Yaqqim-Addu of Saggaratum: The Correspondence of a District Governor in the Kingdom of Mari (Ph.D. dissertation)

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. YAQQIM.ADDlTQF~S'A.GAR)\TI)M: tHE ¢ORRESPON.DENCE OF A DISTRICT. G0-~OR IN TI;iE KI;N.QDO~ OF-MARl . ,

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YAQQIM-ADDU OF SAGARAl'UM: .The

Correspondenc~of

a District Governor ,.t'

, in the Kingdom of Mari

... A Dissertation

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Pr>esented to

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The Faculty of the ..Graa~'ate School' of Arts' and Sciences

,

Brandeis .;

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Departm~nt

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Univer~ity

of Near ,Eastern and Judaic Studies

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In ;~artial 'Fulfillment of the Requirements_of the'Degree Doctor of Phiiosophy'

o

Joseph Goleson Apri1~

1982

_

This dissertation; directed and approved ~by the candidate's Committee, has been ,accepted and approved by the Graduate Faculty of Brandeis'Universfty in partial fulfil1mentof the requireme1)ts ,f..pr ~the degree of

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DOcIOR OF

PHILOSOP~

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Dean, Graduate School of Arts" and Sc"iences

·jMAY· 23 1982

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(0 Copyright

by

JosephCo1efijon •

J_•.

1982 ;

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks are due first of all to the late Dr. G. Douglas

You~g,

to Dr. Anson Rainey, and ".to'1rr . James Monson, who introduced to me ,.

.'1,

the world of the Ancient Near East at the Institute of Holy Land Skudies in 'Jerusalem • . Dr. Dwight W. Young

~as

....-

days at Brapdeis University.

been mentor and friend

~ince

my first

He suggested this investigation, and /-

.

equipped me with the 3cholarly tools to

~arry

it out.

:.

,

His counsel

and hiG example, both inside and outside the classroom, are highly valued; his friendship, even mote so. Professors at Brandeis

and

other institutions, graduate school

colleagues, family and friends in many places, have contributed in 'ways too numerous and diverse to enumerate. to e'ach,

My 'appreciation goes

-.

·~e.

I would like also to thank all those laborers before me, most of whom I h(3,ve never met. instructi~~;

it

i~

Their works have" been exciting as weil ~s

pleasant to think of joinin& such a company.

Finally, I thank Charlotte, my wife, for her patient encourage-. -

~

ment and

s~pport,

,

for her many valuable suggestions, and for her

..'

la,.bor.' of love in typing the manuscript.

It may be that this inves,-

tigation could have been begun without' -he~; it could never have been brought to completion.

~

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iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

iv

Acknowledgements List of Abbrev:iations List of Symbols

ix

Introduction Notes (11)

1

Chapter I

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vii

16

Agriculture

'. Planting' Operations (16) -,,\ -Size and Pispositi.on of Fields (19) i;"oHarvesting and Threshing (21) Agricultural Pr,oducts (28) ~. Wild P lant/Fogds (34)-=/" SurmnJ:t:y , (39) ..~ol~ (40)

.

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,

Chapter II ~,

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t

« .-:~-

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44

Irrigation and Flood Control '

i

Crises Caused by Flooding (44).' Other Work on the ter Courses (51) Irrigatio'n (55) Summary (59) Notes (60) '/1

Chapter I I I

:1-. -r/* . . \

Sheep (65 Cattle (71) Other Domestic Animals (74) Wild Animals (76) Summary (81) Notes (82) Ch~p~er

- ,.,

IV

87

Building Materials and Operations

Timber (87) Buiiding Stone (90) Building Operations (93) Summary (97) Notes (98) .

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vi ChSlpter V

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Professi~ns and Crafts

102-

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Chapter VI'

Interriaticna1.,Re1ati'ons •

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4.

" D~ploniatic: AC,t:l"vity (122) Meseengers on Assignment . (122)' . Other Persona$gsc, (127). " Military .Operati
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122

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Chapter VII

157

Commerceand'Tran$p;Ortation'

River Transp6rt (158) . Land Transport (167) Swnmary' (l7l) Notes (172)

-,-.',;, -.<J ••

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Chapter VIII

o

115

Religious EXpressions and CuI tic Rittla1

dt>vernnienta1 Sponsorsh~p of' :Religious Ohperva~ce3 (175) Governmental Interfer'ence .inRe1igi9.llS Observanc~s(181) Phenomena Attributed to the Gods, (183) .. ,; .... "!:.: Summa~y (186) . Notes (188t

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Conclusion

191

194

Index of Mq,riTexts Cited Bibliography .. , .-'

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .11..;

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AHw.' ---r-"

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'" AIPHOS ,

Ann~aife de ''1 'Inst>ft~t dePhilologie et d' Hiat.oir·e Orientci'les et Slaves. .;;. __

AOAT' .,.'

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-~

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ARM

Archives royales de Marl. * , .

ARMT

Archives royales de Mari [TeXts in ·transl itera tion and transl~tion].* . >f. ; " ' " ...

AS

~'

Assyriolpgical Studies.

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BARB -

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Alter Orient und Altes ~Te'Stament.

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von SQ(l'em, :ecf., Akkadisches Hand,worte'tbuch.

BAS OR

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. .~ Bulletin de ·l'Acad~mieRoy.~le de

Be~gique

•. ./

'Bulletin of t.heAmer:tcan Schools of Orient~l Res,ear~h.

BiOr

Bibliotheca Orientalis.

CAD

A. L! Op'penheim,. et. al. ,.'eds.~;ThefAssyri?ri Dictionary of . the Orienfal.Institute of theUniver,saty of. Chicago.

CH .

,.

JAOS

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Code of gammurapi ~ .

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J eurmal. *' .......

or. the

American

'~4'

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JCS' JESHC 'JNES

.---

'Journal of the Economic apd Social History of the Orient. Journal of NJ~ar ~astern Studies.

JSS

journal of 'Semitic Studies.

Or.

Orientalia.

OrAn

'Oriens Antiquus •.'

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*Cited as, e. g., ARM XIV 75: 30 ... Vol. XIY, lett~er,>_75, line, 30. -

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.

viii

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Revue d'assyriologie

RA

e~ d'arche~logie orient~le. o

RS

Ras Shamra. G

,Textes Cuneiformes de Louvre.

TCL~\

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TCM

Textes Cuneifbrm¢s de Mari.·

YOS

Yale Ori.ental, 'Series, B'sbylonian Texts.

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Z'eits.chrift fur Assyriol<:;>gie ~hd verwandte Gebiete.

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L181 OF stMBOLS"

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,separate"s sy!lables in transliteration.· i.

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indicates missing sign(s) in transliteration; cont~t may " .,. . ""'-';p suggest. plausible restoration. ~ 1ll1indicate"s,. damaged ,sign(s)

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transliteration.

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indicates in tralls1it"eration sign(s) whose presenc.e': in . cuneiform text· is indicated, but which is(are) unreadabI~~ "' >

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indicates scribal omission in ,transliteration. ~ ",

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indicates ~ctibal addition in transliteration. indicates unusual reading of" the cuneiform text. ~

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indicates ·translator' s addition for clarity in transla tion" . ,

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INTRODUCTION a

''fhe kingdom of Mari, under Zimri~L:f.m (ca.l779-l747, B.C.),l eIJ,joy:d

h~ro day

in trO,"Ilear the middle of_he Old Babylonian

period of Mesopotami.an history. ',For several decades pefore the ' . . . .

~

brief "Pax'~abylonJca" imposed_by Bammurapi, the structure of irtter":natione;:tl politics con~isted in coalitions of, kings, each cqaliti.6n headed by the mO$t 'powerful .king of the region. Fora brief 'period Zimri-Lim placed Mari within the privileged ranks of the leaders of the coalitions, and played at the game of . .

-

power_brokering

wi~h

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!jammurapi of,Babylon,withYarim,.-Limand !jam-

murapil!of YCl!llpa~J 'wi th R~m-Sin of Larsa, and others.

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Zimri~Lim's

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,gra'ndfa-ther, Yaggid-Lim,and his father, Yagdun-:Lim" had. 1?~en kings' before him. 2

•

Yahdun-~i~ had been murdered in a palace 'conspiracy.

Suspicion falls upon Samsi-Adad of 'Assyria, ast,he latter thereupon . ,

.~

imposed his rule over the ter:t;ftoriesof Mari, installing his own

.

son, Yasmah-Adad', as king in MarL

Zimri-Lim, sonpf the, murdered

king, was eventually sponsored by Yat1.m-Lim of Yambad,. :,'1""

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help Zimri-:r.imwas able, aft~~ the death of Samsi-Adad"

With his' to drive

Yasniah-Adad fr'om Marl a~d regai~th~throne of his father.

The co-'

alition ledbY,Zimri-Lim of Mari thus replaced, for a time, thci"t led ". v.

~

by Sam~i~Adad of Assyria in the circle of great powers. ':F~

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'Mari's strength under Zimri-Lim lay ,.in, her 'geographical posi.. '0

tion astride the middle Euphrates, controlling both.'the land and '~

1 .

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river rot! tes from southern Mesopotamia to northern Syria. 3

A tax

upon river traffic through Mari helped Zimri-Lim finance both, his 'building '.

"

pro~ramat

~~_-i

home 4

"and his

inte~h~ti~al Cldventure~'.

In .this political .and· economic . milieu Zimri~Lim. . establishE!tP ' , ' . . ! The king,.

his kingdOlll\a.nd in.:'this· milieu his government .functioned. dam of

Mar~roper,

i.e., excluding the ter'ritories of the vassal .Ii".·

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-kipg p , . was divided into-" dist:'rict;s, eaqp adininistered:qy_".a governor •

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name' .frotn;the name oJ its principa.1, city" ,Sag-arat.urn.,which 'w8;s tht;. 8

residence city 'of the og·overnor.

Sagaratum,.was lccated.,o)i the' east' .If;

bank of the' Bcibur,. the principal;, ~tributar}, of ~h~ ~uphrates"\~'iabo':1't" .-

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forty kilometers north of the confluence of the Habur, and about one ',1,

hundie~ thirty-f!ve~.kilameters by rfVer from Mari. 5 . ,Ya~qim~Addu was', governor of Sagaratmn ,under Zimri-Lim;thepublished corpus of' his , . .

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correspondence

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is~·the .-"

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subJ,ect of this' study • \.'

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Beginning in 1933, -a French team of archaeologists. under the "

.'-

direction "'of Andre Patrot: 'excavated"at Mari:i;¢':P'ellHarir1), near th~ ..

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present border of Syria and Iraq.

Over t~: next forty years, twenty

seasons of excavation were conducted. 6

Tn thepa,lace of Zimri:-~im, -

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with its 260 rooms· and courts, at least t~enty-flve rooms c<)ntained cunet"form t&,blets. 7'The'total number of, tablets r:e"coveredis in

.

-excess of twenty thousand. ,

Of these aboutl100have been publishe<;1 \.c

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"

'to date, both in cuneiform transcription and in transliteration with

..

Fre~ch translation. 8

The )1ari tablets are principally of two types;, administrative/ economic texts, a'nd letters.

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Most of the lettets were addresseq. to

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the" king· 9 t¥ey were sent by district governors, '!?y officials of the-.I ' f

,

y~lace

I

~oreign

a"t F1ari, by ambassadors to foreign courts, by

officials, .

.. /by the queen, "and py other women of the court or the roya'l family ..

7

To \late, letters from 'three district governors have been pub-

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T,he.· let teFs of Kibri-Dagan, gov~rnor of Terqa ,. n\lmberl~9;

lished.

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two-thirds of these were ptib1ished :j.n 1950 10 the rest followed in .... ,-' , '

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, 1964. . "

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'Bahdi-Li~,'wa~both pref.e~t~~of the palace at M;;lri . ""A' . >:'~~:4

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and g.over:..

.

n~r of the~ -dis-ttic t "of Mari; 750£.~is·le,tters'were p,ubl,isbep in

.

~ . .3-954. 12 ""'otha t of

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Bes id~st}"the cprresporidence'of these

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go~'e~nors,~ We nOlo] have .:

...

Yaqqim-Addu,~.·g&terIio~ of Sagaratum, 137 ,).etters in' a1\.

s~vJ'wer.e
~,

pub

in'1976. 15 ,.

tc

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li~din' 194"1:1 ~

one in

19 48 >~-a.nd. t hemai:>,b"ody

of,. , .

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.. 'Ln "~'the-n~rly fifty years si.,nce th'e'di,-sc,overy and.excava tion of •

Tell

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r~rl, 16 and .e~pecially s"ince the begi,nning of publica . n of

the t<;1blets, many stud'ieshave :appeared dealing with, variQ}ls ·a.spects

•

"

"

_.

of the kingdom of Mari.

~;

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These have ranged qver a wide spec- ..., , .studies. . .. ,

truro of academic concerns.

. .,

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.

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.Perhaps the largest >number of studies

which have draWn upon the Marl

arch~e~ have 'used

'.'

th~ for'comparative

.r"-

and/or il.lustra tive· purposes When discuss trig 't1

...:.

a

particular phenOmenon .0

.

which occurred over a-broader range of time and space than just the ,

~

,

,

Mari kingdom.

in' many of these tne evidence from Mariisnec~~sary

"

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'in order to make the dis..,cussi.ons ~omplet~. 1-4'l

A special category of

,\

,.

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these studies consists in those which deed with parallels betw.een and illtnninatibnof the Hebrew s'criptures~'bytheMari texts.. 1~ ~

,

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~any

$tudies, of cours~, have dealt with topics suggested by the

-...

'

content of the Mari archives, and. have been limited~primarily or./

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exclusively to the evidence which can be

a~duced

from them.

These

"" stud;i.esmay have ~ ?arrowly defined subject:, and cover a limited number of texts .19

j

On the other end of the scale are

studie~ whose

focus, of inquiry is either narrowly or broadly defined, but which, "

draw their evidence from a considerable number of texts. 20 These observations on the general nature of Mari studies to . "

date by no means constitute a criticism of their content or of their \

11

,

~

value for Ancrent Near Eastern studies in general or for the under-,

--

.'

standing of tl)et kingdom of Mari in particular"

The fact that ,the

overwhelming majority of Mari studies are generally of. a topical « ' ,

char,acter does mean that one approach to the !'fari letters is decidedly, less well represented in the -literature; that is the inves. a . s

tiga)iOn as a hqdy Qi.. the correspttldenCe ofindividui!l officials· ,

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- "

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wJ:c'l1in -the' Mari 'bureaucracy. If

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. Several" valuahle. studies· h,ave appear;d,

"'~wever,

:'to.

..-HIler .whqll; "

or partially' deqicated to the inve1Jtig,ation' of one or another in'di",

vidual; s correspondenc'e.

On~ of these is Maurice Bi:rot' streatment.

.

,

of"thEf~'1etters of Yasim-SuI'nu, aR official of ~he palace at Mari. 21 'Al,1other is the study by M. L. Burke of .the letters of Numusda-Nahrari

t~ his superior~, Idipiatum. 22 "As NUniu~da-Nabrari was involved in the collection of eransit duty ft'.om boat. traffic' on the Euphrates , /'

'-:-::::...~>--

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his letters 'are nearly .all in the nature::of receipts ..'

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c.0ntinued'pass,age of that traffic. well, as B:' F. j.

'B~t to, 24

~uthor:izing

P. Artzi and,A. Malamat ,23 as

have tiiscusstict the correspondence ~.~

-

'~f"~ibtu, " ••, _ .

( ·1,

Zi.mri-Lim's. queen" .J. -R~ Kupper has surveyed" and highlighted imp:~rtant aspects,. of

.

(

5 the correspondence of Kibri-Dagan of Terqa25 and of Bahdi-Lim of , ~

the palace and district of Mari. 26

Nothing similar has yet agpeared

for the correspondence of Yaqqim-Addu;27 it is hoped that the present study will reme.d)7 that lack.' corresponde~ce

of one governor will elucidate more fully the nature

gover~or's' po~ition and

of the

A comprehensive 'treatmenfof the

the ra.nge

ofhi~

responsibilities.

I

However, the letters" of Kibri"-Dagan and Bandi-Lim are also 'discuss~d *

~

when they provide'{lltnninating' comparisons, as they often do. It is necessary here to

not~

several characteristics of these

let ters,' characteri~tics whi'ch, if understood " will aid in the in-.

terpretivetask.

First. to be noted. is that these texts are letters, ,.-

I

Letters most often assume prior knowl-.;'

......

.;.'

of

therecipient~oncerningthebackground,

details of' the subject(s) discussed. ('

status,~

current

and

While this assumption 9f prior ,

.

knowledge may vary from letter to l'etter, it virtually always exceeds ,.

th~modern

the knowledge which

~~sk.

interpreter brings to .his

Ig-

norance of time of origin !-or individual let,ters prevents, with .rare .exceptions, the consfructing .of either fixed or· rela.tive chtonolo--

-,

. gi'es ..for the cGrpus.

The place of origin, likewise,. is most often

'. .-._-..

.~.-.

unstated; many ,times it can .,be inferred from the con~ten.t of· the . 1. ~

let ter

r

,

sometimes it cannot be. 28

AnQthercharacteristic of letters is both a blessing and 'a •

handicap.

•

•

Letters, . in, 'varying degree, convey personality in a man";'

.

ner that ds impo,ssible for, reports, 'annals, receipts,· judgments C}t !oo.,

law, et'c.

.

This is h~lPful in that let ters can thus partiCllly reveal

6

.

to the interpreter tJ:1e'thought patterns and emotional makeup of sender '\

"

and addressee alike - in short,· can reveal' them' ine'their humanity. This quality evidence

,becom~s_a

carefu~ly;

I:-

handicap if care is not taken to weigh all

!

tl

actions and attitudes of one individual as re-

fleGted in his letters must not automatically be assumed to characteiize all ~is colleagues merely because.they occup~edlike positions. The fact that the correspondence of a single individual is narro~ly

limited in time and space is also an important c'onsideration.

Batto has discus/ed this point with reference to his study on women at Mari; his observations apply here as well: The homogeneity of these,texts offers a rare ~pportunity to reconstruct an accura~e picture ~ • • • Mosaics constructed out of information collected from widely differing locales' and times may yieldn,eat and detailed scenes,' Jbut their "accuracy is necessarily disforted b'y th~ juxta-, position of such d:i.sparate elements ~When aninvestig'ator limits himself to evfdet:ice drawn from a single period and restricted locale, howevet, he often pays for this accuracy by a loss ,of detail. Some areas ¢an be ~~etched but ,vaguely because of t:he paucity of evidence, wlfile other areas ml\st be ,left completely blank. On the other hand, certain aspe~tsmaybe overdrawn as a result of the onesided, charac,ter ' of' thepreserv~d materials. 29 ,

'

.

The investigator 'constantly must bear in mind the facL that he . '.f.

•

v

can never hqpe to understand conip let ely the culture or even the, Ian":' guage of the people with whom he, is concerned. ,This point is So "

thoroughly unders,tood it, may well be forgotten on occasion. ' Oppenheim has voiced, 'a needed caveat: A word of warning might perhaps not be out of order in tliis cont.e?ct: -the Mari letters are' far more difficult th.;ln some of the' translators ... and, as a m~tter of fact, . some Assyrioiogists -'seem to t;hink. Smooth if sometimes painfully senseless translations Cqnnot g'108S over the count1es~f..d iff'icu1tiesand ob'scure passages. in the published nia'ferial. -Serious andpurposeful'philo'logical 'research 'on these, texts has
7

thei.r specific dialectical features are only known' in their cruder outlines, and it will requir~ much patient work to prepare th~ liIay for a better understar..ding of the Mari letters. There are numerous crucesfnterPrretum in these letters', and a full. understanding of the manifold facets even of p.assages which are easy to translate cannot b~ quickly achieved. 30 . . It is evident that much has been accomplished in Mari studies in the thirty years since these remarks appeared •

Nevertheless, care-

ful attention and humility on the part of the investigator remain the order of the day. The above observations apply to' all the

Mar~

correspondence'.

Some features of the gover7.lors' letters, however,' arise out of their

posit'ion~ as

rankfhg government'

•

offi~ials

responsible for an entire

~

(

,

"

d.istr~.ct.

U~tters

served Cils the normal channel of communication '> C'~

'",.. betwe~'~

district governor and the king at Ma~i. .

.

,

\; ..

Thu~l;.theset-iet"

;",;"',"""",

j

.....

ters can be assumed to compris~ a representative cros's section of

i

~4

I'

thos'ematters which involved at one"'level or another 'consultation \

with the king. A substantial ntJI!lber of letters reflect the fac t that the king .

from

..... --

)

time to time gave spet.ific assignments to- his governors, assign-

·JIlents which could vary in nature from the appl;'ehension of fugitives to the sending of foodstuffs to Mari.· These letterscharacteristical~y summarize, immediately f.ollowing the salufaJ:ion,the task

. which Zimri-Lim had assigned.

Then normally follows the phrase i-na-

an-na ki-ma na.~a.~-pa':'ar-ti be-If-ia, -"Now, according to theinstruction of my lord • . . ." ;31 this 'is the stock phrase introducing the governof's description of the course he pursued in carry,ingout the assignment Zimri-Lim had given him. -,

8

Many letters are ,purely informational in nature.

They were

written to advise the king of the movements of messengers or other persons, to info.rm the king of actions undertaken by the governor, OJ: to apprise him of .....eotlditions. in.;- the district. "

.:.

,.

Occasionally a .

It;.,,'''''

-:-.~

let-ter of this type il;l<;,lud~d'9 ;req~est for instruction from the king. iY:_..~

I

.

,

Another,feature of these letters is that they were never dated -

~

.

~

--.

,

according~ to the 'titles de~ignatingl' .the regnal years of Zimri-Lim~ , . This is probably attributab.le to .the ~'sp~d with which they were. dis.

~.'

.

1

-

_

patched and the short span oftiJIl~ in which reference
In only three of his letters did

Yaqqim-Addu refer even/to the day of the month in which the letter was sent~ 32

~

Furthermore, we do n'ot know the length of Yaqqi.m-Addu '8

tenure as governor.

These facts, of course, prevent full exploita-

tion of the information contained in many of the letters, as neither absolute nor· relativecbronologycanbe established. ',Thus, the time which elapsed between requests and Fesponses", directives and .' action taken on·them, or events and their, reporting can very seldoni be known. Given these and other characteristics of the letters, our investigation must concentrate'first upon determining the areasfor:: ,

.

which the governor was responsible.

It must be ascertained whether

commercial, agricultural, diplomatic,. religious and ot:her, kinds of' -

--

.

activities werewithin.hispurview. emerges as

a governor's

Ifa given area of'activity

concern', then the . extent .and character of

-his concern rou'st be determined.

Investigation should be made re....

garding the points at: which the governor ceased to exercise his own

,

9

judgment and referred matters to the king. f

As Mari's civilization could not have existed without agricul-

ture, we will·deal first with Yaqqim-Addu's involvement in the agricultural enterprise.

In most areas of the"kingdom of Mari cultiva-

tion was impossible without irrigation and flood control works; the.refore, these 't\rill form the subje¢t of the second chapter. cussion of animal husbandry, an

integral~ part

Dis-

of Mari's' economy, foll<;>ws.

Yaqqim-Addu was "involved in. the procurement of 'building materials, ,

and several of his letters include discussions of "bui1dirtg projects. These are treated in "chapter four. ,

.

Prof essionals and artisans were

not discussed at length by Yaqqim-Addu; nevertheless, .some of them were mentioned.

.

c.hapter five is

.

P.

.

'

sUJ:"vey of these re·ferences.

International r~lationswere of'obvious importance to Zimri-Lim and his kingdom.

-

.Chapter six "is an investigation

ofYaqqim-Add~'s

.

r:esponsibilities, with consideration. g'iven .first to diplomatic: ac-' tivity, the-;~ to' military matters. Commerce and transportation may -------~-~---

reasonab~)7

be considered the basis for Mar"i's prominence under Zimri-

Lim, by virtue of its position upon the Euphrates trade artery.

Yaq-

'lim-Addu's ·involvement, as influenc~d by the J..ocation of his' 'district . capital, is . the subj ect of chapt~r seven.

T~e final chapter .~!5 an

investigation . of Yaqqim-"Addu' s religious' 'expressions andcultic .

'.

~

.

responsibilities. ,In' the ,bureau.cracy of Mari" the grovernorwas a. key official. the correspondenc¢ -of Yaqqim-A,ddu we possess an arch:t,ve of primary importance , a substantial body of materf'al directly from the mouth of one governor himself.

The present ;i,nvestigation" is really an

I

10 introduction to Yaqqim-Addu's corresp0-edence, with reference to that of Kibri-Dilgan,and Bahdi-Lim;

~

If the figure and function of the gov-

ernor are clearly defined and if our 'fund of knowledge concern,ing the kingdom of Mari is the'reby increased, its purpOse will have 'been , fulfilled.

• ..

,J-<,.; . ~'."

:0-'"

-'!

,>

·"

"

INTRODUCTION

NOTES IThe pursuit of the' present investigation does not depend h~avi1y ,

upon the adoption of one chronology 'as against

another~

of ~Sidney Smith ~

here is the "middle chronology"

That adopted

For 'particulars

of Zimri~Litn'sreign, see Hildegard LewY, ,"The Chr~nology ~f the

till.

'

,Mari Texts," in J.-R. Kupper, ed. XV

e

Rencontre assyrio10gique 'inter. _- t

nationale:

La c~;,vilisation de Mart (Paris:

Les Belles Let tres,

1967), pp. 13-28; also Hi1degaT.'dLewy, "The Historical Background of the Go-rrespondence of Bahdi-Lfm," Orientalia.25 (1956), 324.-352'. 2It appears, howev.er, that it was.Zimri-Lim's father, and not his ,grandfath~r, wh'~ added Marl itself to his kingdom; cf. H. Lewy, "The Historic~iiBackgroundof the Cor-respondenc~~ of Bandi-Lim," 351-352. 3S ee

th~ 'remarks

of jack Sasson, "Northernmost Syri'a:' ... ~

.-

.

'

A Survey

f'

of Its Institutions before-the Fall ·of Mari (ca. 175'7 B. C.);" (un-publi'sh'ed

~h.D. "dissert~tion, Brand~isUn~ve~~ity, 1966),' pp.

105:"108 • ........

,;

:--

4 Zimri4-.im's capital was the wonder even of hiscontemp6ra.ries,

-,as we under~tandfrom the fact' that the king of Ugar"it sent a' letter \.

-

toZ.fm:ri"-Lim in which heexpress"ed a desire to see for ,himself the ,

palace about whfchhe apparently had heard marvelous reports; J. M.' Munn-Rankin, "biplOmacy in Western ASia in the Early Second Mil1enium !

.:..

B. C., '.' Iraq 18 (1956), 99. 11

.

12 5 J . -R. Kupper, "Un gouverhemen tpr~vincial dans Ie royaume de ,

,

Mari," RA 41 (19.47), 160-161. GThe seasonal excavation reports appeared in Syria~ from 16 (1935) to, 49 (1972), over' the name of Andre Parrot,' the dire~tor of ,

the excavations.

,

';.

>,1 "., ,rIo.

The comprehensive reports are Iii 'Andre Parrot , .

• et. a1., Mission archeologique de Mari (Paris:

-Librairie orient--•..•

ta1iste de Paul Geuthner, 1956-). '7

J. M. Sasson, "Some Comments on Archive Keeping at Mari" "Q Iraq

34 (1972>", 55-56. 8Some of ,the texts have been published in journals, principally Syria and Revue d,'assyrio1ogie etd'archeologie orientale.

However,

"

ar the m.ajority have appeared in two series of

pub1icatio~s.

~...;:-....::;:::..,;...:..:::.-..:~:...:.:..:::..::..:=--::.::..~M:.:.a::.r::...::.ii s the series designation for both series.

The cuneiform transcriptions are i l1 cludeqat> •.-with the series Musee du tp

-

,'-"":: -

.

Louvre~ D~partement des Ant~quites Orientales, Textes cuneiformes; ~

o

~

.

ARM I-IX thus, correspond, toT. C. L. XXII-XXX, respectively.

,Beginning

with ARM XIV thecune1formtranscr:i,.ptions ~are,part o.f a new series;

.

. ARM, XIV thus is also

desig~ated

Textes

cun~iformes

de Mari, 1.

Fol-

lowing genera1usage,t;he volumes of transcriptions will be designated ARM, the volumes of transliterations, translations and corinnents will be designated ARMT. 9The

~rchive

'is also preserved. .

-

-

of the As'syrian i!lterregnum ofSamsi-Adad', s son It is similar in character and subject matter;

-.

, however~ it lies" outside the ,scope of this inve,stigation.

'.

"

10J. -Ro. Kupper,Correspond'ance de Kibrt-Pagangouverneur de

Terqa (ARMT III)'(Paris:

Lihrairie orientaliste Paul geuthner, 1950).

13 The cuneiform , transcriptions, ARM III, were published in 1948. "

11 G.

Dossin, et. al., Textes Divers (A~ XIII) (Pari's:

Li-

brairie orienta1iste Paul Geuthner, 1964). 12

. . J •-R. Kupper, Correspondance de Bahdi-Lim pref et du pa1ais

de Mari (ARMT VI) (Paria:

Imprimerie Nationa1e,' 1954). 'The cuneiform

transcriptions were publ~,shed in 1953.

. .. ft. ~\

. 13 Charles-F. Jean, Lettres(ARM II) .(Paris, 1941). 'The trans,

.

.

1it.erati<;ms and-translations _appea~ed..in 1950. , ,...

Yaqqim-Addu' s 'letters

,

""~'

wi thin this volume are ARM II' 101l-10'7. -

-

'."

,'.>

_. ~'t- .

'p~ :--:~ ••

•

14 ARM III 65~,' 15 Maurice Birot, Lettres de Yaqqim~Adeu,gouverneur de Sagaratum . (ARM XIV) (Paris:. ,Imprimerie Nationa1e, 1976).

I

16Tt should not be assumed that there was no discussion of the See, for example,

city of Mari be:J3io:e the. excavation of'fue11 Hariri.

•

William F., Albrigh17, "From Jerusalem fo, Baghdad down ;th"e Euphrates"

If.

-.- .

BASQR, No. 21 (1926), 15..:17..

17 A goqd example 'of thts type 0;E study is Munn-Rankin, "Diplomacy in Western Asia. "

. .I8 Examples6~. this type of study, are Georges Dossin , "A propos du nom de Benj~minites.dana 1es'Archives' r8ya1es de r:rari'," RA .52 ..

(1958), 60":62/; ·.Wil1ian} L. Moran"" "l'1ew Evidence ·fromMari on the ,

,

History of Prophecy," Bib1ica 50 (1969), 15-56; and HayimTadfttor , \

.,

"Historica1'Imp1ication!; of the Corre.ctRendeying of Akkadian d~ku,"

.

.

jNES 17 (1958), 129-141.' ~.

19 Such a ~study is J. T. Luke, ,rObservations on ARNT XIII 39,"

JCS 24 (1971), 20-2j.

.

14 20Examp1es of narrowly focused studies drawing on numbers of

"''\\

,

texts are John MacDonald, "The Identification of baza!1atu in' the Mari Letters," oRA 69 (1975), 137-145; anq. Victor H. Matthews, "The Role of the rabi Amurrim in the Mari Kingdom," JNES 38 (1979), 129-133. An example of studies with broader concerns drawing on many texts ~ f is~ ~. Bernard Frank Batto, Studies on Women a tMari (Baltimore: ' The John~" -' >

Hopkicns University Press, 1974). 21Maur::ice Birot, "Les 1ettres de Iasim-Sumfi," Syria 41 (1}64), 25-65. , 22Made1eine turton Burke, "Lettres de Numus4a-Nahrari et de trois aut:ces correspondants a Idiniatum," Syria 41 (196~)', 67-103. 23p. Artzi and A. Ma1ama t, "The Correspondence of Sibtu, Queen ,;

L

'of Mari in ARM....Je~" ,Or. 40 (1971), 75-89. °

,

2'+Batto," Studies on .WQ1llen at'Mari. 25 Kupper ~ "Un gouvernementprovincia1 dans Ie royaume de Mari," 149.... 183; and J ....R. Kupper, "Correspondance de Kibri-Dagan, "Syria 41 .... .(1964), 105-116 • "

".

",

26J.-R. Kupper t , '''Bah~j.-Lim, prefet du palais de Mari," BARB 40 " .·~t :. (1954), 572-587 .. Lewy, "T,p,:"e Historical Background of the Correspon-

"

.

:,~;:--

..

dence of Bah ....di-Lim," 324;..352; A. Harza1, "The Provincial Governor at '

,

His Title and Appointment," JNES 30" (1971), '186-217;, and A. , Marza1, "Two Officials Assisting the Provincial Governor aot Mari, II Mari:

Or. 41 (1972), 359-377, are three other studies utilizing letters l

from several of the , go~ernors.

However, as is readiJy seen even from

,

their titles, these studies are not investigations of the correspondence of one or more governors for the purpose of ascertaining the

\

~ .".,!~ ., '10.

15

/".

~

I ~

function and responsibilities of the governor's office. c

27 Victor Matthews/ "Government Involvement in the Re1igion.ef the --~-:-

"'\.-

Mari Kingdom," RA 72 (1978), 151-156;./and flack M. Sasson, "Treatment of Criminals at Mari," JESHO 20 (1977), 90-113, make use of a number ,

of letters from ARM XIV.

However, they are dealing with this material

from a topical per.s.p,ective. 28 Cf. here the discussions of Sasson, ""Tre~tment of Criminals at Mc1lri," pp. 90-91, and Bc;ltto, Studi~s on Women at Mari, PP'. 4-5 • .

~;';.

29Batto, Studies on Women at Mari~ p. 4 . .

\!"i',

30 A~' Leo 'Oppenheim, "The Archives of' the Palace of Mari:

A

~

Review Artic1e," JNES11 (1952), p. 130.: 31 Cf. for example, ARM XIV 54:14 •

.

32ARM

XIV 23, 31,andc104.

.

,

t:• •

.

. .-.

.

~

.

...

'

-;I "

.

,~

...

Chapter I

"

AGRICULTURE Agriculture was the basis upon Which . ~d • 1 eXJ.ste

th~

civilization of Mari

The letters of Yaqqim-Addu, While~~do pot co~t~in

abundant references to agricultural concerns, 'do indicate that the gowernor was' involved in the oversi,..ght of

much- of

,

tpe agricultural

process, especially when the crown had a direct interest •. de~ls

Of the 137 letters in the archive of Yaqqim-Aadu, only one exclusively with agricultural

con~erns.

Twenty others mention or

discuss agri~ulture or agricultural products (though several of these are mere'mentions in other contexts). 'A

Thus, the ratio of Yaqqim- .

Addu's let·ters which deal with agriculture is 15.3%. did,

,

howev~r,

prise..

His involvement

carry into nearly every aspect of the agricultural enter-

,r

-\'"

,?lanting Operations.' In the sequence of the agricultural year ~ . the'preparationand .'

planting of the~fields naturally come first.

The 'governor:s inyolve-

ment is seen in ARM-XIV 14, in which he described the .problem 6f an ir}:'igation canal which ·had become filled withsfltFlnd req~ired II.

dredging. 2

-.'

~

.

-

-

.

.

\

If the dredging were not done soon, the plows of the ),

t

-

.

.

. \

palace would be idle, the~time for pla~ting would pass, and the mus-

--

--. ,

e· lh

17 -...

This text demonstrates that,. as governor, Yaqqim-Addu was re-

~

spqnsible to see that, the estate of, the crown was planted on time. irri~ation

The crown supplied the land, the piows, the

,

sy~tem,

means of the canal

,

and perhaps the seed.

water by v

-

The muskenii sup-

\

plied the labor and probably the oxen.

Since the, muskenu stood,

t

.

.

as fief-holders, in a clos'~ relationship' to the crown" Yaqqim-Addu "

•

..was responsible for their \V',ell-being, just as much as hewa~ respon•

sible {f or ~eeing tha1""'a' good' ~op was harvested 'on the lands of' t4e. crown. .'

Therefore, it was imperative that tl:'le dredging be done in ~

;,..1

'\ '

time for the plowing" and plant;\ing to be accomplished.' ~ .\ "\'

"

. While the crown,supplied ~he land, plows, aug'" water for the

mu~kenu, ARM XIV S"O discusses a~ agreement between the crpW1 and the • _

tlaneans, a triBe with

_

\

>

\

loth 's.ede'ri\tarx

A

a~~sum aWIIHa_name~ ...

"

be]'l:! II

-

'5

.~

L,

and

..

~

nom~dic el~~ents: 4

i~-pu-ra-am··

\\

.

'I

du-ul~r Ii' alpi ba"

um-ma-a-mi a_rna'

\\

_

t

aWIlHa_nam.e~ 'i-na a_la_~~ki~b~ ka-li ~

~

,

k'·

~-nu-ma i~~tu Ter~q~, ~

.

\\

~

"'·'·ma.:.!la-arbe,..-l:!-ia rat-:-'ta' ~'al~'kam ,~,

Tr". ". 2 ';awi'le a-{X}' X- r~a-am" ?

10

i "

.. ku-un ' as"ConcerningEhe!!a:~eansmy

-Translation:

lord'wroteto me

..

thus:

>

•

-";

' .

-:'

I

Haiieans are' to remain in. the vi'i'l~ges" Its, ,When I '-'

.....,

~,,'t,_,

•

1!"

.

..

)

,

W

.

" - -. "In exchange for the servi ceQi' oxen, the' ....-t ,

,

~ •.;#

came f~om..~~,rqa,.(~rom) before my lord, I"degig-:-. '. ~. .

.~.,

~ ~-

,

,.,

'uated" f or .eQrolline~t." twq men [in each vill~ge]" -.-..~'

....

., . .cr.-

18 in discussiUg this ofcasion , Ma!thews says: / /.' The tlanean yJllages involved apparently contracted for the use pffa- team of oxen. No specific use for these animals is ~entioned,but it'is most likely that it was to do the plowing of t'heir . .f ields ..., ... • It would appear that the tribes allow~d or asked the governm~nt to help, with the plowing and planting. 6 ' , .~ ~

~

\

This text demonstrates that cFown oxen could be used on lands .'.

~w.

~.

nOf belonging to the crown. -

.....

In this situation, with the government

.....

having contracted with the nomads to allow them, use of crown Qxen, ~ . ~.

the goVernor

.~

wa~

the offiGial in 'charge eof seeing that the' terms of·

the agreement between the 'crown and the n6mads were carried out. Q

The

of

l~tt~rs

Kibri~Dagan,

governor of Terqa,

Y. .il

~

· personal involvement of the provincial governor

TY.. pical' ,~s

ing ., opcrat,ons.:,

ARM III

~J.-tam ki-ma sa be-I:!

reflect the

... \

.

overseeing plant-

.<.~~: "
'........ ;

, , u-wa-e-ra-an-nJ. .

~n

~lso

.

.

,

I

,.

Rev:;. alpi!la. e~re-~u-t;:irn

.

. v

10

. .

.

us-ta-sa-ab-ba~at-ma' . -"

\ awil

,.'..

'

u~a-ha-amdam-qa-am

a-la-ap-pa~at-ma "',

eqlam rna-Ii ~a be-l{ iq-bu~u

f~

,

i-na ni-i-ia-tim

15

"f':..'"

i-ir-ri

"

,

Secol1dly ~~in accordance with what my lord

Translati,on: .r

/

~rlstructed

~lsoI

me, I have collected the oxen for seeding.

am giving the skilledcmena work assignmen~.

'With teams of oxen they will se:ed all the land. of !

which

~y:

lord has. spoken. ~.~;.

~~;.

~/

-'\-

,/'

:,/,'19

,"

It should be noted that, at least in this instance, the king himself had made the decisions regarding which areas were to be planted.

Kibri-Dagan, as governor, was

persona1~y

responsible for •

overseeing the gathering of men, equipment, and seed, and for making the ",York assignments; he di.d no..t d,e1egate any of these functions. This close involvement of both the king and the g'overnor underscores ... ag~n

.

the fundamental importance to the kingdom of good grain har'-

vests year by year. Size and Disposition of Fields , The size of tracts described as of Yaqqim-Addu varies comsiderab1y.

~eparate

fields, in the letters

In, ARM XIV 7:4', he speaks of:

• ~ . 20 GAN eqlam sab1t Su-~u-ha-d~-~ Translation:

• 'a field of twenty

-

the estate'of Sumu-Hadu .

GAN 7

belonging to

...

The other end of the scale in the size of fields is indicated in ARM XIV 81: 37: ,

· . . 1 1i-im 4

ME

,

GAN eq1um'

,

Translation:

. . • a field of 1,400 GAN .

: "5'

This same letter indicaees that field 'size was sometiIries measured in different terms: · . . i-nu-ma . B"]",ta-na 35

Ak"

Aq-ba-a~bu-um

- k"a- k a ki ..~ 1 - l·~- i"k' ."~ma

,

- . ha sa v , . 1 1" iskar3 is·epinnat~meqlim u':";ma-ai .,

8

Translation:

When Aqba-Ahum goes to B'1t-Akkaka, he shall

fill the assignment of ,a three plow field. ,

\,

I

In the description noted above of the field of twenty GAN\,as . 't.

. I

20 Sumu-Hadu~" ...-

"belonging to the estate of

we see evidence of private '

ownership of land, or at least of h6'ldings .by private citizens of , ,

'

.'"

higher station than that of the musk'enu. deal with other forms of land tenure.

Yaqqim-Addu's letters also

ARM XIV 81 presents the goverI

nor's case in a dispute involving a field of sixty GAN and possibly

.• ,

/

,

anoth~r

larger field. -

/

/'/

'\-

three other people

/

/~his

.

a~

'\

least

...-:

-

~~sides

'

was a· cqmp1icated case, involving /' .

Yaqq-;l.m;Addu.

'.,/

!

It would appear to have dealt

!

!

with feudal right.,,/ and obligations, rather titan private ownership of', /

the land in

quest~on. -ARM . ~

XIV'81:38~3~ also refers to: . .

awi1 ' I 9 we-du-u-tum

wa-ta-ar-tum sa

,.,

,

.., su

"'

" u-1u!' mu-us-ke-nu-um i-ri

, A

Trans1ati.on:

~

. • the. excess, which the ·wedum

ort~e

muskenum c\11tivated. Here we have evidence of land held and worked by persons who did not actually own it. 10 Another example of land owned by the CrQWIl but held (and pre-

,.

els~

sumab.ly worked) by 'someone

occurs in' ARM XIV 17:

um-ma a-na....ku-ma sum-ma eqlum mi-im\"ma~a-ba-at-kal1 i J

10'

. b' ~'". 1. r d'"i '..1n-ma · 5 ma-na'k.' 1- 1·1 1.:a-as-s1, aspam rnU-u ,I , , ~j

um- r ma~u" -ma r'eq1um' ~a sa-ab~ta-ku-. eqe1 e~td1-lim-ma .. . .

,

, ,

na-tU..u Trans1ation-:

eq~l

,

.

,

"

e-ka1-1ima-na kaspim a-na-ad-di-in-ma

Thus I (said), "If you have ~some good field,

give it ; and the 5 mina of slIver (obiigation) will be satisfied."

(But) thus he (replied), -"The field

which, I hold is a field of the palace,.

Is it proper

that I give a field of the palace for silver?" ,

.

21

.., The person being interviewed here was ,I1i-Sakim" ~

~

the,,~1uiceman.

"

His non-transferable interest in,~ field belonging'to t}le crown ~is ~

,~

l

-

closely parallel, if not identical, to the prohibition expre$'Sed .in'

.

:..-' .;",--,_:"

-""ehe,.co-de---of---gammu! ap i" Paragrap h 36: The field, the orchard, and the h~vse of a redUm, a ba'irumor (any other) rentpaying (Denant) shall not be sold for silver. . '''' ,; ,'- '

., !:!amr ' l

~

It appears that Zimri-Lim's practice was the same as that of murapi.

,

'II

As a skilled worker needed on government service, I1i-Sakim

was given'land for his·maintenance.

It was not, however, an outright

J

f"l:e/remained with the crown. 12

Moreover, tenancy could not

to a third party to obtain'money or to settle debts. point to be made about fields in the'letters of YaqqimAddu is that they are occasionally described in terms ,of terrain. In ARM XIV 23 the fields which had

be~n

irrigated are described either

as "prairie fi,eIds" (11. 11, 14) or as "fields of the plain" (11. 10,

12, l3).· Kibri-Dagan also- mentioned irrigating a "prairie field" ;;,

in ARM iII 31: lo....il.

Thesedesignatiqos indicate that the land did

not lie a+ongside the banks of the river or the irrigation I,

ca~als.

'.

.;:

We neep rathe'r' to think of them as lying withiri the area of the steppe, at some distance from the water supplies.

The greater task of irri-

gating these {ields ,would be the reason for advising the

k~ng

when

the 'task .was finished. Harv~stin&

and Threshing

The next point in. the':Hif~cultural process Wh~ch is represented in the letters of Ya~qim-~ .

the ,grain.

ithe harv8sting ancltbreshing of

i·"';

These were labor'::'i~tensive operations,and one of the

..

,

22

governor's first problems was in assuring an adequate labor force ~t,

\ for the task.

Labor was ,acquired froIil groups which nonnally did not

furnish agricultural workers.

-

Evidence that Yaqq1.m-Addu could use

.

troops to help in the harvest oc'cu'rs in ARM XIV 70: 13' ":17~.

It

appears that the Babylonian troops who were at that time stationed, ,in Sagaratum and Dur-Yahdun-Lim had thought that, they were going to he pressed into service to' help, br'iQg in the harvest.

