ISRAeLITe eMBASSIeS To ASSyRIA 181 of submission, prior to which the Δerāni passed in procession before the king 18. Specific courtyards in the palaces were designed for the ceremony of presenting the tribute, and palace reliefs portray the procession of tributaries 19. To understand the process of transmission of Assyrian claims of empire to vassal states, it is important to understand how the Δerāni were treated in Assyria. As Postgate notes, they were fed at the state’s expense and were given presents of clothing and shoes for their jour- neys, as well as silver and gold rings. not only the Δerāni themselves but also their servants received valuable gifts. These gifts were not part of the usual traditions of hospitality, but rather were intended by Assyria as incentives to the Δerāni to undertake the journey again and to be punctual in the bringing of tribute 20. The incentives made the Δerāni into eager tribute-bearers, who had a personal stake in promoting Assyrian royal ideology. Given sufficient incentives, the Δerāni would convince their kingdoms to remain loyal to Assyria, and they would bring the tribute which was important to the Assyrian treasury 21. Thus, these Δerāni would be turned into vehicles for the propagation of Assyrian claims of empire. Iv. Israelite emissaries to Assyria in the early eighth century The nimrud Wine Lists appear to provide evidence for Israelite Δerāni bringing tribute to Assyria. These lists, consisting of wine allocations, were discovered in 1957 and 1961 at nimrud (ancient 18 PoSTGATe, Taxation and Conscription, 126. 19 The upper register in the great court of Sargon’s palace at khorsabad por- trays such a procession: P.e. BoTTA – e. FLAnDIn, Monuments de Ninive. 5 vols. (Paris 1849-1850) pl. 122. In the palace of Ashurnasirpal II at Calah (in use until the time of Tiglath-Pileser III), the walls of the recessed area known as room D depict a procession of crouching and deferential tribute-bearing ambassadors: B.n. PoRTeR, “Intimidation and Friendly Persuasion: Re-evaluating the Propaganda of Ashurnasirpal II”, Eretz-Israel 29 (2003) 180*-191*. Room D served as an antechamber for ambassadors waiting to be conducted into the throne room of the king (room B), and the relief was designed to demonstrate the attitude they were expected to exhibit in their present position. 20 PoSTGATe, Taxation and Conscription, 127-128. 21 on the importance of the tribute to the Assyrian treasury, see k. RADneR, “Abgaben an den könig von Assyrien aus dem In- und Ausland”, Geschenke und Steuern, Zölle und Tribute: Antike Abgabenformen in Anspruch und Wirklichkeit (eds. H. kLInkoTT – S. kUBISCH – R. MüLLeR-WoLLeRMAnn) (Leiden – Boston, MA 2007) 213-230, here 216.