Translations for each of the tablets-

SAA 01 001

(1) The king's word to Aššur-šarru-u[ṣur]: I am well, Assyria is well: you can be glad.
(3) As to what you wrote to me: "A messenger [of] Midas the Phrygian has come to me, bringing me 14 men of Que whom Urik had sent to Urarṭu as an embassy" — this is extremely good! My gods Aššur, Šamaš, Bel and Nabû have now taken action, and without a battle [or any]thing, the Phrygian has given us his word and become our ally! (10) As to what you wrote: "I shall not send my messenger to the Phrygian without the permission of the king, my lord" — I am now writing to (tell) you that you should not cut off your messenger from the Phrygian's presence. Write to him in friendly terms and constantly listen to news about him, until I have more time.
(16) As to what you wrote: "Should I send his subjects to him just as he sent me the subjects of the king my lord?" — send them to him so that he will be favourably disposed towards us. Whether 100 men or 10, write to him like this: "I wrote to the king my lord about the men of Que whom you sent to me, and he was extremely pleased; and in return he wrote to me [as follows]: 'Do not hold back even a single one of the Phrygians at your court, but send them to Midas [immediately]!' Thus at the king my lord's behest I am (now) sending you th[ese] men."
(26) As to what you wrote: "A messenger of Urpala'a came to me for an audience with the Phrygian messenger" — let him come, and let Aššur, Šamaš, Bel and Nabû command that all these kings should wipe your sandals with their beards!
(31) As to what you wrote: "Kilar [has request]ed from me four districts, saying: 'Let them give them to me'" — should you give [these] four districts to Kilar, would he not become your equal, and what would you yourself be ruling over as governor then? Tell him as follows: "Earlier, you were afraid of the Phrygian, but now the Phrygian has made peace with us, so what are you afraid of? Now eat your bread and drink your water under the protection of the king, my lord, and be happy. Do not worry about the Phrygian."
(43) As to what you wrote: "Urpala'a [may slip away] from the king, my lord, on account of the fact that the Atunnaeans and Istuandaeans came and took the cities of Bit-Paruta away from him" — now that the Phrygian has made peace with us and ..., what can all the kings of Tabal do henceforth? You will press them from this side and the Phrygian from that side so that (in no time) you will snap your belt on them. Thanks to my gods Aššur, Šamaš, Bel and Nabû, this land has now been trodden under your feet! Move about as you please, do whatever you have to do, cut the long and lengthen the short until I come and give you [...] work!
(57) As to Ba[lasu concerning whom you wrote], I have heard his words in full. The day you see this letter, appoint his son in his place over his men. His people should be assembled and present, and if he wants, he may take them over the mountains and settle them there, or they may also live here. As for him, let one of your 'third men' pick him up post-haste and let him come here. I will speak kindly with him and encourage him, and in due course I will send word and have his people (being kept) here returned, and he too can go and re-enter his house.
(66) As for Aplaiu, let your messenger bring him and his people to me, whether (they are) citizens of Babylon, Borsippa, Kish, Nippur, Uruk, Der, or (...)

SAA 06 037

(1) [Inst]ead of his seal he impressed his fingernail.
(2) [Finger]nail of Il-amar, chief of granaries of Maganuba, owner of the garden, land, and people being sold.
(fingernail impressions)
(5) Two vineyards; an estate of 3 hectares of land in the city of Šiddi-hiriti;
(7) Qausu; Aššur-belu-taqqin, gardener; Ahi-immê, palace farmer; 3 w[omen]; 1 son; a total of 7 persons —
(10) [Šumma-ilan]i has contracted and [bought them fo]r 25 mi[nas of silver] from Il-ama[r].
(13) [The mon]ey is paid completely. Those ga[rden]s, land, and people are purchased and acquired. Any revocation, lawsuit, or litigation is void.
(16) Whoever in the future, at any time, lodges a complaint, [whether] Il-amar or his brothers, nephews or relatives, and seeks a lawsuit or litigation against Šumma-ilani, his sons or grandsons, shall pay [x mi]nas of silver, and shall redeem the gardens, the land, and the [peopl]e.
(r 7) [Witness S]ama', (horse) raiser of the crown prince.
(r 8) [Witness Bel]-Harran-šarru-uṣur, intelligence officer.
(r 9) [Witness ...-zer]u-ibni, cohort commander of large-wheeled chariotry.
(r 11) Witness Mušezib-ili.
(r 12) Witness Šamaš-ila'i, palace chariot driver.
(r 13) Witness Ṭudute, chariot fighter of Nergal-ašared.
(r 15) Witness Nabû-ahu-iddina, scribe.
(r 16) Month Tishri (VII), 1st day, eponym year of Ilu-isse'a, governor of Damascus.