Yaqqim-Addu

assur"ed his lord that this had not happened; they had bee-n~~~empt::~9 lt is $ignificant, however, that ,even soldiers of an

" this time;

allied power who happened to be stationed in one's jurisdiction/cQuld be subject to harvest labor.' ARM XIV 71 appears to follow' in close chronological sequence after ARM XIV 70.

This letter provides a picture of the kind of di-

\

lemma in'whicha governor could find himself: -;>

. ' ---

.

-~~~..

(/...Pf

,

(.".

.<

•. -.

[

•

'

.' l?a~ba-am sa ha-la-as] ...; ~.-.

. rrl.'.~ ki u, Ter"'qaki 1. rna - l [ , " d· . ]M a,e-~e- 1-l.D1 ru-ne-eh' ~-nu-ma sa-bu-urn Barbiliki~ . ~

:x ' ,X'

X ru"'UK urn-ma a-na-ku-ma

u

X'

[

5'

ik-su-dam-ma

~a~rbu'-urn Tr.

8U-U

ip-~u-uI#mi-im-ma u-ul i-r~i'-[id]

sum-ni~i-in be-1f-ia ma'-gf-ir lu-uk~ka-rli-ma'

u. smn-ma ,

a-al-Ia-kam ari-nt-tam ta

ran' ~[ni-tam]

1'· . v r am, [a-' d i me-....e-er h ' f "i' a ] · I'J.J.-J.s-pu-raTr. 1 at. b etUp-p1-

,__

23 v a- 1 a- k 1-1a· ° u ' l a a- 1 a- rk°"l sa 1 O

Js~nslation:.

ria]

I, exempted [the, people of the districts]

of Mari and Terqa from [the harvest]. .When the Babylonian troops

..

....

Thus I (sa.id), ':'But

• three (?) days let me1?orrow."

The fourth

'

('I) day I set my hand to the harvest. - (But) not

The tablet· of

. - ...' -.-- --;ret-his;-:-s.eed drill (7) • • . .. "')

,

Nidnat-Sin has arrived here.

..

f·

These soldiers have

deser'ted; not one has·'cfone any harvesting.

If

it please my lord, let me stay (that) I may cause .the grain of the

p~la.ce.to

whether· to go, let' my

l~rd

be harvested.

·And

write to me one way f'"

or ,[theotherL.\ [Together wit'h a . response to my -" . .:

.

.

tablet]" conc~ridng [my] going, or my not going, .return .

to me, [that] I may, . • • the soldiers . ,

The most likely reconstruction of this. situation seems t·o be that' both the king. a~d Yaqqim·-Adduhad expectedt:l1e har.vest. to be i~

•

.

those soldiers

carried out by· a contingent 'of .their own troops.•

"

.,

whom the· king and ~Yaqqim-Adduhad counted on had deserted without '. ~ ~. ."

'

'

doing any of .the work expected of them. 14 . As aresult,Yaqqim-Addu .

..

was forced tP,ask~or.· pe~ission to stay .and see to . the organization .

.

'

.

of the harvestwh'1chhad been' thus une~pectedlyde~ayed. .

.

These two letters ,:1.1;1 de.tailing.theprobJ.ems of· an 'extraordinary situation, indicate ~lso 'how the harv~st normally: would have been carried out .

Both the people ·of the district and available soldiers -

.'

24

even, apparently, soldiers of allied powers if they were stationed in one's territory - were subject to service in the harvest, though any of these groups could be exempted or governor.

b~

special order of

~he

king

Since the grain harvest was of vital importance to the

economy and well-being of the state, the governor directly oversaw fi'

the harvest of the 'grain from palace, lands, even delaying his exI

.

pected departure to other appointments to make sure it was completed. ·One of the letters of Kibri-Dagan, ARM III 30, gives further 0../

enl.ightenment

~.

.

~9ncerning

the importance of the barley '

.

.

harve~t

and

theprocedur~s' and precauti9ns followed with regard to it: J

.

v

'.

'

~-

I

•

sa-n1~tam.u4-um ~UP-P1 a~-n1~e-e~

a-na se-er be-li-ia o-sa-bi-Iam v

Jv.

V

V

. . , , .•. . ,

as-stJpl.e-~e-ed.se-1m sa ha~am-q1-

10

.

I

V

,.

1m

v ki sa Ter-qa

v

u-se-p1-1s-ma

te~er-ta-am

t laa-di .UD

3 KAM te-er-ti i-ga-ra':'at

,

/

h a-iamka:"la-su a-di s1-ih-ri-im" . ... I: k . i -1S . u..... a-am-m . 'a-na

Tr.IS

v

us-te

.

d

I

e-~.e""e

..

,...

rna

v' " • i m.... f"sa h" se....a· -am-q1-1m

.

S1I

'" .

. . . . . . -. . . . . . 20

~ ki-ma Sa be..... !! i~-p~- r'ra"'-am

'.

.....

.'

'Jki

..sa-bu-umla-am-h~-du-u --. .

.

'sa

.•

.,'

v

SV

1-rta

.

.

".

v

'1' b a,...t im' . oJ b.u a-a-. '. ki .wa-as-.

, ik-su-du,..;nim....ma te-er:-ta.... am: '.

.:

·v··.·.·

. te-er-ti i-sa".ra

25

,

.

.

si-lp' ::'t~-am .

~ ki-a~am. r

-.,

.

v .' .1.'1 u-se-p~,...1s J

at .'

'.

ad-di... ip..... ~u ... nu-~i-im

.

'.

25 tDIl-ma a-na-ku

-

a-di ~e-um _~a ha-am-q{-im ik-ka-mi-su r

i~na

"

Y

'I

aq-bi-su~nu-si-im-ma

an-ni-tam

30

.

ki y,. 'I "\ ' Mu-ul-he-e . ta-as- sa -[bal

' I"1m~gu-ru-n ' i - "1n . ' - [ 01. u-u i-na a-limTer~qa[ki ~a-bu-um

Tr.

rti-ul' l-rma-ga'-[ru (?)

ru' 35

a i-[ru-bu (7) ]

i.-ria i-rta-at' [a-lim]

,v b ' '., wa-asu 1-na- tan-na

r an"\ -ni".l1t.am ;J.a: an-ni- [tam]

Tr.lat.

, ", awII, ". . l' ., .., .., [be--11]a-na,' '[GAL(?)]- MAR-TU sa sa-bi-im sa-a-tu

.

r

. ...

"\

,'...

.

>I

I

li-is-pu .... [ra-am] -rna u sa-bu-urn su-u ,'. . ~

i-na',~ . "7!r ul-he-e' kill-si-db -.. /~~'-';

Translation:

Secondly;. the day! sent this tablet to

harvest of the valley of Terqa. day my omen was. favorable.

And

unti~

the third

So I assembled, all the'

city, (even) down to t:he children, and sent (them) ~

"

,

forth to harvest the harley. of the va.,1ley.

.,.. "

Also, in accordance with what my lord wrote to ,

the'men of Yambad who were in

..Salab~tim h~ve

me,

arrived

-here, and I had an omen ~ taken. ,My omen was 'f avorable.

-'

,

So I have, given them aconunand, thus I,. "Until

the grain of. the valley has been gathered in , you are to remain'in Mu1be."

This I said to them, but they .~

26 The men [entered] into the town of

did not obey me. i;i

'''''f>',~erqa. 5'.,

,,' .

Th~y

are ,not obeying, but· they have settled

'it· , .

.

:in the borders

,~\

of~

[the town].

Now let [my lord]

~~~~

i'Write one way or the 'oth~r to the [rabi] Amurrim of '\. , these men, and let that work-force stay in Mulhe .... . Kibr~-Dagan'sreport . . ,

indicates that the barley harvest was an

~~.

undertal<-~~gimPort~nt

enough to requite the taking of omens.

When

-

the omen was favorable, the entire city of Terqa was subject to labor service to bring in the harvest.

He specifically stated that

.'\1

ev€n children were not exempt~d.

This accentuates the unusual na-

.u'l'i

ture' of~he situationr~portedin Yaqqim-Addu's correspondence, ARM

--

.

XIV 71"', in wllich the king had exempted the people of Mari and' Terqa . '

from participation in the harvest.

On theother'haIid, Kibri-ragan.also had troops qf an ally, in this c~s~ troops of Yamhad,with which to deal.

However, instead of

being concerned about whether or not theywoui
./ •

•

:-",;>'

"

not ept:er the area until the harvest was finfshed. ..

~

"

It would seem

•.

. that while foreign" troops .were a possiple source of ·labor help for , the harvest, they were r,egarded as unreliable, and therefore as undesirable,if there,'were sufficient lpc~~ people or t~oops, or both, tq finish the harvest without their help. even', the

troopsof.~imri-Lim'whom

In view of the fact that '-r

Yaqqim-Addu had expected to use

had deserted him, it 'see@s that thi13 scepticism was well-founded. 'It should be noted here also that it, was the governor of the' -

,

_...'

district who was in charge of ·seeing.th~t the harvest was organized

•

27

and accomplished.

'His responsibility ran from ordering tHe omens

to determine the favorable time to beg:i,.n, to detailing the persons who would perf()rm the labor, to seeing that security was not inter-

..

~., ,

:

rupted 'by the unauthori.zed proximity of foreign, even though allied, {

,

"-',a;;..

~roops.

He was directly responsible to the king I for the success of

4

1

th~

the harvest operation, as indicated by

\

detai+ed character of

t -'.

Kibri-Dllgan's report and his appeal to the king ~or he1p-, with the

I

Yamhadian troops, ~ho had not responded tohis,Qtn orders. Another of Kibr i-D1igan , s. letters, ALill III, 78, provides a bit of ..emotiona1 color in describing the urgency of the harvest season and

:,Il:~

..~

the stress which it placed upon the 'governor: Tr.

• • , • •• u\. a-na e- r b u-r1-1m ,

•

I

,. /l,

.~,

'

, [pu-ul] -lu-sa-ku SU-Sl1- u r .f 11,-'

",;,

30

,>'''iI-,

[ka;..~a]~di-ia ~-u1e-1e-[em] ,~

Translation:

But abo¥t the harvest I ·am

preocc~pied.

"·~t' ,N> "

I am, not able to .turn my neck. ~";

Af ter 'the ha.rves1:,c..ame the ,thr,eshing. --I(

,

.'

Only one of 'Yaqqim-Aadu's

•

. <7J-

, " letters d"ea1s with this ~u.bject.

In the midst of a long report on

the 'use (-or nonuse) of.th~\·oxen of the muskeuu for the threshing, ,

.' .

.

.

,

-- .. '---t,.- -;'\,.,...,.. ,,:a""'''''''''~;'''';':''~:~'''''''':h''''''''''''''''''"''''hhh~-

. ..

•

Yaqqim-Ad4tirepo.rted ,in.ARM-X~V 48, what had already been done: ,I

30

,";'

.v

, -"

':",-t· mes - I'; ina" aW11v_ 81.b U 1m , ' 20 a 'P .... ,_ sa I

.,

a-na ma-s'a~ar-ti . • ,',. "k~ Sa-ga-ra-tim

Sa Y

I

,

,ka-lu-u e-si-iq-ma 1 maskanamsa e-kal-1im ·· v V \ 'v 'i - b u < i - d 1-1S-> su uu-se-r ,

a-na maskanim sa.-ni·-i-'i.m de~si-im qa-t;amis"'"\~u.:..nu "" , " ki '' '''~'- . ,'" h u.i-n~ Diir' -Ia-ag..du-Li-imqa-tamr-ma' 30 alpl'" -~

.

"c·

'I(

-

"

awl!.", _ meSc 'Ii " , . -'., ,lei sa ' slbutim, -sa - a";'na ma-sa-ar-ti durim· .

v

.

...

-

-

-

a

l

ka~lu-u

\ e-s1-1q~a

28

\

.

..

35

~

'

1 masv k a~' e-~ , 1.il- Iim 1. d·1-1S-SU ." 'if. • bU U u-se-r1V

\

,

,

I

.

I have as~igned twenty oxen of the-elders

:rranslation:

j . "",-_".r

se~vice

which are kept fpr the : .

".

of Sagaratum.

They

i

have threshed

on~\ t.hreshing-f loor

of the palace and'

;..

they have brought in (the ,grain).

They have set

their hand to thresh a second threshing-floor.

'1 assigned

.. which

~n

Also

Dur-Yahdun-Lim thirty oxen of the elders

are kept for' the service of the fortress.

They

hav.~_threshed one threshing-floor of the palace and

they:-"have brbl1ght in (the grain).

.

\

.

After it was harvested, the barley was brought to one of the ~entrally

19caLed threshing-floors.

That substantial amounts of

grain were reap'ed -is, indicated by the fact that as many as thirty oxen wer~ -tisedto thresh the grain•. Since the threshing-floors, were those of the palace,and since the oxen used were those' "kept for._the serv.ice of" SagaratlJIIl and Di'ir;..Yahdun-Lim" it seerns,reasonable to assume that most, if not all, of the grain threshed had f-..;-,

been grown on palace land for the use "0£ the palace. Agricultural Products

;'.

-

.

The 'number of agricultural products which are mentioned in the let ters of YaqqiIIl-Addu is limited , and includes only ~he

l;) taples

the diet, grain and grain products,: with one mention of. wine. IS

of That

mos t . frequently mentioned isse' UIil, ·translated"grain," or more' precisel.y, ltbarley." 16 . It-i~mentioned in thirteen of the letters. six of these his concern ~as ':w:~th the harves ting and threshing of . the

barle~.

Two

OJ

I ~-

~he

J-

letters 'discuss barley

~s

a food commodity

In

29

requiring prQtectioIi in time of danger from hostile military forces. "

One of these is ARM XIV ~4, in· which Yaqqim-Addu informed the king ~

...•

". ~

that he had gathered' the barle~', alo~g, with' the young men ,and women, into the fortified towns. I7

This had been done in order to provide

protec,tion from a group of nomads who were cqntemplll:ing making a '\'t"~ ~. , I raid -in the area. Another occasion_nece~sitating defensive preparations is reported in ARM XIV 104; this time the danger seems to have been greater, for the earlier part of the letter speaks of a total of. 1,300 enemy troops being 'killed in an

~nitial

engagement.

This encounter had not

stopped their offensive, however, and Yaqqim-Addureported to the king the p~eparations which he had 'made, including the transporting of the grain to Safe, -accessible places.

Yaqqiin-Addu r-eported to the

king'tha,t ,vtththisand ~~h~r preparations accomplished, the area ~

. under his jurisdiction w'!!1 ,Hor. the ~oment at le'M;;t'fe~ure. ,,~. ~BarleY'figures

Addu. ~

also in another.ent~+priserepQJ::'J::,ed -by""Yaqqim-

In ARM XIV 2-4 is discuss'ed th~ problem of a wall which had

fallen- down.

_Am()ng other preparations' which he had undertaken or was

, requesting the king tohelphimwith,Yaqqim-Addu reported, in 11. \

6 '-8 '., that he h~dsent wagons to bring barley to Sagarad1l1l. 18

Appar-

ently, there was not" sufficient barley on hand in the town to feed -

-

\

the extra workers -Yaqqim-Ad~u had _requested to help with the repair, of the wall. 'Therefore he had sent wagons t~ procure more, perhaps from the villages, to ensure an adequate supply for the ten days_ he estima'ted the job would require. The other references to barley in the letters Qf,Yaqqim-Addu are

30

as a commodity of trade, and are more properly dealt with elsewhere. 19 "

Thre~barley products figur~ in thisifcorrespondence.

The first

is q~um, :flour, menti~n~din four texts., In ARM XIV 11:5, YaqqimAddu discussed flour, along with sheep, as a sacrifice to the god, , A~XIV

Arnu-of-TiO!an.

74 details one of the problems which somefime$

"

arose in the storage of &rain and .grain products: "f"

...

V

.. _

5

.

9emam sa i-na pa-ni-tirn ,~-na

pa-an'sa-bi-im til-la-tim , .

'i..."

<,

. 4-nu

~s-te ~

ka-al-ma~tum

...

' ,

.

-'.

il-ta~pa~at' q~um ma-du-um ,

ib

i-ra-ab 7 bi Tr~~O

i-na-an-na,a-na pu~ha-at .

-

•

i-na "n~-as-pa~ki-iin'

y-~

\I'

<-sa>

qern~-su

,-

..

bu

-~

,.

"',, Su-mu",:u' Re')J. .'1lIIJ'. b e- I' ~i II a-sJ,.-amli..;.wa-e-er 15

: ".,.;-,

·ma

..:' oV tim: qem-su a-na awil.mes a-'b u bAt'. ~ ~m

'e'

y

li-im-ma-di-id-ma aWilawilume~e_k£l~lim '{~.. _:;.

c

~."'.

~'

rli' -ku~ul:"'su,4qem ,:~;" 'lli ' ~ S " " ~ '>wfi..l . '" ' h , ' r sa" a-nak~rununat (= SUKU)a..awi.l~me~'i-!e4';"en-nu

...

"

,',

y

.

'

r&:t- na na-a~-pa-ki-im'li-iS-pu-ku:-ma 20

rr~'-e~ \ . 'sa~bi"'im , ,'15'" '.. ~.

,. •

•

.

_

til';'la

tim

1

"

-

t%

•

qem,.n~5 ,

cTrans lation:

.

-:"

Kalmatum":"~nsects2'{)' have '~ittacked the': flour

t-{hich' previously I had ground for. the allied troops,. Q .~

'A great .quantity

of~

flour is '"!{)st. ,.Now for the

..

'il

'

.

:It,

31

replacement of this ~{jI

~lour

which has been ruined in \~ \

the storagejar,2l let my lord command YasinirSumu that he should deliver. f l<Jt1r to the fntendent's, [in )\ ,

qE,der that]' the men ~f the, palac€l }llay eat.

But let

theni pour into a storage Jar o~~ f lour which is'~' grpund for the food allowances of the men; let t'be

.'

\

\

\

allied ,troops eat our flour.

\

\

Yaqqim-Addu's ,proposed dispbsition of the ,flour shows t\hat he

,,'

t~,·· tro~s

• thoug·ht of his own people in 'preference. to othe1;s, such as \- . of allies. In this way, if (he problem of the inse~t; in.festat~on ,

~-

,r

\'

.

.

\

shouldp!ove"'not to, ~ave been resolved, the' allied -troops, npt :~aqqiJ!lAddu '8 own subordinates ,would endure the results'."

\

,;

,r

'I

\

The requeS~grain from Mari to replacE!.t::he ruined'·store ~~Uld' seem t~ be r~ther unusual.~' Given th~ greater population of the cyi-. tal and its s,urro~mding.district ,'including, court and.. garris'?n per\ .

~'.

'.

l ,

'

.'.

• • .

'.

- '''''.,

•

-

\.

\r

sonnel, as. well as, the J1URl;rOUs skilled and' unskilled l~orer~, em~ . ". \' . ployed in the pa~:ace industries, most shipments of gr~in would hav~ \'. .

bee~from t~~ dis~~ctscto

the' capitaL

We'h?~e'seefi that Yaq~im~.

Addu'procur-~d'fr~~his

'

own district the grain to fee~a cpntingent '.

\

'\ \ \'

#

. of workers b;rought in to help with the 'repair of one of the ),alls

I\

\

'\

of

Sagaratum~,

,....-

.;.'<-

"

\

I,

.<

.-

. \-

,.

I..\

• a-

.

. For shipment of grain"to the capit'a! from one of thedl.districts, int'his instance, Terqa,~,,;we. have a letter oJ Kib.ri~Dagan~.

ARM .III

\

27.

"

The king had previously wr:1.tten, ,to kibri-Dagan, comma:nding'him tat send~

-,

tp Mari gra'in :vhi,ch would be used for pr6vlsionsfo.r the troops.' .

,;

The governor

co~l
....not '-

•.,;i¥'-:

,,-

'.

send the gra.in due to a lack of boats, so in

32 his reply to the

k~ng

he requested that the king send him as many

boats from Mari as he could spare.

He would immediately fill them

with grain and return them to Mari.

.

Another letter which deals with flour' also discusses the other two barley products mentioned in the letters

....

ofYaqqim-Addu~

ARM

XIV 42 is in reference to various·'coromodi ties which. he was to ship to Terqa, in anticipation

~f

a proposed.visit there by Zimri-Lim

and.Hammurapi t the king of Kurda: ,

~

-,..J.

v "

.'

,

"

as~sumqemim p!-hi i-[si-im-ma-ni-im]!

5

~

'iI

.

,I

"

TU. WLmusen·ba kc,l-ab-f"ru' -[ tim] 22 \

,-

-1

v

a-dt' e...nu",,:,ut .pa-ha-ri 11 awl. ratkuppimes'~3: .

,.. 0'

" . , ki' " " . "'1l-na Te.r-qa su-uk-su-dl. ',.

im'

"

b~-l:! is-pu-ra-am

"

'" ,

,

Translation:

My lord wrote to me concerning the sending

to Terqa of '~,the f'10u r , the j ar~ of beer, . the mal t , provisions,: and the fattened pigeons, together with the material J

~.' ." "

,(.

.

. 'ba

,,'t·'riaSv.,l.e·.sl the only

d

t

the pottery and 'the basket-

,makers. ."

- 8..

qf

lett~r

~

.

of

provisions or beer ;,

Yaciqim-Add~ tom~ntioneit:er ma1tBoth seem to ,have been made partly,

because of their keeping,.. properties, which were superior to those bf '\

flour.

.

Yaqqim-Addu' s responsibi1~ty., as outlined in this letter',

)

was to supply par~ of the provisions for t~~'journey of the two ,kiI}~s, 'or'at least of!!ammurapi, up the Euphrates.

The importanc~ ofbtlrley

to the economy and sustenance of all in the kingdom of Mari, even up to and including the king, is indicated by the fact that of the four

33 food items required of Yaqqim-Addu by the king, three were barley products. . Kibri-Dagan, at Terqa, wrote to Zimri-Lim concerning the collee tion of barley as a tax in kind ,in ARH III 17: r:u11-1i-iS ki-ma s~ be-I!

25 Tr.'

0

0

-

r:"u -na-ah - h·~- d· a-an-n1.• .... ,

1/ ° '1 0b -S1.v. i m a-na se-1.m S1.-1. 0

..if

sa ha-al~s!

...

.

\\.

ia

...

Tr.Iat.30 [i-na li-ib]-bi Ter-qa

ki

0

°

ka-rna-si-1IIl

0

I 1 na- d 1.~e• f"k u' [:a ] - h.... a-am u-u

Translation: '0

Besides that,

accotdin~

to what my lord

f

instructed me, I will not be negligent concerning the colleoting of the barley tax of my district anq the~')barleyi'of the palace in Terqa. ..~.. ,~.

The fact that in his correspondence Yaqqill1-Addu did not refer to the colleG ting pf taxes in kind is merely an accident of tt ansmission or of preservation, since it is certain that he .would have been concerned with them.

0

.

-~

One other'agricultural product was men~bned by Yaqqim-Addu, ;:'~l:l~_

"

. though it isdoub·tfulthat it would have been produced in his district.-

Rerecorded the.. dispatching of a jar of wine' in ARM XIV 83: urn-rna a-na-ku-rna a-na se-er sa-bi-im . " o

-

-

I

100 °a-al"7la-ak-ma li-ib-biSu-ra...;.Ha-am-mu ° 0

i:"na- raz'....;zi-iq

Ia-am~ha-di-imki "'" -

.....

,..

i immeram(= unu •NITA) ~ l~arpat karanirn

i-na pa~ni-ia' ~-~e;"il-qf {Xl

ma

..... ,

34

a-na se-er Translation:

I

Su-ra-Ha-am~mu

....

Thus

I

al-li-ik-ma

(said), "lf

I

go to.the Yamhadian

,.

.'

soldiers, the heart of Sura-Hammu will be anxious. II' - (So) I sent before me

~ne

sheep and one jar of wine;

..

,( then) I went tb S~ra-HaII1Illu~ ....... .

Because wine, or at least good wine,. had to be imported, it was Since .S~ra-Hammu was a king, a vassal of Zimri-Lim .

a luxury item.

~

\

in the Upper Country, imported wine was ,an appropriate gift to send

to him.

This letter illustrates once again the

governors played

i~

act~ve

role district

the maintenance of good relations between

s~zerain

and vassal. Wild Plant Foods ';

Compared with the ' reliance of Mesopotamian civilization upon cultivated crops" the sus,tenance'derived from wild foods was miniscule'.

Yaqqim-Addu's lette!s do, however, mention a few occurrences

of the gat1:lering of wild plants.

The first and most' important of,

these was the truff-Ie; then as now it was highly regarded asa deli.'

cacy.

.

Most of the' truffles ,recorded ,in the letters of Yaqqim-Addu

were destined for the king' s table.

Of'the three letters concerned .

with'truffles, Yaqqim..:.Adduis'personal involvement in the procurement . "~.

.~

-

of the delicacy is best illustrated by ARM XIV '35: 5:i.~-tu UD 5 '.!
.

a-na se-er be-li-ia V b ·1 us-taTr.

fam

~,

-.

35

la rdam-qa-tim' tu-~a-bi-lam Rev. a~-sum kam-a...: rtim"t [X] be-lf-ia la i-pa-TX

X]

r sa il-qJ-nim ,a-na ~e' -er be-l:!.-i,a I v bi'l' . rna~an : ' . "t -na u-sa- am 1-

v,. . k am-a- r~1m · 1·'1"1 . r:rna, as.-pu-ur -qu :n1m-

15

.'\

f> qanqJ_up_l'"p!" [ta kam-'a] -tim dam-qa~tim J~[ma-al-li-ma]?

, ria]

a-nase-er be-I!

u~-ta-bi-lam [qu-up-pi] v

-

~

20

sa kam-a-tim'X [

Tr.

'.,.., . [ . ki] · r a-na' .Sa -g~-ra- t1:m

Translii'tj..on: :v·Sit:lce I,- .. ~~ived

....~l?th/

fi~~ays '. .

ago, once, and

once again, I 'hav~: sent truffles to my lord.

But

",

my lord

[wrot~'

to me] in the&e terms,"'TIie "truffles

(w'hich) you sent are not of good quality

.y

Con-

cerning the truffles, my lord not '. • • • "t"1h:ttch'they ... gathered' for me 24 I sent to my lord.

Now I have

sent the truffles (which) they gathered for me. _~ filled sixbask~tsof good quality ·truffles. -

'-,-

'sent (them) Eo my lord1 -.."..'

..;-

.

[baskets] 6f

-

.

r~ruffles

t have

.

We [are delivering] many

.

~

to Sagaratum•.

Yaqqim-Addu himself'was responsible for overseeing the gathering of the truffles and their tra-nsportationtotlte king at Mari. \."

-

.

~

This

conclusion derives from the fact that he was writing from a location

36 at which he had arrived five days earlier (11. 5-6), and the decla20-~2).

ration that he was sending many truffles .to Sagaratum (11. ,.

I

It can be seen from this letter that the royal palace at Mari had "first claim on truffles.

It seems from the letter which Yaqqimf.

Addu quoted in part that .Zimri-Lim was even something of a connois,....

seur of truffles.

Apparently, they were abundant enough,'at least

in good lears, that he could afford to be somewhat discriminating. The sec6~d letter "-, is ARM XIV 36, ·addressed not to the king, but

~

to Yaqqim-AdduJ s fr~~nd in the palace, Sunugurahalii: V

Tr.

'J!""'.

sa-tii-tam·30 kam-a-tim '),. .

v

I··

il-qu-nim-ma'sarram .<.

ap-qi-da-~~U r ak-ka-~i-'im"? 9 kam-a~tim zi-ta-ka

Tr.lat.

u~-ta-bi-lam i-sa-rna .

20

, 1. us-ml.IV • d k u-u a-um

Translation:

On another matter, they gathered· for me

thirtYr~ruffles.

T,appointed.(them) for the king.

of:

Also, I have sent your part, to you, nine truffles •

.

"

(They are) few, (but)\. I (col,lld) not assign (m(}re)

.

for you" The ....first question raised by this . lett'er "is whether. it has ,. .

_,,i

~

,

•

~"'l:>

reference to the same' occasion as, doesA.R11tXIV 35. ,The answer seems .

,,"

.

-" :

.

---.,-..

.

.

The prev:tous letter speaks of si~ 'eas-

to be quite gefinitely not.

kets of good quality truffles iri one shipment; it mentions tw'O pre1

.

viou~

•

.

shipments,' and many

~ruff1es

.

_

"

being sent: to Sagaratum •. This'

one designates' a total of only thirty' truffles to the king, and

37 ,

m~,ager

Yaqqim-Addu was obviously embarrassed by the .

.

.

~

V

I"';;

-

which he could spare to send to Suuuhurahalu. ... ,

,

total of nine

The situation in

this harvest . year .~iplains why Zimri-Lim maintained control over the '

truffle harvest; it was necessary to insure a supply for the palace, especially' in lean years. The third letter mentioning truffles indicates that they were ,

I

not restricted' to Yaqqim-Addu's district.-- ARM II 104 records his '.

~

.

.

,

'A

It~'is prob-\~

forwarding of a oasket of truffles sent by Sura-Hammu. ...,

able that the truffles: Stira--Hammu sent were, part of the trib-rrte w:hich .' .-"

he"

,as

a vassal". king, was expected t'o send to his overlord at Mari

each year.

The amount of truff~es brought by 90ra~tlammu's commis-

sioner is considerably smaller than the amountsdiscussed,irt ARM Q

XIV 35"but about comparable to "the amount sent to Mari by"Yaqqim~,Addu

as recorded in A!lli' XIV 36.

,. Kibri-Dagan also recorded the sending of truffles to Zimri-Lim in ARM III 28.

In contrast to Yaqqim-Addu, he gave no details con....

. '

truffl~s,

cerning the harvest or the quaJityof the that they were from his own distric,t.

except to say

Hhile the amount was probably

rec6r~,ed; , to ,ensure ,that they all reached the king, it has b~en

erased from the tablet. This occasion",.diff,~rs from the truffle, harvest reflected in the letters of Y~qqim:"Addu:t.n his ;distrietiof, Sagaratum, ,in that the .

- ..•.

.

.-

find in Kibrf.-Da.gan 's districtse~st'ohave been 'fortuitous. , ", 'l'" ' " '",,-

the relevant

sent~nce

While

-&t

is partly 16st, the implication i~ ~learly , '

that the .truff1~s werenoteJtpress~1 scf~ghJ1-; but found by chance "

<1:-.' .,'

t..

and forwarded to the king aS'his rightful property~

This :Cnstance

. 38

therefore strengthens our contention that the king had pre-empted for use at the rpyal table any wild foods which phould be found; ,,

this pre-emption, while certainly not comp1eteiy effective, was, . as in this

inst~nce,

at least partly so.

The other wild plant food discussed in Yaqqim-Addu's correspondence is an herb identif~ed by Birot as mint. 25 ARM XIV 34, deals with it: ,

.

Only one letter,

\

..

5

a~-sum ze-rrt"-[im sa]. hu-ur-ni-i

-, .

be-1{ i~-pu-.ra':"arnki-rnana-a~-pa--ar':"ti be-1:l.-ia

"

v

mes- y b h ".'a-na sa v dawl.-l-e sa' a-za-a-t1m 1m ( =.KUR •RA') .. .... a-na ze-er hu-ur-ni-i le-qe~em .... v " as-pu-ur-ma re-qu-us-su-nu-ma

10

i-tu-ru-nim

Tr.

a--Bar sa-na:-as-su-um-ma

"y

um-ma~a-mi

.'

.I

~

.' .. r 1 . I . r· I ' · . ," hu-ur-nu-u 1t-ta-na-as~su-·u . .

~ .

•

.

:}; ' .

'.

-

..

9:&'~

Rev. •. nu':"ba--hi-ma, hu-ur-rnu" .;;.r"rl';, .

....,.

ilto#

, •

."

. ,.

.

v

.

'/1.

.,

[~]

u;-u1i-ba--as- f su'

15

~

r;a' -at'-:-tumqan-na-at

rna'

'l"b b '" , ' . "u-u . .....h u-ur-nu-u l. •-:a....su-u .

v

an-rii-tamawilu~es 'sa rba"--za~9a-tiin

!i.-:pu-lu-:-rii-in Translation: .My lord wrote to me cOrl<:erning mfnt seed.' ,

.

lriacco.rdance wIth the instructionsof'mylord, Isent "t~e men of the baz~ba.tum .to thestepp~ Fo gather mint 'seed. ,(B~t) ,tlley. retlltnedempty-(handed) • In these terl!ls ,(they reported) ,"We have 'been

39 searching where the mint continually springs up year by year.

The mint does not exist.

is rigorous, (so) mint does not exi.st."

Th~

year

This the

;en of bazabatum answered'- me. Here we find Zimri-Lim

int~rested f

in tryil1g to gr.ow at Mari a

;;,-

plant which previously he had had to send people out/to gather.

For

this purpose the seeds of the.plant, and not the plant itself, were When Yaqqim-Addu received the;llking' s instructio~s,

what he needed.

.\

he delegated the- task to his bazahatu force.

These men, patrolling

as they did the entire distri~t, ,",oulet presumably have been in the best position to know precisely where to find mint.

Arid indeed they'

"-':" "'-.-~i

did. 26

Their' sear9~h ilppears from their report to have been quite ..

0"

f

t

thorough, but as it was a hard year, no mint was 'to be found.

.

Summary.

.

. We have seen' that the' governors' at Mari ·were very much concerned with and involved in nearly.every aspect, of the production of field crops, mainly barley, from plowing andplanting'to harvesting, thr.eshing; ·arid storage.

They were ':responsible for the food supply

of ~he m'any dependents of the palace~ .-Organizationofsufficient labor conting~nts .at the t~mes of the yearwhent~hese were needed was

A few wild foods were of periph-

.one of ··theirmore pJressing concerns ~

eralim,.port.a,nce, main.ly as delicacies for the king "s table. i.'Qthet;'wise, advising the· kingof:t,he''-'natureofany problems and either reporting .. -

~

,

_.

.

what had been,done" or requesting instructions from the king , consti-

tute much of the co.ntentof those letter,s' dealing with a~ricultural concerns.

Chapter I

NOTES

IThat the people of the Old Babylonian period were aware of the, crucial importance of agriculture is emphasized inarrexcerpt from an ana A:SA-lim ere~im lategge kIma napi~ti

Old Babylonian letter: v

.

mati A.SA-lum...,.ma ultide;"Be not careless with r.egard to the tilling, do you not know that the field is the life of the land?" and 15, quot~d

in 'CAD,

Vol. 4 (liE"), 250{i.

2ARM XIV 14:17-20.

infra.,

Pi>.·

YQS 2 48:12

The passage is transliterated and translated

5l-52~' .

'

3 Speiserhas shown that in the Mari,letters, "The functional

forae of mu~k~numis. that of the '·state.' sdepencfent' who assumed c&rtainonerous obligations and restrictions in return for fiefhoidings·."

E. A. Speiser, ."The mU~k~num," Or. 27 (1958), 2?

4Cf. Victor' H.Matthews ,'Pastoral ,Nomadism' iil the Mart Kingdom (ca. 1830-1760 B. G.) (Cambridge:

American Schools of Oriental

Researe:h, 197R) , p.' 134;, also, M. B.Rowton, "Enclo'sed' Nomf:ldism , II JESHO 17 (1974), 23., 5This' transl~tion is in 'agreement with tha,.t of Matthews, Pastoral' .

Nomadism,. p'. 89. should he taken. as Addu iouverneur

.

--

.

However ,'it may' b,ethat.the king'scommunication

de

a questlon, .

.

,'':''

qagaratum

"

with Maur!c.eBi1;ot,Lettr.es de,'Yaqqim. '

.(ARMTXIV) 40

{Paris:

Librairie orientaliste

/

41

Paul Geuthner, 1974), p. 234: the !!aneans kept

in

It 'the,n would be translated, "Are

the viJ.lages for the

corvee~with

oxen?"

In

favor of the latter translation is Yaqqim-Addu's statement in 11. 14-15 that all the tlaneans had been enrolled.

However, militating

against it is the contention of CAD, 'vol. 3 ("D"), l77a, "The mng. • . .' of 'corvee work' is quite 'rare in DB (El~ only) and MB, becoming frequent in NA." is without problems.

•

Thus it would, appear tha.t neither rendering

.

The meaning of'

aG?am,

• dis~usse4,by Birot,

AR1'IT XIV, p. 234, assumes significance as well. 6 Matthews,

Pastoral Nom~dism,pp. 88-89.

7T~e area of the unit designated

acres;' cf. CAD, Vol. - 4 (tiE"),

l5b~

GAN

(ikfi) is just over two

and Vol. 7 ("I-J"), 69b.

8 1 t seems best here to 'follow Birot, ARM! i~IV,p ~ 262, "La

graphie

AS. QAR"(pour

KU. QAR=i~karum) nedoit pas' etre' 'imputee

a une,

erreur du scribe, car j e l' a1 retrouvee sur une tablette inedite de la salle 108.

a

v

de AS. BAR

La «variante»

~S.gAR

"

.

~v

pour

ES~QAR

peut etre rapprochee

.

"

y

cote de ES.BAR(=' purussu) (cf.' DElMEL, SL 1, p. ,96b s. ~)."

9See Birot's note in ARm:.~IV, .p.234. .

.

.

.1OSeeISpei,ser, "The mU~k~num,i' pp.'19-28, for' discussion o£{:he mu~kenu as a, classot croWn dependents, who did not own' the land which . ;,

they occupied and worked. 'HAfter Birot, MMTXIV,p. 2-2l. .

.

. !

."-

, ,12 Cf.'discussionof CH, paJ:agraph36 (with other'S), in Speiser,

"The

mu~ kanum, ,,;'pp.'21-23.', .

.

.

OUl;, let ter

--~-..,,'

~.'~.,

.'~-

would ,s.eem:.

£0' indica te ,no t

.

.

tha,t.mu~kenum equai~nasi'biltim\(Spei.ser~ p.22),· but that ml1~kenum is included within the, 'broader. class of

na~i·\rrnr~.

-----....,---.........:--;,.

11i';"Sakim ; s

42

..

position as a skilled worker would seem to exclude him from the class of mus'I k -enum. 13Birot, ARMT XIV, p. 231, says, "On pourraitlire : [l? P]A?

~e-ri-ih-su u-u1 i-t[e?-zi-ib] «pas rune ti]ge (?) (d'orge) n'a .

~

qui[tte] (?) son si110n», c'est-a-dire : «la moisson n'a pas encore commence» • II 14For. a discussion of desertion, see infra, pp. 135-139. 15Gardens and 'garden products received 'no mention in Yaqqim-Addu's correspondence.

ARM

Two men described as gardeners are included in

XIV

;,~1: 2' -3', a list of men who were part of a supplemental military unit. 16 Hans Helbaek, "Ecological Eff ects of Irrigation, in Ancient 'fl-

Mesopotamia, II Iraq,22 (1960), 186-196,.. concludes that 's~linization " of the soil through irrigation was prImarily responsible for the de-

.

.

cline of wheat and the predomina llce of barley.

Cf. also the remarks

of Jay Falk, "The Plants of Mariand, Ugarit with Spe'cial Refer.ence .

to the Hebrew Bible"

I

(unpublished Ph.D: dissertation, The Dropsie,

..

College for Hebrew and Cognate Learning,' 1966), p. 127. .

.

A

17 ARM XIV 84 is quoted and discussed in another context, infra,'

..

'pp. 141-1.44. ,

18 These lines are tOrans1iterated and translated infra,pp. 94-95.

19See infra, pp. 160-162. ,ibBirot. does' not translate the t~, but renders it, "1' insecte-

.'

kalmatum,"A.l;illT XIV.; p.131-

. ' ":

t

J

CAD, Vol. J8 {"K"}, 86b-87a, translates'

the term generally as "parasit~, louse.;""but in circumstanc~s in which it is attacking barley,it is rendered in a noncommittal fashion as "vermin.",Similarly,.. vou"Soden, AHW I, 426b, translates

-

.

...

'43

"Ungeziefer."

"Mealworms" is appropriate in the present context.

21_C_AD_, Vol. 11 ("N" Part II)), ~68a, renders na~pakum here .as "granary."

But '~storage jar" is appropriate for flour.

Indeed,

other Mari references are so rendered, CAD, Vol. 11 ("N'" Part II), p8b. 22 See Birot, ARMT XIV, p. 225. 23 See B1rot's ~ote; ARMT XIV, p. 226. #

'.

24 Fa lk, "The Plants of Mari and Ugarit," pp. 60-61, discusses the harvesting of truffles.

He says, in part, "Truffles, growing

•

about five inches under the surface of the ground, were dug up near

...

bas'es of ,hills along the Euphrates River. . ~.

[They were] sof t"

~white,.desert truf(les resembling po'tato~s.· • • • unearthed with sticks,

. when their presence was revealed by serack or, pulge on the surface. ',' 25:Birot,

A~xiv, ,

p. 2?5,

~~ys,.'~Laplante ~ambu;~..ur-nu-u

nous

--"'C

,

est connue seulemenl parles·.vocabulaires : elleparalt devoir etre

-

'~'"

,

rapp'rocheedelaP'.lante, qurpu, ainsi q'uede '~~~urnu q11'i, selon R. C. ~

,-,"I

. \

tI":: '.

~

,':Neither CAD nor AHW THOMPSON, DAB, p. 77<_f>. est ·la ..~<men£rre»." -

--'

.~.

~.--,.

,

"-

identifies this plant.

t..,;".,."

\, ;;Jo~.

\,y

.

, 26It should be noted that this is a departure from the usual , role

'of

I

the bazahatu,' who i'Ttincfioilea-'normally as's police, intelli-

'genc~, and border pat;rol force. .t

-

.

,It is possible- that the ,search for _ , , '

'.

•

"

'

mint seed was assigned as an' ~tra duty, on their regular patrols.,

,

'~

.

,~

.. .

"

Chapter· II . IRRIGATION AND FLOOD CONTROL , C~entirlgfn 1963, before publicAtion of ARM

XIV, Geoffrey ,./'~

Evans wrote.'Of the f100d'contro1'arid irrigation activities.which Kibri-Dagan~

governor of Terqa, directed in

hi~

district:

The most casual reader of the Mar! 1ett'ers could hardly :tail to observe how important a ~lace in the correspondEance is played by the ne.eds'of irrigation. Provi,ncial' governors attendtOj it in person, and Kibri-. , Dagan of Terqa., of '-lhose activities' we a,re' mos t fully iilformed;, was almost pre-occupied with it. 'He even once asked 'to be e~cused from visiting the capital when ')', he was or,clered to do so by"th'e K~ng, upon the.. excuse that an urgent un.dertaking required hisprese'nce. _, Without liirn, it seems, the work. might no.thave been ~"_". , broughttb completion in~ time. 1 . '

~,.

.it " .

\,

II

'h';-

',to

'~ , ...T he letters q'f"Xaqqirn-Addu' toth~ king reflect the same depth of •

" -.~

~.. _,.l~,,;,,;". .' .'. " " .' ' . . '<' _~' f<;>r flood''CoritrQ!:and irrigation works ...in ilis district of

iI,',

co~.cern

\G6.

~-

, Sagarat'fl.

._4

,*n~

.~",-'

-..;.~'

-'""'.

';

r/

.'.

_'_

.~.

_ "

J

< '

':'iell 'they .might.Agricu1ture in th'}/.Hesopotamian . .

p1at"ndepended upon a steady reliabiesource of water , which was ori1y" " .

~

~'.

~

' .

'availabie to the fields as' irrigation syst~ms were constructed, and equally

impottant,maiVJ:ai~ed.-2

Ten of this governor's letters deal

..

"

exclusively ·or.partia11y with .problems' caused by f1o'oding; tw~ deal , • ,f ••, . with irrigation. Cri$esCausedby Flooding

\

.;

.

~j

Of course the mQst urgent problems ar-os'e when the Eabur 'to,Tas in flogd.

At such a time"cities , fortifications, villages, fields and 1

,

44

.

.

..

. 45

.

anything 'else cOJlld be threatened.

The governor, "as the highest

official in his dist;rict,' was respons,ible for the carrying out of emergency measures.

Sometimes . this ,did not prove extremely difficult,

..

~

as ,.we may surmise from 'the tone of ARM XIV 18:

.

i':na pa-ni-tim i-nu-ma Ha-bu':'ur im-la~a":am

5 '

'

,

"". •

...~

a~-~u.m ta-ap-p{~~S'7-tim

ila

~a-t-ur ~

..

, er-re-tam labirt~ (= 'BE) i-na'qa-tim:""ma 6'ise-~e'":"er . " ,v

'. '

1s~me-e·ma

be-11

,

urn-rna be-11-ma er-re-turn'

'ib-ba-t,-i-iq roi-im....ma J-ul bi-:-it-qum', , '\,;' , , ' "

10

.

,

.

I

v

V

'i ,

1-na qa-bdm-ma u-se-se-er

S1

~

'.

Translation:

:

.~

Previously , when the .., Habu'r flh6ded". because

.

,

,

'

of the r;i.sing of the .., Habut, 'I immediat,ely put'in .., ,

'order the old ~eir.

My lord had heard' (of i t),_ and

thus my 100;d '(wrote to, me), t'The weir has',been .. -~~

,

\,\

.I '

'breached." '. (But) there is not a breac'h (how, as) '1.

•

"'"

•

i

I

~mmes.i}at·ely'put it in o'rder. ,

f

t

.

\\Thile on this occasion the problem was ea$ily 'with local resources, 3 such was .

.~--

-'

~ndqui:ckly

~ot alW?;:~'thec:ase, as

..

is !shown in

.~

.

ARM X'!V 18, in the'discussionof another.episode:

- - ,~.

"

U mt-Ium 5

'#

"'"

•

?

.,

,'. "

-am-tna~tim illl-[la-a-am]

solved

r,'

• t

.j,

1·

5'

, h" da- t urn-.... i" h· '. r qa-, , ma-na-....a-turnmaa~~ 1- l' 1-

»1>

U

\

.

i~-tu ~a be-It u-wa..-e-ra-an':"ni '

4'bi-it~q{ {ni}e-es-ke' "

-(

er "

46

2 am-ma-a ka-la-kam 4 e-li-~i-na J-ka-ab-bi-it

10'

Ki~ib-ri-dDa-ga~ dan-na-tim

be-It a-na

li-is-pu-ur-ma~a~ba-~u li-ka-am-mi-sa-am

ti

a-na-ku ha-al-s{ lu-ka-am-mi-ls-ma

-"

'''''

-

...

. h"1- i s er-re-tam . v arsa-a V

~

...

..

"f " I , 'I v hi ~ i .n1.ik .--su-ur.tJ,;a-suo:-ma . -tl.-tum .."

.

"""

15'

.d'("

ib-rba-a~'-~:44~a

J.

\l

. Translation:

Alsd; the flood", .has risen fiV\ cubits.

, the flood

'6h.

'

forbid that •

l"

[reach] the top!

God

.

This weir, ~

,

I have peen, putting-in order, (and) many expenses

. ate befng 'lost.

~

f

~."

J,

But since ,my ~lord assigned me (here)., ~.

..r have filled four breaches. weirs are deteriorated.

Bes1des, all these .

I will heap up two·cubit~ ,

of fill op ,top' of it .

Let, my lord write strongiy to

.... Kibrf-Dagan, that he may.'assemble his work-force here. And

i

also will a'ssemble (the work-force of)' niy"4iS- . !.!!r

o

~

·trict, that~e may 9t·~.engthen this weir without, 'a~lay~

Oth~rwise, damage ~rlloc~ur. ,

\

'-.~.

.,

.~

In ~. IIL~2'Kibri""D~gan informed"theking that Yaqqim-Addu had writtendir~ctly

him requesting men to a{d'l:I:i,m .inthe t'askof

tp

o

.:t

t~

-.'

strengthening the weirs of the gabur when it.wasin ..

flobd~

Kipri-

~

Dagan had.co~plied·w:Lth his request, and ARM III ~;w:aS''\..written

. . . .

.

merely tofnform theking»f th~ ~i~.uation•. From.a comparison of these two, occasions we tnay conclude that while help from other-4j..s,

..

~ ,"

.

.

.

'~'

.

t~ricts~buld, b~. obtained, it was not automatiGally given., Yaqqim.

~du '.s

letteroto the king requeselrtg. him to

,t ~

~

dir~ct

Kibri-Dagan to,

,

•

47-

.# .,

send men conceivably could have come after a letter directly to Kibri-Dagan such as the latter referred to in his report to the king. It might have been ,because of Kibri"-Dagan's refusal to act on his

)

,~

own, then, that Y9 qgim-Addu, in-writing to the king, found it

....

~',

sary

t'ot.describ~,in Some

nec~s-

detail his previous efforts, as well as

indicate what he proposed 'to do, in order to justify the req~est for ,~

fI

his aid. Whatever the details, we· have evidence of two occasions on 'Which the floodiI,lg 'ofthe gabur threatened the destruction of weirs in the district of Sagaratuffi. ...

Besides the labor and expense of replacing ,

the weirs, it is likely also that other,- probably greater, damage

."

would have ensued.

In'such a c:ircumstance, the governor was respon--

sible to see that the weirs were breached.

reinf~~

so they would' not be

If the resources of his owndistric,twere iIladequate to

acc;omplish· the 'task, he had the right .. and the responsibility to call. on his c~lleagues for help, either dIrectly or through th'e" king. 'i:

,.

ARM XIV 13 strengthens thisconcl~l'sfon". inasmuch as it is con-,. .

,

cern~d with·t!r~e

major projects, . two

of'theDll~rge enough

that work

•

contingents from'three districts - Mar!, Terqa, and Sagara,tum·- were The third project, which is the main concern of ' the le~ter,

• l.nvolved.

w~ the'J;'ep~~r ,ofdam?ge caused by the flooding "of... th~!!aburp ~tself. This entire s~ct1.on of\.the letter (11. 19~54) seem$.-. to .reflec t the / . .

.

.

.

-;

. ' , : -

.

• !

resul~s ,of~hadequaie prep~rations beforeharrd~ "

flood itself does not;

s~em

The level of the

to have been inordinately

h~gh.

Lines

40-41 state that, "Now four cubits the lJabur has risen, (and) all (th'e country) to water has returnea."

Yet in ARM XIV 18: 2' we, are

,

.

48 told, "Also the flood five cubits has f1ooded," and the tine in that ,

I

letter is riPtone of extreme ~cbncern. 6 "But those concerned with ;;I

,

.

maintenance of t~e system had not, assigned tasks (1. 18).

'

.

.

it appears,

been performing their

Thus the place of breach or weakening which

the Babur had made had not been,.strengthened· (1. 19).

Bahdi-Lim, ...

prefect over the palace at Mart, and governor of,the district of ",

,f

Mari, had apparently been non-coope~ative; Yaqqim-Addu had requested him on five

sepa~ate

occasi,onsL,to assig.n people to ,a,ssist with the I

repair of the breach,which the !jabur had made, and he had failed to respond, forcing Yaqqim-Addu to appeal directly to the king, (11. 32-36). /.

Furthermore, the mubal1itt;u which was in place and bad been relied upon in the past was wooden, and thus inferior (11. 37-40). Finally, to add to the desperation of the situation, the work which had been done in the present crisis to try to strengthen the structures had been, .or was ininnninent danger of being, swept away itself.

The Habur had swept from their places and deposited against

the muballitatu (thereby further increasing the strain' on them) bun.

. :

- . "

. dIes of reeds which represented ten . days'q".work( 11., 26-30 ),. .. . ~

The dam

cons tructed by contipgents from both ,the;district of Terqa and Yaqqim- , Addu's own district of Sagaratum had been "pressed down, "repaired,' , anclpressed,down a second time(.(ll. 43-46) • -

The whole picture seems , ,

to have been one of crisis brought on by the (·,normal flooding of the r~ver, to De sure, but. aggravated greatly by shortsighte4riess. and ' .

.

neglect in preparing for that flo·oding. ,

Yaqqim~Addu~ if he was not

exaggerating the negligence of'9the~s in order to make 'himself look

.

.

good, had been'left "holding' the bag," so to speak,' responsible for

•

49

the safety and welfare of the people immediately concerned, i.e., the

affect~d vi1iager~

(1. 35).

It seems the dimensions of the

, problem might have been scaled down considerably b.y appropriate preventive measures on the part of other officials. ,

While not as-dramatic as'reinforcing and repairing weirs or calling for·theimmediate aid of his colleagues, measurement of the

,

flood crest at regular intervals was nevertheless an important aspect of the governor's ,responsibilities.

Knowledge of the height and rate'" '.

of rise of the water " would obviously be crucial cuting appropriate responses.

~n

planning and

exe~

We have already seen in ARM XIV 18:2'-3'

Yaqqim-Addu's strong response when a five cubit rise (over' an unspeci, "'

. 'fied period of time) prompted fears that the flood might overcrest weirs which were apparently not,c.ertain of holding. . -.

On another 'occasion, in ARM XIV l5:p-9 ,Yaqqim-Addu reporte(I that --

the Habur had

ri~enfifteen

i

j "

half-ca:nesat the firstmeasuremerit, and

two (?) cupits at the se
.

,about the accuracy o,f the firstmeasurenient,:7 these measurements repre-, "

sent a flood level at least as serious as that recorded in ARM XIV 18. Sometimes not only the height but also.' the rate .of rise of the flood waters'would,berecorded for the benefit of the king~ ,

.

I~ ARM

'

XIV 19: 14-16. Yaqqitn.-Addu ~tated thaf the H?bur had risen one cubit from before sunrise until the t.ime of the meal·.

While that appears

to 'be a fast ,rise in the water level, the tone of the letter does not reflect the tirgencyof others, such as -ARM XIV 15. and '-. ~

-

. ' .

-~

18.

We possess two .le.tters, evid~ntly belonging' to .the same episode, / in which Yaqqim-Addu requested, . and finally receiv~d, a man who was

}.

Ii

~.'>.A

:-

. ."

50

.

o~

skilled in the operation

the sluice-gates.

Theaf~rst "..

.

of these

letters, both in chronological and publication order is ARM XIV 15. B~cause of a $ubstantia1 rise in the level of the tlabur,8 a sluice" \

man, conversant in the mechanical functioning of g1@es and knowledge-

.'

able in the amount of. stress vlhich co~ld be endured by various' parts of the$tructures, 9 was needed in order to .p,revent damage to the muballit-atu of the area.

As there was .not a

competent~

one in the

. ~~

district, Yaqqim-Addu asked the king to dispatch one~~~h all ·speed. ~.

.

~

