A cache of cuneiform tablets discovered in northern Iraq provides a firsthand account of a devastating multi-year drought during the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The texts include royal decrees regarding grain rationing and prayers to Adad, the god of storms, for relief.
Climate archaeologists are using these records to correlate environmental data with the eventual decline of the empire. The find highlights how ancient civilizations documented and responded to extreme climate events in the Fertile Crescent.