SAA 06 042

(1) Instead of his seal he impressed his fingernail.
(2) Fingernail of Dusî, owner of the house being sold.
(space for seal impressions)
(3) A built house with its beams and doors, a sleeping room, its yard, its bathroom, servants' quarters, two thirds of the main building, an upper floor, a storehouse, and a wing with a tomb in it —
(8) Šumma-ilani, chariot driver of the chamberlain, has contracted and bought it for 3 minas of silver by the (mina) of the king.
(11) The money is paid completely. That house is purchased and acquired. Any revocation, lawsuit, or litigation is void.
(14) Whoever, at any time and in the future, lodges a complaint or [bre]aks the contract, whether Dusî [o]r his sons, brothers or relatives, who s[ee]ks a lawsuit or litigation against Šumma-ilani and his sons,
(20) shall place a mina and 5 minas of refin[ed] silver [and x minas of] pure [gol]d in the la[p of the god ... residing in ...], and shall tie two white horses [to the feet of Aššur] and bring four harbakannu horses to the feet of Nergal. He shall pay one talent of tin to the governor of [his] ci[ty], and shall return the money tenfold to its owners. He shall contest in his lawsuit and not succeed.
(r 8) Witness Urdaya, weaver of multicolored trim.
(r 9) Witness Ilu-ibni, brother of the mayor.
(r 10) Witness Kenu'a, from the Inner City.
(r 11) Witness Bel-ibni, servant of the chamberlain.
(r 12) Witness Šumma-ili, merchant.
(r 13) Witness Bibê, chief shepherd.
(r 14) Witness Danqu-dibbi-Issar, ditto.
(r 15) Witness Qalunzu, ditto.
(r 16) Witness Aššur-šezibanni, chariot driver.
(r 17) Witness Nabû-bel-šumati, scribe.
(r 18) Witness Qiti-ilani, 'third man.'
(r 19) Witness Arbailayu, chariot driver.
(r 20) Month Iyyar (II), 10th day, eponym year of [Zazaya], governor of Arp[ad].

SAA 06 046

(1) Seal of Aššur-bel-uṣur, the major-domo of Carchemish.
(2) Six homers (c. 1,200 'litres') of refined oil by the copper seah of 10 'litres,' belonging to Šumma-ilani, at his disposal.
(5) He shall give the oil in the month of Shebat (XI). If he does not, it shall increase by an equal amount.
(7) Month Ab (V), 21st day, eponym year of Nabû-ahu-ereš of Sam'al.
(r 1) Witness Bel-šarru-ibni, 'third man' of the palace.
(r 2) Witness Bel-ahu-uṣur, cohort commander.
(r 3) Witness Ahu-nuri, ditto.
(r 4) Witness Zer-ketti-lešir.
(r 5) Witness Kubabu-sapi.

SAA 06 050

(1) [Se]al of Bar-[hatê], owner of the land, house, and people being [sold].
(fingernail impressions)
(3) [An estate] of 50 hectares of land, 10,000 vines, and [a bui]lt [house];
(4) Hašana, his 4 sons and his wife; the woman Danqî, her son and [her] daugh[ter; a tot]al of 9 persons, servants o[f Bar-ha]tê in the town of Ti'i —
(8) Šumma-ilani has co[ntracted and bought them] fr[om B]ar-hatê for 6 minas of silver by the mi[na of the king].
(11) The money [is paid] com[pletely]. That land, house, [people, and garden] are purch[ased and acquired]. Any revocation, lawsuit, or litig[ation is void].
r 2) Whoever, at any time, breaks the con[tract], whether Bar-hatê, his sons, or a neighbour or relative of his, and s[eek]s a lawsuit or litigation against Šumma-ilani and his sons, [shall pla]ce [ten min]as of silver (and) one mina of p[ur]e gold [in the la]p of Ištar residing in [Nineveh], and shall return [the money] tenfold to its owner. He shall contest [in] his [lawsu]it and not succeed.
(r 11) [Witness Ma]r-nuri, deputy of Maganuba.
(r 12) [Witness ...]-Nabû, ... of ditto.
(r 13) [Witness ...]-qam, chariot driver of ditto.
(r 14) [Witness NN].... [Witness] Rapaya.
(Rest destroyed)