~~~k.'

It is interesting that at the mo~t'crucia1 point in~h~ flooding of (

~

sluice-m~n,

the !}abur, a skilled

-~i,

the need f01rwhom might' have been

anticipated, was not available to

Yaqq~m-Addu.·

./{i\"\ .~~~~~

It is poswble to

interpret the letter to mean that a sluice-man· had b.een post,ed, but had proven. incompetent. had not

Otherwise,· either the governor or the king

anticipatedqui~kl.y~.~i1ptiS~the .

~l

.

need which arose.

ARM XIV 16 gives us the sequel to this request; from this we learn of the arriva.lofthe sluice-man I1su-ellasu at Terqa, bro'ught by no less a person~ge than Babdi-Lim, the prefect of· the palace .... i:

and governor of the district of :M:ari.This· po:i:nthighlights a.gain the governor's involvement in a.nd responsihi1i~y over water . regulation.

Along with this is mentioned the relieving of t:h~.; "younger 'v

. '

brothers of Ili-Sakim"of their responsihility' .. for the sluices. .

Evidentiy they had been pressed .. into servic~ beca.useof. som~ limited knowledge of the operation of sluice€!, until the arrival of the expert.

. ,

v·

Their knowledge can be explained by the fact that I1i~Sakim

was hims elf a s ltd ceman. 10

"-

51 .,.

Other Work on the WaterCourses While the crises precipitated QY flooding of,the Habur of neces7" sity caused other efforts to bes~spended, once th,ose crises passed o.t-her tasks also had 'to De a8dtessed.

Some of the latter were projects

,,'

oJ'

made neces:itry"'by the flooding,' but, which could not be undertaken until the' flood waters had receded.,' An example is ARM XIV 14:

5

,~

r~a;

ia-bi-il-tum ~

.

ZA-da-nim~b-ba-1u

sa me-e, a-na

.,a,.

t~"

ki Bi-sa-an

,t."I "'-'t

r i~-tu' 'u '-mi rila~du-tim .pJ-te-e:....et, 4

[ul

~-na

.,-.

rma''':'ti-ma o-til' ha-at-ta-at .....- . ~

~a na~tla-bU-tir

m14li-im

'a-na- ki-ib-ri-~ad :. . -ri-tam .

,.

,

Tr.

im-lau! 'er-re~tim ~

., r"sa-na, -as-su~um-ma , " [ l 11 e- '"., 11 <sa> ,

----- One line erased

Rev. IS

"'I,

'/

rna

-

u~sa~aq-q1.

v • • " a- rot '" ,. r u'',,,sum-ma' S1-p1-1r ',ap ,;,p1-1m :"i-

-

,".

-.

sa~a-,ti 1a in-ne-ep-p~.;.es. ,

,,/

,

"

,--

is, '. '- hal 'ep1nnat"" ,e- k'1 a - 1'" 1m

'

20

'I'k" ' i-,b'i-;r','-,r; u, awil 'mu-use-nu-um

1~re-eq';"qa

.L.L

.

\

-

••

,

I

\

i-qa-'"ab' ....;h:i.um-ma-a~mi i-na sa-hi-im -.

0"

.

'

'~'a ha~al-st-im,p!~te:le w. • '. . e-zti-uh 1a - sa-hi.;..im ~a . ha-a1-:-s:l-irl't ......-\

..

I

~.

- -

\

52

t ha-~la-a~'

25

Ter_qa

ki

i-te-eb-bi-ma

[~? ~i-p!-ir?] ria-bi-il'-tim ~a-a-ti

x x

[u-ul?]

Tr.

.

~'

~i-ma ~a-bi-im

X -u

sa' a-na nar I-si-im-

r

IIa-ah-du-Li-im i t ...bu··[ til ....

-, ,

li.-it-be-em

30

ma

r .~

, 1 a-su-rna 'I . b····l· ue-p1.-'r!"S 1a1.-1. - t"1.m" ' ' 1sa-a- ti'. I

u' -ul

i- r ll-u-ma"' i- X

r'

Translation:

The;~cond'!~t

X X X X X X .-dam- X [be-I! li-is-pu-ra-am?]

of Bisan, which carries water o

to ZA-da-n:i:m,12 has been empty for a number of days, ---.'

but

it

,

In the fibodi~g of

has never been dredged.

the .Habu!' this conduit filled to' the bank 'with mud,-. ,,-,.. :.

.

-

.

-.-

-

-

-

-

-

and the weir hi,gher than during the preceding" years

.

."

-;.

rose.

Water to the heart of • . . • " But if

'the work. is not done on thi~(~ canal, 13 the plows of 'the palace will be idle and the muskenu willb.e hungry.' ,Forbid that my'lord will say thus, "Clear it ,with 'the'people of the dist.rict. H . ': '.

);"

Besides the ".\

people6f( this), dlstrict, i a1so the dis tric t ..

.

.

-

Tetqa[willbeg:L~ conduit [not? J.

t:owork, .[and

• • '..

thew~rk]

~ ~f

9£ this

Just as the people, who on

the canaI'Isim-Yahdun-Lim began ,to ,work, let them begin to work. " out.

,.

In ten ,days let this condidt' he 'dug . . . .

:

Otherwise,' the work of this coqduit will not

53 be able to .

[Let my lord write to me.]

It is immediately apparent that the governor's resporisibilities did not end with the receding of the flood waters.

If the flood

cont,rol and irrigation system were to w.ork, silt deposited by the flood had to be cleared promptly.

We can assume that most such tasks

would have been undertaken with the manpower available within the district.

Yaqqim-Addu was confronted on

thisocca~ion,

however, with

a rather ,larger task as evidenced byhis'estimate that it would 1:'equire ten days labor , even with the help of men' from "the district of

.

Terqa.

Compounding the problem' was the haste requi,red in order that

'''' the p'lanting could be ddne on time. '

(\ -,

·t-,!

ye"'see, thep,'that it was not just on theoccas;!.on of flood . 'emerg~nciestha t governors' might call on help from other 4istricts. '-

'I:

~

... ;...

. OthEir, tlrKent tasks~ould also 'be cOll~idered for such aid.' In both ,situCitioJ1s,' however, Yaqqim-:-Addu did feel it necessar'yto outline· , ,

'.

.~

the' problem in detail in order to' justify his request for additional '/ manpower. On 'this occ,asion, he ,even"went so fat ast 0 remind ZimriLim tHat he had provided a contingent fer anotherproj'ec't, pres~ably outside his own district. ,Now it was time for hini to be repaid, ;.

in effect. Kibri-Dag,an and

Bahdi-Li~

also reported tp the king 'on projects

which they.wereoverseeing 'inthair respe~tivedistricts. ,For example, in

ARM

III7Ilibri-D~ga~

infortried the king that the workers he heeded

had arrived, ,and:' that the work on a certain weirwhic~he had undertaken should be complete in four days.

In ARMfXIII 118 he, informed

~he kingthai:.he would beg in, an unspecif ied task at the mopth of, a ,

..

'

54 ~n

canal.

ARM VI

~,

-9, 11, and 12 Bandi-Lim informed the king of

progress on several projects, including the repair of breaches in weirs. Some of this work involved the use of reeds as const~ction material.

Reeds seem often to have been used to repair breaches in

the weirs.

Yaqqim-Addu recorded ill ARM XIV 13: 24 the use of 3000

bundles of reeds as part of the effort to contain flood damage."

'

In

ARM XIV 19: 17-20 ~e -reported to the king that the people of the dis':' , an~

tricts of 'Terqa po'

Sagaratum had, come to take reeds for an unspeci"

fied,project.

. ;"

, Reeds and other growth along the watercourses constituted .an obstacle to the free flow of water when they grew too ,abundantly. It then became necess~ry for the ,gov~rnor to, see that they werecle~red Kibri-Dagan reported to the king inAR~H III 76 that he was·

away.

fir~

. going to

,In' the reeds in the bed of the canalI I~im-Yahdun-Lim. ' W

ARM'III 79 he reported on the clearing of a stritch of a canal, and requested the king to instruct Bahdi-Lim and ,Yaqqim-Addu to remain on Another task not mentioned by

the fo'b until it was completed. 14 .

.

.

'

,;

,}

,

\

"

Yaqqim-Addu, but· reported by Kibri-Dagan, was, the t;egu;I.a.tion, of the

.,

.

,

~

water level in the. reservoirs., In 'ARM III .75 he described a breach .,"

~

-',

J

in a' reserv()~r' at Zurubban ~nd ,his efforts -inr~pairih-gtit.

In ARM \

tIL 9 he repOrted. thElt 'the' sarne reservolr had become too full, and '"l" _ .•

askedperm:lssion to drairi· off some of the excess ·intothecanal...

. ,Finally,

sev~ral.letters .'-

=

,

are reports concerning the levels of the,

.

canals or rivers, bu,twfth()~t describing flood-coptrol work in. 'progress or asking forat'd..For ~xample, in ARM XIV -20 Yaqq-im-Addu' 'stated that

55 the river was rising, but that the weirs and the district were fine. ARM XIV 21 was written' to report that as the' flood was passing things wer.e iIi gpod condition. ;

'-~

Irrigation One indication of the importance of irrigation to Zimri-Lim's kingdom is the fact that, ~or all his preoccup,ationwithcflood-control work~, precipItation only twice in his letters. . Yaqqim"':Addu mentioned . \

One

occurren~e

is in the

f~rm

of hail (ARM XIV 7:6).

The other ref-

" erence (ARM XIV 107: 11 '-13') is to rain which had fallen continuously

for thr~e days and three nights. 'Rainfall in amounts such. as this was

exce~ti~nal.

Moreover, its timing was not always advantageous

for the growing. crops; hence theUeed for irrigation and flood control systems " . Only two of the .letters 'of Yaqqim~Adclu deal specifically with irrigation, though flood control

an~

irrigation works were for the

most part the same constructions serving a dual role. letters, ARM XIV 13, has ,-,--

~e~n '1

One of these

discussed:in dealing withflpod control.

But it also mentions irrigation in 1ine$' 16-18:' !!a-bu7ur. ki-ma·.nal\T.... ~i'""im,..I~ ... [ag] -t'du"~Li-iin ,

,

\

.'

_.'

'I'

u kIma narlm sa

d

. ..., r I ' IGI. KUR ..I-sa- aq-qe-em'?,.

rna-ti--ma $a-bu-um~Cl~a,:,,:qi--ti-~tiu-ul it-rbfP-[em-ma] Tr anslation:

The !!abur, -_._-like ' the~,~'~nal I~im--Yabdti.n-Lim, ,

.

~

-.,

,

_-

and like the canal"of

~-

"

•

IGI.~UR"is

1:....

irrigating the

cou.ntry., But the people concerned with it~ irriga'J.,

tion have not worked~

56

-.

The !!abur is, of course, the main Yaqqim-Add

"{ould have,been concerned.

irr.~gation

channel with wh;ich

Two canals seem to have been

the princi Ie subsidiary irrig~tion channels which served the district '

\

I t is certain t~t the,c.anal Isim-Yahdun-Lim was one.

of Sagarat m. 15

From the n tices in the letters of Yaqqim-Addu, it would sean that the canal' of IGI .,KURwas also a major construction --in that' district. \

Yaqqim-Addu i\s implication in this ·letter seems to be that part of his lI

<,

problem with'flooding had been caused by the negligence of

thos~who

were responsfbleforthe operation and maintenance of the' irrigation works on the river. The other letter., of Yaqqim-Addu which deals with irrigation-:i:s set' in~he time. of the planting of grain. ,It is .i\RMXIV 23:

5

U4-U~ tup-pf

an-nJ-e-em

'

ra"_Jla se-er be-l:l-ia I

'J

•

u-sa b1 Tr.

-

lam

;e-J.I~ae-k,{l-U;' , ", v - . ha , d d· a-na -mas' ka natJ..m'" a - 1 , I

Rev.lO

I

a-na eqelugarB1t-Lu?-s&-ia

..

: ki ,'usc;l.l Na-ra-a

eq.~

,

eqe~ugar

eqej

,

A-i-da-ttim

ugari~ ~a'B1t~ta-:~tim

e,l usa~,. za-, ni-pa-tim

. eQ 15

me-~ ad

Tr.

1I

t4 KAM r

1

' im ,

di'

h ~a-al-ka-nim

'war

un

mi-iq-.ri

•

57 Translation:

On the day I sent this' tablet to my lord,

poured~out

I

ing-floors.

the grain of the palace upon the thresh-

.•

.

-

I.applied the water for irrrgation upon

the field of the plain of B1t-Lusaya, the prairie

.

,

i_}f,

.

~

field of Nara, the plain of k'ldatum,.the plains of 1\

''

B1.t-Ya' etim, (and) the "prairie field

anipatum.

The month of Malkanui'n, the 24tb day. , Kibri-Dagan reported a very similar i~~igation task in ARM III 31:

r~'a-[nil-tam ~e-i ~_rkJl'-lim r;q.' pi-i [X

X(?)]

, - r v., , i'd \ " ' r use -S1.·.. u su-uh~reem"\ • v

aTr.lO

r

"\ ,'" ". na[ma~l.kanJ.m

eqlam

'

,

,-

as-:-su- ['ukI-ma ,_."

usall~'se...ti .

I

me-e

am-qu-ur

\, r " 'Ii Rev. u"qa-tamrna, se-em aa ra-[ X

-

X, X ]

v , "k A • a-na mas an1m ka- 1a-su

ak-mi-lsul-li

r .

v,

J.8

}

15

~ -" , k'l' '1'/" a-na se ,:1. ea -,1m jsa h'; a*a 1- 'r S1.11 .... [.1.m ] _ .., :

;i~J*i.

ka....ma..:;si-im a-ha .... u-ul na-di-e Translation:

-

~", ku

Also, the grain of 'the palace of the mouth

of the. • . I have' had harvested~ 'and the -gath. ered (grain) I have poured upon the thr'e'shingfloor. "This prairie' -field I have irrigatea.

But

also the grain of • • • all of it, I' have gath- ' ered in upon the threshing-floor'.

Horeover, I will

not be negligent. in the gathering of the 'grain of

" '

58

the palace (which is) in the district. 9iven the common elements of these letters - the pouring out of palace grain upon the threshing-floors . and the irrigation of prairie ,

fielQs - the two governors must hav. been reporting on the same'typesi

-

'"

of operations.

f

.

Kibri-Dagan specified the grain as that which he had t.

A question then arl"'ses conc~rning' the"'-reas-Oft-:f·o~--'-.. ~._',

just harvested.

....

irrigating fiel~s. at the time of the harvest.

Would that not ...have

been too late -COrtboearly)? ,

.

'

The answer may lie in the nature of the fields wh'ich were irrigated.

They were designated as "prairie fiel,ds" (both governors) or

. "fields of the plq.in" (Yaqqim-Addu).

These fielas would have beeJ:'l

located in the steppe, the intermediate rolling c'ountrr between the alluvial plain of the rivers and the more rugged terrain of the

mountains.

Being at a slightly

hi~ef

leys, . the steppe country would bet.

elevation than "the river val-

k little warmer and

a little drier;

both of,thesefsctors would have tendep to cause the grain planted there to. ripen a.little· earlier than that, of the river vall~ys.

/

~rrigationof

the fields

"/ 10~yd "'

.

in,}he

.'"

steppe-Iand~

This

then, may have

been· prompted by theavail{J!iility of water before the 'river subsided

.

in the dry

:'

summer~

It

,Il.-

~~rild

,

have provided summer pasture for live-

jl;/

stock on edible. weeds ~tid wild .grasses. r

of gr'ail in the "\

The p ,

fal:t/~:Uld have been d~pendent .

,('

of t,he
1/

/f'

winter rainy season. "'!:.

The labor and, exp.ense of irrigating fields at some distance from the watercourses would naturally have ~een greater than for ehe fields of the alluvium.

This may account, in part at least, for Yaqqim~Addu's

59 designating exactly which fields he had irrigated .

.

The importance of .irrigation mar

b~

seen ,from two letters of '.

---,

~-.

\\.

Kfbri-Dagan. '~ARM III 5 is concerned ~with w~rk on a can~u. which in-

clud~d, though may not ha~e been limii~d to, irrigation of ,the ~isJ~

trict around Dur-YaUdun-Lim. proce~d'

The king ~ad direc,tea Kibri.~Dagan to

1b'~·-"

to Terqa; but Jte had not yet done so, on the ground that· the .

work which he was overseeing had priority. indicated that

Similarly, in1\RM III 8 he to-

h~

would not be coming to Mari from Terqa,

.'

tho~h

ordered to do-so by the king, in order that he could see to the water':' Al

ing of "the country '6f my lord" (1. 23).

\

.

One could ha~dly ilnagine a

more striking affirmation of the crucial nature of this one of the governor's responsibilities:

SuIlllliary

We

have concluded tha-t..,,,,the provincial governor at Nari bore pri-

.......

mary re9ponsibility for the good condition, of the flood control and irrigatioil works ,upon the' river~, .J:he canals a,.nd their, tributaries.

.

.

. . . . , ' if~~~JZ

."

<~

For work onthese"systems, the governor could requisitj..on large labor

...

.

.-~;'(

-

,contingents- fromneighbO:ring district,s.. He could requ&st and receive .

.'

,....

.;

near ly'.. any'assistqnce in.. repairing them, especially in the flood sea. son.

He cQuld even ask to be excus~d from heed~ng 'a direct order from' -

.

~,~.

,

- _

. t

the 'king to app~ar before him at ~ari. ~ese letters mark flood con- . ~.

c~

trol and irri~t:li.on as among the very· highest .,0'£ hisprioritie:s~", ...

-,.

.

/'

\

-.~,I.-

•

I

\ ,j

...

/

~.

\.. -'""""}-

..".r •

,. , '

"

•

", ..I

;(1'/\ 'NOTES'

()

I.G~~e;.~~ (~'{''''~e

. .~ ;\,_,~h.. , .

•

I::idepCe of Labour-Service at Mari," RA

<)

I'

. • )""

"~~.

57. " .(196:<)) .oJ

,

b',)

,

~

". t .

65 :'0 ~V;.: ..r 66 • . "~ '\ ~'.'

~.

~ij"!:.,

0

~' . . . . ;

-

~,

.

.

I

.

.

.

'( ~,~ '"'2Cf. M.e>B; Rowto~,~~~~:·RcHe·· of ,the Watercourses i:n the Growth

··i.. . .\t.

o

.

.~

I

.~

~

i.

.'

~....,

'.'

.'

~"\

<>

.

.' .gf Mes'6~Qtamian ~j~~li~~~l\,4t~~AT 1. (1~69), 307~316;thorkildJacob.~ t·

'" 4"(',

0

dJ'

. '.

,:,r~·%',:

'1I:!l

'''. .••

~en"i~~,e"'watEfrs~o~,,~r," . ~ow~~:~~e~~:rmag~,of ..(\,~.

•

~.~

•

.

,

~, ',.i'~

(;Iv

····~t···~.~..-·

f)~'-: ~'a :.~!?

0

.'

L. '

~

1970), pp.·231-243;

',{Ii!\"

. ' '",

. ...•

.

.

'.,

Stanley D.¢tY{~~~'t",··. aterfor ~Larsa::'An OldBabylonian,~ArchiveDe'aling

,.;1""

"

'.

. . ' ." •

(CBIlliTftidg~:"Jlarvard Universi~y, Press~

Moran

Wil~iam

Tannnuz,. ed •.

.~.

r,;

": -.-

- .':\"'-.'

-c.""

.

-

~

witn. ;rri~~ti£1Wt.(i~~~~~~~ ta;

~

p

Q' .

Haris

)ll

1,-' ~

'i.r:.~.~'

<:l",";',';,i _._-,~"'-' -

-. ",,' -

\,. "

'.

-

.,'

.t1i!e' un~~rsJ'ty Press',-

.JIell.b;ek""·:;,~9,,l...~~;'~·· '~~ffec!~'so1:ZIr.;p~g'at~on

,,6

1970).•. See also'

in Ancient Mesopotamia'-"

rr~~i2~ti96()~~"i~~: ;;;~~!'~ d~I\l:~!,hi"qwri ;lnvestiga t~ons and ~.,"

riff

'4}~' ·"i'. ..~:v,,~ ·'·l'."'~··:

tnework ~"t,'J'f1~> lalb'Ob§"'

>. "';''',l' ' . ' . '

:

.. "... ~.~a~'S~ ,.}~~~sUn1ma:rizedim"Sa1t·and

;........ ~""l;','" '.' ,'<"<, '..~.. 'i~t:,¥.l'. ..;"L·n;:.. :··,<~"i~'.~,. ~~,,~~:):?;-~,.;~.>.. .', '. . .,~" .&~

:,,~nlA:n,cie~5~s~,()pt>:B=am~ab.', '~~e. .9 .

~Or;-f1 .' ' . . ' .. - . - ,{

reRrinted ~il1./~~~~~,

.• •... , .

.~uret:",~~bi7Il~e'l~8{;i1~S.gh, 1251~1258,

.,;".'~':.J/f/~,'~'.~~;~(

' : , . ' '.

.,... .

a;ld'o/;~ i~i:r:~~'.,' .~~~. R:oa~~:}:fo Yesterday

. .~&,4~~,:~.:" 4 .~Q:&~.:'li"'r.~.:,.;..,;.>.'" '. ;J;~'§p), pp. ,"~'lt~ {1T9~.

...

. BaslsC"B'bo~s'~ . Inc·. '9~ ll~>~:.. ...~_,:.~ ~.It 18 ':Cliff·"

•.

Silt

0""'-

4New York: i,.

.~

. f~~~.$~:)~:J;;.,,' ..•·.i,.;·;~~i.:. .s.)~tO:Hju'dgE(:\VIH~~.tlterthe various governors

.

.

~fi~{r;~~;:"·.i~·k,"."·.}.··,,·.··. ';';Q",'~'-"~".'.~ . .. 'i f ··';· .~ .ilsc~~n~;.()1.,1g·~ . ,· qr .whe'pheithey were····· merely

n~c::~)'~~cf~f~i*lc~iige4q~f#~r,~i~iCietiCY,. (~.g. , .

...;

o

:'~WJ·t·47 ·;'~··XiV

75- cf.a.lso the boa,st

t~:i~c~~~i~~f~4~!';Q~~S~~erbf

ZimtbLim. ..--

. • 1{;.ecorded J:h ARM II 31.)

-,~t.~:~:· "f~J~~'

--

This .oc'Casioil,·

J!

:I-.;~ ~~~<~~:--- <~~; :)":~\;-:'~'J~~-' . '0'.•

-.cV

.

f~_..

C>o~_

~'. __•

~';~ -'.

Iff·,_.l". J1

" .l'_

'Ii.... .':':~'J!:~'" -."

. ·f

. . ,'.

~

" 61

however, reflected genuine credi 1;. upon Yaqqim-Addu.

:In dealing- with,

the 'problem of this breach, he did not ask the king for instructions

.

or extra manpower, but repaired the breach almost before the king knew of its e~istence.· This promptness in dealing with the problem "lends credibility to the occasions upon which he did call. for assis,tance;' these occa,sians were not necessarily efforts to sh>lift' 'his '.

o

,

responsibilities onto others, but ones in ~hich t.he task at hand ~

w~s truly too great for, the resources at his disposal .

.. , 4Maurice ~Biirot, Lettres de Yaqq!m-Addugouverneur dedSagaratum .

,

Librairie orielltaliste PaulGeuthner,1974)~

(ARMT XIV) (Paris:

p. 222, says of 'this term '~Selon lea' dictionaires, kalakkum'desig$rait t~uj0urs

(yoir aussi J .-R.KUPPER,RA 45 [1951] ~ .

une- «excavation»

•

p. 130).

En. fait, Ie mot parait plutot s' appliquer a tout «volume' ·l'

.~

de terre deplace»,que ce soi t dans Ie but:4' ameriager une excavatiort' ou pc:>ur edifier une,le.veede terre~ nasabum <<enleverde la terre» •

,

_

:

.

_

De,la l'expression kalakkam

. I '

'.

'.

~

•

!'l' -

.

employee parKibri~Dagan (III, 5: 32 s . "..

_

'

,-1

~'

~.

'",.

e't 79: 10) et·quirefli~te exactement Ie sumerogramme l5-I.LA de- kala:kkum. De m~e,ii est ditdans notr,e texte que 1a £erre obtenueen- creusant ,0

•.

une excavation sera' entassee.gur (Qu contre) (eli) Ie barrage. " ,'The (.

CAD, Vol'.' 8 ,('-'K")", 62b, raoes hint at the meaning for kalakkulll which ,

.

'

-:.

J-,

.f

Birot assigns to this context. ,

~-

.

~

~

I

5Bir()t, 'ARMT;XIV,

p..

222, discusses the identity of )this weir,' f

·"Erretain sAti, ,designe, semble-t-il, non pas 1 ,.< : > barrage remis en, etat 1p.a~ Yaqqim;-Addu, mais 1~ «grand» , tion' ne:lrentre pas dans

SeS

barrage dorit' la construc-ij

attributions, mais incombe

~elon

lui

a"

. Kibri':"D~g(:m (1. la' et ,16') et a. et~ interromptie ou"'~banci6nnee (1. 1'). "

.

62 Dans ce cas, Ie verbe ka$arum (1. 14') signifierait «construire» plut8t que «consolider»'."

This is probably the correct interpre-

.' tation of this matter; however, it is not certainly so, as the name, of whatever it was that was abandoned has been 'lost. i~

reference

Also,.!f the

to the "great" weir begun but not completed by Kibri-

Dagan (as proposed by Birot), then either the workpf Kibri-Dagan, or the work of Yaqqim-Addu in completing t;he weir (1. 4'), was defec-' tive, since it had already deteriorated (1. 8'). \

In supposing that

'.~

ka~arum means '''to construct" rather than "to strengthen, II' Birot seems

to be overlooking the factthat,Yaqqim-Addu stated he had already worked on th~ weir pr.eviously, and brought it into acceptable condition. ,

,

6Compare these levels.of flooding with a: rise of eight feet in one night at ,Baghdad on the Tigris in 1896, reported byH.Valentine Geere,By Nile and Euphrates (Ed'inburgh:

T. & T. Clark, 1"904), p. 14.

7Birot~'~T XIV ,p. 220,' speculates on what the correct measurement here mighthaye been, "Dne crue de 15 «demi~cannes»(soiten~

-

-

•

-

.

.

•

viron 22·m.)'estevidemment impossible

a

I

-4'

aclmettre.

Ilfaudralt done

"supposerque Ie riikkas peut; designer une autre <<:demi.-unit'e»

que la

demi~canne (parexempie,la demi-coudee, ,qui vautpl,"ecisement 15

«doigts»?) eu enCore que Ie scribe s' estrepr:1s"

a

cornmenc;ant d' abord,

ecrire15 ••• , puis s' est corrige et a ecrit ni-ka~as en negligea~t ..t,

',' d' effacer Ie ~ombre 15." 8Cf. supra, p~' 49. 9 Birot, ."

ARMTXIV, p. 220, makes the statement •that, " Ie

1

s~kerum

'est en realite On <-
~

- 63 n. a s. 136.

However, his translation does not reflect this meaning

of the term, except in the very broad sense that the one who builds \

i

anything presumably knowEr ihowi~,operates.

the context here seems

,

,

to demand a person with the skills to' operate any

mechanis~sattached

to the weirs and/or pikes for the purpose of regulating" the flow of ,

,--

water..

He may also have been in charge of any manual efforts to this

-I

end, such as sandbagging, which would have been expended during the f

critical time of flooding. IOCf •

ARM

XIV 17.

Very likely ,their father was a sluice-man,

and that skill was being handed down in the family;, as suggested, by Birot, ARMTXIV, p'. 220.

The passing down Of an occupation from

father to son was certainly a common practice in'. t1:le ancient 'Near East. ""-

11 Birot, ARMT

XIV, p. 220, says of this term, "Pour sanassunnna

«jusqu' a cette annee»

(c' est-a-dire:

..

;,
,

tenant»), cf.F. R. roRAUS, RA 62 (1968), p.' 78 s.

A la'difference ,

desattisam, quia'une signification .intemporelie«
.sanasstmlma implique, une reference au pass~." 12Birot, ARMT XIV,p. 220', says· tnat this term is unint~lligible. Could it be a geographical place name? ' 13There are(jcc~rrences'of the term atappu iIi which it must mean a major canal, .rather than a small dit"ch a~ the endQ?of the chain. ,

(Cf. CAD, Vol;'l ["A" Pa,rt II], ~83a, and '\485a.)

,

tJ7

However, these are

i)'

not from the Mari archives, nor ev~.n trom the-period of Mari_'s great)1

ne~s,

and" i t is not certain that the rej.erencesare to canal$ in the

territory of Mari.

If atappu in this instance is

to

be taken as

referring, to a major canal; it would be the only.apparent ~uch ;reference

.

64 in the Mari materials., Yet the appeal to the

h~lp

given on the .

~

.

project of the canal ISim-Yabdun-Lim, and the fact of any help from outside the district being necessary at

all~

mitigate against the

normal intetpretCftion of this canal being ,a small field irrigation .~~. : _ i i . \ t .<.~. . ~ ditch. Cf~~Walters,Waterxtor - + - \Larsa, - - - - pp. xix, 16-17, 146-149, for ,

,

.

~

"

-._.-.j.;.;.j

,

-

.

::

'\

discussion of labor r~uj.r~ents for canal bui~ding, ~airftenance, .';

~and

repair.

Also pertinent here is. the fact that CH; paragraph 53, \

,

-

."

~

r

assigns responsibility fJ1=' maintenance offield dit~hes.to individ-

\.

ual'field owners. that it was not 14 Th~ugh

.

Even the fact that this canal was named indicates'

mer~ly

a field ditch.

there are an undetermined number of lines lost in this

letter., and some other. work was also bein~ done at the:'.same tinte, it seems reasonable 'to

as~e that (:~ . '"0,')l' "

Kibri-Dagan wanted help in this task

as well as in the others. " 15 See J .'-R.<

Kupper, tILe canal I ~!m~Iahdup.lim," BiOJ;;: 9( 1952),

168-169.

.'

.

.

\ , 'j

Chapter III

ANIMAL HUSBANDRY

Animals and animal husbandry were an impo.rtant segment of Mari' s. economy.

At least twelve different kinds of animals are mentioned

in the correspondenee of Yaqqim-Addu.

Sheep and cattle were promi...,.

nent among the governor's concerns.

Sheep. It has 'been demonstrated repeatedly that shee:p were of primary. importance .throughout.the historical periods of .the Ancient Near Rowton,2 followed by'Matth~ws,3has-sh{)~ the character of

East. 1

the kin.gdom of Mari asa dimorphic chiefdom.

.Nomadic tribesmen,

_ / ~.

their. livelihood dependent main;J..y upon .sheep an~ goats, are an im,... portant elemept of such a state, as are the urban find village agriil

.

cultt&alists.

,. I

The low average rainfall in the steppelandmade 'the raising of crops afways unpredictable;.

But where sOWIlcrbp~ often failed ,. pas-

ture was nearly always ,available ona seasonal. hasis. 4

lVinters'.ld I .

spring, pasture in, the steppe", coupled with summer pasture in the mountains, made{t poss:f.bie.for nomads~torai.se sheep and goats.

At

~'.

certain seasons,._"'Qf the year the nomad,s,,'came down into the cultivated

, (,)

,

areas' near, the ri'1,ers, to allow :their stock to' graze the stubb.le of the harvested crops. 5 (1'

..

,

..

66

The government of Mari regarded itself as

sov~reign

qver the

nomads within its territory, and exercised its sovereignty as it was able~

The letters of Yaqqim-Addu, as well as those of the o·ther gov-

ernors, reveal considerable involvement in the relations between the pastoralists and the, ·crown. J'

The governor's first responsibility was

to keep the king. informed of, the movements of thenomad& with their

l.

f ~.

,

,...

urn

.'

h~

J.mmeratum-

-ma-a-m~

na-w.a-a-am

v

f sa]fTUR,mes .Ia-mi-na

,J

,.,' 1';,

[i] - rna 1 La-as-q:l"':im i-ka.,..>la~ .

-l?t-i-yu~'Um

ilUp'] - rra'

[I?'

"

.

.

.\

':;

'ma

'_

. '[um-ma] _r~u' -ma

ha

eratum-

v

•

na~wa-a-am sa-a-t~

Rev. [

rti

r.~-na-an-na .... . .."'.' . .a-na wa...·ar-ka..... at . , 15'

f

na'-fwi-i]_rim,6 sa... a-tupa-ra'-si'-i~

·as-J"pu'-'.lr .wa-ar--ka-tam i:-pa-:- rr~"-sli-nim-m~( f

te . 4-ma'-am' ga-am-ra':..am

[a-na] r~e' -er

be-Ii-ria' ",

[a-sa]_rap.'-pa-ra

./11"

,:<: . .'. T;~~sl';tio~: .From my _.; ,-

_~t.:-

.

.

.J'''' ",', ,. ,

"1

I'l"

,.)

/'

>

..

•

,\

'IIi

.

ag~ t;h~~~ieard.. "rh:e: sheep '.

-.:

'-..

' ,

qum." ,,'

I'

en t our

.~

'. of the" rtilwfun [of.] the Yamiriites'are grazing at LaST

. :'"

001

." ...- . _

.,

am.

\

(

r:A:,Ge.rtairtl . ;',0

'i< •

. ·,'he

.' , .

'

'.

~Upra:pean has ,

. >'

"

come ,."t6:.,:nie.; [th.!ls] " . " ' J " '(

,:,

(said)," ,l~h~ sheep of this nawfim [are g'razlng], ,

'.

.

1"

,

'-

"

f'

•

-,

-,

.

67

, and thus their .'. . they will gather."

Now con-

J'

cerning the elucidation of ,the affair of

th~s "

naWfim, I have dispatch~~ (an envoy).

f

(Whe~) they i

~hall

shall have explained the affair to me, I send a full'report '.[ to] my lord.

The nomads, by reason of their nomadism, were not in the same relationship to the. government as the settled population. 7

Still,

the investigat~on of the grazing of t,he Yaminite$' f~ocks was within the power of .the governor.

He ,exercised authority. foi' the king over

the nomads, whom he regarded as his subj ects, whether they regarded themselves as such· or not. Several other letters describe occasions 'upon which the nomads

sionto take their. sheep to the Upper Country because

thepa9t,~re

had run out around Sag~ratum; Yaqqim~Adp,.u ~rote
;' \

>,'

out from Zimri...,.Lini. what course of, action theJ" king. wanted him to tike;tt, .t . ",,' ,. .'

. In ARM III 12, Kibri,..;Pagan reported that the'Suteans had arrived "-

'--.-./:-.'......

"

i!~

occupy'~ the

to

banks of,the Euphrates around

Teiqa~

J:n ARM IIi 58;·

he peportedthatthe men of the Yaminite towns in 'the district had Hisa;epor·t in ARM II 48 indicated an

returned 'to their houses.

uneventful return of the Haneans from thenawum to' their towns, ~

J

-...

•

th0ughhe ..was···~-hav-ingtroubJ,e mustering them for military s~tvice. . .. -. .

. .

-

•

•

-~

-.

.,

.~

-:

io

•

..

,

:1 .

-

.

.

We" see' from these lett.ers that the'interests of the Cr,own were' -,",'j

not continually inimical to those ox thepastoralists.

the king

regarded as his' c.oncern th¢ welfar'eof those nomads who accepted the authority 'of the palace.

Kibri-Dagan reported" in ,A.!.U'1 III .15, a

t

"

68

.~.

threa tened enemy attack on the nawQm~ of the ganeans.

.

He advised

.(

Zimri-Lim to order the nawfun to cross the river in order to forestall an attack. 9

This text supports Rowton's contention that "the nawfun

fonned part of the ruler's domain in just the same way as the towns and villages did. ,,10 Because the king did regard the nomadic encampments as hi.,s own, ,~

he u~ed coercion· to enfor.pe his authority when necessary.

Confron-

tation u~ually occurred when the interests of the king's·urban and villJlge subjects conflicted with those of the pastoralists.

Also,

the ,Jlllflitaryor political considerations. which were uppermost;: in the . . mind

of-, the king often did not seem to t.he • t

nomads;~early as crucial •

-

as the 'care of. th.eir flocks. 11 In the proc-ess bf enforcing the king 's authority, the governors J

acted as' his agents.

An illustration of this occurs in AR}fXIV 86:' ~

.'

.

.

"" .. .aW1 "'l-mes., . sa-ag- b' sa-n1-tam u sa a ....na. .1 I

- ..

-

I-ba-al-p{--El me-er-hu-um .

e-li na-we""e-em~a.be-l:(-ia f·

. ., k '. .·awll. mes ·ki 20 .. 1S- u-nuUp-ra-pa-a-yi .

i-mu-ru-ma

~

"

.

imm.erat:i.ha,_~u-nu

i7'na ..a-bi-ti~ia-ma e~15-lJle:-e-ma:. a-nape-:J;! ~i~>£~-'tap":"ra-am ....

