The adê tablets record the oaths made by eight Zagros-dwelling bēl-ālāni who swore loyalty to Esarhaddon and his crown prince Ashurbanipal (668-631 BCE). The interpretation of these oaths has been a subject of debate, ranging from vassal treaties to the swearing in of a corps of Median bodyguards to the crown prince. The discovery of a very similar tablet from the Syrian site of Tell Tayinat points to an empire-wide attempt at making all allies swear allegiance to the crown-prince before Esarhaddon's death. Six years prior one of these bēl-ālāni, Ramataya of Urakazabarna, had visited the Assyrian court. He brought tribute in the form of horses and lapis lazuli, seeking Esarhaddon's assistance against rival bēl-ālāni. However, it appears that the oaths and alliances eventually fell apart, leading to the tablets that documented them being taken from the temple storage room and crushed. While, by the mid-seventh century, the Median bēl-ālāni seemed poised to form alliances that could have united against the Assyrians, there is no indication that the fundamental political structure of the Medes as independent bēl-ālāni was undergoing significant changes as Herodotus's story of Deioces's rise would suggest. The last mention of Median bēl-ālāni comes from an inscription of Ashurbanipal that recounts a campaign of 656 BCE, in which three Median bēl-ālāni rebelled and were captured and brought back to Nineveh. As it became conceivable for a united Media to defeat Assyria and assume her mantle of power in the region, the impetus to unite may have been stronger than the competitive forces dividing the bēl-ālāni.
The adê tablets record the oaths made by eight Zagros-dwelling bēl-ālāni who swore loyalty to Esarhaddon and his crown prince Ashurbanipal (668-631 BCE) The interpretation of these oaths has been a subject of debate ranging from vassal treaties to the swearing in of a corps of Median bodyguards to the crown prince The discovery of a very similar tablet from the Syrian site of Tell Tayinat points to an empire-wide attempt at making all allies swear allegiance to the crown-prince before Esarhaddon's death Six years prior one of these bēl-ālāni Ramataya of Urakazabarna had visited the Assyrian court He brought tribute in the form of horses and lapis lazuli seeking Esarhaddon's assistance against rival bēl-ālāni However it appears that the oaths and alliances eventually fell apart leading to the tablets that documented them being taken from the temple storage room and crushed While by the mid-seventh century the Median bēl-ālāni seemed poised to form alliances that could have united against the Assyrians there is no indication that the fundamental political structure of the Medes as independent bēl-ālāni was undergoing significant changes as Herodotus's story of Deioces's rise would suggest The last mention of Median bēl-ālāni comes from an inscription of Ashurbanipal that recounts a campaign of 656 BCE in which three Median bēl-ālāni rebelled and were captured and brought back to Nineveh As it became conceivable for a united Media to defeat Assyria and assume her mantle of power in the region the impetus to unite may have been stronger than the competitive forces dividing the bēl-ālāni