SAA 013 034

(1) [To] the king, my lord: y[our servant], Nabû-ašared. May [Ašš]ur and Ešarra bless [the k]ing.
(5) [Concerning] what the king [as]ked me:
(7) "[...] Bel-ibni
8) [...] death
9) [...] front/opposite
10) [......] ...
(11) We have now sent two ro[yal im]ages to the king. I myself sketched the royal image which is an outline. They fashioned the royal image which is in the round. The king should examine them, and whichever the king finds acceptable we will execute accordingly. Let the king pay attention to the hands, the chin, and the hair.
(r 2) As for the royal image which they are making, the scepter is lying across his arm and his arm is resting on his thighs. I myself do not agree with this and I will not fashion (it so). I could speak with them about features —about anything whatever — but they wouldn't listen to me. On their own volition [they ......].
(r 14) [...] The king [...]
(r 15) [...]. I myself should fashion the [bod]y, [but] they [don't a]gree.

SAA 13 040

(1) Letter of Taqiša to Aššur-šarru-uṣur.
(3) Good health to my brother.
(4) Concerning the (offering) pipes of Adad and Babu, I have written to the palace. They said the following: "The first day of Shebat is good. Let them break through and set to work. Let them apply themselves and perform the work quickly."
11) I am now writing to you: instruct the carpenters about the woods which we selected and make (everything) clear to them.
(15) Let them set to work and do a good job on the first day (of Shebat).
(r 1) Also for the rest of your work, don't be negligent. Apply yourselves and do a good job.
(r 4) What else? As I have (already) written to you, don't be negligent.

SAA 015 017

(1) To the king, my lord: your servant Sîn-na'di. Good health to the king, my lord!
5) I have no scribe where the king sent me to.
(9) Let the king direct either the governor [o]f Arrapha or Aššur-belu-taqqin to send me a scribe.

So, a couple of things!

I believe I made a mistake at one point in the podcast, when I was trying to talk about the Assyrians and their conception of 'proper actual Assyria' vs 'our clients and allies and people we dominate'. The actual two phrases, as translated into English, are the land of Assur (referring to Assyria proper) and the yoke of Assur (everything that it controls).

Secondly, whilst it's possible to look up the text of these documents on the SAAO website, would people like me to post the English translations in full here?

I could ask on IRC, but what would a clay envelope look like for private letters and whatnot? And how would the letters not be broken when the envelope was broken open?

you can improve quality if people would record their voice locally too, sent it and then you can edit it together afterwards.

Somewhat tangential question-- is there any particular reason you guys don't post these to youtube? Streaming would be much more convenient than downloading.

Another awesome episode, thank you! I know very little about the Assyrians but I am fascinated by what I do know.

I have a brief couple of follow-up questions. If I remember correctly, /u/Daeres said that there were many (10,000 - 100,000?) cuneiform documents that had not yet been translated.

Did I hear this correctly? Isn't that a huge amount of data, and something people should be working on translating around the clock?

I can't help but fantasize about what might be left untranslated here (like, if they referenced aspects of the Bronze Age Collapse/"Near East Dark Age", if details about that could have possibly survived in oral tradition). Or, I might just have misheard.

This was actually one of my favourite episodes. I really enjoyed the level of detail. Keep up the great work.

Guys, I really-really enjoyed the podcast, but could you do something with the quality please? I use vacuum headphones and /u/400-Rabbits sounds absolutely fine but /u/Ambarenya was quite hard to listen to (the 'S' sound problem, to be more specific).