25

... 'I.

,

.

.

mes awIl'e ~aba~za.,.ha-tim '-'.

·tt

-.

a-naege 1 .·';"am 2 ,- b'1-rl..

a-na,~~pi~··~a-ka.;..si"'im a~-pu-ur'-ma" Translation: 1_

-~

Also, those men whom Ibal-pi-El.themerhum 12

69 '

,_ -,t.\' .';

'.:;.>0:'.

appoin~ed

as guards over the nawUm of my lord saw ~

the.Uprapeans; they were driving away, their sheep. 13 \."

,',

ten\"to~¥ny

lord'.

-

.~

I hear~ this, news in ~y entourage, and I have writBesides this, I· dispatched the men

of the ~bazahatu for a distliluce of two leagues'~ to block (their) passe;tge. Yaqqim.,..Addu did not state why the bazahatu were dispatched to prevent the Uprapeans from moving at that time.

Nev~rtheless,

letter is evidence that the government sometimes took steps to vent or change the directiono,f the nomads' movements.

his pre-:,~

Thusthe

. palace of Mari,through its provincial offici,als, became a

signifi~

cant factor'" in the nomads' patterns of transhumance. ~

J

While the major concern of the nomads was the wetfare of their flocks, they were 'not above trying to augment_.

th~ by·raidin~.

_..

.

,Then

the responsibility of the governor bec~me the prot~ction_ of the tar- , '
get flocks from the raieIers.

In ARM VI

58 ,

Bahdi-Lim relayed the"

--

report which he had' received from Merhuttl, . ARM VI 57. . '-' -

'.

..

-..-'

.-.

Thirty Suteans,

.#

who had allowed t;heirown sheep to,peri.sh, were aSsembling to carry out a raid. 'Me.rbu,m ha'd'watned the towns and villages 'of his district; the sijeep and· cattle had been gc;lthered into the fortified locaeions. While the full-time nomads, among the tribalists ~re perhaps the "most visible ~f those 'who included the raising of sheep as one of their economic concerns, neither, Rowton nor Matthews would contend that full-time nomads . were the only/segment of the Mari- population !

owning sheep.

!

Some cif the tribalists were nomadic part .of the ye~r,

agriJcultural part of t'he year; some were fully ,nomadic, some fu',lly

70

agricultural. lation owned shee

--

some among the urban or village non-tribal popu-

0

which they entrusted either to members of their

household, to hir d shepherds or to the care of nomads with

theris ARM' XIV 17.

This letter concerns the

II

ment ,of a fine by Ili-Sakim, the sluice-man., to the 'palace. of the amoun t he

While this episode

could possess lar pa~t

~ay-

One mina

so far raised consisted oi' a flock of thirty

rams and sixty ew

ment;. on the

they

An example of ~uch an owner occurs

had tnade business' arrangements. 11+ in ARM' XIV 2.

who~

~s

evidence th,at non-nomads

it also shows a diff.erent kind of involve- f the governor •

Here the sheep were only incidental

to his purpose, a ceptable currency for thepaym,ent of a fine. Yaqqim-Addu,

sheep in a few other contexts which also ;";

ipdicate their

population as a whole, and J,lot just

to the nomads.

XIV 8-3 recordedYaqqim-Addtr's s,ending before him-

!

')

selr

to

the"vassa~nra"'!iammu

one .sheep and one jar of wine.

This ;was in -the n ture of a welc·om.ing gift to Sura;.,.Hammu, as he had '.

.

'

in the Upper Country.

, just-come from his "are mentioned

-

as

..,

£'

In ARM XIV 11, sheep

of the offering intended fpr ,the god

Amu~of~

which sheep were used, . but inrepor.ts of which

Tihran ...... • they were

lymentioned, was the taking of omens.

Yaqqim-Addu

mentioned'

tters ,ARM XIV 22 and ARM XIV 86, that he had omens

taken, .presum\1>ly

sing sheep's livers.·

Of course, it is well established that ,sheep arid goats were ill!i'

portant fir-stof a l for their wool and'hair, which constituted the

m()s~ imp,ortaI!~ fib r f:Q'" clothing and 'other,;textileotmanufactures'" 15 Mea t,

m'lik' and'

se were'other important products of the flocks.

C>

71 .

~

~

\\

However, the only ref erence to any of these products

i~

the

p~blished

.'.;J,

letters of the governors is 'ARM III 70. clarifica~ion ~oncerning

Kibri-Dagan'was asking for to~s

the responsibility of the Yaminite

to

deliver 300 garmeqts"probably made 'of wool. ,.ll"·.,,, ~.

~

.

Cattle Oxen were the primary draft animals, used in several phases of the agricultural exterprise, and for other types of heavy ha}J1ing.as ~t

welL

.

~

The first ta~k in the 'agrfculturalxear to employ oxen was the

plowing and planting. of the grait'i, as illustrated by

ARM IJ;:I 33: ..

"

,

.

,-'

,

u-wa-e-ra-an-nl. "'.

,

v ' im · .ha.e-re-su-t { ReVe a 1pl.w

10

u~-ta-I?a-ab-ba-at:"'ma

\ awil..... u. sa-ba-am dam.-qa-am

...

a-la-ap-pa-at-m~

J

.~

eqlam rna-Ii ~a be-1:( iq-bu-& i-na ni-i-ia-tim

15

~u

i-ir...ri

Translation:

Secondly~;i~;in accordance with what my lord

instructed me, I' p{lve collected the oxen for seed. ing. \

.

Al,so, lam giving the skilled men a work

assignntEmt.

With teams of oJ$: en they will seed' all

the land of ·whichrny.lord has

spoken~

Yaqqiin:"'Addu similarly recorded, in' ARM XIV 80 , ,hiS responsibilify . for overseeing the use. of oxen belonging to the crown.

It seeij1S prQb-

able that in this case the oxen were contracted for by the tlaneans to

72 help with their planting. 16

Even if tJ1is is true, the' govert).or

. nevertheless was responsi'\,e for releasing the oxen tothetn; and • for seeing that the labor ,greed to by the yaneans in return was /

actually performed. agricu~'tural

The other important task of the

year was the grain

harvest, in which the oxen were u$ed to thresh the grain after it be~n

had

ARM XIV 48 con':',,, ,

cut and b,rought to the thres,hing-floors.

discussion.~onceming whose

tains thlrecorci <;>fa ,.

oxen we·r,e to be

used tQ do the threshing, and asking the king' ,s decision., in' ,the mat-

int~st~ng

ter.

An l hi (aIPu....\) di~cussed

hA

point 'of this letter is that not only .are'"

aBJ

potential draf?t animals for the threshing" but ~

~term which ,when Jsed in thep lural, as it is het"e"

also l§tum"" "

f

designates 'cattle of b'oth sexes and any age. 17' .

()~en

.

,.

,\

~-

Cows and even young

-)"

animals may :have been used ,along w1th oxen in the threshing; since'

."

'''l

~

that did not require training to the yoke, as did ot,heragricul«

...

~

.,

ttiral.wotk. The use of oxen as draft animals fo¥r~other; than a g riCl,l1\'!ra,l tw~

work is illustrated by

letters dealing

'.

ith the

stone-cut~er's

craft .18 . The first",' 'AID-f XlV 26, merely m'entibns that the stone- . .

~

.

.

cutters owned oxen, and t~at it would be detrimental to the welfare 0' ,

of their oxen if . they were required . -,to travel to· Mari, since it was ._. -"~'.,

-~.

..

a diffie-tIlt year'., The second· letter, ARM XIV 28, describes a' pro.... t!

ject on which oxen and."men

wer~

c

employed together.

This proJect was

.

.

the ,JOecuring of· a stone- large. en.bugh.to require two' rafts or barges. f

,

.

'

..' -

[

~.... ,

.

»".

lashed together, and twenty ,men 1;lesidestbe

•

boatmenl~--·to

.

.

transport it.

The governor was charged pers~na~ith oversight of this task. ;

Ami XIV 5 and 6 reveal that it Wap Yaqqim-Addu's duty to fatten

the ox (or bull?) t9 be sacrificed'to an

.

.

unspecif~ed

He had· '",....

deity.

~

,

.

Ii·

'~\,

.

been doing" thi q for several- years; the problem which prompted these" two letters was that this particular year the ox ~hich+wa~'ae~tined .

,

for the sacrifice had beCOme ,sick. •

' . 1

I

'.

.

Yaqqim-Addu was requesting a

.<

!...

•

..

<,'

1- :~.

t

·1

,

..

'\

'

:i':

.•.

- ".

~:

boat for fast transportation, and a butcher to 'superVise and tr~at .

~

-.

.

).

. .

~~ ~..

"

'"

.

,

.~

a point

the animal so that it~ conditi'on would ~dt deterior:~te to which would render it ,unfit . for the sacxifice. 1

...•

.-

,

- , ~

.

~.

·..... l

\

One ,aspect ,of the care of cattle is treated in ARM XIV

.

·~l

~ettet

This

,r'

is a discussion

by Yaq9im-Addu,of . -;

·,1

. ii

'II:

•

',,"

wh~thetthe,

~

_

•

cattle ought! to . .

,-

l~

•

~

•

, , '

.

-

~

be allowed to golf'azethe stubbl~ .,of ,the banKr__ ,of. the .!!abur, or whe~her ~.,

,the~

'"

.

.

oughttosr'aze instead in the pasture.

J'

It ,appears" that Yaqqim-.

,

Addu favored 1:l?ving . the cattle graze on the pasture, rather than .a": "-'.

..

....,~.

\,

~

~~

.10ng\\"the ".Bab~r. . He ,advised the kin~ that if· they wAre to graz~ a~~:mg :~

·the.Babur, a rabi Amurtim qugllt t,o be . , ':,'

\ -

:~.

ta;'¥\ officer, ..

',> .

- . - "At.

.'

rJ"

.

"

appointe~.

'Y'aq\qim-Add~:'s 'c'onck~nf may,

i

"'"

As, this'

~asa'

.

mil:i;7-' .' "

hJ:ve'been';:'tha't there would

J ..

be inqdequatesecurity. for ,the cattle if they fJrazed along 'the Habur'" , . '\.

-

.,

;

•.

,

.~

"

.ol&

without: more men towat'ch' them' than

,-

;

h~had

'1'

t

-f.~'

"-;,-

'

.~

'\

~

ava-ilable. 19

This'letter underscores, tho'ugh in an, incfdental'fashion,on'e :,

~;

1"1

, of. thevalu~bi'e contributions of several species of dome~t4 ariimals .. .... -

•

to the economy ".ofMari.

-.,

_

Allowing cattle

and~'

...,..

_

---

_.~.

J

'

;/-?

sheep to graze in J:he •

..

-

'.

4

'04

"

fields afte,r" the harvest· provided for t\1e rest.orat:ion of lost ~rtutri- .

,

en~s·,to the soil 'by' t.t+edeposition of animal wastes. \ }

-J

..

!-1ll1ike Ithe Nile ,did potdep9sitan,

.

As the Euphrates,' . :

'

'

annua~

lay'er 'of rich. s'ilt on the ~ ..... . f:t~.l!ds, this anima!" f ertilizerwas of cc!hside"r.<;tble'impo-rtance' l~. sus';;' ....... '

, j ' , ,

"

.'

J{:*"

l '

..,."

' . :

.

taining the vitality and productiv~"capacitydf the soil1,

•

'~

.... .:. .~

'.. . ~ t'; \' . ~

,i'

Q~:' ~~;

','

•

:~.. ;'

d

" ,

....

.

..'

~

..

(

j

'

.

'

;i.nd.icated," in; another way both· the =4np.o,rtap.~e, of , . ,

"

:t,~'

<:)

I.

......

~.,

..

,<"~~"

9 ,\

C'

If)'! "

,

..

0

0

0

oxen tb the economy apd-t'he\t"governor' s respbn~ibility' 'to' oversee

'I. ','.

0,

{>

,

',Kibr~-Dagan "

~

.

~

,.'f'I

. .74.

.

.

.

?-'-,o

~

"

,-9

~..

\"

!(J

\

•,.,

s< ". their °fp"

i:I"

.-' i

',..

.. ':'..

):~:

f

r

\.,..'

"'.~ ,,:.,~

.

.

wellbeing.", TpARM .111 61" he reported. an epidemic ,in.aneof· ~

it'

·~h~~towns . "9fJli~s'~ distri~t.

'

'.

'"

•

;

.'.

.'

:. ,

. F

'

"

.0 " .

.

\

r:po'~t incI~ded\ the

His

\.' .

. . 0,

"

I.

"

t:ha'tt~e

fact

J

"\,

0

'

, i~P :i.,demi(!·~had' st1;"uckttJ1e oxen' as well as the' peop\~e '0£ thet()Wn; , 0

. .~, .~. . ~ Y"'4::';

~.

"

,

:'.

;1 :~. "

.:4

Q

• ./ .

,....

,..0 ,

•

~"

. ",

<

.

,;

T.

I

",'

...-

\

~

'

. Other' Domestic An:imals

~

[1--',

"

",,' . . . . ,:'.' Severalother~6mesticated .~.

"":>

"

~ ~

' I

'<~t~e~s.

,. f

•.

;":,."

.'-".

,II _ ' , " ,

.

Ii

",4

"

\;!: •. ,

~:"-

.'

(ll

:- ',.:

'i,~

•

".

\:.,

(

..

i ••

.

,

I-

consi,d~e'impo~t~nc"wa",:.·· ',.'1

Cl

" ,.~,,' ,,':.' {..... ,'' :' ,:, .'.,'

:'.'

ARM XIV 51: 4-9 ,concerns a man .;lccused of· stealing ,.slave:s

--;-r

-"

"'\..,

;'

."'

ani~als:' are m·ertti·o.ne4 . iIi Yaqqim~Ad4u'.s

O( thes,e .the only. spec:ieso(·

. " the"'-dGnkeyo'

'v'~' d.!'J.:~,o.. '

.

:(j

"

, ..

.

.,

:

'.,. " ,

.

'~'

j

".

~-~ 'I'

~_

•

'. '

"

.

i '.

0

\"'"

/.

. .,,~·.
\<

c"

,,,,,,-

;;7. f~ ',¥,:~,:~/'

' .

"':-i-

.

G

'

.•

.

.'.

"

-

"\'.'

; , ,'.'

!"" .

. c1bded ina juAfci~T process. which ~nvoiye9 not' only::t~~g9y·~tr.tdl:'>....'

04".

.4·'

,.

.

•

"

.

·:.l'. .

-

.~,

'f

#

'.

':

":',ij,~~~ . '

"j'.

".,,;,

•

~

:)::';"\.'

/.

".:.

""

'

" "

•

. .1:~:\\1>lit ~n ~which tne accused ~?p'pealed to the' kirig.·<~i~sell_.2~..o,Y4gqo:un.,,:"Acl4u

···'T·:·. "

.;'

. ' .. '.

(~~

..'0

'(0,

."

>'>':..

...•.••

•

'\.

... : . '

':

•.

. 'alsq, recorded the delivery of . six·:,$acrific:ia;l.. d:onkeye ·io\Allli:X:t.V, 123... ' t~o '. ,.'

. "

. \~~~,~, ',' ~".'

. .

-.: ...... ,~; ," .:' >"f~:," ",'--'"

,'.

',,'r"

,.

/'.'

.

"," ',.' '

"

Typifyin.'g- their ',rolects the", dommon~ -beast of> ·burden i:siAR:M XIV 26. '

.<

..; "

S!,.;

,~",',~'"

-'..

,',~;

,;,

"

... " , - ' " ,

"'.,~".,.

'

,~~.;,'

...'".'&1

"

q .

"

;

••

'"

',,",

, , '

/\"~

" . ,. ., , : ; ,

',:'

,

t",

\'.'.',

':

:",

~'In~hi:s~let-t:-et~'. ~aq<J4ni~Addu7e.-la*~d;ct-h~onc~.rn·o.i'_:·t~.e,,-:13.t?n.~=$.14,t'te'["~~~~c_' •"

,

·~;r .~.

~

• ....,

. ',"', .

the

.

•

. .' . '

"

..t ' "

" i . · . . . ....' ':

'.

.

, \ •. .',~

".

~'.'

w~~~a~~ of \th~ir· o"~"~f\d 'dqnk~ys,;;f(ti)e~i,~gqUl~ b~\t bmPtued

'to' unClert~ke a' jburti6ey,td:Mari ....: J>onkeys wer~ aSil~¢¢ssary fbr the '.' ',', . " ' " . , '''-''-'.' . ': :

."

.~, O~'Q'

.

'~',,_'"

.

_. 6;~"'"

~.

.~",;,

J;~;/:.

i'

\

. carryil;lg o(,thesmalle.r: prodtlets o·~ . ',tihe. ston,e-~utt~r:¢:'" ~i:'~ft~swere

.

b ....

'0

~.

~

''t)".~.

",..-,

"'",0,

....

'~.

".

f)

' •. ;:

v

""

. oxen.f or·1:lai.l~ing'.the larg erprodud'ts. 01,

" " . II-

I

.'~

.,'

-

"

•

"."'0'

, .

, .~

..

\

,\

,

/

Another let ter'j ~:ARMXIV36;"·'~I\'~nt.i6ns th(:it . the Cilonkeys carrying

.•,.

.,~. ,-.- , , ,

..

, .'

.

n.

" \ ' '. : ' \

"

',;;'

.' the', unsp.ecified·effectsof a Yamhadianm~B~engerl.l~d arriv'ed ahefld ,

~

.

'.

-

"'~'-

.

.*

~

'.

.

':

0

of him a't Dur,;..Yahdun-L-im~ That donkeys carried not ()'nly goods but ••

c"

•

...

'):

,

"

'.

4

'.

,t

......

, people is'i'liustratecl

• • I

@

o.

,.. ' ,- .

by ... y

' ~

"

,

'

,

ARM XIV.7S·;m wh.ich Ya.qqim..,Ad
'. '.

~.

J.,.

, '

' . ,.•

the{\C1'tteniptecl' dei¥ert.!on oia Yambadian. 'soldier 15~takin.g a donkey, .

'.~'

"'to ride "Clown I"

-

tl~~:valley route" . ~i.17). t' .a,

-.

- .. ~

'

0

~

0

J.• .

"~.

. 75 The horse ,whq.le domesticated by this~-t im'e" was not utilized to \

its full potential.

t~at

Its economic importance to'Mari was not nearly , ,.

cat;~le\ or th~

of sneep,

donkey.

The oniy use for

hors~ w~i-ch

.

,

cO}lld be, d;d~ced from Ya.qqim..-Addu' S cor7:~pondence was to pull char~

'~~I

•

iots of warJ' Hementioned'chariots'in several of his letters,

in~'

eluding ARM XIV 40. . :1;

,

..

Thpugh riot fully exploited economically, the "horse· was' highly ,

valued'. , ARM V the~

during

26,

,a letter' fr9Ul I~bi~Adad of Qa tanum 'to I~me-riagan

Assyrianihterregnum at Mari, indicates the value\1·of two J

horses as 600 shekels of silver.

Though YaqqJ.m-Addu did not mention.

its 'value"", :.in ARM XIV 98 herepo~ted that the c~issioner of Ibal-El: the !Derhum,had brought back 'a white' horse from the Upper Country. '\

•

The most noteworthy reference to horses in the Mari .

-

!.'

.

~

-

.

. ' \ . ,

.

~rchiv~ -

f

re-'

.

mains the famous admonittion of Babdi-Lim thatZ!mri':"i.im ought not to ride a horse, ,ARM VI 76. a

~

It has often be~n poin'tedout that thi~ pas-

,'f'" ".

Q.

. Sqg~ 1.S piyotal for. our uncfeistanding of both the political re~lities -

-,..

-

•

I

~. ~

of the kingd~in of Mari .and the social startding,of'thehorse at this ,<3 C1

time. 21

Of equal 'import~nce i, . .;

1.8 the reVelation of Zimri';"Lim ,·s char,-'

..

- -,

~

acterCind the~ rel8;tionshiBl1~allowedwith his governors.. Tqe ton.e ·a

" o~ . tliis asiyice indicates. t,hi;lt he . wa.s . approacJ1abl~and receptive of ... 'the governors ' counsel., Such ana.vfitude undoubtedly made it much •

''&

.' ea:sier·forth~ to .di.scharg~· their r"esponsibilities' than it would ./

been otherYifse,. .. / .. . ~" . J'" .. . Yaqqini-Addu' S tworeferenc~s t'o dogs indicate that they were '

.

accorded. a'0de: ,range bftreatm,ent •. "In ARM XIV'39 he .reported that Il

he had sent to. Ma;rieight.dogs, probably hunting hounds for the royal .:>1

,

kennel. One bitch, about 'which the king had inquired, had died. .. il The other end of the spectrum with regard to ,d~gs is revealed in -'

ARM II 106.:

This letter records Yaqqim-Addu's efforts to preserve

alive! a 'lion captured in a barn in B~t-Akkaka. MiJThe townspeople had >

given it a dog and a pig to . "eat , bo~h of whi,ch'it had refused. of~red

a,pig and a (mQpgrel) dog would be their

That

'

,

to the lion indicates

re~atively low, value for the eCbnomy of Mari. 'Ii

Wi1dAnimals t,

I

~.£>

Wild animals are not, 'st:rictlY,tspeaking, in,clud~d within th~ , c

husb~ndry.

limits of anima;l

t~et

However,

did provide a;

centage of the 'animal food cons1.}med at Mari.

smC1~l

"per-

Zimri-Lim's attention . . fO . !:i

to the procur;i.ng of meat for his royal larder is well illustrated' o

<

:i;,n the cotrespqndenc~ of Yaqqim--Addu.

The hunting of getzelles is ,discussed in ,,'ARM XIV '38. Ii While the 1

'

,

middi'eBectio'n of the letterifl not well pres,erved, the mess:age is .

. , .

I:

cH~~ar; Zimr:i...,Linf was getting impatient ,but Yaqqirn':"Addu' finq.'rly was ,

A.

__

_

_

•

_

~

,

I

able to a~sur,ehim that the gazelle:,filets ;he hadoidered,were on :£j.

\

.

The problem lay in ''1;he' del~yecl, arrival', of the professional

tIle way.

(marime~' mo1T\a~ire).~" , Thesl~ere tri~n0employeda~p,arentlY

hunter: •

C'

"full-tim~

.

.

•

-

~

-. . . .

..

tabl~'.22'

to hunt' game for{::'theking' s

'

.

"

III this case

'some~

G,

~'.

-

,

thing nadhappelted to: qel,ay their' arrival,at:: Sagaratum for the im;'" .

1C'

.

.

pending hunt~,Zi~f:i';"Lim~~parenilYWaSn~~ aware of the delay~ and •

, . . . .

,,-.'

'.

>.

,

•

'

wrote' to inquire the reason for Yaqqim":'Addu' slackof response to his '.:'

.

.',

.

.

~.

.

,

t'

requisition for gazelle filets. •

J

<

fJ

.

...

.

,

-'

-

-

.

.

This :t.ette'r isa,re~on Yaqqim•

'<

.

Addu' S pr.og~e~s{n fulfill,in'g the king's command';'

.'

.

"r/J"

"

The' uTsency

., r

~

which the mission 'ha,d ,taken on is illtistratedby the ,fact.~~,hat -when .:-

'

77

."

..

one hunter arrived, iaqqim-Addu dispatched him by boat - 'thus assuring extra speed in travel - to the area of the hunt, without waiting f or the rest of the hunters to arrive. 23 , 11 t '

A species of bird, probably either a dove or a pigeon, 'was ~lso 'hunted for the king's' table. "Two of Yaqgim-Addu's letters mention th;i.s bird; one is ,AIU.1 XIV 41. •

L.I.,-

,

Zimri-Lim had written to ask whether

,--

dov~s24 were available.

The governor checked wi~h his hunters., .

Upon ~learning that there were birds in" the' area, ·he' r~piied, urging the king to send more hunters, so thae a successful hunt could be [;0.

'organized.

While., the' gazelle an"d the dove are the only species, v

".

Yaqqim-Addu referred to, it is certain thqt the professional hunters ,did take other game.

"

,

Another animal, a ~tag of one of the deer species, was taken under unusual circumstances, as recorded in.}.RM XIV 86: " I " r " '..,;erbe..,.l1.-ia , " u , --urn tup-p1. an-ne-em a-nase '4 ' " .. ' ,

b' 1.'1'"am" ',uK ' - "S1., r,1.p-r1.-J.lll ." ....sa-anmar

5

1 'I u-sa~

'I,'

L

"'1 Kar- t'k'a-rn1. ,;, -1.S , .. ki'r'.drS'l aWl. ' amas-re -'di .

7

.".'

'.

, v . "sa b e-'1' 1.";"1.a, I , u\: ',. I' awi " '1, ,'tap-pu-su

<-

' ·t·

~.

-is

.. '

~'I~-t'l"

'.

1.

~ ~

'is-:tuKar-rka--ini' ki aina se-er _ i;'i'- ,"';ft,· " , ", , "7 f' , 'i:"j· J . , "awIl.mes't I ,,,, 'ki, , be-l1.-.-ia ,i-la-ku-n.ini 4', '0',Up-ra:-p1.-a--yu' , '. .,..} .

, i

,,'1'7

.

f-nahu'-mtl"'s:l':"im~a ..... .... I! 'a-i~-lim

10

.

;

~

"ri

,,,']'h' ; i {'X'} I t"1. '" ,[: 1.8 ,- "c,tu-su-uUl

.....

-. •

';-

•• '

-"rna

"

. [Il.'d1 .•~,'., ,

Tr.

, d" Oc\awil '., " ., , samas-re... , 1. u ", \ tap-:,~a-su

Kar":"~mi{X}-i~lX

i-du-kuuawn , , u-se-e .

'-

'

em '.n'.'

.

I

t'

:"~a ~-t.rIlam '~a-a-ti a-na se-er 15 ' a~rnu~~ril,j . '1.': (

_J,.- - , .

'f'

Rev.

r

1'1'

.•

",',~"

..

,, ,,

.

,'1',

ry ,

be~ l~'~iaat-ta~ar-da-assu , I

. I 'j

,

.•

,

,

,p

~

'\C

'",

.

,",

': .~

.

,

78 '

Translation:

The day I :sent this tablet to my lord, v

.'

Kusan, a m~ssenger of Catkemish,\Sama~-redi, and his companion, (subjects) of my •

.'

-

Itriq, w~re going '*'·""'-1

....J .• ,

from Carkemish to my lord. , Four Uprapeans, in ~

. '

skinning .a deer, .attacked them.

~

They killed Samas-

redi and his companion, but the man QfCarkemish escaped.

Now"l I have sent this man to my lord. .

It appears that thethFee men travelling on official busirles's surprised the four Uprape~?s.

l.!ndoubtedly they wou:ld have killed

the man from Carkem.f.sh,.- too, if he had not bee~ 'toq fast fOJ;" them,' ,

..

/':

.

. I

,... .

,-f~;

.

'

since ·t,hey wanted to avoid leaving. any witnesses to 'their crime • . 1

Q

~"

TheUprapeans were. a group of nomads, and the nomadic groups

which inhabited or traversed the Mari kingdom seem to have based the ,

'deg'ree' of th~ir·complia~ce with Zimri-Lim' s' regulations upon the de"

g·r~e ofr~sp~ct

with which they viewed his enforcement agencies, ,

.

.

mainly the soldiers, the various commissioners, and the' bazabatu tmits. 25 : ,;

~ ."j_t

.

~Poachitlg incidents of tbi~ ~ind probably occurred on a regular basi's, ,

.

.

. . . . d.

.

and a'majority6ftl1E~m pr'~bablywent1unde(ected, given ,the nature of the countryside.ang the·riskstaken bygoverrunentpersonnel in traveling through it ·without"ben,efitof. armed escort~ as evidenced by' this, tablet. '.

, 4

'This same tablet,AR~XIV 86, records the gathering of a delicacy ."

!

by. government ag~nts,whoh~ppeneduponit:·

'.

.

2· 5

,,\',

.

....

.... l ...mes·

'!UaW1e

"

.."b" .

"

'"

\I.

.

' .

. . "h . i

sa .a- Za'" a- tm '-.

'

~

a"'na. eqel2-arif' bi':"ri· " '~.'

~

~.

a-na~~~iIll .n;:"Ra:si:"'im' a§-pu-ur.-~a '..', .

.

~

•

t

'.'

.

_

u

o

2 pe-li-i ~a lu-ur- r mil ~im i-rmu' -ru.7nim ' >

, 1:].-].. a-nu-um-mape-

Tr.

v

-

f

•

""

•

su~nu-t].

a-na be-If-ia u~-ta-bi-lam

., }

,.

Translation:

;

~

....

I

l

/'

~" 10

I .

Also, the men..··of the bai'ahatu I dispatched "

,

.

,

for a distance of two l~a$u)es to block 'pass'qge .. T1)ey found two ostrich

\

~ggs. f:

,

eggs, to my lord.

')'

'"

'

The baZ'~batu~resumablY w;r,e ~~de~ "stilnd:l.pg orders to bring ip

"

"

./'

'any usable c01IIl1ltldit.y/which 'they encountered. t' .~~ . . . ..' . ~, . ~_' . . . if' - .

,J

This type of exploitflI

I

~;.i

'\

'

~ tion, together' with hun.ting of the ,adults, )h~lped to·xeduce the range

,.

r·

·of the ostrich .and: eventually t'o' eiimi~a,te' it,from'it~ range ~nthe 'Undouqtedly, the reason for th~ meni:'ion of ostrich eggs

,Near East,.

•

'\;,'

,co;

• _.

l~'

: ' - .

r~'

.

in a tablet otherwise devotegto', more wej,g,l;1ty ~att\erswas to i,nsur~ that they arrived at -the palace' laMar!:. . .

as

acted also ,

.

~

In this way~', the, tablet .'

a, receipt to' inslq::ce the integrity of the ytessenger ,

,

carrying the: commodity." ,!

...)

..

" ,

r

, Locusts/ appear~ to h~\Te' been 'a., deiicacy favored by the king .. ,

Ki~ri~D~gan,(ARM,III

Both

'62) arid''yaqqim-1\dd~_(ARMII l07):reportecJ.

hisl:~t:e~ .g;ibri':'i)agannoted

. 'sending them t aMari-In

.-....

•

•

~

J _ · .

1

that

h!,~,.fuid'~\

,." .• < ' " ' . ,

.

_

"

- _'.

,,'

sent, as ma,ny :as, hi,S people .had been able to<;:apttt,re~ . ;;

,".:'

'Three-ofyaqqim..,Aqclu.'slett'ers ~ deal 'tolfthliQilS;: they present'

~ ,~_ ,~:;-_._'"_ ..__ .,-.:;~ ••,

_.-..-...... ..:-. - .._."..

;,

.

,_...

. ' . .'''

~;f'j

·"!t,:r·... ." .

,some. intet:'~stirig 'aspects •

Al,l thre¢'arer~th~rlergthy,and' all, ...

-

",0_,••,

-.

,dealexcltist~~ly. wit~ the: pr~.b~elll·bf ~4e lio.ll:.' Whf~hhad .made"its

T;

.;:~.

',J -.'

..

. '~pea~an~e~. ARM:xt~\2,:?~a}s. w'lthtwq ,1ion~:<,:.:Ln.,eac~,.{nstance-Yaqqim-.

Adduw~s no.tified,~xicl:inuiledi~telyt~ok perso~~',(charg~, 'indi'cat±ng' 'f..;...:.... . .. : -.-. -~.'~.

II

9he

'.

r;

,_,

\:

-

..

-

I-

. ".

high priority a,

... .

'~i"

:-...

~.

..liou'hgd ".

If . possible, lions.}'iere-

'/j '-

t

'1'.

-.-.

(

•

'1'

.

80 ,

transport~d

a.t~ ~e~

only,,~ II

alive, to Mari;

thi~.

to dp

I_ '

" I"

I

•

M

r7c~rds_,8\

106

successful

; ,"

ARM XIV 1 confirms t,hat' it was forbidden for anyone to kill or . ) o'therwis~

Lines 23-24,'of t·his· let-ter are the

interfere with' a lion.

~

'. c,~pening ."---

,

,

"

.

~)

\It.

.

'

't

.

line of iii: royal decree against molestation of lions, "If '

'

.~.

The iest' or'. the l decree did

that iion--aayone has touched • .., ."

~.". '~no()tf"~n:'.e.ed,to be q~~te.d, as the ~".

ident~fied it.

opening line

However,·

....

Yaqqim-Ad4u still~lt it ne~essary to remain with the lion at leas~ .for" t~e first, day: 'aft,er, ,

~ts

'i~~ure ,the compliance

capture' to

"'''''~''

"

of 'the

-

I,

villagers with the'l'loy,al ,¢dict,; .

l

2 records 'th~cCJ:Pture of the third ''iion in., Bit~Akk,aka:. '

xiv

ARM

__

.

.

...."

I;.

,

,

}

It

_

l

_

/"' _",

_.

had.1:>ee~ 'St:~a~,ing .

..

~

,:.

-

.-

.

",

.

,

~

,

#

_

.

_

"

.;

'.

.

.

_,

_

•

sheep f.r.om the fold of. one yabdu-Anii, so ,he dug .

.'

",

.a pit intowhicn it~ fell.· Habdu-Anlf·.s, shepherds fired the pit and,~ ~~!i..->'tr:;I..·'

;1'

~..~;

-',t'

~1 ~

.,~

.!-

subsequentlY~'died YaqqilIl-Addu did not. 'say "., . -! ',' : )". . . . ,:.,"

. ft, maimed the lIorl;,whether .' • . . .

" . ,in\:,thi,~ ~lett,er:, '. th~uih 'of coursJe ,'~ha't is to be pre~~med. "

g ..

-I.

I

~

~. ;-.~

•

,,/

...

.

,

• -t-..

. . In 'coptrast' w:Lth,the incident'tecorded in ~',xiv I, tlt~ g?Vern6r' ,)

f~" ~.

'J.

J

•

:

'" '._

_ .

-

;;. .

._ \

-_'

d~oes, 1l9t',.appear~0 have:"been,Ul4chconcerned with this lion,'s demise.

.

..-

'

,

;'.-.

"..

."

'.-

".

' . 'Th~·'di£ferencewoJ..ild~1,seem~)to be ' e~p"lained by the' fae't that this, lion

.

.'

_..

. t

-:~_fl;.

.

t·

,I

."

'(.~

.

•

6f ,theunderpinnirtgs

ha,d b ~en, f5i:eal~pg ,sl1e~p, one . J

~-

t' ~

~

Noteta.>t,~" ~f£(~'rt the'ld~gi h~n tinj!

;.

,

otthe Mari economy'~

"

opportunity ,cpuld that

be.~oler-

'Sited. r,Con,tpa1;'~,this1witn.:'CH266 and 267" which as.sessthe loss of-' .

!

.

''. '. '

,~(;,'~ , I. '_ .. ' .,' -, . _ . ' ~ livestock ';in th'~ 'fqJ.d.~~~'· If t~e herds~an 'tifls ~t fault in letting the J

'

,

;.

•

'

1"

.

.~}~~ i'I~

.' ''1:'

t ·

.'

~

./

'.

'

~..

>

• 'I

•

lion in; l;1e inade:gqodlhe' ldss;lf not: ,the own~r l!Qre it~ .'

.<, ,:' .';,," . :'~",.,'

:"~~;., :', , An.other'Tic>n,.: ~ls " i~p-orted in ARM XIV 2'"; had ' r~centilY .begun to .

~.J"

\

,

. . . s

.

~

J

,

'.

"

-

«.

:.

-. -

.

j

at t'ack''-childien, 'k~1;L:t9 ."./

at,tack'ev'en 'j.

. L

.,' ", ',':

.

.." ' . ' : '

.

It finally 'had- g'rown SQ,bolda: s ,to

four.

'so"ldie~~l:' raher:thatrrunriing ,when' 'sig11ted.2~ ._"~' .J._:.~".: "'. . .

0

._~.

.

..t

,.

.. j

, j

.

.~

-

.,\ -

.-

..

"

."

~:-,.

" ~

In view of.

•

81 - the fact that Yaqqim-Addu did not ask I'd};. Jmy kind of assistance, it is p.r<;>bable that he was mer~ly reporting to" the king the state of , affairs ,feeling that he would be able to capture this lion. too with the manpower h~ had available •

.... Summary

dJ~lings.ith the nomads and their ~.ive":

As indicated bY;, the.ir

stock, the governors were directly responsible for their welfare.·':!f' ~~.

i · .:-'

the nomads were' not hostile to the' crown.

~"~-I

If they ~ere ho~ti~e~ they

were, ,regarded as being, :in~'rebelliori'~'a~dthe governors had responsi~:

.

.

"

'."'

i

'~n

bilities

helping too, subdue them, and to protect the rest of the

!

i

populati:on, both nomadic and sedentary, from them.

While the sedentary

populatiop ~lso'kept sheep, the governors were not as directly J,nvolved

The [crown owned oxen, and the governors were responsible for .

:

~

,their utilizat;ion, most often ip.various phases of' graih cultivation. .

"

. .

':'"

The .,locatipn,timing, an<;l protection 'of grazing- stock was a 'concern !. .

of th.e,.gqvernprs. . Other. d011?-estic animals did, not,4emand theiratteh.

f/",

"'::--,1'

' .'.

'

tiQn to the /degre'e that sheep and ,cattle did .

~ art a,n';>j d r 'Wild anima Is, a,S

. Tile:

.L./ . '

~1

-.

. I";' -., •

.

-",.

,~

'."

'

food was minimal. .

i

They. wEire

1

I

preset~,if'" asmuch~.as practicabl~" for the king~' stable, .to· be enj oyed ;

i

.

f

-~

I·

.

>,

there ~s ,r deli~acies. i

{ r .

Thegovernors.we.re. involv~d in ·obtaining'.them

~

!

i

~

.. 1

and fop:-w4rdingthem; they could be9bt~lined'by design or by fortunate .

.

circum~t4t;lce. ,

.

_:"

Lions' were a ,special case.

YaqqimrAddu took. personal :charge -~

to Mar,!, aliv.e. '.

."",

.

,.-

,

,,

of

When lions were captured,

them in an effort to 'get 'th$n: fT

,

. Chapter III

,. ,

>

NOTES

'" 1Cf. tJ:le remarks of Dorothy Cross, Movable Property in the Nuzi

Documents (New Haven:

American Oriental"Society, 1937), pp .. 28-29.

2Rowton has published a series of articles dealing with the In thes~

dimorphic structure of the Old Babylonian civilization.

articles he has' focused especially on the evidence provided by the

.

Mari archives, and has drawn· compa~ison~ with the sheep nomaqs of ,

.

.

Southwestern Asia of recent centuries.

This series of articles in.,

cludes'thefbllowing:

M. B.Rowton, "Autonomy and·Nomadism in \a1est-

erp Asia," Or. 42 (1973),. 247-258;M. B.Rowton, "Dimorphic Structure and the Tribal Elite,"Studia InstitutiAnthropos 28 (1976), 219-257; M~

B.'R9wton, "Dimorphic Structure and Top o-log y, " QrAn 15 (197,6;)", .

~

.. .

'.~:!'p

. rr;

,r!

17-31; H. B., Rowton,"EnclosedNomadj,:sm," JESHO 17 (1974t,), 1,3;0; and M.B. Rowton, "Urban Autonomy in ,a Nomadic' Environmeri.t-~u JNES. 32 (1973), 201-215. : Rowton amplified and modii-ied J • .-;R',·Kupper, L~s,

,

,

i-· 'i

Nomades en Mesoeotamie au temps des roil:? de Mari :(Paris:"SociEtte d' Edition Les Belles Le~tres, 1957).

..

3Victor H. Matthews ,PastoralNomadi$m 1830-1760 B.C.) (Cambridge:

in.

..

. ,i\ ...

-

l

-. .;..

-I

"

1978), has applied anthropologicall"..'principles a,na the' work,of R~wton , to'the Maritexts in 'the first. comprehensive study tovi'ew'.the' Mari"

.

.

' . ; j " ,

"

'.

•I

the Mari Kingdotn·(~'il.

Ameri~anSchools'of Oriental' R'eSeali"Ch , ' . J . '

82

..

•

b

•

;}"I

-'

..

\

11

-;f,

83 pastoralists in a realistic light, avoiding the romanticized image . '

'

\

drawn by ,(false) analogy from the

c~el

~

.

nomads of the Arabian desert. ,

4Matthews, Pastoral Nomadism, p. 44.

M. B. Rowton, "Dimorphic

Structure and Topology," pp. 20-22, is another important discussion of this point. 5M~ B. Rowton, "Enclosed Nomadism," pp. 3-4.·

." 6This reading is uncertaiIh

Also possible is r t e' - [mi]- rim', "re-

.

,port."

.

See Maurice Birot, Lettres de Yaqqim-Addugouverneur de Sagaratum

(ARMT XIV) (Paris:

Librai-rieor.ienta1iste Paul" Geuthner, ,1974), p. 235. '\

7Cf. Rowton,"Enc1osedNomadism," pp. 27-28. .

I

.'

.

.

•

aT-he best 9-iscussion of the meaning of nawfim is Rowton, "Enclosed i

Noni,adism," pp. 18-21; he builds on the study of D., O. ·Edzard, "A1t" babylonisch. nawfim," ZA 53· (1959), 168-173/" . 9Cf. CAD, Vol. 1, Part 1 ("A"), l70a .. 10 Rowton, "Enclosed Nomadism," p.24.

Rowton's dfscussion, pp.

22-29, is very useful. ·11 It must be admitted that this is something of an oyersilnpli- ,

fication.

'Other factors are involv~d, such as the fa.ct that some of .• .

.

the tribalists regarded,the~selves as Zimri-Limis subjects, while others did not; some of the tribalists wel::e nomadic, while others were not; sometimes

Zimri~Lim

was in a position to impose his will Rowton,.,~"Dimorphic Strut-

'upon the tribalists; .sometimes he was not.

.

ture and Topo].ogy, II pp'. ~27-28, discusses the fact that . there were

.

,,'

\

"au tonomou,s tribal town.s, which stood outside the re'alm of the cen-'" .

-~.;.

~-

....

tralized bureaucracy~," but which rece'ived 1tft1e if' a~y' 11ienti~~ in the cuneiform sources.

For an exp1anC!tion of' this' fact, s'ee Rmvton, ;I

"Dimorphic Structure

nd the Tribal Elite," especially pp. 246-249.

Nevertheless, the 'pic ure sketthecf" above remains, in general terms, accurately drawn. 12The merbum was the primary official liaison between the government and the pastoral tribalists.

"

pp. 136-139. ..

•

See Matthews, Pastoral Nomadism, "

'

''i:.

13 This line coul

also be rendered, "They attacked .. their sheep."

The grammar"' would' then allow f9r the g'llard~ to have been attacking ,i

t'r

the Uprapeans 'Qr vice

ersa.

However, the context of the letter does

not, support the former alternative; neither does th~' syntax of the passage support the la ter. have done.

Matthews,.

\

Thul?, it seems best to render" it as ~.,e

astoral Nomadism, p. 136, agrees with our

rendering. '

14 See the discussi n oL,Matthews, Pastoral Nomadistn, pp'. 101-103. For 'an example ot herd! g contracts, outside of Mari but still within

.

the Old Babylonian Peri d, 'see also J. N. Postgate (with a eontribu..... tioll by S. Payne), "Some Old Babylonian Shepherds and Their Flocks," JSS 20(1975),"1-l5~ 15Mar i hJda signif' cant, textile industry.

See fc)];, example,

' '-...

ARM X 126. I6See translat:i.onan . discussion of this text supra, pp.~ li-18. I/CAD , Vol. 9 ("L"),

\

18These let tersare d .~

infra, pp.

.

19 For a slightly cliff

the rabi Amurrim,

90-91~

158-159 .

ent interprefation of the proposed role of

se~ Viet)

H. Matthews, "The

in the Mari King"dam," JNES

Ro1e~ of

the Rabi Arimrr'im

(1979)" 132.

\

..

85 WCf. CH 7, which posits a case similar to this one.

There the

penalty is death. 21

'

-"

.

E.g., Rowton, "Dimorphic Structure and the Tt:iba1 Elite," p. 241.

22 CAD, Vol. 2 ("B"), 33; comments on this term, "Since no other word exists, besides usandu "bird-catcher" or "fowler," for hunter, and on tVhe basis of the

h~r., ref.

cited mng. 1,a-2'

~

the ba' iru must

be considered a hunter as, well as a fisherman. ", ,Cf. also the verb

.

ba'aru, 'which has as one of its meanings, "to hunt; to catch animals"; cf. CAD, Vol. 2 ("B"), 3b: --'I

23Yaqq:lin~Addu's'f.inalstatement indicates that the hunt was As recently as -1896, travellers in thevi~inity of Mari

successful.

noticed an abundan<;.e of gazelles; cf. H. Valentine, Geere, By Nile and Euphrates (Edinburgh:

T. & T.

Clark~

1904), p.' 319.

\

Y

h~

24 0n TU. TULIDusen.'....a ,see the comment of Birot; ARM'!' XIV, p. 225.•

25Another example of the anei~government attitude of the Upra-, peans'occurs later in this same letter; cf.. discussion supra, pp. 68... 69. 26It is difficultt'o know, how to render, 9uh~rein line, 24 of ,~

,

-;•

v

-&J

.

\

.

_ _

_

_

the Mari Correspondence, "JAOS 96(1976), '§ubaru was"

-

John MacDona1d,'''The Role and Status of'theSuharu "' ......... ...- - ' - - in

this letter.

a high-ranking '.-"

-

_ ,,_

_

,

::..

