How did Assyrian records contribute to knowledge of North Arabian gods?

Assyrian records provide some of the earliest external evidence for North Arabian deities, as the region remained largely unknown to its neighbors for many centuries.1

Knowledge of these gods is primarily derived from the annals of 7th-century BCE Assyrian kings, particularly Esarhaddon. In these records, the king reports returning idols to the oasis of Adumatu (Dūmat al-Jandal) that had been confiscated as war booty by his father, Sennacherib.213

Through these annals, several North Arabian gods are named for the first time, including:
* ‘Atarsamāin
* ‘Atarqurum
* Nukhay
* Ruldayu (a phonetic transcription of the sun god Ruḍā)2

Additionally, Assyrian annals from the 9th to the 7th century BCE document military campaigns against various North Arabian tribes and leaders, which occasionally include references to their gods. These external accounts are significant because they offer a rare glimpse into the religious landscape of ancient North Arabia before the more extensive archaeological and epigraphic data became available.1