the stage for a detailed look into the sources and ways to understand them deeply.