57-'68,~as

shown that the

person, possibly to b,e regarde'd hs squire . t,

'

,-

('

or esquire,· who' served..in a variety-of fields in tl'le service bf,' high ...

' .

dignitaries'," (p ,,' 65).

I

.

MacDonald even discusses ARM' XIV 2 in his

study,(p. 65), and considers that the. four ,persons"were fined as we have just, quoted him as defini.ng them.' arise with this understanding of the incident.

~ubaru,

de-

Yet, difficulties

Ifwe~egard the

slaying to have been the slCiying of four ~uharu who'werefor some

reasOn attacked as a group by the lion, one wonders

~hy

I

four pre-

young men skilled with weapons" probably even accom-

sumab1y strong,

panied by lesser servants, were not able to withstand the attack OP a lion, and at least drive i,t off, if not kill it.. The other a1ternative would be to assume that the lion had attacked four ,,;'

each while he was

t~ave11~ng

alone or

~\~

~uharu,

.

. minimal companionship.

.

w~th

~

Yet, it strains ·\cre4uJ.ity to believe that a lion happened, coincidentally, to' attack fourliubarti, and no one else, in the cours~ oflt its

depradation~.

MacDonald (p.' 66) does ;efer to the

.

di~ussion of

CAD, Vol. 16 ("5"), 235a, liThe Mari and MB ref·s. (mngs. /2c and2f) '

have been included here because the person designated in ,them as LU.TUR is usually said to belong to someone and thus must be a servant, fiiuharii.

Where no ~uch relationship is fentioned, the log. has been

given the alternate reading.' ~ihru, 'child,' q.v." ,

.'1·

' ' ' , , ' . ,

•

It would appear

.

';j

that the're.'ading ~ihru ~ou1d be preferable here, rendered:'chi1d, II as we have' rendered it.

\.

I

.

.,

."

~.

. .

...

,

,

•

'>c

.

'",

t•

., .

.

"',.;

;.; .

•

.,

..

,

". .

\.

\',-.

":'"

~

.

..

• Chapter IV '

..

'"-

BUILDING MATERIALS AND OPERATIONS .',j<

.,

I

~

Th~ugh not as broadly r:epresented in the corpus as diplomaticl 'I,

military '~ffairs or agricultu"ial c~~cerns,I>t6curement'of materietls ''''.

for building and 'oversight of construction and repair projects,,,. are

~ewas:'. responsimi'~" for

discussed in Yaqqim-Addu" s letters •.

, t

the mairil

~.

·tenance of the -fortificat,ion walls, fqr the good tepa~r ,nf, and ~ddiI'"'

•

:,:-'

,.

.

.

tional construction in" th~:complex of officica.l buildings, auc:}:;for"·'" " Q,

the bu~lding,an41or repair' of religious edifices. building materials, to Mari .. ,

I,he . shipmen.tff:~ ti ~

i~self·~~eIUand~d attent:i.q~;~.alsb·.,'. ~",~~:.

.,i

~

:

'

';i;

';t '

..r..;~~~

9

Timbe'r'

/. .

'~

RoWton has. shown that)'''inacces~jbility [.of the f'orest] auetio>~'~!~ ".., ...•.• . -"1'>'. +

~.

'- .

.

..'

lack of road's and lack ~

-;:;:

"1;"

. , . ' . ,.;. of se~urityt.·.

_, '.. '.' .. ,«

'.~"

. . must

".

dominant' fac'tor . • . . in the, Br6nze Age.

It:,

• "

. i , f · . .", " s:t1reLy'! have b.elm~J;he

. '.

'.'i~~*

,.n

.•. ,',

,.~~~."

The fact tnat t.here~d~·~'~ , t

.•

,

'

. '"

"

.F .~

i

only a single brief andambig'uousreferencetO' a for-lest y~

Addu's letters tends

,

--;~-

:;J~::-!-

, .

. " , " 1

tQ~up'port' i6wton '8. cpncr'usion.: Th~'tre{ere~ce c

i~ contain ed' 'in . ARM XIV 25 :

.

.

.

'. r/.u~a-b.u-um.·.·r.x X

,

ia}

10'

u-.

lat . .

,

Translation: •

-

t_·

.<

t.

'has gone to t;he fotestwi'th'thewo.r.lcfo~.e···of t

•~

'.

0'

. . . : . . . "',

'a;','

~ (' .';t;,

.

~,

i.'

."

;.-~

"

88

J

,

the district of Hari. Procurement of .

.

~i~volving ,

,

l'

ti~be~is he~e

seen to he a major undertaking

~

the sEmd'ing of --gangs' of ~ laborers -j oinbly from two districts.

,

t'

.

•

. t .

-

•

Another Jimea!?ure of ~its di:6/iculty ~,md importance is' Yaqqifii~Addu's dndicati.on' in .1. 13". of his intention 'to a:~suDi~' the responsibility. . .~~.-

,

,

for ;the transportation of the timber obtained by this expedition.

'"

"

"

'

.,

,,' '*

-.~.

~');.

Thre~ ,letters deal with transpo~tation of timber." In AR~ 'xIV 30' I.

.:.,

the governor

-"

info~ed

•

~nstalled

the king that he had

.'

h~ tan. to ~wait

,

.

guards in Manu-

-If-

5("

the arrival of

~

shipment of cedar timliers. 2 •

'Oll"

The -

.,..'

. value of cedar to the king is "'fndicatedby th~ faCt' t'Iiat it. required *. the detailing of guards to see that it reachi=d Mari without inQ.ident. ~

~

_J.:

it

;..!

<~.;.

ARM~IV 31 conhains the. report of a'Mari subject who had just

~

'.

.

-'

arrived. ,in Sagaratum.

"/,

Two hu:t:tdred boards of j'uniper,3 two cedar logs, , .

ea;h five ca,nes length," and- eight juniper logs of four. 'canes length" . . ,"

"

each

",'"

.

we~ delayed in Ca~kemish•., . ;, H

The third letter, ARM XIV 32, simply.relates news of the arrival 'i!

,

· of a timber' shipment (cedar) within Yaqqim'"7Addti' S jurisdiction.

W~

see from· these three letters that one,/of'Yaqqim....Addu' s regular r~spon

'guard'a~~i as;'i,st

sibi.iities was to

in the

tra.nsp~rtftion of' ~ifltber '"

'

~

through his district, and to "'.notif,y the, king bot'h of prqgress""and ", .

'i'

;'

~.

d'elay~ in the transp~rtation proces;. It

' '.- '.

,

_"That-possession of limited supplies of ,timber suitable for bui~)

f'- ~ .

. ~$.C~.'

_

'

,

•

Ki

... ing projects was not a problem ,peculiar to Sagarat;um is iJ:lustrated ,.

~

-.'

"l'IiIt

by a group of letters f·rom Kibr"i-Da~~t
f);j"-·

king~

,

These letters,

ARM ----:--

probl~ms I

~~.

...

<~.~~.

_.

.

11122;- 23-;;~' 2\4, 25'" and 26, detail the -;'---

.eo

-

.,~,

Kibii:~::Dagan had in securtng timber which- the k,ing had ~ordered '.

(I

~89

him to deliver to Ma1;j..

Typical of their tone is AlU1 I I I 23:

v v is•gus~-uri"" ha "as-stun' sa a-na ri~' gar.!. ....h~

5

;~u-ul-lu-li

im

,

"-

be-I! dart-na~t~m is-pu-ra-am -.,

\

Q,

l..'''' !o- - "rh"a ·gusuru.... 'C>-

0

Tor. Rev. 10

• l.-na qa-t im

____

, • v..., / u-ul l.-ba-as-su-u

i-na-a6-na a-nu-um-ma

-,

, '" - :'!t ha sa v 2 qapat - i mam 50 is·gu$ur~"" .

2 me 50

i~i

v

'

-

sa 10 am-ma-a

..

v

. . _ -.-mes· .l.t-tl. marl. mahtl.m

-.

t'

r.l.-na'-i' -ml.-tl.m . ' . u, .fVsu'-me1 ·l.m :,

15

X,

..

'

o

X, ki':"mii i~ba-a~-su-u

X

~

'X

X

,~

r

,

qa-ta-am- ma . ~.•

;."-

'/

,"

as-ki~pa .'

am

,

Translation:~

~ .-

My lord wrote to

.....

.•

p

.;I

0

.;

!..,J

'e in strong terms concern-

aIls, but there were no b~~ms ) "

-i!4.....

~

NoW, fifty »eams _bftwo canes (-length each, and) • ~ ~\. .c·'dv't> hundred fifty (pieces) of wood of ten cubits here.

'"

>

(length each) from the inhabitants of the· 5;Quntty on the right .and .on the left •• :-'. just:'a~~'they were,

",

to • • • the same, That a district:

J 9-sca~ion from .

o,'I'se~nt

(them) <:lownthe river.,

gover~d~ sh~uld

have to resort

ordin~ry .length ,only

private pitizens of boards of

/

()-

/.//

to·,:~tr~gh~",cQn

-

."

.-~

accentuates the fact that timber was a co.stly,commodity never in plen~l~ supply.

•

• All other references to wood ,in Yaqqim-Addu'~ correspondence are ,

<~

,

v

~

designations of objects made from wood.

aL~

There

references to

:t

siege towers, a battering ram, large boats, small boats, and four, ,

wheeled wagons. 5

The chariot.' and "low are also mention'ed. 6 '4-

,

'

Building ,Stone ,

It is necessary only to ,check the finetl reports of the Mari excavations to see'that Zimri-Lim's king~om ~ad a tremendous need for

.4

"

~

#

building' stone and other building materials. 7, . In ARM XIV 26-29 we'·' have a .. picture of the process 'whi'ch

WAS

put in motion when' the king .

ordered a governor to

d~~M:~bui1ding

. ,;~~." .,

'. In ARM XIV 26

-

I

stone.

~ ~

Y.aqqim-Adduf,~rst repeated

the order; the

~ing

w3nt-

c

ed a s.tone two cubits wide

and~

I

h{;llf a cane high (11. 5'-7) ftSince the -;-.-..-

searchi:n the district was not'a successful

Yaqqim-Addu wrote to

'''

inst~ "

tasqurtl as

on~,

Given the fact that the district of Sagaratuin ,,;.

on the east bank of the !jabur did nothav·e a' stone' o{the required:' dimensions, given that Lasqum where the ston,ewastobe quarried also ?ad ajple. pasturage for the flocks of the .stone-cutters (ARM ,XIV, 85), I

given that the stone when quarried waS to be floated to 'Marl. by boat, 'If,"

...

we may then reasonably look for Lasqum relatively. near ,the !!Clbur up- . stream ·from Sagaratum, in wha,t was known as th~ "Upper . Country."

This

/

'~

would accord also with the topographical configutation of the area. 8 . ARJ.'\f XIV 27 indicates that the gathering of building stone may ~a~e

been a specially organizedpperation, as it carries a reference

(11.5-6) toa,boatwhichthe king commandeered to -transport a $tone.

\

I" If quarrying had been an Qng6.ingindustry under normal circumstances,) .. ~.~

, a boat would not have had to be commandeered. 9 was available, Yaqqim-Addu was

As soon as the boat

to see that it set out to pick up

I,

,

.

' .... ~""_ .. _ ~,~r __ ,~.

the stone,

~

'.-.)

a~comppnied

by a work crew sufficient to handle the stone,

'I

as reported in ...the continuation of the letter (II,. 9-12).

::

ARM XIV 28 probably is concerned with a different expedition<, for

.

.

.

stone, since the transportation was by. two·mallu-boats whicn . ;.-. -,

Addu

hadorderedla~t~d' togethe~,to ,.supgort .the weight

cially heavy stone.

1

Yaqq~m-

of an espe-

It is to be. noted that in this in{3tance the liT",1

"

governor was ins tructed by~the kir1K t;o take personal charge of the ""~.

~.~~.~~-

•

.-7tT'

_~

•.•.. '1\...•.••

operation •. He also felt obliged to' justify to the king:the fact ;that "

.

he- did not press the men to work non-stop.

,This, coupled with' the

.

.~

size', of. the 'storie being transp:grte.d, indicates that this was an es.,,;: . ~~-"

pecially urgent and important ,task.

,,'

'.

.

ARM XIV 29, addressed to Sunuhu:rahal,ll, ~qqim-Add\1's friehd,"at ---':,:'~~ -~~~- "'. ~ -

.

-

-

r

tt~,p~f?Ce,iS concerned in its sec~ndhalf with a similar expedition:

..r

--.

.20

Y.

sa~:ll.-tam

Y - • ha rab"" .. r·l., [ na.] r pB;,/rnl.-~ . r.. t1m . ] as-sum a b' nat1metllll 'I

.'

J ,i-

~arrum is-pu...ra-am me-he-er tup-p{-im

/r"'

c,

"

,I

iii

r a-..na'

sarrim { X , X }. ki-a-am:·~-sa':"b1.-lam ,

.

.

a-na-ku~ma as__ sUm:/~bqatimba rab~tim

,'[um-ma]

, • . r [ 1-na]La

~

, .•

.

.'

• 4>.

.

,

-as-ql.-1m a-ma-rl.-1m be-Il. ,

,

25

'. ~

" \ . f ,.

(is-pu]_rra' -am 20f?a-:-,bu-um sa g-a-la-af? v- ·.'d''''' ( . G'I/D) i ' . k!·.,1 [Ma-t'1. ki]'. 2'.'7 sa ·..-l1a T'er...qa'" d 1 u =:

'. .[u. X+]6? s'~dida i-na·;ha-al~s:!... i~ '1"' . .! . . ,OJ

,

~

[Pfl5~a' ?-tim siparrim u La-ab-wi-H~...ah-lu a [be'] -11. li-it;-ru-dam<-ma?> NA4h Ii ?-X-IB-~:"X

X? Tr •

"

• -,'f!Ii.-

I

.

..

}',

't.ranslafion:

Secondly.,. the king wrote 'to me before con-

cerning 'the large ston~s.

I sent a response to the

tablet [in these terms] to the king, "My lord wrote

~

•

- ~i

. . r 4

92 to me ,concerning the finding of the large stones in Lasqum.

(There are) twenty men of the district of

-

Mari, twenty-seven boat-towers from Terqa, and • • • ~rom

-six boat towers

my district (assembled for the

job) .,' My lord, _~et him send to me with Lagwi-Banlu

.

F

:(:r~ __. ~

,F

~

.~.;c~~:s .~f bronze, that they rna! • • • the stones. tI ~

•

fF.;."":· •

,Tl)~'sense of the r'est of the letter is difficult to ascertain,

, ( \ ' .,,~,; .'

h,

.

excep.j:J;~h1i.:t~9g!im-.-Addu had not recehr~d a respo.ns'e from t9~!king to z.

.

. o}"') .~ -./'-'._ -_~ " , '

<..:.11

'.

': ,P.

.\

•

Pre-.~;,;.·: .

the letter wp·ich he had quoted in the above-translated passage. ,

'

'

sumably, this~ was his""reason for address~ng the present letter to ;~~

,

y

,

SunuguralJalu.Whilethe action to be performed on the stones (I., 29) o

has been erased, from the· mellt1-Q'I!.of bronze axes (1. 28) '\,;·e can 'assume " ";;,.!C,v".~

~ tha,tquarrying or r()ugh-hewi:'n~ is the task which was referred to .1.0

.

t,Anoth~r aspec,t of this undertaking is .the number of boat-towers

asse~bled.~<s> The1i~e~iftom Yaqqim-A,ddu' sown,district .

,')~.

..

'"

is most likely .,

to' have be~li etither ~;ixteen or twenty-six, to put the contingent . : .-:"'~- $il~"

,roughly on a par wit:).1th8:t from the .district of Terqa.

' "' ', .

I

•

Forty or j

fiftY9W.eIl; to tow em.pty boats upstream ,on the Habl.1r ~l1dicates several ",'

.t.

.'

boats,~ or perhaps boats' lashed 'together in the manner recorded in ':;'f

.'

j,'

ARt'1 XIV 2:8 ~ i"

t,

'>..

'.,

.

\

",Cbns.~ering

''/:'

a+1 the ,operations mentioned in these fopr letters

.

as nece.s.~~rypartsof any s t(me~quar:rying ,expedition to the upstream

f:.. are a."ar ound Laf;lqum, 'it becomes evident'that sU,ch an .undertaking' was •

'-, ," , '/r"" ~;t-:;:, '/' .'

.

i"",

.

a major enterp'ri.'S'E;\~~~:t;,~tsted the energieso.f manym,en, and re.'

".f\~.".

"

"

r

,

quired: .close coordirtiftibn be:tween the various functiol1aries involved :-l~

in direc.ting the operation.

Yaqqtm~Addu incurred responsibility

~

t

i

~i -~g.,.~

-~-'

!,.

93

-1

because his district of Sa~araturn lay on the 'riv~r ro~te ove~ which any heavy cargo like building s tonesf.:wo~,l1..a ve had to come in ancien't: '~)l.'

t""_"ft6.,

.

..;.

times.

,"

Kibri-~agan's

letters mention stone only once (to be used in

,

repairing a gate, ARM III 11), and Bandi-Lim's not at all. aspects of the,transportation of the'

stone~

Since all ,

t

normally would have been

organized and report;(ia before th~ le,ftthe district, of Sagaratum, there was no reason for the other governors to discuss them in their :,..

correspondence. ,

.

Buildin$ Operations Only three of

Yaqqim-Add~'s

,-

tions,

,

~

•

"

letters discuss actual building opera, <J:1'

One. of these, ARN XIV 25:2':-9' '. concerns the'building. either

of an icehouse or of a sanctuary in'·the palace complex at Sa,garabfun. If this portion of the letter is to be regarded 'as dealing with, the .

(

roofing of the papabum,llthen the {irs'thalfof 1. 2' must be read ..

. as closing the loSt di.scussionof the construction,.. 'Of the icehouse. Glaef.3etnan would-interpret thel~tter'thiE) way: "

Yaqqim-Addu is most empha.tic tha,ttheratio be maintained at 2: 1. It is this~proporti'on'Whichleadsus tobe1.ieve that it is the papapUIIlwhichis b~ing, described ,in this 12 passage and not theql;~ suri:pim. ,,' ' _ '.",' ,

\

"Whic4,ever ofth~two~ structures i$'ii1tende~, its dimensions had been decidecl up~,n, .·andthe materialordereq'; the edifice, had even been

. 'partiallyconstructecL' .

•'1. r,

,

.

. "'.

When the king instrUcted Yaqqim-Addu t;:o enlarge

'

it ~/b.tt, the i~si'. q9mpelling, of Yaq.qim-Addu'-s a;r:gmnents against the - - . 1 - - ' .~v .....

-.. -~

.'

r

.

-.-

,

'.

~

change was the fact., that changing the dimensiolls would change the ',:.

length of beams required to support the roof of thebuilding~ To

94

acquire the longer beams required by the larger dimensions would impose a lengthy deJ,.ay on the construction process.

to

,The second letter

be concerned with construction,

&~

XIV 24,

.,'

deals with the repair of a section of ,the city~all which had fallen: u ,":"um tup-pf an-ne-e-em a-na Rj-er b.e-li-ia 4 ki" d su-up-pa-c?IIl durum su--ul-· '~. me-eh-ri-it blt Da- f gan' t

.. w .

5

(

.

,_

•

.

.

'

','

/~

.~i'.

,,~.

~u-up-pa<"'am?> a-l1~.., a-~;i-im' f;,1a'?

f'~

,

sa

d - . ki y urlW ,sa

'Y"

e-pe-es

15

ar":'hi~is , w .

I [

X I

ki li~ X - [

X I- rd:f.1-ia-tim •

~

•

•

•

• ' ? 'b'e-1 l'~ [ U.

1

X

]

X

X

X· -nu

rAmurrim'

] X X

[

•

•

•

•

0

•

',~

\ ..

.;

- Rev.

-x_rem im', qu-ut

X

~Wli~abi]

i-n.a-an-na be-!:! a- rna', [ Babili

X

~

~

•

•

. dDa-ganl.lf""l.s-pu-ur-ma .' 1 ['1 . .'" , ] ?. a-na .Ki] , .,. r 1. b .,.rl-~

2?[r1E? aWilTer]":'qa~iki rli'-(il-pu-:-ut-ma]? r tap !-pu,...tam' li-i.l;--li-ku, • ./c:"; ~-naUDI0

'-

KA!1' durarn

[pim..ma]

ki.".".· . I····· se-tu lu-uk-~u-I"ur' "

rli~i:>i' -it-tum

5'

89-

..; ...ki· 'f . 1", .., ga-ma-~r dU;"l.m ' se- '. tu· .1

. . 'i' h' •. .', {X')" 'i _:'.' . a'/' Ir-:Sl.', '.' '.S erqq'atl.m-

sa

xl

se-em [i]-ria-as-sa.' {X I

"

.ap-~u-ur~ma

-ka

a-na,li-bi-it-tim

" ...' y qu-ur-ru",:"bi-imqa-tam as-ku... \1n· <

.

Trans lation:' ,

on

the day thi.-s tablet: to my lord,.·

(for alengt;h of) a ~ul?pum the bastion 'rampart facin~.~3. the temple of Dagan • • • fell.'

The work (of repair)

95 of the rampart of • • • • rapidly

....

Now my L~t

lord to " .". a Babylonian [ rabi] Amurrim

. . Iddiyatuin

." .I'

• •

.. ,

him

[Also, let my lord write

to] Kibri~Dagan:-, that he may· [assign] two,? [hundred] ,i

•

Terqans that they may come [tome] (to give me) aid • . (Then) in ten days this rampart I may construct. t

,

Suffici~nt

bricks are ready (for) this wall. . I have t~le

sent on wagons which will pour out

grain.

I

,(also)':!ndertook to bring ,the bricks. F.rom the urge'ncy of Yaqqim~Addu's :t:one and the speed ~ith which he had already carried out extensive' pr~p,~ratio~s to get' the rampart ~

. repaired, it seems that the wall in question my;gt', ij~¥ebeen

,~~ the outer' defensive wall of the ci ty i tself~

<;l

section

Nothing else could

explain the urgency of hi.s own action$, co,:!pled with a request for the speedy dispatch of of Terqa.

~wd'hundred laborers£romthe adjoining p:rovince

For the wall to have 'collapsed: as it 'did wot.lld ,ipdicate \"

that i't was'a mudbrick wall; ·this is confirmed by Yaqqiin-Addu's dis-· .

. !

\

. .

-

'

closure that he had 'alre'ady brought to the site bricks~' ·sufficient tQ ,

effect the necessary-

tep~irs.

';)

"-< \

As theb ricks were alre'ady on 1\arid , it is diff icu! ttounoerr' \ .

-

stand :Y~qqim-Addu'~'reque~t'for two l1.\undred 'additional. men from Terqa ~

.-.

!

t~ assl~t in~::-'task.E'O~ the repai~ of a \

sectioI\of wall only ten '

.\

;

{

c.~s

-,

.'!;.

,

'

.

'

-

in length,! t, would seem, that tha ,number of workers would only'

g~in each other's way'-IfYaqqim~Addu'su,rgencystennned in part: I

~

"

•••

.

from the possib~lity of attack, from hostl eforces in the area,' a i·" , ::6~n~rnwhfch he' did not mention in the letter, then the function of (;

96 ..'J,"_

the· Terqal'ls may have been to .Jielp' guard the t;:l.ty as well as to rei

build ,the, wall.

,

'

, ARM II 101, 'dealing with the' ~oliapse- of another ,section of wall, I

raises some oehercorisfderaflons.1l+

Thetenor:of'this "letteri::; en"...

1

xiv

tirely di'ffer ent frOm the occasion reported' in 'ARM J'\

-.-

24.

'

Th~re was

,

in this' instance

no~

tequest for, additional labore!s" no report of ,

"

.

the preparations already made. ,

"

l

•

w

The communication of,the'problem was .

leisurely, almost casual, in ' ..contra'st with -ARM XIV 24. ,Here Yaqqim'''' ..

~ddu'

,..

s request was for a ,single nlason, 'though he. ,did take pains to

I

\

'

equest that the man sent be c011}petent.

The task to be accomplished

not seem to explain the difference in attitude bet~een the tWQ ;J

icidents.

e

_ " .

In both' it was a" section, :of the outer, defensive wall of

t~e city ~hich had

collapsed<.

i~ the

The, difJer:nce

length o£.the

co~lapsed ~ection ~s not of great·" significan~e•. If the explanation \"

.

,

,

,

" ,

'

t{9~ ~he urgenCyof.''-ARM,X!:V2~,.doe~ ,'nor lie in ~he"pres,enc~ ,~fhostile ' , f6r\ces. in the area,

then'~he' cB.fIE?:ren~r,be~~e~~:,.the two o~,~as~onsmay.,

ue\in the occurrence of one inci

fronJ~the other '.

~f...

cl~nta:~ <~;he"entti~e of

the year <

,t.,h.<e collapSe recorC:e'if";in"ARMXIV 24 occurred just

Defoy the beginning\f the time of year when <>alnpaignswere waged, or jUft before the' beginning of winiter Wi~h it~:raihs,. either time would \b); su£.f!cient to'P'plain fhe urgency

w~i1e,

mo're

ofYaqqia;~Addu's

concern,

lfc~nven~ent:H :timit],'gof the'in~ideht recorded in ~ II 101 _."

.~..}~.,

,.......

.

-

•

• .

.-A-..

- , - .-

,;,'1'.:

. would' . xplainthe greatly .diminished anxiety whic'h marks that letter . ,

-

-

)

,

.

,

'

,

Ki ri-pagan also reported to the king on hu:ir~dil1g proj ects under... taken at Terqa., InAFl1 rrIIQ 'h~ stat'ed that:- he, h~d fil1ished the in.

.

~

~

~~

.':.

.

~, . \\ , \

.

'

of wooden.,doors ip. th~,~1;lter gate. .

~.

" ,

!'~

\

'The, outer gate was-, of'

97

course, done first for defensiNe reasons.

t~nstalL

mOI\th

Those doors had taken a

He did no't have on hand doors for the inner gate;

.the purpose of the letter was toask'Zimri-Lim for permission to use do'orswhich were in , the town of Zurubban • .....

,

.

'

While it may not have been~thersame gate, Kibri-Dagan encountered

\f"

opposition to th; building he reported that' against

buildi~g

i

a new gate in the town.

a mubhu--ecs tatic

had twice approached him to .warn

I

the 1l;ew gate.

In ARM IU 78

If he

tri~d,

~

.'

he. would not complete it.

In ARM III 11' Kibri-Dagan reported. the collapse of a gate on ·the river-side of th~ wall.

He regarded the task of repair to be so dif-

ficul t, that he proposed. to do nothing, upt.:llthe king arrived person-: -:-;-

,ally to take connnand of the qpera t ion.'

This contrasts quite 'sharply

"'<

with Yaqq~m-Addu's re_sponse" to si,miTar occurrences.

~)

"

.•

"

~.,

.l,....

.We

,/ have seent4at timber and syone for building were)'both con_.•

~_

/;

~

.

~

.....

",f

u.

seeing the shipmenttb Mari 'o~ both' t,imber and storie;IZi1i~i~Daga:h .

shippedtfmber. .

I

Repairs to fortifications were .

. q,

_

__

~

.

-;.'

",

-_~

.

naturally.t~p ..

~

".-Ci'

priority.

.

,'tl-;'/':;{~

.

..

_

.

If these letters rea,lly represent all of the 'governors';;involvements . "." .

-

.,

"

-

.

in building projects; then they were· limited indeed.:tt· fs,:more' lik~~y !

..

that these . letters represent· only a sampling, though it would-.'·also~e J.-

.~,;,..

accu~ate .tosay th.at building proj¢cts in,. thep'rovinc~al town~~ka4. a , .

'~

.

lower priority than those in the capital city itse,l:f'•. , .'

".- ~"

..

\.

-.'"

.~

,".

-.~~

"7l

Chapf'er IV

.'

NOTES • 1M.B.

Rowton, "The Woodland,S of Ancient Western Asia," JNES 26

(1967), 276-27"7. 2

. ha . Add ,{: On the term' i.s urnu~ , Maurice Birot, Lettres de YC1qq1m-~--:<;
gouverneur de Sagaratum (ARMf XIV) (Paris:

LibrEdrie orienta1iste

~au1 Geuthner, 1974), p. 224,..: says, "L'a:rrbre il?urnu

(a.

dis'titlgu~r' de

v

1a plante samurnu) n' est guere docuniente eIl;d~hors de'Mari : DOSSIN, . ,

s

Arch. episto1._, p. 123 (<.
But compare a1so_th~ remarks, <'ofJay . D. Falk, ""The Plants tifMari and . ~--

~

-.

"",-

.

-

\

':"'>"".>';,->;'

c;~ __ "-."..

, ,1966) , p. 161,' "IpMari urnum i,S mqst probably a 'conifer, 'based on '.

'

its use for building and its aromatic propert-ies;.

. . ..

Which coni--

fe'r m~y be me~nb by urnu is, :f.mpossible to' say because of rack of evi"

dence.",:" Von. Soden, AHw, Vol; III, p. 143,lb, identifies it· as, "eine kleine Zeder."

3Birot~ ARMT XIV ,p". '69, translated i~sii...pa-lim as "genevrier." Fa1k, "The Plants

of

Mari and U&arit," Pl?. 106r-109, agrees that it i,s ...

" ",

a juniIJ~r •. However" writing before 'the publication of:; ARM XIV," and , emphasizing its medicinal usefulness, he' ,identified supa1u' with

~

.,

-.

/ 99 another species of juniper, which is "usually a low shrub-, although it can grow up to twenty feet tall. as a' source, of wood", (p..' 108). is. ha •

0

Its size limits its usefulness

Our t'ext, with' its ref erence to ~

~ " ; , , ... • su-pa-lu 8.a,4 qan1-am, requires ,that this identification be

aband oiled. iP"

~", ~~: ~

'.

4 Evetl;l> Yaqq.~m-Addu' s careful attention to t,pe progress of timber

shipments Idlemonstrates. that the procuring of tiinber' was somevJhat easier. than it had been in earlier days ,when a timbere.xpedition was a;· matter for boasting on the part of 'ki~gs',. including Zimri-Lim' s . own f ore.;>'"->

bea;::,' Yaudun- Lim. """'-co"

i~

For an excellent discus~ion s~e Abraham Malamat,

,"

"tamp,aigns .. ~to the Mediterranean by Iahdun'lim and Other ~arl~ Mes~pota.

,

mianRulers," AS 16 (1965),367-370; cf. also Rowton, "Woodlands," pp. ',.

'269-270.

Rowton, p.

ii's,

sUmniarizes, "~he mountainous country lacked

roads, it "lacked security, and it. 'lacked! ,populat~q~; more'overeffi-

..

,

'

~

very expehsiv~ in the Bronze Age. Even when the .... . .,¥ felledj~~h-ere remained, the problem of getting the timber

cie~t;tool~were ~;.& .»

, trees could out.

b~

.

Th'e"ve!'y ·1.nsiste'nce with which the kings boast9f obtaining tim~"~"'~-..-.....

.r"

'.

ber suggests it ~as~~viewed as no mean achievement. ~'-..

.

Tn most areas pro-

curing timber woul~.ha:ve been beyond the means pfanordinary merchant. '.

Hence it '-is not 'surprising to find that timber , ~hough immensely expensive;, nevertheless played a small role in Mesopotamian commerce." ~

_

~

.

~i

.

5These referellCeSQccurinARM XIV 45:5, 45:6, 28:8-9, 127:8 (among others), ~nd. 44:7 (with one otl)er), respec~ive_lY. 6A structure, the mUballi~t.u,w1:lose precise nature is unknown, •

t

but 'which was made of wood is discussed in ARM XIV 13.

The same term

"

was also used in two references to denote a cage used to transport i"

... .k-,.

/

f'

100 captured lions.' OI)eof these, ARM XIV 1, does not designate the m~allitt;u as being made, of wood' at all,though it presumably; was.

The other 1ton c,age ,and the structure, ment ioned in connect-ion with ~

wooden,';-~9t

the flooding -of the !!abur are designated as

by means of

the dete,rm~9ative, but by the qualifying phrase ~'a i~§e, ','of

7Andr e Pa;:~o t,

Studi.,,- Mar ~ana(Leiden :

V.

WOO?

If

~

J. Br i l l~ 19 5~}~,~~,

a la fois'vrai

3-4, summarizes these reports for the palace-" "c'est - ' ~

4

-.

par l' immen:~te (plus de deux hec tar:~~ et ~;emi,

}69 "chambres .

avec un degagement reste~

a

.

;-

~

-

"

.. '

-

~.

et 'cours,

.

" ' , "'i.' {"-,y ~ cause de la guer,re, in-acJi.ev~) et· la e,on-

..

servation (dans les zones -centraI'es, les muxs, retrouves avaien~ encore '.

•

i\'"

c{nqm~:tre$ de hClUteur:; des -installatioiis:\domeRtiques, cuisines, safles '"

-

'

de bains ,atlrai,~~t;pu •

.

'

"'~~t"

,quatremille ans

-.

,,-

:"

.

'.-

';"

~

I -

·

'..

,

fon~f ionner pre,squ'e sans repa~ationsquelque -'s

.'

>0

•

~pfes la ruine, de l' edifice) ." :'A' _, Of course; most of

this building was done'Din. brick;, still,- for such

a

'.

huge:, edifice, along

with all the other publi~ buildi~s, temples and"private residences . ~'•. fr·

~-.~..i

C",'l'!

kin,~si._of
of the city, the need for. all A

.

would have

been substantiaL '~

..

~See the descriptIons of the '.# Habur valley in Alois Musil, A Topo-

-,

.R.

graphical. Itinerary (New York:, American Geographical •

..,.

'A.

-',-

-.

'

.-

So~iety,

1927),

,

_pp • .82-89; and Lieut.-Colonel Chesney, The Expedition for the Survey

of ,the Rivers. Euphrates and Tigris (New York:

j;

repr'inted by Gre'enwQod

Press, 1969), pp.- 49-52. 9Anotherexplanation is possible, however.

If a shortage of

boats had d:eveloped simply becatlse the quarrying was at a peak of pro'. 1~4

-

0

, puction, th~~a' bpa~ wo~ld have been commandeered to move this stone.

,.

IOrt is worth noting here that at least sixty-three men were idl~

. 1',

J

101

"~" ~.-

.. ,'

.::tr

on the work site while waiting for the axes to be sent from Mari. While it is P?ssibJ.e that th:i,.s was the result of some unfortunate 'i

•. "

.circumst~nce disr'upting, coord~na'tion ~of s~h~dules for the undertaking", "

from the f~ct tha~ no such' ciltcumstance was recounted by Yaqqim··Addu, it mor(;; likely reflects a costly oversight 'at the management.J' level. :\~

. 11 Ron G1aeseni~?~ "ApPE:mdix:

Further Textual.' Eviden~e Describing

.

the Ar~~itectura1 F~atures and Functional Aspect.s' of'the,PAPAt!uM at \

'"

.~ .

t

Mari; ,i :in Yasin M. /A1-kha1esi, 'l'he ·eourt of _the_P'~lms ·.(M<:llibu: .. Undena -'fif'

-.""

Pu'b1ica tions, 1978),. PP.j. 71-81.~ d,emons trates that whi Ie papaaum may .

.

~

d~es elsewhere, "'sacred enclosure '(cella),

designate, at Mari as it

'it may also d'e~gnate a st6~~ro6m f~commpn.c~m~ities.. "';'.

..tu

~Which.use; . ~

,

J .

Q

f.~.r,_tne

papabum under discussion here'·clr;a:p.not be determined. ,= '--l~.: . . -...12G1aeseman, -"FUrther Textual Evidence," 'p. 45. . 'One does ,1;Jonder .. . 'i:/

was fn tended

..••.'J:;.:~ .

..

.

,

..a

",

\t>

• ....

~"J why the--king wou,ld sugge9t a' ch!1nge from the sta'ndard p'r.9p~-rt:i'bp,· if, '.

.

.

..

- '

indeed 'the papabum, and not the bIt ~urtpir!!, wereunder--d--;Lscussion.

.

"

" . ..'

It;

J

_,

.

1~~>~-~--:.~t~,~ ~_

'", lc>

-

'~~~-,-."

.

.

13Victor H.. MCiltthew~, "The Role of, th€t'Rabi .AnlUrrilll in· the Mari &

.•

,

•

Kingdom;!' JNES 3~. (1979), p.' 133, t.akes this to be the froht wall of . i

.-'

\

thetem:p1e o( Da:gan ,:i.t self..

.1~S . letter· is

.

"

transliterated and translated ;infra', pp",108-1l-0 • .

.

"

.

.

'.

.'

".. -.

-l_ '".-"

. ._

"'-',-

J.

.

Chapter V.

"-.!'

"

CRAFrS

PROFESSIO~p.AND

~

/

•

,'"

I

-

The letter,s of Mari were' 'vritten fo:r- the most part by officiC;lls

.

,

acting in their capa:citi.es. ~as.'b"lreaucr~'ts." Thes~ documents reflect'

"-

the -concerns'of the state', ,and its officials, rather; thart of any class"<

or-occupation. l

". .,

0 . - ·

.l,.

We should riot look,. then, for a complete description'

of th~ activities of any /group,,'of workers or _professionals - we might

..

" add, not even of the bureaucrats thems'elves. .'

In the nature of the ...;

case" these letters reflect ,not; the total scope of. everyday responsi-

- .

- ...

•

..(

a

~-~_

:bilities, but those ext'raordinary concerns, or situations with gr:~tet . - " ... than normal problems, whic,h required that sonieone olitside the writer's -~- 'f~-,'

j urisclic tiQn be notified. <.

A numter _o&.mf,eS~i01?-S ,Td cr,cifts are represented in

y~qq.im-.

:__"r

... '

Addu 's

corre~pondence.

In each instance the referencE.' .to the craft

some.

or profession occurs ~ecause rtimpinges in

way upon' his' area of J

t~sponsibility, 'and discussion of it is limited to that necessary to .

-

his fulfillment of that responsibility • . '

->.,..;

.-.... -

\'

Professi9na-\i'

." •• .l

oc'

"~,~~.t'

.; 1-

,

The first major category to be co~~~dered is that 'of the profesEdons.

The p~o{ession&

are here understood as those occupations which

.

.

'-.:

required considerable training and Bxpertise and involved, in general, .~

-,

"

.men tar

ra ther than manu"al lc1hor -~in their performance.

102 .

\

I

103 .

The Physician t.

,

Notices of physicians, illness, and medicine are not abundant in the Mari letters. 2

Only one ofYaqqim-Addu's letters, ARM XIV 3, deals

with these subj ects: awll
.

ma-ru-ussa-ap-1a-nu-um , Tr.

,.,

r us' -n!

su

-

"

~e-tum u-~e-

' awll

,2

rem 1

AU'

asu

-

'I ' " u-sa-ma- d " Rev. 10 sa ma-ah -r'l-la u-su-ma "

Sl-lm-ma-su u-u 1' ,

•

'I

i-na-an aWIl

I

{X

,.

r l;-na-." .. k'l~lr .

-na

X~}

t

,~

rul

X

r

/I

asam Mar!-da-ma-na-ia-am'

I

u-1u~ma

awtl

,II

1 '. lasam

<

15~,',

ha-ka {- X - X }-am' .... be-I:! li-it-ru-dam -rna. {xl

Tr.

.

I. ." . Sl-lm-ma-am sa aWll su h-' arlm

....

li,...mu-ur

rna

.

'i' , u, 1"l-ls-m-1S-SU

s:-

Tr.lat.20ak-ki':"ma u -um

4

Translation:

••

A ~ubaru3 in my service is iJ.l; 'an abscess ;

j..

has appeared under his ear.

.;,

Two physicians,:ln my ser:;~

1

•

,vice have been dressing it, but his" sore is not chang~!

11-1,

ing.

Now let my lord send me a physician 9f Mardaman ,·;~~:L.·"'!

or another' cpmpetent physician, that· he may exam:lne·

104

and dress the sore of the,9uhar~, so that his sQre will not continue long.

7 ! .

We are informed from this lett.er that it was normal practice for a governor to have physician~ in his service.

Yet, though Yaqqim-Addu

i

already had two physicians

0t his

staff, he felt free to· request that

An ~nteresting point is that he wanted the

a third be sent to him.

\

new physician to be from Mardaman, a region bordering on that of the Turukkeans. 4

Finet speculates that the reason for the su~erior repu-

tation of Mardamanian physicians may have been the existence'of an I

important medical center in that vf~inity. 5 .

,

~

Yaqqim-Addu's request for a third physician illustrates another ,i

*'..

i

aspec t of the life of priof essionals in the kingdom of Hari.

While '.

peasants traveled short distances from time to time in the capacity of Vif,/'

"

~_

I

. . . f'

corvee labo'rers,6 profess ionals '7~d skilled artisans were o,f ten cil;fed ""~.:; !

.I

<:I

<"'''_~'-

upon to· travel longer dis tances, 7 as in th,e case of >th~ physici.an reques ted by Yaqqim-Al1du. 8 . .'

\)There are two letters which mention deaths in' Yaqqim-Addu '8 house.

.

-".

,

In 'writing to the,king

hold which may beatttibutable to disease. .

."

.

.

.

.

;

(ARM XIV .10) . and the king '.~ secretary (Yaqqim-Addu' sfriend Spnuhu~aT

.

:

halu, ARM XIV 11), the governor laid the blame for· -(he deathsj of three 0'£ his 'servants on his own failure to:r~rform thesacrific~ 9f a minor

deity at th~ prescribed" time«~

But he did not specify the ~'1hseof death

(other than the god), nor-: did he indicate whether

"phYSiCia~ were

in·

attendan~e upon the thre~~

In the case of the~ubaru's illness,

as

well as at

the

death' of the three servants, Yaqqim~Addtl t:'as a.ttempting to prot~ct tho~"~.._under .i

....,

~

.

,

105 him who l-lere also in the king' s service.

His respons.'ibir'ities included

their welfare.

~

i

i

The letters of Kibri-Dagan and Babdf-Limcontain OIrly one refere~ce

to these matters.

In

ARMr

XIII 112,

Kibr~-Dagan

related that a

certai~

!?ubaru had been ill since dreaming a prophetic dream containing 'a

war'~~ ~,l'.

ing from a dei ty.

'v;

";',

;.

As that is the end of the discussion, presumably tb I

ph9tsicial1ts) on Kibri-Dagan's staff were handling the case satisfac,. i

torily ..... ' Both ,the ,pauci ty of references and the. bTev:i~ of mostJAref er-= "

err~es

correspond~ce are,proba~l~~ex~~~ined

to medical matters in the •

.,

'O":!

< , ' '_

~~";_#

'

~t,.

by the practice of having physicians a5.p~,;.~~~ to the governors' st,afj.i:~'~' <

,

'.,

.'_1f...",~~J'f/i:.1' ~,

'"

!j

The Scribe "r"

_~!'

~.~.

_ .'

~-

_

'.

'~....

-

~-

.~.',

-t . 1i

r

,

Since cuneiform writing'

_~,.:"/~I:··~~.

, !f"-\\I'.., '.

,

and reading Wag,,'the province of the trained scribe, it is evident that

\

.

\

.

the scribe

was'~H\Volved

\I

is implied in several letters in whicll the

~~

census was commanded to be taken or reported to'have been taken, or in which various persons were reported to have been inscribed as'reservis ts or activated as substitut~s (e. g., ARH III 21 ,and ARM XIV 61). Nevertheless,.the.onlytime inYaqqim~Addu's correspondence when a man was 'designated as a scr:j.be wason the occasion of.his assignment toa decidedly non-scribal function.' The letter. is ARM XIV 62: .

.. 20

",~

"

I R"l-lp-l-a-gan ,dn awil[ · I, '. , aw'il ." BE-la~lum . DUB • BAR \..,.,( b::;: ..

...

~

30

" -1'-e es aWl m,

.:~

\

in the transmission of all Yaqqim~Addu's letters~

th~'scribe's , presence

'Also,

....

} i m'u~sa-as-tl-ru-nl-sum I v , '/ I ,Y , an-nu-t v '

be-Ii a~na tup-pa-tim li-ri-di-~u~nu-ti

,-'

.'-1-(

... ~.

"~,b"""~ . _,', -~.hh 'lf~"·'.r ~,,,,,,

<

A secfm~~,'_~fessional waS the scribe.

'

106 Translation:

Rip'i-Dagan t a

•

.

Belalum t a scribe;

t

caused these men to be

I

inscrib~d.

Let

my lord enter .them on the tablets . ..' !'

"

"

-M~f?opotamian

The trainin& of the

scribe was a long

process. 10

a~
~

f_

arduous

"

The're does not· seem to be i.ndicated here any kind of, mili<

tary emergency t

~.jhich

<-

might explain pressing into service such a highl;¥ iV:

_?

'I

'trained and valuable petson.

We must remember t too t that the scribe "

'would not have been enrolled in order to make his skills' available to-

the military.

The governors of the, provinces were directly involved in

military affairs, and they

a~ready

-,

'

had sciib;es on their staffs, so that;

conscription of a scribe for his professional skills' was unnecessary. With this in mind, it is difficult to see atationale for ,the .

. ""

,

enrolling, ofa scribe in the auxiliary tro,ops. other considerations ~

However, there are'

A chronic shortage of manpower is reflected in

the Mari letters for all types of tasks req'u:lring numbers of men; this includes shortages in filling: the ranks of ~he mi~i tary. 'The manpmJer shortage'in\,the Inilitary would only have been aggravated by the -policy .'(

of discrimination according to social class .11' Also't;given the variety "

'

r£~presentedinotherlistsof'conscripted \ -,

of' o,ccupations ,

"

-

mel, it appears -'

-

)

that perhaps no o ccupa t,ional group was exempted, f'romenrollment in the - reserves t if the need was t;here. '-"Fot, example, bothARH XIV' 61 and 62 -, -_. .

.-

-

.

".

--

/

mention 'the enrolling 6f merchants in auxiliary units, andther' former , mentions the enrolling of tW'ogardeners.~" <

, Thus, i tmay',i,n one s~nse'be i~logical to' entaIl in the military a person of the ,scribe'$ training~ari.d usefulness.

However, it appears

that the considera'tions mentioned above weighed more heavily wi.th the

107 Mari officials when it came to filling the

r~nks.

Kibri-Dagan did not make reference to scribes in his correspondence.

Bahdi-Lim mentioned them in two -letters. ....

In AIDI VI 65 he re-

ported that rione of four ~en whom 'he had investigated was ascribe. A..1U1 VI 7 reports the .scribes' conclusions regarding the number of men

required to undertake a work p.roje'ct on the YTadi Oir.

Bahdi-Lim needed ....

the information" of course, in order to plan and carry out the work. This is the' only direct reference to the exercise of a scribal function in the p~blished letters of these governors. Temple Functionaries While the cult is mentioned ,in a nurnbet of Yaqqim-Addu's letters, priests are not mentioned or discussed direct·~.. }2 , ,', . "

"

.... ....

.

The indications

,"~~~1': ..

,. . ..

. .

of ,their presence' and £unctibnsar.e ,indirect, as when he mentj.. oned the ~

offering bf sacrifices ot the taking of,ome·ns ~ Neither Kibri-Dagau'nor Bandi-Lim discussed priests. in their correspondence, ,with ,the exception of one text .

-

Bahdi--:Lim, 'in -----,. ARM VI 45,

relayed that he was 'seridingalong with hisdwn l~tter.the letter of a .,

~angli-prie~t containing a report of an ecstatip' stra;nce.,' That the

.

priest's letter and the ecsta,tic's tokens were forwarded to the king '

Ii

(not another priest) through the governor ,(rlOt d.irectly) is further I

indication'that Zimri....Lim exercised authority over;t4e cult. b

There is on.erefererice' in the letter,s of YaqqiI1!-Addu te;? a person ,

'

who was a functionary'of the

temp~ein

is ARM ~XI\T40: .'

another

capacity~ ,I

5 ~-sa-b i-lam ma;..ah-ri-i t' harranim (= KASKAL .A) , w ~.

The letter

'~

108 -1 " [1 aWl1] ,narga 11 urn (N = AR.GAL ) aWI ~m ....h-aru_mes -::u_u_ ha " 1meru- <-su> y

,

[ ik-su] - r du' ~nim Translation:

On the day I sent this :!,?blet, to my lord,

the advflDce party of a caravan, a chief chanter, his

servant~," and

his donkeys, arrived here.

The, tablet is damaged extensively at this point.

However, we'

may assume that the, governor's responsibility w'asto assist the chief chanter and his party on their way.

The Builder' Another professiona.1 who relied upon his technical knowledge as "t;..

much as upon the skill of his hands was the house bui-Ider.

Yaqqim-

Addu mentioned thi'soccupation' in one letter only, but ~is discussion is'exten~iveenoughtotellus

much which we do not learn about other The letter isARl1 II 101:

nrQfessionals frorn other letters. l

5

~

'

" , , " . ki v a-na Sa-ga-ra-tim", ak-su-ud-ma mi-ti-iq~tum ·i..,.na !j.a,....l'bu' -ur ib-ba-~i-ma _ "

sa-'0a";'am sa ha....al-·s{.:..tm a...;. r na'Ha-bu""ur " . y . ~

,,, "b'· .' -, , u-se-et--1 1-~a-an-na u -umtup-p1 an-ni-em

4

~l-na ?e~.er be-It-fa 6-$a-bi~lam -

'

'0'

10

' - hd 'ki Sa~ga" ,r' .... , d.... ur' ra-t:tm, ki 7 qanat

','

'~ti,,:uI..,;hu-un1 e-le-nu...;.um'a-lim,,r ~a'- [a-ti] .... "

',im~qu-~t.~; aWilitinnu'm i-na ba-al",":~d.-irri , ' Tr.

I '1'" b'a-aS-51 ,ii, v. U-U-1-

I ii', " v '-"1

" ", Da-gan;...as:-raa .

X

"

, 15

~a i~-tu pa··ra a-na ~i-im-tim

109 Rev. il-1f-ik U i-nu-ma awI1um ~u\-~ .s;.... ~....

'J"

ba-1a-tt-um-ma ba-li-lt mi~im-ma e-pJ_r~a-am~ . ,

.

., 1 i'-l ..,.., b="" , I, u-u e '1-nu-ma as-sum ~t su-r1-p1-1m 1 I Y, , b e- 11 I i e-pe-s1-1m u-wa-e-ra-an-n

20

'I awll.i tnnam' i' b e- l1' e-r1-1s-ma " .. I

'

,

A-ha-am itinnam id-di.-nu-nim-ma ...

I."

..1, ,.., bJ.t. .su-r1-p1-l.ffi u-se--p1-1s

.

,",

"'1' urn

Y'

19-mu-ur-~~ aw~

su~u

ii, su-r-p1-1m

b'~t"

....

' ki a-na M a-r1

. 1t-ta-a , 1.-, k am.. 1-na-an-na .', awl1.1t1nnum ,

25

a-na Diirki-Ia-ah-du~1i"'im 'OJ

.

.

.

y

I 1'~1 - l'1 k'·1- '1 a-a 1- r 1 1,mes", . ki, , S a-ga-ra-t1ID . u e-l\,d "--

I 1" u-u

VY, 1....b' a-as-s1.

b e-'1'1 l'l~wa-e-:er-ma

,

Tr.

":1 [' ,s"a te na-wi [-ra] - rat' I , aWi'll'i't" ",; 1nnam , 4 ?,] - rem' -s"'u' ' 0k .., 'd1 , i r i k,'1-a-a l' '1".... l'1 [me~] sa ur·

..,

.

30

1 f 1,1,mes, u e- k'ia 1 -l'j' . k'1- 1 a-a";'

"'

I

.

,

ti sa-al-1a-mu li-it-ru-du-rnim"' ;,

'l'r::lnslation:

I

have arrived at Sagaratum, land)' a breach

exists in the !jaqur." ,I have gathe~e~the pepple (If t,he district to' the !!abur .NQw the day I sent' this tahletto my ,lord,

sev~n

canes ' (length)

of

the wall

of' Sagara tum, the, northhastio.n Of, this town,. fell. 13:. .

.

'

But there is no house builder in the,distri·ct. ~

.

y "

.-

,

'.

"

'

.,

Dagan-

'

asrayq.,·who pr-ev10us1y (came a~' house builder to my distxict), has gone to his. destiny.

But' (eyen) when ..\:.>

this mart was living~. he was not able, to doartythin g .I 4 ,l- "•

.'

When mylord instructed me concerntng the'bui1ding of

-,I

.

.-

<:>

110 J,

",

:...

the icehouse" I requested a builder from my lord.' 'Ab um the builder was given to m~; I caused him to build the icehouse.

......,.

,

~~~house,

Having completed the

went (back) to

Ma~i.

this man

Now there is no house builder \.v~ ~;-'c·; (...~I

at DUr-Yahdun-Lim, Sagaratum, or both palaces.

Let

my lord issue instructions; let him send me a house .' repor~

builder whose

is excellent, who will preserve "

in good condition both fortresses and,both-p-aJ.~ i h as, b een, trans Iate ' d b y Bot'tero I 15 an d F'lnet 16 " Th e term awil.l..tlnnum •

1

_.~

",!, ..

'as "macron."

The CAD, in translating this line at one point, aiso

translates "mason. ,,17

""

.fAQ says:

But under its entry itionu,

The OB passages show the itinnu as a craftsman directing the building of houses with the help of hired. men who ,make and delfver tta 'necessary bricks. Neither the translation "atchitect'~or "mas'ori" quite fits. The DB refs. indicate furthermore that the 'itinnu "s were organized' in guilds,. 'uQder~n oveise~r (akiu, 'see also ~itimga)lu)and werecQnn~cted~.iththe palace ,which g~anted, 'them holdings ,for tp~lr support. IS -

,-'';';,c_

-......

- .

eGo

•

_~~

If "architect" is too presumpt;;i~us 'a title, and "misort'.' does not ~---~~~.I~"~~-

.

do justice to'his 'skiIl,poerhaps "construction, supervisor~' would be "'.

-,

"

a more ?ccura'te title for thil;prof essional.

His skills certainly

'-"~t

~:"-

. '!,~.

'included those~ecessary to .the-
'~

if'[nltUm

bui.,lt' the iC'ehotlse whichZimri-Lim ,

J

•

hadotdered for §,agaratum, presumably as'fpa;r~~JJf".t:h~ palace complex. "

,-,

"~<-'.;

-.,

.

But his skillsexterid~d much furtner, inasm·ucp.cl$ yaqqJm-:-A<.glu was - 't

"-r

requesting an itinnum fOl:theexpres~purposeof repairing. the outer fortification walls of,the,Gity. .. "

-

(~..

-",

"j"';.

That teGhriiq.aJ ~comp,etence could be a p'rob!~rri fbr' tne administrator ~ " -

"

I

needing work done is illustrated by Yaqqim:-Addu ':s'charac teriza tion of

,

III

a previous builder in his district as an incompeteht.

19

It would

appear from the last lines of this letter that Yaqqim-Addu hopesi this new wall repair, which could not be safely postponed for any great '. . ~..~~~ /"'

.

length of time,20 would be his oppor~unity to regain a permanent,

~i.~ g~trict. ,~:";;: \.'1" .;.~ ','

builder for

~merge

the1Dtl~ld~;r.

was a supervisor of workers does not necessarily .... 7- J!!' from this 'letter. However, ARM XIV 24 is the ~~p~rt of a simi-

That

lar collapse of a section of the outer defensive wall of the city of Sagaratum.

In this letter Yaqqim-Addu did not request a builder;

presumably he had the

servic~s

of a,. builder already on this occasion.

But he did request the king to write to Kibri,...Dagan,the governor of Terqa, instructtpg him to send tWo hundred T~rqans, toSagaratum to ass!s t· in the'rebuilding of the fallen section of wall. '"-This illustrates the contention of the CAD that the

bu~lder

W,aS a. supervisor of

laborers, who in this casew.ere. to be augrne,nted,~J)y a c~:mtit}g~nt of men from the adjoining province of Terqa, at lea~t if Yaqqirn-Addu's request met with 'approval. Another aspect of the mobility ,6f. artisans at Hariis ,also highlighted ,by ARM II 101, in. Yaqqim-Addu's request

fora

permanent builder ,

for his staff.

~

Th,isrnan, would not ha\'e been ,trC!velling from one prov-

.

'

ince to another, as artisans oft~n diet, if Yaqqirn-Addu's request were granted. ' But he would have ,done considerab1e ,travelling within the .

,

.I

province, inasniu~~h as he jWO~ld ,'have been responsible for, the mainte-. 1

~

nance and repair of . the' 4orti:fi-cat;:ion walls of hoth Dur-y'ahdun-Lim and ~

.

~

t,

r'

l~'

•

'-'-,

Sagaratum, .as. well 'as thr~' palaces within these' two towns • .i

- - .

,.,/

Three'of Ki.9(ri...p~gan's.letters

refer to builders and add support

.,.,.\~f.~:'~t-

~~...

112 . to . . ·t.he picture drawn f'rom Yaqqim-Addu . . r s correspondence. ~

ARH III 47

is' the gov~rnor' s repor'!: that a builder had arrived in Terqa. underscore~

This

the liability to travel which we have noted; it also

illustrates the governors' responsibility to keep the palace updated ."

on' the whel;::eabouts of skilled personnel. ARM! XIII 121,. and 122, while considerably damaged , Sire concerned with the building of an icehouse in Terqa.

They

corrobo~ate

the evi-

dence from Yaqqim-Addu showing the governor involved in the plaor-ing .

,

'~

'

and execution of building projects, almost to the point of acting ~s a "general contractor." '~'

The Sluice-Man Another professional who relied both upon' the knowledge which he
carried in his head aRd upon, the skill of his hanci~~.was the sekeru, the sluice-man or constructor of di,kes. texts, ARM XIV 15, 16, 17; ~

,

15

The title occurs in three

',-

and l6'dealwith the same episode of

flooding on the Habur , and l7de'alsj.vitha legal matter involving IIi-*:

v

.,~~

""' "-~

>'"

. Sakim," the

sluice~inan

mentioned in 16.

This episode is discussed in

the chapter on flo&d. control (and irrigation. 21 ,

.

.

However, at least one observation is in,btder here.

The tenor

of the surviving texts, with their emp,hasis upon military, diplomatic, economic, and agricultural. activities, might cause us to forget about the role of the skilled' aIld/or professional) people, or to downplay their importance.

But this episod~, recording the desperation of

Yaqqim-Addu to receive a capable sluice-man, and:the extraordinary '\

leng ths to whieh·:Bahdi-Lim wen t t'o comply 'Vlith the king'sinstructions '!P'.f'

~'

in the matter, reminds us again of~the importance ,

~-_..; ;

!:

q

,

of

professional men

in spite of ' the paucity of lines devoted to them in the material as a whole . . Kibri-Dagan referred to sluice-men in two letters.

In both,

ARM III 5 an'a ~T XIII 119, he merely reporteq' t,hat he had dispatched Again, we have'evidenc~ 'for the mobility of skilled

them elsewhere.

:i"!~

personnel and the responsibility of the g'c)\;e'tnors to send them where· needed. ......~;j;

.'\.. ,-

.

Artisans-Craftsmen To this point we have been discussing those occupations which' would be termed the professions.

Yaqq~m-Addu's

letter.s also contain

references to a pumber of occupations whose ;practitioners were skilled, craftsmen/arti~ans.

The Basket-Maker and the Potter .f

11'10

artisans we find mentioned in Yaqqim-Addu '~.letters are the , ..,

~"...-,

.an~9the

basket-maker

potter.

_~oth

"-

'<

of these are mentioned in ARM XIV, 42,

in connection 'with a shipment 'of material which was for their use. 22 ,

'

"\

A basket-maker is referred to again in,ARM XIV 119:16-18:

.. .

J1U,.'

,

• u

1

awil'

.'

,~tkup'pam

(=AD.KID)

T~a n~ ~~i-ir~tim Ul~lu-ri

a-n~ se-e~ be-l!-ia',i-re-ed- rdi'

"..

Translation: ,Also,Ulluri conducted to my lord a basketmaker who is connected with ·the secret service. That a basket-maker was connec'ted with the secret service, or involved on a secret'mission, may be surprising. other evidence in these letters.

Yet it accords with

In another situation, mendicants were

114

us.ed as inf ormers.. 23

Kibri-Dagan complained in the midst

(

,

~~~\

an~

sode of unrest

epi-

ot~o~e

..

~hr'ea tening

postures on th:e part of the tribesmen

;.. ;

.

tha't it was the t:ribesmen'swomen who were.... suppl.ying them with inforr

Q

'\

mation on the~ta~e'6f E;ec~rity in the towns.

J-

The women were coming .~.

;

.:

into town during ihe day) and returning to the camps by night. 24 . :'> ;

A basket-mak~r would have been an ideal addition to this group of "I~_..~

,

r

1

.~.

clandestine agent$.· His o4cupation·made a good cover) for while it r ::-

may' not have dema~ded that he move from place to place) it certain~y '; )

z.

~uch

did no t prohibi t

\

movement) either.j This traveling bas}<et-maker

';

.

provided~?n opport~nity which the crown recognized and exploited. ~

.

.~

~'..-"

~~.t' >:~

""''f;

• The CarpenteE. ' 'I'

Only one lett r mentions carpenters) But it is important for the .;

are introduced.

manner in which

The letter is ARN XIV 47: _

v

aW11 - _mes . . ] ... v., [ l-na pa nl -tlmas-sum n..aggare

5

'.

r

1.'1

[be-11

,

1'.

rna

s]- pu -ra-qro v

•

I

a ] -as-p~-ar-tl be-11-ia

r

~

23

13.

. , qa-tlm -rna

aWl-1

.. v T 1"" k' • sa, h a-a -Sl-lm a -ml'. sa-arn-ma {X}

Previously) [my lord] 'wrote to me concerning

Trans1at C".';r..,

th

- _mesv

n~ggare

carpen ters.

In accordance with my lord's instruc-

...

iii'"

.,

~

.

ti ns) irnrnedia tely.I assembled • . • in' total) thirteenc

penters of tHe district. :"l

'there eire numbers of 'instances in the Ma,ri letters. in which the' ~

.

;

conscription of large groups of men for either military duties or ,'\ ;

,

corvee labpr is mentioned. ,'\

,

.

But here we have the unusual

.

phenomeno~

of

115 • a relatively large group of' men assembled in order to practice their ,era f

t. 25

~"

s~curing

The governor's responsibility in ,

skilled manpower

,

. is again evidenced.-;

References to Other Craftsmen

-\

I

~e 'smith poss,essed tet\hnical expertise :Lmportant to th-: fu1ction-

There is one refere~ce t'o this craf tsman in1the , ~" . .. I. letters of Yaqq:Lm-Addu. There smiths are linked with tailors (?)\and

tng of Mari society.

•

.

-

_~

.,."

I

1

r

'

.' fullers ,in a ";context which reveals no details concerning the prac¢ice .,,~I\;..

.~ of any.of the three oo.cup'?tions.

The,lette'r'in question is A~ XXV 48: ,

~

15

..

,"

", ''I

' ... h- awil '~~ r "? [ mes?,] , , - _mes e- I l.-l. mare um-me-nl. nappa""e ,TUG. DU 8 '~ A -1 y . , , awl. "1 at<. '1 k' mes v \I " , 'II r b l." - [''l.m \' U ',as 1. sa a-nf! se l.-l.a su-rues-qu, ] , " ,

. Translation: , -:c,.,.

Are they above the, artisans - the smiths,

t~e ~ailor~ (?), and -the fullers - .Y1horiJ [thave.

appoint,ed] to bring .in my grain? ~

I

Tbis questiqn, wh~chisJ from the mouth of Zimri!-f~im, adds support \

to

"~r

conclusion that the need for a cons'iderable supply of unskilled i

labor ,(an"d men to fill the ranks of the militlJ~Y) at certailn seasons ,I

. of, Ule year necessit"ared' the assignment of me?~r~.~~l¥'e._skil11~e,might

,~;"~ ~ . . '

have expected to win. themexemptioil..-

,

',h"

i!

-:"

-I

Stone-cutters are 'discussed in ARM XIV

26. -

...

Yaqqim-A,ddu acted as

the~ stone~.rutters

liais0n in a. discussion between

-'

.;

Lasq.~m

of

and the ,

"

,

Interest:Lngly,~he gmternor took, th~:.part of the ston~-cut ters.

king.

,..,

.

In ARM - XIV 5 Yaqqim-Addu requested a ~,.

ox which had. fallen

ill~

~

butch~J;~tb

Fearing that the' king _v'l;

.

of

quickly enough and not wishing . the 19~;~_ "I

.. 0....

_

tend a sacrificial

~ight nn!t 'respond:

the qx to fall to his respon. --" .

,

It-·

~

sibility"he sent ARM XIV 6 to Sunuhurahalu, the' king's secret.gry. and ..., ...., .

.

. '

~

.~

'.

\

, ---=-

"

..

._

.'~

...t ~,

';;' . ~:i

\

116

--li-~':

Yaqqim-Addu'~ fr~end.

Tpis letter ~as simply a ~~statement of the o

,;;

prbblem, with \the Pt~'for him to inter~ede wyfh:~be~king'on Yaqqim-

.

~

.

'/'

.

~

40'__

Addu's behalf'.

,

Three other occupations are mentio~ed in'pa~,sing in the letters. "

In a list of men who had bEi,~n"conscripted fr~in Bar,},;},an,

of Yaq9im-Addu.

'.

;'_.... . •

.

.t

a, man designated' as a samiAg. is included, ARM XIV 62: 22 •

'The term

sami~ means "m-i~er"26 ·a.nd probably has reference to a b~ew~cr. ARM XIV 82: 16-i7, .

tli};-e~ men of the S. [t,i-?] a:rJ'\iesignated as .'

•

'+

-"'-~r-

~

.

j

In

ugglers~z7 .

•

Final.ly, in a discuss ion
;

.

\.

. ."

~'--

"

._"

. ~i.1

/~'

.. ,'

t

•

./~

~".

-i<

.~

"

/~\'Q:~ ;-:'-'~"':.

.

,

towers or haulers, thati.~,'t~§.~steI;,~,~RM XIV.,29iftj;~"':"'l7. Ba,bdi-Lim .' ""'~: ~,-~l:+ i f fk~ • . it'" referred to barbers _ (ARM 21 /--ap'd/ 49); KiJ)ri~D(lgan to goldsmiths -.-.- VI .. /, ... ,- ,,,in ;., "'J';_f..~ .... (ARM II I 43 and 7 4) and 'a +u~Jgt/' (A.EMT ~III f3l}'.· Q

....

iIlo-

".~;-S/~

,,/ S~~~? •.

;

.

.

}~ ~ ~.~ \~",'

~

rk: .,. -e

... ; .

"

:

.~

Profe\ssionals and ski1:tled ..:craf1:smbn' could be attached to a gov-"'· .

.."~.';' ~ . ':OCj'

.

.

I"

.

ernor's staff, o,:t,'"':t~~y.could/$'~ sent t{> him to do a 'single, specified ';;.",<, . .w

.

'

I·

.

-..

.

Those nut: ~.~Ionging to the bure.fiu,cracy· could :~econscripted

t8S'k.

",

for short

.. ,"

/1

;

per~ds././/()n occ-a~ion ")_.

·,;~t:

/-:-'.

.

".-

i

•

this whsdone to '.:

----.-'

:

.

mak~ th:~ir' skills

,

.

available to thl:fgoverrullent~ but more often resulted from seasonal ..., ~

.man!:~lG~r ~f~~uirements ,.

't-,~'

unrelated to

ind~vidual~ skill~.•~

,J

.

:

The~oyernors oversaw, at the king's direction, the 'placement of .

.

I

i

both prcife~sionals and craftsmen, and ~he progress of their work. . They request~d them to be sent to --their districts wheti' needed, . ~nd! _-.

v

~

~-""H

Jt

...;.~_to

-

facilitated their travel. Jealings with

thes~

~

"'t:

The key adridnistrat~rs i1). the goyeinmeil't! s I

people were the district governors.

.'

\

!

I

/

!

/

.\

Chapter V

NOTES

lWhile this fact influences the>6ature of the records as they re./

flect the presence and

activi~ies

of various protesslonaIs-rn-the king-

dom of Mari, it also unbalances the tot~l piq-r~re 'vi th regar_d to other • aspects of life ~ such as agriculture'and building.' Th,e concerns' of •

I

!

brdinary ~eo~le, putside the capital cities especia!ly,are virtually ~

.-

unrepresented iu",the letters, and the economic and

ju~idical

texts do·

not add much • . ~ 2The best-survey of medicine at Mari remains A.' Finet, ilLes

. --'" medecins atl. royaume de Mari," AlPHaS 14 (1954-57), pp. 123-144. 3See John MacDonald, "The Role and S tatUB' of the. ~u\la7ii' in' the Mari Correspondence., It JAOS 96'G,(1976), pp.57-68.

Cf. also John·MacDonald,

I,

. '!The' Status. and Role of the Na tar in Israelite Society,II JNES35 (1976), pp~

147-170. 4Andre Finet in Jean Bottero and Andre Finet, Repertoire analy-

ttquedes tomes I

aV

(ARM XV) (Paris:

Imprimerie Nationale, 1954)-, t,

p. 129. 5Finet, ItLesmedecins," p. 134.

Could i tbe that Mardamanian

,physi,cians were recognized as better healers be'cause of their access; to a variety of efficacious herbs in their mountain homeland? 6Those' occasions in which peasants were used as corvee labor

:"1 !

118 ,occasionally -involved the people of one district he1ping#in an -adjoin-

:"'" ing distY.ic t. - Examples of this occur in ARM III 2, 3, and 79, and in

" ARM

/ --;/

XIV 13, 19, 24, 25, and 71.

But th'is edoes not 'involve the con.~.

stan, t possibility' of travelling from one: plaee--ro

.

.

I

-

anoth~r

'.

in practice

I

of one's profession which is under corisi~eration here. 7 See Jack M.

BASOR 190 (April,

BFor example,

Sas,son, "Instances of ¥5JbL1-it-y--among Mari Art isans, ", kr

19~8),

pn. 46-54.

ot. nine

pass"ges

.

)'

i

conc~rn~ng physicians at Mari "I

cited in CAD,_ Vol. 1 ("A" Part II), p'~~15:, seven of them speak of the physician as being sent from 'one' pla.c:~ to another. 9These letters are d;i.scussed infra, pp. 178--180. 10 Cf. A.. J-,e~ Oppenheim, "A Note on the Scribes in Mesopotamia," in Studies in Honor of Benno Landsberger on His Seventy-Fif·th ~irthdayL (Chicago:

The University of Chicago Pres~, 1965), pp. 253-256.

It

should be noted also, with Jack Sasspn, "S'ome Comments on Archive "

Keeping at Mari," Iraq 34 (1.972), p. 56, that " a substantial.group of female scribes flourished in the pa,lace."

~.\ \. ':'t

11 See the di.scussion of Jacly· M. Sasson, The Ni1itary Establish-

(Rome:(~~ifiCa~BiblicalIns titute,1969),

ments at Mari

.

12 F '6'f. a

1

comprehen~ive trea~ment

/

p. 22.

'

of religious personnel, see

,!~,-:

•

Johannes Re.nget, ",Untersuchungen zum Priestertum in der altbabylonT" •.~

';~ ";. ),", ,_ -

t,

ischen Zeit," ZA 58 (N.F.,24) (1966), pp. 110-188; 59 (N.F. 25) (1967), pp. 104-230. 13That the breach which had occurred in the Habur was\ the cause ... of the collapse of the section<;>f the city wall, "Yaqqim--Addu did not state explicitl.Y".

j--..

/

'But that this was so is not an unreasonabl.einference,

'

""'l•

.'

119

./.

considering that the collapsed section of wall was on the north side of the city, which could have been adjacent to the river bank. Geo:t;.ges Dos sin 'sidentification of Sagaratum with the

If

mod~rn

village j of Sawar is correct, then his statement in "Signaux lumineux au pays '--.

.

.

.

<-

~.\:~J" --~;r

,de',Mari,HRA 35 (1938), p. 185, n. 2', i~ pe:ftine:l(1t:, "Un tell tres ' importan,t s'y-dresse encQ,reau bord de 1a riviere." 14

' I.e., he was "lazy, incompetent, or possibly too old or sick.

' l5 Bottero, ARMT XV, p.3l6.

16Finet, ARMT XV, p. 183. 17 CAD, Vol. 2 ("B"), p. 56a, translated ARM II 101:14-18, "PN,

formerly (the mason of our district), passed away, and even

rt

this

mall were alive (he would not be capable of doing anything)." . l8 CAD, Voi.

\,

7 (';I-J"), p. 297b.

These comments were published,(p\"

.... \(

1960, yet the translation cited supra,

f

' , .

.

n.- 17,

appeared in 1965.

.••.

is no fully satisfactory t~r~ in Engl~sh.

A

There

In' Spanish¥~ word is

adobero (a man who makes and builds withadobe:"'bricks) . . ~

~-~

~~incompetence o.~'~,~jbuilder presumaply would·

19 T he 'c:ornpetence

have shown itself: W!4il!fn a reasonable pe:rioft of. time; Yaqqim-Addu.was ""'-

"-" ~~

"'",,"

.-

.

probably justified in his"ch?racteriza.tion of t:he man. )

noting,howe",!er~thathe

It is w.orth

. I\

also pad' a problem with the.ability of"

physicians on his staff (ARM XIV 3), cf. supra,pp.1 103-104, and with finding

a capable sluice-man,(,AR..\.f XIV.15)"

cf. supra, pp •... 49-50.

It is just .possible that this pattern reflects the reluctance .of ca. pable, personIielto serve 'under Yaqq:j,.m-Addu, or in Sagaratum, or both. ,. 20See discussion supra, PI'. 94~97. -.'

:J.

21See supra, pp~49-50.

120

22Maurice Birot, Lettres de Yaqqim-Addu gouverneur de Sagaratum (ARMT XIV) (Paris: p. 226 , says

0

" Librairie orientaliste Paul Geuthner, 1974),

" , I' Le<<materle . ~ , 1 f " a d'1 ennut pa harl' u"awll at k Uppl,mes" i

de po tiers et de vanniers»· designe en realite, non des instruments

.

de travail, mais lesobjets fabriqu~s par ees artisans, clest~A-dire les jarres et paniers destines au transport des provisions."

In

favor of this interpretation is,the fact that it is not likely that ei ther , . Tools orrilW rna eenatnp
artisans would be included in a shipment of luxury food items in~ended

.,

for traveling royalty.' On the other hand, one item manufac-

itured hythe potter, a jar (of beer), had already been mentioned in 1. 5.

Furthermore, if the jars and baskets were merely for the

transportation of. the foodstuffs, what would be the poin.t in mention,

ing them separately?

.

The reason for the mention of th~se artisans and

their "materiel" remains unclear . ." ',) ,

23~ XIV 84, in which the Yamin~tes were reported to have used -~.,

."

'---~~-_t>

f-

mendicants as spies upon the towD€{"a.I1.d--: villages 'of the district of Sagaratum'. 24 AlU1 III 16; again it was· the district w'hich was, being s p1ed upon, rather than the go~eA~or dispatching the spies. l~

25See the remarks of- Sas~on, "Instances of Mobility among Mari Artisans,'I,~p. 46~49.The question of whether craftsmen sueh as

.

.

these were dependents of the' crown, .exercising their c,rafts in palace enterprises~ or private nbtJsi~essmenli is-' one which may not be answer-'

'.

.

able on the basis, of presently available data.

That 'some craftsmen

did work for the palace, we have seen already •

On the other hand,

..

121 the conscription of thirteen carpenters and their characterizatic,n as "carpenters of the district~' J'{pu1d imply that these nen' we.re not plying their trade in the employ of the- crown at the time of their conscription. 26Finet t ARMT XlII t P.171, suggests "fouleur" a~ another possible -if"

mei~ing of this term.

"

;1",

,~~ 27The term mub.:tbbilu may represent Sl~ acrobat .possessed of other skills along with those of the juggler; ;see CADt VoL 10 (J'M" Part II), -'-.-J

p. lS7a.

/

.:-' ..<' .. ~

- '.

Chapter VI

',IN1'ERNATIONAL EELATIONS

. _f

,.~,

The Old Babyloniari pattern bf ever-shifting p~litical alliance,s,

~.,>!"

"

b~ul1

before Zimri-Lim's accession to the throne, continued to the

very end of his reign, when he was defeated by Bammurapi of. Babylon. 1 ,

Thus, a large part of' 'the. corre,spondence of Zimri~Lim's era is con-

., '

I

cerne'dwith diplomatic and military consultations; maneuverings, and For example, 41% of the letters from Yaqqim-Addu in his post

acti.ons. ~

.

..:;;:

of,governor at ,Sagaratum are either wholly or partially devoted to ~

i

..,

.

these cohcerns . , The other· ggverrtors also give much attention to them.

Diplomatic Activity Diplomatic concerns vary widely, ~,

d~pending

upon such thihgs as

~

the nature of the r~lationshipshetvlf7~n the principals, and whether it is atiine of war" or.peac~.

The.Ie,tters of Yaqqim-Addu and'the other

governors whichdeaJwith diplomatic mat,tera' reflect' this variety. Messengers on Assignment OneofYaqqim-:-Addu's most f.r,equent duties as governor of the out-" lying :provinceofSa:garatumwas to r~port on messengers passing through, Ylhethe:r "foreign'emissaries

Ott the way

to Mari' (or elsewhere), '. or

messengers of Mari bou?.4 f or 'another .country •. It wq.s not uncommon

.

",)

,

.

.. "or

fqr a tablet to.be sent',for. the sole purp'ose of notifying the king of

122

...

'

123

the arrival of messengers,

AmI XIV 126 is such a letter, informing

Zimri--Lim of the arrival of several Babylonian' emissaries who had been to the land of the Turukkeans, , The other governors also informed the king of, the movement of messengers, as when'Kibri-Dagan, in AID1 III 55, announced that two Babylonian

a~d

three

~u.rdean

messengers had

arrived.Presum~bly,

Bandi-Lim would have written such information only when the king was absent from Hari.

But since he '-waR in the capital ,itself,' his re-

ports reflect its greater bus,tle of diplomatic comings and, goings, For example, in'ARM VI 15,he reported on a group of five diplomats and es,cor.ts 2 who had come together f:t"om Qatna, but were bound for three different destinations, Then,as now, information was yita:l to prosperity, even to survival.Zimri-Lim needed to know the movements of allied and. enemy ~missariesaJ..ik~,(for'both could ···.and did-tM~liq.nge: sides), and whom •

.;'-J,

?Jt1tl.hi9-.

. -,~.",.:;.-;;

,besides himself they had talked to. gers might be expected at Mari.

r: . -

..'

'-.

He needed to know when messeri-=-

Theref ore~ it wascofthe _utmos't im-

portance that his 'governors notify him o~ all travel of ' foreign diplo, mats ~ whether they were moving to, from, 'or tht,?ugh Mari. Sometimes the governorrepo'rted not merely the fact of the mes-

senge~' sarrival, -but also a, summary of the news he carried. "is the cas~in AR,¥ ,XIV 125 :.. , -

.

.

.

'u-umtup"'p:l an-n'~-e-ema~na se-er be-l{~ia ," 4 " "

5

I.,

,,

:

,

, u~sa-bi-lam Bu-ur-ga-an

)..

Sa

'be~l{-ia

, "

h

I awilutn a-lik 1- rd~', -su

.

,-"'ki

i~~tJ I~la-an-su-ra~a ' ' '

Such

124 Tr. ' a-na S a-ga-ra- t"1m ki ., ik-su-du

nim

~e4-ma-ram' [an-ne-e]-em

21

rid 1 -bu-ba {-ba}-am-ma ' · , 'as-pu-ra.... v , rC3;rn " Tr. 1at.' a-na se-er b e- 1 ].-·la

The day I sent this'~ablet to my lorq., .~tif Burqari, (a subject) of my 10r,4', and a man from

Translation:

'j

Ilan1?ura, his escort, arrived at Sagaratum.

...

demanded a report.

I·

[This] report he gave

to me, (and) I wrote to my lord.

-

fA

'

This is only one of a number of Cases 'in which Yaqqim-Addu ''\,

Q

demanded' a re'port from a messenger passing through Sagaratum. 3

If,

,

,

asio, this 'case ,the emissary were -en XPt,lte t9 M~ri. anyway, the pur, ,"

,

,

pose of the 'interrogation by the governor seems to have peertto allow' for 's,ending on ahead of the, diplomat a summary statement of the io, '+ 'forma t:~onwhich he then would brin.gin full. ,

.

Thus, if the news

,

required action by the king, his response might be more quickly .

.

J

.

, ,/

forthcoming. /Therewereoccasions on which it was necessary for the governor 1

-to rertderassistance 'to the 'messenger upon his arrival. records one such case:

y,

I tia-1u-ra-p;l _,

Tro'

~a, Ha-ia~Su";'mu... J W

"

tup-pa-tim a-ha rs~~er"

,ARM XIV 117

"

125 . be-.11-ia na-si

-

Rev. 10

aWl~am n

V sa-a-tu a-mu-ur-ma -!

ki-ma e-di-~i-su {-su}-ma i-la-ak ma-a~-~a-ri-~u·

,

.

as....ku-nam

'rna

, a-na se-er be-l:l.-ia . ,

," " , r us", -ta-re-es-su

15 '/c

Trans1a~ion:

tlalu~rapi, a messenget of gaya-Sumu, is 4

bearing tablets to my lord.

I saw this man.' As

he is t"rave11ing alone, I established guards' for him; I have sent him to my lord. ~-,

...

Bahdi-Lim also report'ed, in ARM VI 14, that he had assigned an escort to accompany a Qat,anean messenger until he reachedZ,imr,i-Lim'. ,

I

In ARM XIV 127, Yaqqiln-Addu reported that he had obeyed the king' s instructions to, strengthen the guard oian Ekallatean'emissary. He had assigned three

.

re~iable /

.

men to the messenger and sent him on .

/

,his way. That these measures were The first part

nec~ssary

is illustrated by ARM XIV 86.

o~·,thi$Jletter5 is a'report of the ,killing of t'wo of

Zimri-Lim's subjects by-four 'nomadic UprapeanswholU: they had inter...

-,.'

rupted, skinning,a,stag.. A third man of the travelling party was a ,

messenger, of Ca,rchemish; he' manag'edto escape and reach 'Yagqim-Addu, 'who sent him oIl: to Zimri-Lini.

~The governors' respollsibilities

.included protection of foreign, official, tr,ave1lers from such dangers. ,

"""

,

,

~,

'

SQmetimes" rather than helping

governor felt it

ne~essary ,"

-

r_

$.~i~ '

messengers~on

to detain them.

thE;1ir way, the

ARM XIV 97 is an

exampl~:w, ,._.,.~ :- -. /',<

t~

1", 126

u Sa-mu-sa

awll Kur-da

rki'

1 mar si-ip-ri-imawilrBabili a-lik

i-di-~u-nu

is-tu Kur,da

ki

ki

y I r ° i k -~u-du-nim i-na Sa-ga-'ra-tl.D1

Tr.lO

v

ak-la-su-nu

,

o

k 1.

'

ti

urn-rna $u-nu<-ma> a-na Babili.[ki.] ,

,

ni -la-ak i-na-an-na be-I!

5

'

'.

,

"- r!;

.

'I " ., ] Rev. e-te-eq-su-nu u 1a' e- [ te-eq-su~nu

an.-ni-tamla~n-ni-tam~li'-[l~-pu-ra-am] v

.

.

'

"

Kirip-Seris and Samu~a, men of Kurda, and

Translatipn:

a Babylonian messenger, their escort, arrived"from ,,:

Kutda..

I

0->

'''f";~1~~_''

-..

detained them in Sagaratum.·~Tl1ti~they ~1<

(said), "We are going to Babylon."

Now' 1 et my

.\

.lord [write to me] about whether or not .to allow them to proceed. Bah'di-Lim also detained messengers until he could ascertain· whether the king wished to allow them to'continue their missions. ~'1,?

."

~

\

,

J.

On two occasions, recorded in ARM VI 18 ~pd\ 19, he reported that he had detained emissaries on their way. to'Ziwri-Lim, and requested . ~

direction.

In ARM VI 22 and 23,

-~~~.

~

he~~ked::.Hhether he

tb'

shbulddetain

messengers of other powers, which of course'meantthe.~weredetained'

-

until Bahdi-Lim received his answer! ..

Of course, messengers weren't detained without excellent reason

ohe' sown emissaries could'

be

detained .in retaliation.

The clearest

statement of) reason is found in a letter of Bahdi-Lim ,"ARM

vi

19: 17-22 =-

127 ;"

-1 am sa-a-tu v . . . aWl a k -'1_~a tnn-ma a-na- k u-ma

as-su-ur-ri-ma sa-bu-um til-la-tum •

-

.

1'" ~

_.

~

til

..

ma-ha-arbe-ll-ia ~-ulpa-ah-r~ '20

.

.

\ -1am ' t' \ d ~a uaW1 sa-a-tu a-na se-er b e- I 1~ -i a a-ta-ra-a '

wa-ar-ka-at' ~a-bi-im i-pa-ra~~s 'tv, •• as-sum an-nl-tlm

. Translation:' I

" ak - la-su

detained this man.

I

....

".

."J(.'

Thus I

(said),

"Perhaps the allied troop$ have not (yet) assembled ....... .. :.

, • J

"

Then, (if) I send this m~ to my

before my ·lord.

lord, he. will discern the matter of the troops." On account of this I detained him.

The governor. .was

responsib~e,

upon the ar,rival of a messenger

in his city, to decide whether to report the arr;i.val, speed a summary

,t

~ay, ~"w>..'"

of the message ahead of the mess,fi\l1.ger, assist him on his ;>.

~;, detain him.

or ...

4

He could not afford· mistakes, for mistakes would have

been costly to

zimr i-Lim ,

either in the goodwill of other sovereigns ,0:» ...

or worse, in being placed at a diplomatic or strategic

!'~.,.

'" disadvantage.~"

Other Personages Though, .in the nature of the case,' the governors dealt with ~.;

messengers most freqJ~ntly"their responsibilities included r,elating

.

,,'

in various Ways to other travellers as well.

,The mq,st' iblportan.t of' .>/

these were kings, who travelled for a number of reasons';

Yaqqim-Addu

once receive'd' two kings travellin,g tog'ether" as reported in ARM XIV 113: ,

5

.

, an-ne-em , . $e- r ' u· -um tUp-p1 a-na er '~-4 . '-.,..

be-Il~iafi-sa-bi-Iam

I'" , I"d ' I -11- Ma-ma

128 awIl As-na-[ki-im Tr;

~.,

I

aW1l

x

I

/'

ki

Su~du-[bi-im

l

:i !

,

i; i

]

~

----.

!

[

!

Rev. U 2 awil

X

. .,

•

]

A-mu- ud -[p1-El] ~v

10

ki

[

, .

pa-n1-su-nu sa-ab-tu

:;:~.

,- a 1· ha a,...na se-er be-l!'- ria" p11--am • ~..,.. :'1",.. ! i-re-ed-du nim

15

t_

um-ma-a-mi ma-as-su-nu .. a-na "sar-ru

{_

. ,

'l/..,'e.

....

'u.'>

tint: .

il-q~-~u-nu-ti-[ma]

.,'

. a-na ~e-er he-l{.. r ia"

Tr·.• -20

i t--ta-a 1-- k u-

Translation:

r

• ,

n.1ID

:1:

,.'"

The day I sent this tablet to my lord ,

Ili':'Mamma{theman of A~nakkum, Amud-pl~El, the

. .-'-.

).

they are

<':. '=::r~;i b.

conclucting them; they' are leading an .ox to my lord. "

Thus (they said, that) their land has' received thiftfor kingship.

They. have gone to my lord.

Since these two· men had been accepted as kings of t":l).'eir respecI',

-"-"'-

tive territories, the next step ,was to present themselves . before /'

,.

Zimri-Lim to acknowledge' their vassal relationsh:tpt6 him.' That· these two were minor kings who ne~deQ the protection of a powerful king in order to maintain .themselves appears certain from several considerations .One..is that they had.a very small entourage • their gift -a. joint

g.it~t,

Also,'

it would appear- - was a single ox (or bull)

-~

.;"

129 , to be presented toZimri-Li~jAn.d finally, while A~nakkum is men-

tioned in 'a number of tbcts,~ Suduhum occurs only here and in ARM

-

--

..

XIV 1'12. ..:~.

~

Ya9qim-Addu's obligation to these'vassal kings does not appear . 'r'l/: ~. to hav~ diff ered greatly from the assistance he wotlld qpve rendered '____
~

to;.~essengets passing through Sagaratum., "'11(...

','

•

After rec;eiving them, he

,

probably would hav'~ provided~?'r,e lavishly for them.

;But~his send-

.

~.

~

ingof a messeng'er' ahea,dof them to Zimri~Lim ~~scommonpi:'actice

, 1"".'

.'

.

.~

t-t ,.",',

also with messeijgers proceedin.gfto Mart. ~.- --:."

'

'.

'

~~',,~~;.,

.

It

.

\.

Weare

"

.

app,rised of

nQ,t

.

qugmentirtg ofc-,-t'l1eirescort,. or of Yaqqim-Addu's .

"

accompanying t

'.

-- '.-

aran

extra provision,s

..,~.

:1 ...'....- .

t1}efu"hims~lf

-.-:e=~'i;·,

·~~tjor·~.:·'-'

for part ..of the .way'.·

.

"',',j

"

is

a differentst0l:'Y ,with

the passage of another king through ~

Sagar~tumon his way to MarL

;wbile ~ven.. sma11~al kings ~JUld

\~

not have been treated contemptuously$' the visit. J.'"

.

. ,:.

. _ ~

of

'01

Hammurapi .."

;- ,'.

Kurda .' ~~.

•

" illustrates the finer treatment which was accorded ~o the more im-

..•.

'.

~

><~,,':

portan t ralers whose' supPQrt .wasvit'al' to Zimri-Lim' s ~trepgth:,7' ~

-""

.

',.

.,;-~-

.

.XIV 99 reves-Tst.hat Zimri":'Lim. had sent priorinstruct:!-ons con,,", . . , . . .

'

"

,

cerning arrangement~ fortravel'.ass!s·tan.ce. to', !J8JIUIl~raIJ.i.~,E"~n,.more .'::

'~..

-

"

-

-'>;

' .

:~.,

,

",'./> .:.~. .' ~ .- ~

~~:,--

'.

revealing is 'the fact' that:>if the originallyappoirtte.dguide/escort, '

.

t-

'

•

~-

,

~.

-

.\

for some rea~onshould·ha've fa·fled· tQ}lrrive on'tit1te, the governor.s. ~

of Sagaratum and Terqa were personal1y~t'o'asstune'th(a re§pOllsibility ~

i

of see~ng that he ar'rived safely and ,accompanied by the prol?er rank, _of officiC!l.

. .

, '.

""lliO..:...

,

. '. ""l'...-.

.'

"-,z. ~

130 was the purpqse of his trip, Kibri-Dagan did not

~a~. ,

An in.ternatiOl1al affair' of a different sort is reported in' ARM "

~}

XIV 118.

This letter, while its concern is still fundanientally ~'.j

•

I

diplomatic in nature, also involv~s and'ther dimension.

The letter

reports.,the unsuccessful at~empt of Ulluri, apparent.ly a notable .in

...

Zimri~Lim's court,

bring Kiru~. the daughter of Zimri-Lim, back to

to

,

Zimri-Li~

her father.

,

had given his daughter to tlaya-Sumu, who was

.

the king of Ilan~ura'in Idamaraz~ "in another of his politi~al moves o

to st,rengthen

hr~ control o~er that part of his realm. "e The mar-

ri§lge was not working; anot'her'letter records Kiru' s request that

..

she be'allowe'd to return home to' Mari;9'Whether

ARM XIV 118 reflects

Zimri-Lim's respotise to her requ~st cannot be determined, but that .~\

:,::.

is not ou~- ~f the *ealm' of possibility"";' ,

... ~\-~'-\' -.-

J/..-"

\

.

The importpilt pp,iht·, J.o not~4here"is that
-~-.\-'

-_...

~ .....~

'.:

-~

.. / : \ 4 ' . '

t?

. . ---f-.'"\,.·

.... 1

-,.~

~

it to be his ,~~~~9tisfpility ~~f~rfogate Zimri-Lim' senvoy. to gaya/,( ."--\ . '-.~,' ,.:, ~ - Si.imu and to foX'ward ah~ad of him to Zim,ri-Lim.a summary of .that report •. I

This

/ "

' .

i~ /~/(Iidicati~nf1\hatJ.inesof

not dr

resport"ibi!ity apd

. \

in'"\hiS

'-...:.

\

\

a~thority were

in st.rict,acc6rdanGe with considerations of efficiency;

,.: ne ther were. t'peydraWn ';lith infTex:l.hility of scdpe.

~ti(jns

,

situatio~ reflect

neither effici';nt use" of tithe nor

.,

'

a perception that' some matters brought to his

\~)

•

Yaqqim-A~du's

.

att~ntHm simply by the

passage: of indiV:iduals, th~o~gh his city might not '1Je hi~ respol1sib~lity.

. \

, \ ~Anything which conceivab,J-1 could~, he of interest to the king,' it was \

•

,

.:s.c~,/···

': \ Yaqql.m-Addu' s business tqf report.

\

If there were any doubt about the

I

\matter~ it was repprted Ito the king for his decisi'on regarding its .'\ " . /

\.mportance.

\I

It is in Ahis light

j.

/

.

tha~

we

ne,~d .<'

to view Yaqqim";'Addu' s

•

131 ..

decision to interrogate the king' s o\om emissary, t:atb~'T,~~~than simply to assist his progress uninterrupted to Mari. In ARM XIV 98,' Yaqqim-Ad4u reported the arriva). of a number of dignitaries, including a c'ourtier, a governor ,and officials of !lammurapi of Kurda·.

As on the occasions when messengersarri.ved, the ~

governor's responsibility was'to keep the king informed.' Kibri-Dagan informed the' king, in ARM III 50, that three men representing tribes of the Yaminite confederation had come down from J.

the Upper Count-ry.

They were on their way

toZimri~Lim

to open peace

Knowing'they were !bmi~g gave the king time ·to prepare

negotiations.

~'

"ii' "j:\-

for their arrival.

'1J·~.t.ame

On occasion private

involved with the.
office in a manner which affected diplomatic affairs. Yaqqim~Addu

.

_

_~,_

In ARM XIV 52, ;'-J

~ _,Jr..

reported that an El.
slaves from Carchemish, but that he did not have the required documents showing he had permiSSion to bring them into Mari. .

.

.

Two other letters ,ARM XIV 51 an<:l 79, deal w~th<;Jses in which .1.

slaves were stolen and sold in an alliep country. .Xaqqim-Addtl' s main ~

.

/ ,-,-

enjoyed

. ties the men had .j eopardized the go()d relations :~

~

with these states.

By seeing that these ·men w~ret~apprehend~d and'

~~:i

punished:~'*¥~qqim"';Addu and his people prevente~· ~lte.deterioration in .,

relations which· otherwise would have occurred between'Mari 'and her neighbors.

.1

132

Military Operations

,

.

, G

.

... _c.-

Approximately one-quarter of the 137 letterS,()f~Yaqqim-Addu deal .

i"'~

with mi1ita~y matters. fl.

' -

, '!'

These range from the conscription of troops

'

to'sieges and pitched battles, from procurement and shipment of supplies to reporting of intelligence to the king.

The letters of Bahdi.... '

Lim and Kibri-Dagan similarly reflect,attention to the military affairs

•

. '

.( of the kingdom.· L
-if,·

his strength.

Troops of allied kingdoms or cqal1.tion$,Could· take ~~

part in campaigns, or even be stationed within Mar! 's~er!itary for longer periods of time. Conscript~Qn.:Yaqqim"",Addu' s

nors were' the kirig's .

ag~nts'

letters illustrate that the goyer-

in 'the

districtsi~

carrying aut his

,

conscription orders. ,

\

ARM XIV 61 is: instructive on several points: ,

\

\'.

_

_

.

__ ...'. I

'."

-

... _

_

•

.ki

'[ l.].;..nu-ma be-Il. ,l.S-tu Zl.-l.,b-na-tJ.m ~;.'

, ki I ,v, ., . a-na Ter-qa u-se-se-ru . ki, "

5

a~na Sa-ga-~a-tim

.

ak~su-dam-ma

- -me~ , l'llDu-sa-an-Ill.-l.q ki I \ " •• ' mare ' 'a,..

um':"ina. a-'na-ku-ma r~a" i-na pa-an te-bi-ib.... tim -

.,:.

~

., I 'rmara -'1 .., a-ha-su u-Iu-u -su ...

{}'

y. X u-za-am-mi-su

,

133

10

r'11., -sa-as-~e4-er-[su] u-1a-su~ "L

,

"~I

II

'Ii

rna

'II I.. ' , aW11um . 1] r KAM, MU r 2 KAM [ a-na MU su-u 1n-na-mar-rna

[i-ma-at]10 r"u-u1 Translation:'

.

j.-ba-1u-u~

While my lord was proceeding from Zibnatum regif?t~red

to Terqa, I arrived at Sagaratum.

I

the

men 'of the town.

(spoke~:~' "Jfu~ever

"

In these terms I

.~:~_. @o

has s'Qbtracted his brother

" ...-,

or~. his

son from the census

list, let him be inscribed thereon: ,Otherwise, it' "

eV,en[after one] or twoyearsthis-;\nan is seen, he shall die; he shall not live~" ,

This letter points / ... out that not only were the tribesmen involved in census and conscription, ,as Sasson notes ,11 but the townsmen were also liable." The term used here, usanniq, is not the technical term "

used for: enrol1nlent on the official c.ensus list.12

Rather, it is a

verification, of the accuracy of a list previously, compiled ~as is

.

.,

indicated by the provision for substitution on the list

-,

~for

one

-.

i

il1eg~lly- r~oved from it. The phr!aseo"logy of the threatened ,punishment in case of fraud ,

,

,

suggests that thet~oval of a. conscriptee' s nam~j!roni the \census list was, oft~n secured':by telling t;he officials ,in charge of. the

1

. records that the conscriptee hc1d died or~as of'erwise rerilove~: from' the place and

ther~forefrom tlle j~risdiction'~f the

person making ·such,;arepresentation 0Il be4alf'of -

.

11 the

crown. ". ..

•

I

_

\

.

thecons~rl.ptee,. was ~

not willing to be ~onscriptedhimself in that p~rson' s place, thE\ \

crown acquiesce4.~ with the' provi~o that $hould ther~pe:fraud involved in ,the claim, the original cons:criptee would pay with his' lif e. 13

134

A second letter in Yaqqim-Addu's correspondence deals with the problem of people being subtracted from the "census lists. ARM ,XIV 62, describes a chain of events.

The letter,.

The first is that Ka'ali-

Iluma, i';i;'be man ,of Barhan0' came ,to Yaqqim-Addu to report on the

presepce in his town of several persons who had been illeg~lly re~ ~,

moved from the census lists.

By "the man of Barhan" is most likely ....

meant' the headInan of the viLl"age, the "mayor."

Barhan was ~vidently

a town in the district of Sagaratum, under the jurisdiction of YaqqimAddu. ' We may see in this

tex~the

intended effect gf a royal order

that made to'tjU and other officials responsible ·for reporting,the presence in their jurisdictions of all types of fugitives, especially ,

of the type here reported, whenever such came to their attention. When the mayor of the town hrought this repor,tto Yaqqim-Addu, ,-the latter sent him with a sergeant, presumably as an escort , to the king, for ~

th~

king's examination and interrogation.

,

-

The king, having

made1his decision, sent instructions to Yaqqim-Addu about the matter. ~

Acting upon those instructions , Yaqqim;"Addu' e~aminedthe se.rgeant and

.

~

\ .

\

Ka'ali-Iluma, in,scribed eight men whose names were then rec·Qrded in .

•.

.

.

.\

the tablet, and sent on thista~le_t of report.

\ '\ \ K:l.bri-Dagan also reported to the king conce~:i.ng~he process of

enrollment for purposes of military conscription.' In \wo letters, ARM, lIt 19 and 20,·.he reported on, the enrollment of 'men\ from four \

.'!I!IIII

\

towns which he. named •. In" ARM III 2lne reported on enrqllment of men from an unspec:ifiednumber of Yaminite towns.

Whether in the

towns of the permanent~y sett~~d. population, or the town~ of the o ·

nomadic tribesmen, the gove!nor was responsible to overse~the

135

eligiblerln~~; kd

enrollment of fhe

'1

to forward to the king the t.ab-

lets containing their names.

Desertion.

11'

~.

*.

'Not. only were the governors .involved in the process ·~·~1

\~~~~I-

\"

of filling the ra~ks, they were involved ip the efforts to prevent desertion and apprehend deserters.

.Desertipn'was'

for the kings of th~ Old Babylonian period. 14

a

regular problem

The letters of Yaqqim-

Addu record a number of instances of desertion and his subsequent action. ARM'XIV 70 troops.AP~

r~ports

on the desertion of a contingent of :Babylonian

XIV 71 continues Yaqqim-Addu's discussion of this prob-

£j

lem' and }:lis propos~d solution •. Thepr'oblem was centered in the fact thatth,e allied' troops, the Babylonians, w~o werest?-tioned in Yaqqim-

.

Addu's district did not want to be pressed into service harves,ting ,

the ;grain of tIle district.

Since the people of the·dis'tricts of Mari

)

and Terqa had already been exempted from participating in the harvest'" this leftYaqqim-Addu short-handed.H9wever, his ,concern was with finishing the harvest of the grqin" rather than dealing with the -

'

"

Babylonian soldiers who had retusedto work.

Indeed, by the time

;.

he wrote the two letters, he,h~,dalreadyexemptedthemfrom the work )

which he had previously' intended for ·them to do.,

This indicates tnat

.,

while troops wereToan~d by one~ing to another, they could not aI'",

,

ways be -depended UP011 to' perform the. menial labor tasks which,were often assigned to a monarch's own trpop.s' ·iIi times
as

the harvest season.

, J

Thatforelgn' troops were 'not the only ones whb deserted' is indicated by Alrn.XIV 121:

1>:

~36 ki~ma ~a~bu-urn

5

i-na'qa-ti-iaia i-[ba-as-su-u] k'

'i-na pa-ni~tirn i-nu-rna be-Ii a-na Sa-ga-r"ra'-[tim 1] il~li-ku ma!-ha-ar be-li-ia as-ku-un-[ma]

.

,

' E awil Ha-names b e- l~" 1 M 1 ..,

.

u-te-er~ra-am

ha-al-sa-am &-~a-al-lim i-na-an-na ~a LU. r"MES'? 15

.

~

I!>

e~Zi~ib-ma(s~c) wardime~e-kal~lim 10

mu-un-[na-ab-ti]

' i - d'1.-1n. .< Ii -1.'b -- b a-su~u ,'i , 1'Ium lum a,

ma

~a-bu-um k.a-a~-r1..U1l

.

wa-ar-ki-~u-nu a-t~-ar<~ra>-du .u-ul i-ba~a~-r"~i~

,.\ S '. I Ha-1.a- u-mu,..u .....

l

X

J

15

[

Tr.

[

]

Translation;

, " v v

] X , - 'ID

X [

- ria'

'

-,~.-

as~sum

. sa-bi -1m

}s-pu~ra-am

rb"l" . 1.. k'" r ~?. e~' 1. -1a -su-'d" u-ma, Since [there are] no troops. at my disposal, I

\

pr'eviou~'~y, wheIl my lord came 'to,&a~,aratUlfi,:1'ap' .__ '_i_·:~lf<-,_,: "' -, . My lord' ~~ppo~tionedtome

peared'before my~lord.

100j.!aneans to protect my district'.

Now the,se men

,have deserted ; (these) slaves of the, palace have ,

runaway.

,

God forbid that it should be!

send seasoned troops to secure

the,;i.~

I would

capture, (but)

')

I

~~~

there,are non:. "But yesterday ljayarSumo of

I,

',

concerning'the troops. ' , ' wrote to me."

'.

,;

. my

, !

10~dtheyarr,iv ed. I,

',..

'

The !:!an~ans were such 'an,important elerp.ent of, Zirnri-Lim's king~ I . I

dom that Bahdi-Lim,in ARM VI 76: 2Q....21 , ,'l"

1'"

-:--

sa4d,

"If you are 'the king

.'

of the J:!p.nearl you are also ,seCOndlY king of the Akkadians."

Such

137 a large-scale desertion as this one, from among a group with which the king was so strongly identified, indicates the seriousness of the problem desertion posed to Zimri-Lim' s state of military preparedness. Yaqqim-Addu's intentions on. this occasion were to pursue and ,re,_~'-'''.' ."

.

-

"

captut'~ these who had deserted.

That ci,rcumstances prevented him

from dQingl'that should not obscure the fact that these deserters were regarded by the authQr1.tiesat Mari as liable to punishment.

It ap-

pears that these deserters actually did make good 'their escape, per,

'

'haps by fleeing to the nawUm as did those Haneans whose desertion ~

from Abuna is recorded in ARM XIV 92.

~~

~

'Yet 'Yaqqim-Addu clearly regarded

from Mari law and militRry

authority.-~

" deserters who were caught meted out to ,,~,

is indicated

by

AR.M

XIV/'75~:Yamhadean

.deserting .continuously.

~.

,

and Zalmaqean troops had been

OneYamhadean had been apprehended and 'im-

'-

,",,,-

',' "prisQJ:led.

We have noted that Yaqqim-Adduwould have caught and pun . . .

ished !janean deserters had circumstances permitted it .16 !

Here we,

,

have confi.rm~dthat such action was no't limited to a king' s 'oWn sub.,.. je~ts., That' soldiers of an aTl::'ed king should. be 'punished for an I

•

•

infraction ,as serious' as desertion should not be, surprising ,since; ,

,

,not even, d~plo~at:s ,were exempt from punishment for crimes G01111l1itted ,<

in their hostcouhtries,.l 7 " .~.

.

.

" WhetherY~qqi.:m~Addu' s remanding, o~ thePdeserter to prison r~-;~~::.~ sents·thef:J:naldisposition'ofthe Case or mer~ly reflects his keeping . . ;.

.

.

'

.

'

.

the man in custody untiL the legalproceedi~gs were completed cannot be

knOwrt'~ith certainty~ ':Itappears; howeve:r" that it represents

carrying out

of the

sentence.

If further 'legal actioilw~re contemplated

138 against the man, Yaqqim-Addu 'probably would have mentioned what he proposed that action to be, or requested of Zimri-Lim further direction in the case. Yaqqim-Addu i s outlining of ,the steps taken to prevent the desertion of the Yamhadeans and the Zalmaqeans definitely presents the problem as a serious one.

Placing the bazah'atu and the village

authorities on full' alert had not solved the prob.lem; even reinforcing the military presence w:ith one hundreq additi.on~a·l troops had not deterred this man from attempting to leave.'

Yaqq~m-Addu

ended his let-

ter 'expressing the hope that an extra ten men placed on a.strategic route and further strengthening of the bazahatu would prove sufficient ,,,":~

to stem the tide. ' On this occasion, it appears that such a hop'e may have had foundation. Here it should be noted that there was no sharp delineation between ,civil and military, functions of ·the governor, and. that he' ..

,

'was able to direct officials whose primary responsibilities lay in oneare'a to assist .him- in the other.' Thus, the sugagu",whose duties 'were ci~ilian in.'nature, were made jointly responsible f61:' the re.... , .

,

capture of the qeserters,and the; troops who came as reinforcement to help' P\lt 'astoptQdesertion'wer~~ployedtogether with and sup-

whoserolewc;is_quasi-rtlilit~ry at most • -.... .

porting of thebazabatu,

.

. Ba!Jdi-LimreiH>rted, :Ln. ARM

.

vI 35, . a case

.~f de$ertionunder

~if~erentci:rcumstancE:!~. ·.Whil~-Zimri";"L:i.m,was away in the 'Upper Coun,

try, a Yambad~~n rabiAmurri,m ,informed Bahdi....Lim that a number of his

troops had d,eserted.

He had recap'tured some,but: wished Babdi":'Lim ."

."

' .

'-

to write to the king· asking his aid. in pr,eventing the escape of the

139 others.~ The governor did so, arid suggested that the king could capture ..

the deserters by •r~inforcing the governors of the districts through ,~~ > ~ere

which they would be fleeing.

we see that as desertion was a

.... to Ziinri-Lim .and his allies, joint ·efforts were made

pr~bleincgmmon

deserters;~.: .

.' to apprehend .

\

-

Stationing and pr@visioning of troops.

The governors' responsi-

bilities'included troops' within their districts •. In ARM XIV 121, ,

\

(lis~

Yaqqim-:Addu'stated that at. one point 'he had had no troops in his trict~

Zimri-Limh~d assigned 100 tlarieans to him.

Though t~e ~aneans

had des~rted,. the letter reveals the posting of troops under the com-

~

!i

~. .

-".

F.oreign troops could also 'be,statiQned~in dist~ict towns. •

;-

to.

10-""'"

r ...

When

~'.

::~ .::~"

i"-.

they were , monitoring ,their conduct' .became the re~:p;onsibility of, the ' ".' i ~-

. governor.

~'--

c -". -

•

' :. . .

. - ,

,"

In -ARM XIV 69 and '70 Yaq'qim-Adclu' reported to the king6n '...... .~

.

. the compl'aints 'of units from four' differerit k.ingdoms .stationed in various towns within thedistrict.of Sagaratum. Kibri-Dagart reporte!;1 in .ARM· 11113 the refusal of 'a unit of Yam-

.

.

hadiantroops, to'leave;thepla~e where they had been forsorne time. Since theywere.notamena,bJe~'othe. direction . of the governor , the . case' required the intervention' of', tpeking. . . . ' ··A\.~imilarepisode, again .

.

. , '

-

"''.,

involving.Y~hadia:n t~obPS ,.:w~s .~reItort.e",;r~9Y Kibri~D!lgap~:i.n . Foreign tro"ps. were·

ARM ----

,'.:

."

ARM III 30 •

noi:~lw}~~~@ted
tributed to their uncooperatlveattifudes. •

.<

Yaqqitn-Addu reporte4, in'.

:~~

'.<.

.

XIV 74 thatvermin18 had attacked""'a. quantity of flour which he "

.

.

had had ground fo):' ·the.use.of tile allied troops~After asking that .

,

it be rep.laced, he 'p'top'osed~o feed the allied troops with it anyway!

.

\

140 Though his proposed treatment of them was decidedly inferior 'to -his epi~bde

treatment -of his own personnel, this

nevertheless shows that ~roops

t11e governor was responsible for the provisioning of

stationed

in his district. Governors could be required to lend assistance outside, their districts.

I,n ARM III 27

~

Kibri-Dagan acknowledged receipt of instruc-

tions to send a quantity of grain to Mari for the use of troops sta,"

t

t,ione
He reported that the grain was ready to be shipped,

but he lackedlthe boats in which to send it. ,.,.. "$f">~,_'_.

Conduct of Warfare [

,-' "

l-fuen _hostilities threatened or broke out, the governors -naturally .

..~.

had increased responsibility for the security of their< respective districts.

These ranged from defensive preparations to sending of

intelligence reports to participation in campaigns.

Defensive Preparatio.I1s .We come now

t.o

an examination of the

~

,

measures taken to, protect the dis t.r ict and its cities in case ofhostile incursions.

These could bebas:tcally from two s,ources.

The

nomad'ic -elements, of .the' (}ldBabylonian period were" not slow to take. I

.'

le-~advantage

~

.

of'any'opportunity for plund'er

.

~hich migh~

-~t

presenti.tself.

This was, true 'even of those groups ,nominally or seasonally'under the cont,rol- ofthecent:ral authorities.1'9 regularlymountedcampa~gnson,

from

coalitions of kings • . .

The more serious threa tcame .

the part of 'hostile kings or,

Both types 'ofc'onfrontation were faced by_

~'

Yaqqim-Addu; we will~ consider preparations against nomadic opport-unism first.

.,

141 A very clear and detailed picture of preparations against a ,.

. contemplated raid by a nomadic group

i~. gIven

.

"

in ARM XIV, 84 .":"''F~,is·

letter is even· further enlightening in t'hat it' also affords a glimpse into the preparations of the n01;llads ·as they ~eighed, whether or not ....s.

~

to risk the raid:

2 awile mi-su~la-tam20 a~na p~-hu-ur

~-~.,,-

v

.-:':. r·l'UR:1 mes . Ia-mi-na as-sum - te . 4 ~ml.-su-nu V ' l l .

5

v

.

I

I

V

le~qe-e-~m

.

. :as-pU-tir-ma la-rna be-ll. da"'!amx (=PI)-da-a-am . ,

f

.~,

~".

. ' Es-[nu]n-na " " k i .1-du-ku sa awll ... ~a-bl.-im v

r i-na' 2

awile Sa as-pu-.ru 1 awilum i.-d:u-ra-am-ma

[ki-a-am iq-b~] - rem um-rna'-a [,

,"10

mi .

] - rna sa' ?-da-di-im pa-nu"",su-nu ]

X

'.

.

Rev.

..

,.r e.

[a-na sa~daf..:.·r:tfi~-im pa-nu-su' -nu r~a'-ak"",nuit-eaI ak-lu-u ~

~ ~ " a-wa-tim a-ma-ri-im [as-sum 1i-ibl..;.bi-im sa

<__

""'.

awil ... k· i r l.S ."~. . • .~su-nu-rna . '. r rna' - .l.-.. -pu-ru-uJ.rnum-rna

'-..

I

~

' .

ul-1a am-ra-nim sihrum (= ......

~5

'

a-na

.

(=BAL.TUR) . . .,,,.'" use-urn sa kap""'Ta-tl.rn

dau~na..;.tim.ki ka-mi-i {-X} -is . " awll.rne.s ··· v • .'. ..

··-ma ki

I

~U.TUR)_sihirtum

. d . ~ .' ma- k l.-1 su-nu<-tl.> l.t-ruu""'nl.rn

'..

I

.

/

a-wa-tum u-s. e-em-ma q.a-tam a-na qa-tim-rna If

i~~a-ta-tim as-~i' h a-na $~-er Sa-~-me-e-tar

ki

v

V.

I

•

.

a-na Ma-ri.· as-J?u"'ur-rna rna-tum us-ta-an__ ~n-1r-rna . 10' . awil.mesrna_ku_u {X

X",} i-rnu-ru

rna

{X

X}

142 I

r 1t . , -ta-a 1- k u-ma'te -rna-am . 4

um-ma:~-mi ae.

Tr.

J

.

;-.,

'f.....

"

UD~B.NUN.NA) .us~ta~

.

sihrum sihirtum .. '"' • w J an-ne-e-em

.

(=GU) Purattirn (=

.'

i

J

u-te-ru-su-nU-~1-1m

.

an-s!-ir . , .

u se-um'ka-mi-:l.s· ki-1Ila·' te-ma-am" 4 . __--: .

.

V

'..

i"m a-na . A- b a-at- r t~m -r 1 ki

'I.. .'

•

.

u-te-ru-su-nu-s~-

~,

15 '

V 'e-pe-~:n-~m I 1/.. qa- t am i s-k u

,

le~qe-e-em

nu

'awiL.,-·

.

·l
2

'

.

•

JI'

.-

,. 1 i·s ' '2 I v r k 1'·, ~J.1 b u· maturram .... awI'l.e u-sa-ar'".Ji

dispatche~

Translation:. I

twomeu, spies, to the assembly I

.

of the Yami;1j.tes in order to find ··out. their intentions. -:

...

.

B~fore my l~'fd cJefeated tb..e' soldiers'ofEsnunna, one ,x. -- \;fo.;

lot

;man of the ,'two whom 1. had sent returned.

[He spQke]

.,~~-'';'~

.-

...

".

"

~(

'\

,:\ .

.t

l'

·o-to me in 'tlies~, terms,. H~ .~hey have [prepared] to -,,/~_'_-'~1{

....

",., ;!:~K{:'~ql~>~'~

"

raid,." _ •.: • th~y~ad '?~'~~Ia"":to ..rai,d; (hut) they have thqugh;' better' or i~. 21.:tI~tn order l to s~e the .

heart 7 0f

,:.,..

_~1

the._m~f~ -they s·e·~t¢·Mi~dicants2t{+1~':re. <;

",'-4,

'.,.

. '

' . '

. They' (inst:r:ucted.......<... '.. . 1 < .. ' . thenl~·irc·tnese-..term~~_"L,p~F:.r,·t.h.eter.~ ~-1'

~__••

'!:'_'

.'

.~~~~_~

~

__

.\I{~~;.r--_.~.:-:~_-.:.

-:__

•

.

-!~~

.

c_,. " .

~

.7

.r-:;

.

''''''.«!':'~ _.; ..

\

Are the young men,- tl1~ yOtlng women, and tpe gr.ain of . '. < . , .{__ ;_. .' ,1 " . : ~.;:,,'" the villa~esa.ssembled:.;..attthe fpr~WcatiOh$?" After <

~~

.

. . j

'.

,

'},;4;~~ ,

.

they sent the 'mendican~~ person. t.o, Sammetar

pe.r~_on.

atMari~

_'~__

--iif..~

~

-

..

.

.

he:re'~:~!lf~word w~n.t out from ~i~nal

'I raised

fires and wrote to

The country was put

in~o

a state of

TheniendiC'ants saw; they. went back (9nd) ~.

brought back the new~,of,them·j.n·these·terms, .

~

~-

~

\

,

bank of the Euphrates is put into a state of defr~se; the .young men, the~:oung women, and't,he

r

,

.

\

,. assembl~."

grain are

.

/

eo

back tum.

.

..

143

When they took this news

them·,.c they set (their) han?s to conquer Abat~

Also, to/:find out the decIsion on the matter,

.'

.

4

I sent two·caravaneers and caused two men to embark on a "small boat. The most important defensive weapon against a

"

~. )

"

was simply forew.arning of their' intentiohs. .

"

''If

.'

raf~

.

by the

no~ads

Having a district "in a.'"'

.

~tnte of~alert, with citizens a~d food supplies protected from quick,

.'

j.... _

'\

4"

~

-~.,'

.

..

,,-

l.

,,'"

easy, ,capture, would be vir~ually guaranteeing thatnompds by them-'"

selves would mount no serious assaults.

They iwere not prepared for

prolonged or ,diffi'cu~t investments of fortifications,

\

.,

as

they coul~

neither. construct nor carr)!. .'with them the proper' siege engines .. -Also,

,.) any' stay of more than a few days before a city would result in supply

.

problems; . at least for their flocks, if n t 'for themselves. ,

~.-_

, ,"(

.

"

.

.

il

lrast ,the defenderswithln the walls, if '

.

'.. "

.

~

'.

•

,I:>

• I,

.

i~

'con~

,

hey h'ad been given advance

warning" 'Wo~ld have possessed supplies-ad quate ,'for' It ,should be noted that

By

weeks,~6r even .

'.

months . '

sp'ite of . he.ir,. re1.uctance to. attack

'

a well-prepared town, the nomads remainep. a dangerous, if only at, most rii

'to

times a potential, threat. .-'

.

.'

This is, true on several c.ounts.

For one "

oj

I ' ' (' thing, the nOmadS represented a permahen~military forc.e at a time I

. , '

, - ;,

·when standing armies -w~re.. nQt used by "'the states centered· on urban' .\

.'

-,

areas in th~ir cap.itals,. . Secondly, their normal pattern' of passing through·the land ,..a t' least twice a ye~r~n their way. to and f.romthe "

~

j

144

allowed to come into the land twice a year, and often to graze r~'-!

./':

,th~ir

"

<

ff6cks for rather extended periods on the fields of stubble following r "

....

'-I.'"

~.

the harvest, gave them on occasidn the chance to attack without warning. Even so, proper vigil41ncewt1.s usually enough to forestall attack by nomads.

,

This is why bof:hthe authorities and,the nomads utilized I "

1_

spies >H and informers,.

On this oc'casion .Y,aqqi~-Addu ~sed, ~esid~s perI

1

,

sonnel in his service ,caravaneers, wl;1ose travel wOl,lld not have aroused >.

'

)

suspi'cion;'( He 'usep. six men altogether, which indi~ates a substarrtJal . ..

intell1genceoperation., The Yaminites' use of mendicants,'again, ,

I!J~;

would not have aroused undue suspicion.

.

Each gljoup ne'eded inf orma-.

,ti,\W about t\e other, either to gain, or to deny ,to ,the ,other, a ' ' ' . , ,

6"

~

'

ta.cti,c.~v~nt~ge.. , ./

rl

J

')

'

Vigilanc"e...,' though vital, was not sufficient against c'ampaigns ~. --"

).~i.

.j

'~p

by' the forces of. enemy kings or'coa,ld.tiol1s.

withadJ!uate siege suff

eng~nes and;te\ t:pesl of

rim

iCi~jt persoune lal}d~UP~l~f:r

fact,"'-the rule' in

They. could come prepared

()ff.ensi'(eweapens, and

t hccess ful sieges •

In·

an"ient/warnfe'.}i's)~mo1ern was

that' tile besi.eging '.. "",, \'/ "" forces could always lieard9.wn tqedef:~f1~e.rf' barr,fng 'relief from the ,

'.

.•

.

~-

_

-:.\~~~

:. -;{ J

•

_;

~.

.~

ou'tside or some'other circ.umstances Wh±.Ch {Or~edthe attackerst~-: lift their siege.

~.

I

.~ I .\

.t ~~,

0"0'

~.

£-

\)

I

A_

Yaqqim-Addu '.s correspondence recorde4 ~t least five sieges~,". Pre:"", ,'?.

..

If:);Y

~

..

'.,

.

\~

'.'

"

I

I'

-

'pjirations for one' siege byhostile"fprcesjare related in ARM XIV 121: .~

.

/ ..... e-.

.'

"i;'

. a':"l18 ~e-ri--iail-- r".1i''':kam um-m~-[al-T mi' ~

-

,

,... 7 l ' b awl 1 r 1,~' £",~.;-- • k ' ".. . i-mi sa-- u-um na- a~-rJJ,M">l-na:l' a -ra-Sl-lm 'c I , . u-se-em-ma I

25

'.

145 ,

rba-~a-a~' -ka a-na dan-na-tim ki-mi-~s

,

"] - r sum v :l 'p-ra-tllD ka . ki. ..., ha a-na d an-na-t i m ka' -ma-S1., - [.1m ] [ as

. v ' im' as-s Y" i [ .2 ] r l-sa-ta-t u' a-na sv i - 'bu-ut a- '-1'' im' [ki]

..

] X kap:-ra-tim

.

•

Translatlon:

.

;}

IV

,~

as..,.ta-~p-pa-['~r-ma]

" Also, a tablet of Bahdi-Lim came to me • ....

~Hewrote)

in these terms, "Seven thp1,lsand enemy

,

.

,

,

'

troops have gone out· from camp.

.,For

five days

"

fireh~s been going in the wells of the int~rior.23

Assemble your dis.trict to -the fortif ied places .

..

I raised [t,wo] s'i~al fires; concerning th~ assem-

.

bling of the vi).lages at the fortified places, and

...

I continually, write to the elders of the towns

'(

the villages. ~

It is easily seen that the defensive preparations for ~iege i:: ...

were, ,t,he same ast~ose taken' for a raid by then~ads. ,Yaqqim-Addu' s I·

s~curing

reasonsfdr

the district would have been slightly different .~

~i~

the 'case of a siege, however.

The basicpurpo§le , of courSe ,would

st!.ll have, been to protec.t:thepeople and resources of thedist,rict ~

'Ii,

f'

However; in the case .pf asi~ge, the ini,tialassembling at fortified "

t~wns would ,serve o~ly to'prevent quick and easy carrying off of •

tr

.1'

__"~'" ,:--Jl

' .....

~~':;;

_'. .,,:..

spoils by th~ invadingenemy.force., .Tt' wc;>Uld .not deter them from , c~encin~ siege

op~a'tion~ again~toneorm?re'wailed

cities ~ 24

Whetl that. happened,- .the protection' of 'the' walls was' designed to hold -

-

~

f

off the a·ttackers until Zimri-Lim could send g"·-re'1i'ef force. \ 0"-;, '_.'

Because .,a raid ora fti~ll-scale,invasion could come without warning, it was necessary to keep fortifications in good .repair at

'-----.'

all times.

·146

Yaqqim-Addu discussed two different repair projects on . i.-

•

the outer defensive wall of Sagaratum, in ARM XIV 24 and ARM II 101. :~l~

~

..:

J
. Military intelligence.

hostile forces allowed Yaqqim-Addu to take appropriate preventive measures.

While not always as immediately and directly beneficial,

infonnation was al~ays eagerly sought, since without information <;:"2=",

co~cerning

the lllovements and intentions of allies and foes alike,

.one .could find oneself quickly in an untenable position.

It has

beep. noted' alr-ea'dy 26 .that messengers· were often interrogated upon their arrival at

~

district!capital.

The information which they

imparted had military significance as often as diplomatic signifi/cance.

Indeed; it is doubtful that the two can be separated in the

Old Babylonian period. Yaqqim-Addu received~informatioll, not just of movements and in tent ions of hostile forces ;.but of act~al milit~ry engagements • . '.

In ARM XIV. 110 he reported that he had learned Qarni-Limhad raised .

an insurrection..

..

.

. .

.

.'1

He was told, arid reported: in ARM XIV 9.4, that Sarv

~

raya had captured the town of !!ur·sanUIIl.

Sartaya in

tu~n

was beaten

and fotced to acknowl:edge theoyerl()rdship of the king of E~nunna; Yaqqim--Addu p~ssed on this information in ARM XIV 106. ~ddu

Both Yaqqim-

and Bagdi-Lim reportedthat;:Ra~amawasbesi~ged,.,j:nARMXIV 104 '. . .

,

.

"

ian,d ARM VI 65 ,tespectivel~,.. Th<;>Ugh t,hereports. describe two difi·

. ...

!

01,,'

i~erent besieging'forces, ~t is likely that~they ,were two succe~.~1ve

s'ieges, part of the same episode.

With events occurring in rapid,

':f

-

l·tI'..

. ...

147 /

succession, ,it was essentHil that the governors obtain and pass. .

}.

along informatd..on from every source possible. Information did not come only from mess~ngers who happened to ~

,

be passing through. means as well.

,Governors actively sought information by other

One good source· of information within the district

was the' bazabatu-:-~orce, which carried out patrols±n the outlling areas and along the borders of the respective districts. 27, under the conuiland of the governors and reported to them.

They were

'In ARM III

17, Kibri-Daganreported that his bazabatu were' str,ong, and' th~t: he was sending them on patrols to ad,istance of five or six leagues. Yaqqim-Addu . likewise used his bazabatu to keep him informed of events· 'itl aridper,sons

p~ssing

through his 'district (ARM XIV 22, 30, 32) •

. Un~ercov,er agents were also used to gather information.

Yaqqim-

Addu reported in ,ARM)qV 84 that he had used two caravaneers to de-

"

termine the intention of a force of Yaminites in the vicinity' of Sagaratum.

He also reported that the Yaminites had employed spies to

find out his state of readiness. ~

Kibr.i-Dagan likewise reported / i1)

ARM III 16, that· the nomads were spying upon him; on this occasion

... they were -using their women, who came into the town hyday and returned to theertcampmentsby night. '. In ARM

xrv

i19', Yaqqim-Addu re-

potted that he had interviewed a basketniakerwhowas employed as a spy and an informer.

In ARM VI 20,

Bahdi-L~m~in$t:bicted

that ,any news of Babylon was to be forwarded at

bn~~e.

one Buqe;tqu

~.

On occasion an item of information could be important to,the per'sonal safety of the king'. ,

In ARM III 18, Kihti-Dagan infoumed

Zimri-Lim that while a'rebellion had been quelled, its leader 'had

148 The gover~or feared for his lord's life and advised him

escaped.

not to venture from the palace for a few days until the fugitive was appr ehended. Dispatch:i;ng' of troops ~ ,

None of the

gov~rnors wrote to the, king

,-

concerning invoiv,ement i~an offensive campaign. f

The reason, is ob-

.~

vio\1s; a governor would not·' qave gone on campaign' excep t in company ,i

'1:'

\

with the king.

didwr~te,

They

however '. concerning preparations for

campaigns" or in r'esponse to instructions to send troops~ XIV 70 Yaqqim-Add1,.1 repe~ted the instructions

.he,

In ARM·

had regeived to pro-

'vision and dispatch the Babylon:i;an troops which were billeted at Sagaratum and DUr-Yahdun-Lim.

letter'ijLdicat~s tba: . 1

Though the ensping section of the,

the order probably bad 1)een countermanded, i.t

illustrJtes that the governor was responsible to send troops to the king (or elsewhere) w~n ordered. K1-bri-Dagan reported, in ARM III 14, that he had in 'Qatna with 1,000 Hanean troops. ; '~

~

H~exp~cted

no

him~elf

arrived'

diffic~lty

in

,I;.

r:

completing the assembly of. the 3,000 troops which Zimri--L:i.rri' had ordered him to gather.

He did not speqify in .the letter that they

were to be used in a campaign by Zimr:i-I.fm, b~t it is hard to escape. that conclusion from the facts which the letter does record •. Bahc;1i-Lim recorded; in .

\

\

.

ARM

VI'68', a request from Btiqaqufor

':

3 :000 troops to be dispatched in 200 small boats..

While the letter

. is partly lost, it appears that B.abdi-Lim sent 400 (1) tlaneans' and 150 Terq,gnsas an,advance :force.

Whether the full request would be

,

.

honored or .'pot; he did not '. say in this.-' lette'r, only that. he had given . ' ,

Buqaqu a fulJ- report.

Apparently, a governor was

allow~d

to respond

149 to a request for troops from someone other than the king; of course, 4 •

>

it may be that only Bahdi-Lim could do this, in his capacity as palace . ... intendent, rather than as governor. r~corded,

Yaqqim-Addu

in ARM XIV 67, his sending-of a squad to

Mari under unusual !conditions: S'

[

]

[

]-di-im

im

Three or f our lines lost,

. ~ Ab-rba'-ta- an awilGAL • KUD ,

.

d

... II k . 'f'" • • .an'4,na-tJ.l1l.asu-un-su-~~-S1-J.I1l

as-s1~ma

.

,.

-

urn-rna a-na-ku-ma . . o

'

.

I .

.

sa-ba~ambe-eh-ra-am • ... . v . - , ..'

k'

ta~ra-a-ma a-na Ma-ri 1 . D. .;;

5'

Q

at-1a-ka

.

'.

qa-qa-ar

i~na

".

v

iz-za-az-au i-bi-it-ma a:...sa":ak 'be~l{-ia. i-rku' -Iu ... \ .

.

rwa'-al:.-kimup-p{-ia an-ni-rim'

Tr.

"\:

10'

;

sa-bu-urn

'-..

,

..'. . , kii

'r

!f"

.'

Translation:

rum

/-~."

o

a'" naMa-ri .

..

,. be,,/. -eh

.

'.,,,

i-ka-as-sa-dam

Concerning the soldi'ers of the' elite . ','

and A~bahin'i the section chief , ,tsunmton~.,? <7

i

them·strict larders.

I gave

Thus I (said), ,"Brih~,bac_k the

!

soldiers of !the elite (and) go to MarL .

.1'

..

(If) they

remain 'in; a ~ia~e to spend the night, ,they will, have vio1a'ted the\connnand of my lord." ",. \

..

After this tablet

150 of mine the soldiers of the elite will arrive at Mari. This let ter is unusual in ordering the unit to proceed to Mari ' without an overnight stop.

It illustrates what could be done when

circumstances required it.

9.n

occasion not manpower , but- equipment, was required urgently. ,

,

Yaqqim-Addu recorded, in ARM XIV· 45, his complian~e with Zimri-Lim's 'instru,ctions. to send bim :ropes needed for the siege towers.

.

To get

them there as quickly as poss;i.ble,the governor sent, them in the ,

"

small boat suited for just such occasions, the speedy maturru.

In

\

ARM II. 107, Yaqqim-Addu lleported the sanding of some siege .towers by Though not dire~tly involved in their transportation, it was

boat.

hisrespol)sibllity to, keep

tbe~ing

informed of their

progr~ss.

i

j Summary

I

'

These letters contribute/to oJJ.runderstanding of the provincial_" -

governor's 'role in the

I

I " formu1~ting I

"" .

,

and. carrying out of policy in the

i

area of internatiohalrelati~ns. ',Probably the most importantgubernatqrial duty was therecept'.ion, assessTIlent, reports from.

tries;,

~essen~~rs. and , Ilother

As gatherers andrefayers

~nd

relaying 1:0 Mari of

travellers coming... 'ftomother ..

C01,.m~

or intelligence ~datai the/governors

contributed>·to 1;heinforina~ion base.from whichZimri~Lfmcould formu,. .. r . ' . . late his decisions.· ~They~ere also responsible for the comfort, ,safety, _:~~.

"

"/..,

'

'

and expeditIng (or other·11spositi.on) of messengers, bQ~h foreign and

domestic~

on their'1l1issiors'

expression, nlilita,ry

When diplomacy gave 'Way to its severest

act~oIh'they "'ere

preparation t , engag~ment, and follow-up.

involved in every ,aspect of

\

Chapter VI

NOTES \

.

IFor Mari' s history under Zimri-Lim, see Hildegard Lewy ,"The --..~

Historical BacR:ground of the Correspondence of Bahdi-Lim," Orientalia

N. S.25 (1956) , 324..<352. 2J. M. 'Munn-R~~kin,' "Diplomacy in Western Asia in the Early

Second Millenium B. C'.," Iraq 18 (1956), 106-107, commentis on the I

alik .idi, "Messengers were also. accompanied by analik :tdi; 'one who goes at the s'ide' .

In the majority of cases the envoy wa!? returning

from his mission arid his companion was, a native of the country lie had visited.

...

In some cases, howe;ver , a messe

outward journey had' an alik fdi of the state for

he was bound;

presumably he was maki.nga/eturn journey to the acc~pa!tied

by his original escort."

3Se~, for example, ARM XIV 33,. 101 and 122.

also

, sent: on to the king~he news messengers had brought

4Munn-Rankin,"¥ "Diplomacy in Wester,nAsia ,',"

cf. ARM VI 21-

p• .107, comments,

"Ttwastheresponsibiiity. of local officials to' forward . . . '

s

.

.

.

to the king, wi,thout . delay ...

messeng~iS

. '.' Since they travelled slow.ly, ad~

vance information of-their appt::dach was sent ahead

by

runner to the

king with, if possible, a summary report of their~iss:ion." A. D~ Crown, . "Tttlings and Instructions:

How News Trave11edin the Ancient

lSI,

152 Near East," JESHO 17 (1974), 265-266, adds, "The evidence from Mari suggests that whilst many couriers travelled at the slow rate

of"~

twenty-five to thirty kilometres' per day runners travelled ahead carrying a sununary of their message for the receiving monarch. ~,

.

On

.

foot, running or walking and pushing hard, sleeping only minimum amounts of time such runners or minor couriers, kalHipu or lasiumu', could maintain speeds of 6.5km. per hour for up toei.ghteen hours, achieving some one hundred plus kilometre.s per day, though it would be difficult to maintain this rate for longer ~han two days,buJ::gt::

,

least one exClmple of such,a;'rate ,of progress is ,known, and it must "

beexpec ted', that this speed was matched in ~ther emergeq.cies'."

Com-

pare this with distances' in excess of one. hundr.ed miles per day coveredby Inca messengers travelling in relays, John Kronenberger,

Public Broadcasting Associates,

Inc~,

1980),

p. 26.

,5 The r~levant~ lines of this letter are transliterated and, trans-, ~-...,;

latedsupra, pp . 77-78. 6Foi example, 'ARM 1133,; ARM III

46; ARM V 51; ARM XIV 102, 114,

and 116.' 7Manunurapi of Kurda seems quite definitely to have b~enat one , .. ..

,

time a 'vassal of Zimri-:-~im;~9owever, in later years he appears to \ ',have been

,~ble

'to 'gain ~full

inWes tern Asia, tI p. -95, n.

i~dependence.

6\,

Munn-Rankin, "Diplomacy

discusses !!arnmurapi' s rela

..

tionsh~p

0

Zimri-Lim •. 8Bernatd Fr~nk Batto, St~dies:on Women at Mati (Baltimore: I

Johns Hopk~ns University Press, 1974), p. - 42.

Th,e

153 i

L-

9ARM X 33.

'._

,This letter is idiscussed by Batto; Studies, on Women

at Mari, pp. 44-45, 47-48. lOFor this restoration, see Maurice Birot, Lett~es de Yaqqim-

'"

r ,-'

Addu gouverneur de Sagaratum ,(ARMT XIV) (Paris:

Librafrie, orientaliste

Paul Geuthner; 1974), p. -229. 11 Jack M. Sasson, The Military,Establishments at Mari,

(Rome:

Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1969), p. 9. ,i

12 The best studies on the census at Mari are those 'of J ~ -R. Kupper,

'Societe

Les nomades en· Mesopotamie au· temps des rois de Mar! (Paris: ~'.~'

~---

;

"E:' -'A-:-----s~-~i'~'~~~-----lt~c~nsus "--ancr----------- ---- ----:-

d' Edi tio~ Les Belles Let tres,19 57-)"~-"-~~d

,

'-

Ritual Expiation in M:ariand'c'Israel, II BASOR 149 (1958), 17-25. 13 Compare thi~ punishment with thqt for desertion, an equally •

serious. problem for Zimri-Lim·.

"J"...

Sometimes desert"ion was not punished

at all, either 'as a matter of de.liberate policy' ,-(ARM XIV 82 :5-22) or ....

because the state was nO,t in ,a pO,sition to follow up on deserters (ARM --. XIV 12l)..

In other circumstances, punislnnent was imposed and

• ( carried out;n 1t could be imprisonment. ARM XIV 75 ) . or even deat!l -\

,

'

.

'

(ARM II 92, in. which any leaders who abette'd d'ese:rtion ,were to be punished with death, while the actual deserters 'Would be punished by imprisonment).

See,on des 7rtion, infra, .pp.13q-139.

14 See discussion. in Sasson, Military Estab1.ishments, pp. 45-:-47";

Jack M. Sassort, "Tre~tment of Criminals at}{ari:' . A Survey," JESHO '~

20 (1917) ,. 93-94; and Victor, H. M';tthews,

"

J./~_

p'ast'~~:i No~~dism 'i~

MariKitlgdom(ca. 1830-1760 B.C.). (Cambridge:

the

American Schools of

Oriental Research, 1978)', pp. 97;..99 .. . ,'

15B.irot,· ARMT.. XIV, 'p., 241, propos,es a restoration of "[p~'-te -ri] ,

«deserteurs»." . · r

.. ~

.~

rr:

" ,r .,.,

~.

i

154 16Sasson, "Treatment of Criminals at Mari," p. 93, indicates an inconsistent treatment of deserters, with some be1ng punished and others ignored..

17I1unn~R'a.nkin,. "Diplomacy in Western Asia," p. 108. 18 This let ter is trans1itera ~ed' and trane1ated supra, pp. 30-31.' 19 See, for' example, Matthews, Pasto~al Nomad~sm, pp. 104-107; and especially, Michae~. B.. Rowto~?, "Dimorphic Structure and the I parasocia1E1ement~" JNES 36 (1977), 181':'198~

28 Birpt, '';ARMrXIV,

p. 235,. discusses this term, "Le term

la-tam m' est incomprehensible.

mi-~u..,.

II parait s' agir d 'un vocapl~ de forme

fe~inine (comp. taqribatuin,.tillatum etc.), a tapprocher de missulum, mot qui figure dans une 1iste1ex:icographique' dont on ne peut rien tirer actue11ement. (CT 18"la col. 1:22: cf. AHw., p. -661b}-.-

On

pourrait envisager u"Q-e origine buest..,semitiquea partir d 'une racine ..

sl'«envoyer en mission», adoucie du ouest-semitique ~llt .(cf. - Ie

- . - - . '-q,

.

.

«cananeen»

~u1ubtu «m~ssion» ) e t a rapprocherdel ~hebre~ mi~elo\1

«mission»;

¢ueiicof¢;'1i parti~de s'l .-....j

.

l' arameen ms' lh «requete»?:

---

'«interroger;

enqu~ter»

(cf .

ChI JEAN-J. HOFTIJZER, DI'SO, p. 169)."

CAD, Vol. 10 ("M" Part II), 130a, lists only this occurrence of .the word and considers its meaning to he unkn()wn. '. 21 Birot, ARMT XIV, p. 235, s·ays,,"Peut.-etre faut-i1 donner

a

•

ittak1u un· sens· moral: -«i1s s~ sont retenus», c'ets..,a"'dire: «i1s· ont reflechi, i1s -se sont .ravises».".

A moral sense attached to the

~

word, in the. sense Qi-penitent sorrow over a recognizedly inunoral •

:"

f

-

.';

intention,seemshardly what the'Yaminite nomads were here experiencing.

Their thinking better- of the proposed raid was merely a

\

155

\

\

prudent response to military preparedness on the\part of their' intended victims; support for this

the fact that ..

contentio~lies \in

they merely...tvrned. their attent:\.on

\

e~sewhere.

\

22While these men were certainly used as scouts by the Yaminites \ \

on this occas:ion, it seems that Birot's translation\of "mendiants,"

XIV,,~;.

ARMT

or\scout,,~ CAD,'

149, is preferable to the CAD "a spy

Vol. 10 ~"H" Part I), 140b.

of maku cited by CAD. - lacking."

.

\

.

\

This letter c'ontains all\ three occurrences \ The verb root carries the mean~pg ,of "to be ,

\

'

Rather than postulating a second root based ,\0J:l. three occur-

I

\

rences of a noun within the same letter, it seems bette~ to recognize '-"11',.

\I \

here the use by the Yaminite$ of travelling beggars as n~tural in-\

\ \

telligence agents.' 23"

"

.

\

As Birot, ARMT XIV; p. 241, observes, these fire pil,ts are

\

most)likely to be understood as pits of naphtha or bitumen\which had , 0

\

\0

'

\.

been ignited,· either naturally or, more probably, by being 'deliber\ ! - \ \

ately fire,d.

"

\ \.

, , 24Forthe various types of sie$e operations which could \ be

~

mounted, see Sasson, MilitarxEstahlishments,

p;p.

33-34.

25These1etters ar~ discussed supra, pp. 94-97.

thebazahatu,se~

\

\

\

~,·'l

26 Cf . supra, pp. 123-,124.

27 On

\ V -\

John MacDqna1d, , "The IdentificatiCiJ\ of.

\

bazahatu- in the Mari. Letters," RA 69 (1975); 137-145; he conc1u4es ~

\

\\

~

(p; ,145), "Our total of 26 occur~ences'of the word bazahatu(m)

\

\

\

\,

presents apictllre of a mobile unit of men, specially chosen no d6ubt, \ .. .

having ,powers of,arrest and rights; of pursuing

detention~

d~serters

of correcting bre'!1ches of

\ \

i

\

and fugitives of social rank high

an~

• ',:>

•

156

,.C;-

low.

The King's prerogative it was to command them through the DisP~rhaps

,

they 'were a sort of state s~~ret·police. ii \ . .... They were more than ;a military police· certainly, since military con-

·trict Governors.

i:

siderations are but

fa l.

minor element or factor "'l:n.-:. our sources.

may reiterate. the depcription:

.

,-A,.-

\-Je

..... ,

they were trouble-shooters for the-

They were his internal. security force."

I'

(I'.

I

.,.-:t-.-

.

,

,

Ch~pter VII

COMMERCE AND TRANSPORTATION ~:-,. "

"

,

,

'1

W. F: Leemans ,~n hi,'tfodUC tion to",Fot:eign Trade in t~e Old

•

Jf

'I

Babylonian Period, sa:t=

aSp':~-b\~ ne~d

,

r

As soon more than they themselves, their family or theY~ c~unity can provide, they go in 'search of the articles th~y need and cairn to acquire them by the exchange of articl~sof equal value.' From this moment trade is born. Pe,bple' sneeds are to a large ~ ~ degree dependent upon thei~nature of the region, they live in and the stage ofcultUjral development they have reached. In a land without metals ,1 stones and timoer, for exampie, ~he need for, these articles will arise as soon ~s agri...; \ culture comes into existence. 1

The 'Me'sop o.tk ian plalo was a fer tile ag r i.coJ tural reg ion; but i t

was ,without metals, stone, and timber.

'-

,

,Furthermore, it l:vasa natura'} ~

-

, f' 'C

,

•

~.

'

A

"trade route, both by "land and by riV'~r;._; bE!tweenthe' Mediten::aneanian~.s _.- .... _, -0_'-;_

"

•

- ' , :',.,

';'"

'$.

<,;'

"

,

,

,

to the west and Mesopotamia '·se~stern. n~iglibors~',;-rnfact',' the desert

.

'. '

"',

.mape

to the south and the mountains to the north of Mesopotamia •

J

-~'-

-

-._

_

~.,

.-.

,

.~~~! -~

__.....

_

;? _

,.,...,

,1

it

~i

virtually 'impossiblefilq.r trade be~}.le·eh •

'

lands to be

','

';. ..c.

the easte-r:n ancl""the western, 1;'

'"

"

routeda~yWfiereexcept'thr~ugh_the' *esopotamia,n ~

i.e

'

.

,

','

\

'

flood

, ,pla'I'n, along 'or upon the rivers.

-

. :i-,__

-

,<

158 ~ine,

slaves, oils, and essences, were shipped,both to and through

MarL

Products from the east and the south which were shipped in the

Glpposite direction included tin, cextiles, various agricultural pro-

.

duc ts, and' manufac tured i terns ;-'~" /

~

.

.... '

To this transit trade, Mari ad4editems of her oWn ,manufacture.

~example, .11ari

f?r

'texii~e m~rt~f?~turin~ center.~

was in her own ;f,fght'a

"i

.

;..

c!

......,•.

There is also evidence that Maiff:mahufaeturedweapons of wall, such as . '"'

l!j'

~~-~ ~ng~ne"s aQd ~reig>ht wagon~ ..5 With~ransi-t,: tra4~"~l'and .with h~. '~.~ .~ ~. . . 'r¥$"'.· ..".~ ' ; ! Q . " . 'i< .~;. "own :finport~,"and exports, wh}#h included l?ca}lyma1}~r.~tu.red, item.s, ' '.

.

Mari

. f!

"

\

..•

"D..t.

'

.

wa~!.:~:,~busy~~Yr!;d....,.~mportqf!-; tra~e#c'eri~er.·yl,~th of~rJ~'b}~~tnes~o •.

.

T · · . . .'

";J~"

connections.

..

'!<'

q'l';

~ •.:.......

.e.i t>'.'

'.'

~>'

.. ' .

<J

.

••••

..

',,~. 0

~

J~'

1).. .

·e~.,,·.·.,:~f,L.";"'~':;~'~".2~.?.·•.'; " ~' ·a.'~j};;t '

··il .·,i~~:'!>".

",~,'

R:tv~: Tr g~twQr't,

•

",~~,,~.

0

l3

.".

(',( ii(~~"·'

~ :~"~~:·~..f!f

;

>

."f-or li€>at t1:hSP()~!t,~f~'(.~~.~~:. ·~p~~e~,,!lft~h. ,. " ',. . :.:y ". ~.ci.~··~ '.''''' . ~ , <'~ .. ,: are rnassive or bulky; SUCha~lO;Lrn~er,~
,< '"

: ..' ~

.'

0

• • .

;

',;.

:~J'1

y~¥t~~m~Addu discussed· the 1·oa"d:if1g~fa·s,t:q..fl~(f;i
"

.;.~~::

ontO two large l\~

,'quarryof .Las...

mallu~raft1~ la~hffd.;bog(-:·~h&~;'fL~~-j,:'~;F:t~~bl~'t:h~;;

t."

....

'·.'.~:-i/t>~~.";:.,s:""t:/~c ..'

0

,th!=. two rafts were rieeded, J\not'becaus~oJ'th.e . ,·on..e

.biu t·:~ec~~!e. of ~ lOs d ens~t;n~tma~~~f.f~~~'~:,;[i1it.~0~ia~~1~~' fsunk beneath the 'weight of ithe~~tone~'"".:J'9.·>i*1iY'ca·s~6c;'Y.·

.

:

.. "

.•..

the J,argest c;argo •

;~:

••

~

: ' ,: ,.

...\ : ,

,

.....

."

.•. ....

.~.

~!..'l

I"

reCQ,rded~'iri Yaqqim-'Addu~k
.'

.'"

':

"'~~~~,,?~?~1'2

>

c

tIR:Js.;, u·',"fiii· 5, \"

." ..

•

ZiFlif-Lim ''\}ad given instr~ctioris for.. ,t.hi~· ~, .' ." " ~:? a·.. ..&'.,. ~,,/,'; . '0

,~,peisOna~H\ thetrbcurern~~t~ r£ ~,sl~~5one., ....IJ!k~Y'~l

>$'gath~fid av70rkcrew of men:~~p.a·ox~n'~Jfl-aP.wenf~··w:lth~ ~:' . ',\to load ?,t'he . "'J, :ritf~-·., .., .:.,,~;"L ~;'~'k"'-" . : ,. ~.".. . '<1S ~. ~';'~l~l~.~ l'~~" -:t fI', . ~: ".'tp~e.~;2lt;.· may h:-4nffl:fed tp21.2 the' ~ll~teq~ ,'iJJfs,te;:;' ta: ':r,tl:~'e 'q:' > ~ 1

:;·J:J£i\§:J~i};;;~~£a~wJ:J, .)i:gra~tipg~6i~~;:~~~~pe\~~P\~'~~'. '!

eJ-3

~~;1:;c,;,::<~~.1'. ~ .\'~:.'i 3~·0df.;' ":. . 'V'.~

'~' ~d'r- £~);10Il]:

:;W0,rking W'1.1§h ,°5>0 .,

:~r~~~.~e:';.i .~.

".:.{: '.~>
'.

!C,'

:.

, · f /•.

Jf:;ji;iZi¥:'4'11;.;· . ",

ve;"a s tOll.~'~J.ti:·.~\ (

~" !.?<:,:;~.nt~1ir"F'·

.. _

!

.

Q

.q~" ,,~"

.11\,

159

a

That this was not

unique episode is shown by ARM XIV 26.

Yaqqim-Addu had been instructed to look for a stone of a certain size in his own distric't.

As' it was not obtainable there, he reIn,this situation h~ had primary respon-

layed the order to Lasqum. 's~bility

for 'securing th.e

,

~

ston~,

but was ·then able to delegate the

,--.---

task,ra~he~ thangoi~g, personally to another. ar~. While boats'were not mentioned in 'any of Yaqqim-Addu's discusI.

sions of the shipment of timber, it is certain that timber was shipped . ;

0

on the Eup'hrates in tlV\ Old Babylonian p~riodi both by the rafting of ,

.!

logs downstreanf,and 'by thepl~cing of logs and,j or boards on boats. ' ARM XIV~31 reports th~ fa~t that eight logs and two hundred boards v

-.

'of juniper ,along with two logs of cedar, wer'ebeing delayed in Car-

'-

kemish. t~is

As Carkemish waS,upstream on the Euphrates from Mari, and conclu~ion

sh:lpment was destined for Mari,the

coming Rowton

is that it was

on the"Euphrates." petal's lumber CaJ)le via the Habur. has shown•that them~'t importllnt timber :Sl>urces :ere to the \1<:>

'west and northw·est.of:Mari. 9

The gov¢rnor at Sagaratum probably

would not 1)avebeendirectly involved with most timber shipmen teo ..This .is th¢}:>nly.oneof YaqqiIn-.:Addu·8 letters concerning the

. .;.

~he size' of I s.everalofrhislette~s

. shipm.ent of woo,d' to specify

the shipmen to

K:ibri-Dagan

,0

:iri

'als6discus'sedi .

'_

~ -.

.

Ii :..

.

:'

. :'"

,"

_

.

t _ , , ' _.

the _

_

'pro~.\1rement of -.od to ._

".

'.'.

'.

.

""":::::::::::.":::::r:::r::t~:e;&::~::;:ei:~:~:n::t::~nt:nO~OOd lI12~ Kibri-Dagan spoke of tiftybeams and t,wohundred fifty board's; ,

"

in ARM ILl; .. ' - -

.

24

("

he made refer¢llce to twenty beams of two 'canes length .-'

.

-

-.f.:

'

- -

-.'

each '~i1,d one hundred beams, leach'of ten, ~ubitstength;, in AR..~ III. 25

'>,

-

160

he discussed a quantity of fifty beams.

If these shipments of Yaqqim-

Addu and Kibri-Dagan represent typical amounts of wpod imported into Mari in any one consignment, 7 then it is easy to see why wood was not the basic building material. Tn Yaqqim-Addu's letters there is only one reference to the sending of grain in which shipment on the river is specified.

The

letter is ARM XIV 33, the report of Yaqqim-Addu's interrogation of a minor bfficialwho had just come to Sagaratum from Emar:[a$1- ~um ~e4-em .r a'

is l' - . h ; 1 ' [ki ] ·e 1ppat1m- ~a a-na I-ma-ar

-na ~e-em le-qe-em il-.li~ka

a- r ~a-all,;,;~;u-ina ki-a-am r iq' - [b~-em]

5'

.

. _ [h~] e11ppatum ... . . .' rk" se-em ma-le~,re'-ma i:-na r r'..,. [rna-at] 1?

urn-rna ·rsu' - [rna.]

r is'·

<"",'

_.-- w

.

-....---~

Trahslation:.//r/inqu:ired of' him co'ncerning news of the .7'"

boats which had gone to ..Emar to take on grain. , -

.

He

. spoke. in these terms,"Theboats are full of grain, but in Ernan( ?)they aredatained." Emar was on the

Euphrates~t

turnsbac~

the yoint where it

to·'

the southeast. ~owardMari andsouth~rn Mesopotamia. 8 ,Why' the message .;j

,

fJ

. which waf$ of importance to Mari shduldhave, been coming through Sagaratum is uncertain.

Of course, one possibility is that the king was

not in Mari, at the time of this inci.dent,· bul .sornewhefe in the field e.. ,

to the north or east of Sagaratum, in whj:ch case the messenger would . 'logi,cal1y have travelled through Sagar'atum, on his way .'

the king.

,.,

t~

report to

~t

The important point to note here,'however, is that Emar;

161 ..

~.

was not within the sphere of Mari's political influence.

Thus this

letter is dealing with the shipment-of foreign grain, carried in boats sent from Mari.

Yaqqim-Addu was responsible for relaying to

the king news of their progress. Inr;'another letter, ARM XIV 43, Yaqqim...A,ddu reported the sending of flour by boat to Ma~i,in accordanc~ with the instructions of Zimri-Lim.

In neither of the above lette'rs are the reasons hinted

at for the capital's large appetite for grain -, for more grain than the district of, Mari itself could produce.

But a letter from'Kibri-

Dagan to the king sheds light on the matter and reveals as well 1]

another kind of prohl'em which could arise in connection with t'he The letter is ARM III , 27:

delivery of grain to sa tisfy tha t, appeti teo

5

[as-sum] rqemim' a:-na 'i?:l-di-it ~a-bi-im rs.a\ ;'ka1-p1-1ffie1 • b' 1'" 1 1s-pu-ra . Y, , r 1 -am r qemum,

'.Y' ' .. SU-U1s-tU pa-na-ma1r.... su

v

.. -

Rev.

15

~,

"

fi'-na-an-na wa.;..ar-rka:-tam' . ," h' -, a _r ap' -ru- r'·" .Yf.. . ma 1 S·e I' eppetum.... i-na lu-u

,

"

qa~ti~ia

y,

.,

u-ul i-ba-as-se-e

2i~~leppetim lu-J ~3

il?eliepetimUa. -

.ki

llCt~L.Q,:-:.!r~1

r,., 't'J..,U ....q:I....1n....n1-s1-:na1 I,.'

•

'I.'

. ~':-\_-j!'-.

20

.

Tr.

'

D

ri' -na::2~n..:na. 1}? releppetimua, ,si-na-Jti'

,

f'qemam' u~lila7al-la-$i- [n~-ti-nia]

i

162

-f'

:~\

alsa~':k-ki-pa-am

r ar' -hi-is

&~

-

Translation:

-

My lord wrote to me [concerning] the s"ending

of grain to provision the troops. ready for a long time. affair.

,

This grain has been

Now I have examined the

I do not have boats on hand.

Let me obtain

two or ,three boats, as many as there are with my lor,d atMarL

Now these boats ,upontheir':-arrival I will

',fill' them JWi th) the grain; I will send (them) immediately to you. ,0

'. This grain, a's well as much other grain which was shipped to .

.-

':

.

".

Mari, was to be 'used for '!Jrovisfoning the troops_

TroQPs, both gar-~~-

,

rison and campaign troops, would have placed a substantial·~dra:~:p. 'upon .

.

J ~-

t;. '.

thE '

•

'.

.'

\

"-

ha~e been' the'.requirements, of\",the 'considerable numbers of officials,

,"

.

artisans, and unskilled or'

.

. ·,.palace industries at Mari. ~-_~_~.....

~

,;',~

_~

\--

_,1._.

,

;'~\;."!tequirement$of

'

~.-

.

secii~t~lleil'lab~r~rs

employed in the

Witlfall the,se groups adding to the' food

•

,.-

0

'

Marl, but 'adding

r

,

_

~

c

~5·tt~eor

v

nothing to the fulfilling

of those requirement$, it becomes evid,entthat food from elsewhere in f

.

the kingdom, areven ftem outside the kingdom" to

would have bl~en needed

,

1~

m~et'tnem~

f.,.... ,'>

.

In

~ii\

\ '

,

•

'thisinst~nce,l~Ibri~bagc:m's

inability t.o fulfill the king' s

reqtdsition',lay in, the lack of boats at his district capital. ,~

'That

a district governor didno't have the necessary .t,wo or three boats on hand indicates that as'impqrtant as they were 'for transportation ;during t J Old , (

B~byionian'period,

boats were nevertheless dear and

_~ • ..-J.

not easily acquired.

This was probably a resul~ of 'two factors.

One

163 is that boats we.re constructed of wood, itself a valuable and not I

readily available resource.

The second is that they were the work of

skilled craftsmen; it may have been the case that boatbuilders were also rather scarce~9 Boats also carried'other cargoes,\tho&gh,perhaps not on the \

1.

Animal~~" were sometimes

regular basis, of these three commodities. \

\

transported by boat.

In ARM ~I '106 Yaqqim-Addu recorded the trans-

'porting ofa ,lion to Mari from the villag~\ where it had been captured.

Yaqqim-AddU~S concern that a ,In ARM VI 72 Ba~di-Lim spoke of

In ARM XIV 5 and 6 is recorded 'be'.rushed to Mari :by boat.

irrg of cattle, -

~hcep,

-\

the vessels in which -the needed aniJDals

not merely

were.~hiPped. however.

"this occasion tl1e boats also apparently had the king.

)

the seneJ-

'

Th~boats were

and ma!,urru-bbats.

sick ox

On

be~rr.reqUiSitiorred by \

, BalJdi-Lim reporte,j,irr illiIVI49, the

it; ems pertaining to the barbers.

safe\rriv~ inHari of .

InARMT XIII

:1~6Kibri-Dagan

re-

"ported' fhathe had" shipped ni!lety jars of wine to\Atamrum, as ordered ;,

by the king. That a boat's manifest could iIlJclude my.ltiple items .ftem more -\9

than one port of callis 'illustrated' by ARM XIV' 27.',·On this occasion the main mission of the boat was t6Emar.

But if

t~~,'king' s

tablet

;~ hadarrived'in its 'schedule would have beenaltere.dtt"l allow' . . time, . . .

. .

. .

for a 'stop )ltGaIi~batumt'otake onaconsigmnent of bitumen also. Ano ther .ca tegory .

\..

O~f cargoes .

.

carrt1d b'y b.oat consis ted of mili tary '

..

items. 'ARM II 107 records, the transportation' of siege towers upon the river.

While the episode may or may not have been' the same,

,

164

I

AR.."'1 XIV 45 records a shipment of ma,terie7,.w" h,'. ch

operation of siege towers: v

5

'I

as-sum eb1i (=

wa~ necessary to !the

~~------------~------~ ~~,(·.f·

' v

ES.tlA)~~-bi-hi

v

sa di-ma-tim

v. b' . u, is, ' 1a- S1",,:, 1-1Ill

I-p1-1-1m ' . • a-na Ma -r1• ki V su-qa-a v b e- 1 1, ·1s-pu-ra-am

Tr;

". pa-an mU-S1

10

IKi-ib-ri-litar I

im

be-l{-ia

tUp-p1

I V k-s1.... ,/,," d am-ma , Rev. u-sa-a

I

I

\.

a

qa-tam a-na qa-tim eblib

I"

su-nu-ti I

. ,is ,.' v,,' ,. v ·1-na 'maturr1m (:::: GIS.MA.TUR) u-sa-ar-ki-ba-am -rna I

pa

am "

My lord wrote tome }.

con¢e~n~Ilg the sending \

'

to Mari, of the girdling ropes for~~e sieg'e towers

~tduSk~ibrHhar brought

and the battering rain. my lord's' tab let

·to me. . Inunediatelr

ropes .1oaded into

The tone of the 'letterand' the speed of matt~r.'

I I

had 'those sent (them).

laqqi'm-Adau.~'srespo

Asiege "to~ers and ba at ZiIllri':'Lim'wCls ab ut

ingrams areof.f ensive: weapons, 110 it may

,

I

a inaturr
indicate that this was an urgent

I I

\

/' l~)

'.

',' to set out on campaig,n, and had.. just discovered' that he had no rop s'"

\~~tthem. iI:~~~;\h~V~' ~n~~mPle of'theemplloytnej,~ thesmal~ of

., h"

,

~~,eeed~',.~at,u,r.r~b6t~ '~\ ',.

'I.

• \

p.res~rved

' One 'repor't:is ,.

.

1

~},,,,"

:

.;t. _

,t"o t,ran,'·'sport an, . item whi,l h 'was 'needed -":."

-'c-._,

.

,-

'_,

f

,~, '\

"

.u:g(,t\~:.·

details of' Yaqqim-

which reveais'm '"

•• ' . : '

,

_

'IIi

., ., Ad.q~·? ·res~o:Sib1I,~Ffes>~~r.~~t~r:~altr,a~~y~ ted through his' distric!=; ."

\_ . . . . . .1

t .....

!

~ .

'.

165 the letter is ARM XIV 44.

Several points einerge from this' letter.

One is that some products could be shipped by a combination of land and boa tp."'ElUSPOI"t .

Secondly, sometimes Yaqqim-Adduwas responsible

fdr .providing an armed escort for a caravan, in this case\a caravan of wagons,.ll

He was responsible for inspecting the material being \

transported: and for overseeing its placement on the boats fot the final phase of the' journey.

Finally, he was required to inspect and \ ,

send to ·Zimri-J.,im the bill of lading.

,\

\

\

The governors also reported a number' of times on the transpo'rt~ng of people by bQat, usually in. situations which required haste.

Some""7

times one party only was involved, as i'n ARM XIV 127; the king had i;-

ord'ered Yaqqim--Addu to send to him by boat' a m~ssenger from Eka-lla tum. ".....

,Group~

of considerable size also could be sent by boat.

Bagdi--Lim,.

in ARM VI 68, reported on' the movement of three thousand "trQops in, two hundred...·maturru-:boats. The news of a navigationalaccident,·reported in ARM XIV 4, is

..

/I\l~~m~nder thaf~ive~ travei.>ias .:'$' '

5'

'i~na

not

hazard~free:

sa-ni-lm u 4 -mi-im , t

'

:.:,,'

sauD

-"'.

20 KAM ·d....iva-tum

"Ok"' .., 'd am lJlIl-ma-a-ml~ . ' . l-SU-0

L'"

, , . "

.

As .... qu~du~umqa:du--um ,

v'

aWl.1emes

"

's'a

it-ti-$u ra-ak-'bu

Tr.lO .T-n;'i?efiPpiin is--hi-ip--su ........... . .

Rev.

.

~

~-gu-urn rna

ti qa"':tarn a-nq qa-tirn..,ma

i.

,I

t.,

, .~_J

."

(

166

.

a-na se-er be-li-ia

15

, v

'

as-ta-ap-ra-am Bu-ur-qa-an .f

. .. . It-tl-SU l-mu-ut -

~

-

" ul-Iu"tl" r', a-,'d", .... l-mes ,u l-nl aWl e p

----..

~

v ' t t l-SU'l-mu-tu ' v, '1 sa 1 u-u

''0(.

es~me

ta-ki-it-ti a~wa-tim e-se-me-ma 20'

a-na s;e-er be-l:{;..·{a v

a-sa-pa.-ra Translation:

am

On the morrow of the tweptieth day news ttl~ current"ea.rri~d Asqudtun away, ..°t, '. - i(

arrived, thus:

\.'~

~

along"with the men who were embarking with him in .'

.

a 'boat.

.

~

He has gone to his destiny.

Immediately

I wrote 'to my IQrd.Burqan died,with him, but up to now I hav~ not heard the'(names' 6f) the other ~. \,

men who died with him.

(When) I hear. confirmation,

of th.eriews,' I shall wri teo to, my lord. At least fou,r men died in ,this accident.

:r

Exactlyho\o, this had

happened while the men were emparkin,g', ~aqqim-Addu apparently had ,

n,ot heard yet, but it mtist have

he en

a sobering remind~r that while f

the rivers gave Mari much of her wealth and power~' they:.could also ,

be unforgiving

of

,

"

,

carelessness oro:f' errors in' judg;ment., '.

One fut-ther poInt: 'reg,.ardingYaqqim-Addu'~'i.~Yo1.veme1}twi.th river ~

traffic deserves

atten:tion'~,

Sasson .hasobser·ved: ' .

-

-

-

-

'.~,-

...

~

Blessed wi tha s tnl't~gic position on /~,tl1e, 'Euphra tes, [Mar i] prospere:dthroughthe fluvial trade between the south and north~The texts numbered 58-100 in the newly published ARM [ARMT] XIII eontaiil short ,nvtices address"ed to' Idiriiatum by his subordinates. They deal mainly- with listings

167 of ships, their cargo, and the appropria te c1nl"ount paid, mikstml, to allow their passage. 12 c

•

Yaqqim-Addu's letters reflect little of this transit trade.

They

deal, rather, ''lith items which were being shippedfrom:\one place to another within the kingdom, or were being shipped tntioi,;t~~~ kingdom ..

'~'

from the outside.

One reason for this is that a goverrior's,letters

to the king would not' ordinarily have been concerned with the' passage "of transit'traffic on the river.

Kibri-Dagan' s ?istrict capital of

Terqa was 'on the Euphrates, and his letters do not reflect the passage of this transit trade to an appreciable degree either. However, there is a more fundamental reasbn for the absence of references to tr~nsit trade in tbe letters of Yaq'qim;"'Addu.

Such trade

did no~ pass'Sagaratum, situat'ed as it was' on the Habur and not on , %:' ,,' .... the Euphrates.

Ti~ber';:nG'6t11~rb'6~~~ditiesmayhave

come down, the

Habur to Sagaratum from the Upper Country; p~ople .certainly, did pass - . ~

~

-

through Sagaratum on their way to and from Mari and other plac'es. 13 But numerous as Yaqqim-Addu's r,esponsib,iliti'es, were, t'hey did not include 'the- collection of transit taxes'fromboats using the major I

; ,thoroughfare from North Syria to Mesopotamia. 14

Land Transport \

Even thQ~ghwater-borne commerce was of' paramount importance to

Mari,' it is obviou? that not, everything could be carrieq everywhere on the , water. ,

,C,'

.. ':!~~-

-

Land' transport ,was also used.

Le ema. ns r ~\na rks : -

;;:

. Foreign tradewas.. ~'partlydetermined by the means of ,transport which could be employed and 'this" . fact is iliustrated by. the texts. These means of transport were boats' and donkeys, and over short d,istances carts. IS , -,i' i

..

-.

168 Wagon~

as a means of transport were explicitly mentioned in

Yaqqim-Addu's correspondence only twice.

It remains here only to emphasi~e the

XIV 44, has been discussed. 16 .

,~,

The first reference, ARM.

,

fact that the wagon's freight, after arriving at the 'port, had been off-loaded into boats' for the rest of the trip.17 were not continued on

~eir

That the wagons

overland journey for the rela tively; sho:r't

distance between Sagaratum and Mari underscores the fact that at Mari I'

gObd~was

river ,tranqport of

preferred over land transport. '

.

.

The second of Yaqqim-Addu's references to wagons describes a ,

situation in which the use of boats' would likely have been impossible. •

0

, In ARM XIV 24. Yaqqim--Addu reported tJla t a section, of the rampart of Saga.ra.turn had' fallen and requested assistapc~ in r'econstruc ting it .18 He ended tl1e letter by.describing the measures he had already taken. These included the bringing of grain to Sagaratum to feed the workers repairing the wall.

Grain collected from

withinth~,_Jiistrict would

" have been brougl1t mC?reefficiently toSagaliatumby wagon,as the ~

I,

distances were short and not all the grain wou'ld have been located on the. wa terways of thwdistriet. ". While donkeys are mentioned in several of 'Yaqqim-Acldu's' letters, they are only once descri.bed, in ARM XIV 40:5..;.8, asbeii:lg part of a ~'-.-

cj

caravan. 19 \

..

- ,- - .

-

.'

../

If' is: probabletl1at this is not to be regaxded as- a normal.

.

commerciaLcaravai:l, given t~e presence within the party of a temple functionary .. Al$o, the letter'records, after\gIJ. intervening lacuna, ~

•

•

N.

the propbse~, gift of' a white horse and a ,white mare to the king.

If "t

tnose bringing the gift w~re th~ car~vandescribed~'~t the beginning

.

of the letter, that woti'ld lend supp.0rt...k0 the contention that this

'f.·l

169 "

was not a commercial caravan, but a mission to Zimri-Lim from someone 1

whose name has been lost.

Nevertheless, the tablet-illustrates the

I

,,"".

,

use of donkeys as .beasts of burden, carrying the effects and provisions of the traveling part1'X.

",

"w.,:t -" ...........

'

.,.,~.

.

l

.-...

The relative paucfty of references

in~he

correspondence of

Yaqqim-Addu' to donkeys specifically20 and to overland tr'ansport of /

goods in general, contrasted with the numerous references to river traffic, supports

th~observationsof Sasson:

'~The

Mc=sopotamian lands transferred their mercantile horizons from the Pe of the Euphrates, Northernmost Syria, and beyond. So that, materials whi.ch were readily ob tainable from the south , and the 'southeast had to be sought in western markets • . '. • The rivers, especialJ,y the Euphra tes, increasingjly~ bore the burden of :the trade of this new age. Boats of all sizes are mentioned very frequentl¥ in the texts, sharply contrasti.ng the relatLvely rare mentions of don- . key caravans. 21 J'

There aTe several-·references in Yaqqim-Addu' s letters to the movement of goods in which the method of transport is not s'peci"f~ed. 4

Three of these are discussions of the moving of grain in the context of military' operations'~

Typical is ARM 'XIV 109:11..,.14:

'. . Qar-n{-Li-im 'i.'

."

' .. '

'.

.

is':".tu 'Su-ba-a t.... ... "'"~}-'

d!

...

- ,ki En-Ill'

","'

v

'~'"

se-em a-ha An-da-ri-iq

ki" _r ma,?

Rev. a-na ~u..,.ru-hi-im il~q~..:em""ma Translation:

v

Qarni-Lim has taken grain from Silbat-Enlil )

to carry (it) to Andariq. The other two letters are ARM XIV 104:15'-16', which records the

bringing' of grain into the citadel of Sagaratum to prevent it from fallingint;o enemy hands, and ARM XIV 120: 15-1,6, which mentions the

170 fact that the tlaneans were transporting the grain of the town of Tada. ~~ile

all these three occasions have a definite military setting, they \

<

only serve to underscore the fact that grain was an import,nt comWhether by donke~lor by

modity, worth seizing and carrying off.

wagon, these are also definitely instances of the overland transportatio~ of g('in.

Two other items are mentioned in these letters which'would have }ihi~h

posed no problems' of transportation, but .

ought to be included

.,~

One of th~ese occa-

in the discussion for the sake of completeness.

sions was the request, of Zi'iilri~Lim for m i \ seed, ARM XIV 34. Addu sent the men of his bazaQatu to look for find'any.22

mint~but

Yaqqim-

they did not

If they had, the seed obviously would have caused no ~

.

i·

l

',-J ,

inconvenience in

transportipg~

Finally, Yaqqim'-:-Addu recorded in :,

".,

'

~

ARM II 107 the sending to the king of some locu?ts which; had 'come ,

tined as delicacies for the king' s

't~'

,"

Whether these",locusts'were des-

• ' into the area as far as Sagaratum.

"table,'b~ we,r~'merely ,

for his

inspection, Yaqqim-Addu did not say.

In'either case their 'size and

weight would ha.ve posed no problems.

Kibri-Dagan also recorded the

sending of locusts to the king, AlU1'III 62; theentGe letter is --,

4'

concerned' :with the locust report. The transport~tion of people. overland" as ref Ie ters of Yaqqim-Addu, is not cif the s'ame nature

in the lettransporta-

,

tion.

River tra'nsportation' of people.seems generally too have been, '

reserved for very important people. or for those who 'were required in' ~ ~ ~ ,o another place immediately. Land / travel, '.OU·,the otherh.and, seems to .. ~>~~>:-

have been normaL

Therefore, many of Yaqqim-Addu' s references to

1'• • -

"

Z..

~;

171 l

land travel were concerning the arrival of messenger'S or other of-

..

fi~ials pa~sing thro\lgq SagClraturn on th~it way to' 'or from Mari .. 23

" A smaller number of texts reported' the passing through Sagaratum

.

.

'of priv,ate persons' who were of interest to the' bureaucracY for one \

.

.

'

reason or another.

.

......

>-""

.

'

.

__

'''---'-~ . " ..\.,. ~ .

Here again, however, they wer.~ in the natd~e of

...

bare notices as 'regards the travel itself. Z4

..

"

. The

Su~ary "f'

-'

'

dominari.tmod~ \

,~,...,

of trans'portation in tbe kingdom of Mari was

the .river boat.· The.. river tr'affic with .whichthe governors' letters .:;" .' .'

deal

~as

kingdom.'

largely internal, or

..

.

Ha:i from oHtside

jt~~ .

\

oJ

The . letters do Il0t; reflect..... oversight of the trlJ,lls:tt trade-. /f/'

,.....

"

.,

.

,

f~sponsibj.litie~~id include 0jganiz_in g the procure-

The,&overnors" '....

d@~ined i~r r.-L&~'-\

J!

i

:'.'

.

_

"'; . . . o J

ment, aild shipment of items,' stIch/as

,.

"

. . !

~t9ne,

timber, grain, or military

).

" ' j

,equipment, required at MarL, '1/ i>~()ple 'Ileeded ~_9 be transpOr~ed~Y~ , qoat. , the ,goITern.or was oHen fjP;:Sible f or arrangements;,

,~~'also

~report~4 on~significant movemeft (~{, lack of'it) along the ri1~·t-s. f. Landt;-anspo;rtwa~

,,' •

.

I;

~

.

'I.~:

,.,j/,.

not nrarly.~q i1l1portcmt. h

l

._'\

,-

~. \ "

.

How,ever, 1.n tS1.tu~-

..

~

~

f

tions which. mandated it,. the !governor t,·s administrative''. oversight 1;'1aS l' . ,. ':, ,j ,....' . ; " i· :~ • s'imilar t: ~hat''WhiCh he ex,rcl~ed ove~ ri~er t':affic.

,"

"I~

...; )

Si

, ;. •

t

.

[

I '

.

..

...

.\it . ,

'. .

'. ~ll o

~.

' 11 '

.r:

. ;;;' ~.

.

.~

. ~.

, '0 'oil.

~

".

'. ,.:.~. '

I

o

,~

"":;'-

'"...

C'

o

o

'._-~-:..r':.-~"

,i;

,.

JQ

~.,

. 4

-'I....

:-Cl:Iap t'e'r, yI I •

e' ,

. 'll .,

!

~~_:~

.;~..

.:::

.

.' ..

~

., ,'.

.

.

ji; .~

" 0,

\ Period

•. ~;'fLeemaJfS,Foieign'?;,Trqile, ~p. 1,38. .

J.~.

'. ~ftuq¥ on'

Perhaps the most;, important

'"

P

';

a, .

.,

~.iver tiarfi~

-..

fhi::ough' '~~l"l ,i"emairis MadEheine

~urfon

Burke,

~ ~. 'i,';,j'-,O' ,',oK, \ . , . \ 0 ' .~ /" ',:Lettr:es d~~~. ~~mu$d~~~ahr~ri.i~·t.de'·',tfots autresc correspond~ntsa~; . f'

'J

"

'.' .ldi'n,ia turn',~' Sy~:ia':-dl,/(1964)'{ "~·fll~lQ3." 'r.' .,.::,';::

.

'.

/'

:~~,

,,'

0"

",'

}.:~:,~."

..../

..

" v

'

a .

.'~~?L~emans, r:o:r~ign'Tra4£),p.,f~)~L2;O":12~; ..

"3'?,'. ~~.'-

~. :"

'\

_.

~-

"'~'.

-

:~.

,-

/.~.,

~;~_,; ~.,.

;~_:

.--

_.-

,'"

~;,~.. ~:~

ff:

,".

cf.~ also Jack Sasson,

~

't

:~"Nq'r:therhmos·t Syri,a: .·~jf.'~u.rVcyo{'It,~ Insti tutions bef ore the ga11'Q£~ '_~~>:~'):"':. (}W11 ~~ .,'

;'Ma~Y ~"

\C,

'd

:~,_:,- _.

-:'"',:.:4..

_

(ea.;,: 1757:·,.JL C<.·J'·(unp'ubl:~$'he9

~~.

;/,;.,~.~,

: - .- . _ . '

'.

.

.

.. .

ih:D,disset~tatt~n, B'rarid~isUni~. ...

q'

';'

~."

<.

,

. ~ .'."

'0

_.

e'_-:-t~

..

'i.'I

"",,_.,

SiJ:>tti~;{his qt,leen, to sele<;;t,',;wonJE;il"f?rhis har'em I

.

af~ive~:-group'

f--lit

4

-v

.

i

"\

fyOll).

'c,aptiv'~s, lt~'e majority. ot,..whom~ere

of

to

~

t;}

. Q .

among a .new1y

b~'~en~"as '~~:- ..-" -

.;.

- -

.

.

. ~- '. '

,~-

"

,

./

.'.

~.

v'

J.~tt'er~. see B.. F. Bait~i S.ftidies on 'Women at Mari{BaltiniGre:-\The~'

.-~:-.,.;,..,~."

.,f.

,,_

}:.

~-'i'

"

[)

&

,

-

~:

~

0

/.

'-';

....,

',',,'

,',

"'-':",

9

'

,-.'

, ~\')o.

..,:~.

1)._ •

~

•

J9hns H'bpl<:in~ U~yersity Press, 1974), pp. 26...28.' .: "',

' , , ; ; -<:.....

-".

.

..

.

\ '.

• " '"

'~'". '.\',

'.~;..,' ~:'

~

and a_ bat~er'ing\, rame W:'~~.~ ja1so carried "

\ " ,

"

'by

I..,

Q'

a;f.l1arl. :(Rome:' Ponti;',

.

,fica1 Biblical .Ins·titut,e,. 1969), p',: 31, cGlnprents ono .

.\,

.1

_ "\-<.If'',..:

5Jack'SassoIl, T·ne Mi~itclryEfitab1is'hments '

.

"'

J~

-

I

c

.c.,

"v,~1:'.d'ity;;~ 1996), p~,. 1+W-l?8:·~>." y

~{;

.

this~

,

"-Siege towers 0

'.

.,'

wa\~~ns ,~+I: 7:,119-19~.' ':IV,: 79 , .\

•

Q

shows tha tMari. 'Q(,¢ in f,ac t ,acquired,a reputq tion ,for tl}e manufacture ". :.~ . . : .. ~ ,\ ' . \ 1'7-2- ;'. :\.-4 \

'

\ . ,

l.- \

1

@

_

\"\

. \t'"

'

....

10

~

%.

'

~ 4

..

173

I 3, \

of 'such wagons:. During' Zimri-Lim' s reign, a certain ·'Y.:ln~ub-Asar .: Seems to have" headed a' group of smiths who manufactureq these devices .

,

This fame was prOb"ably 'tvell deserved for, mor.~ .th~n

,XIII: 40,:13-14).

"

dismemberm~nt,

two centuries after its

Mari was still exporting this

.' product. (HSS:XV: 84)." i

~'The

6M. B.' °ltowton,

• "

~

~;

II

,\

Woodlands of Ancient Western Asia," JNES 26 .S:"~--\ : t \

" <\'

(1967}, 266-269.

Cf. A. Malaniat, "Gampaigns to the , Mediterranean by .

':1~hdtinlim ",and Other -

.;.....

,

i" .

G

Ear1!y Mesopota1l1ianR\llers,:' AS 16 (1965) ....

,

•

7 Cf. Le~ans,

'.

I

.J!'

_

_

:";

Foreign Trade,pp'. 132-133, on the generally small'

"

~ ,';'J,: '~1l

)

,3~5-373.'

()

""

" •

,

••

•

.

- , . . . .

P'con'slgnin,ents recorded in Old ~Babylonian references to foreign trade;

"

his di SC\1ss3 is of qther pr oduc ts also. as well a s wood. 8C.f.the discussioh ofW. W. Hallo, "The Road to Emar," JCS 18

,.

.

(L964), 57-88. 9' See the .discussion of, Jack Sasson, . ".ifistances.. ,of Mbbility Among .." ; "

Mari Artisan.s;:'BASOR No. 190 (April, 19.68), 47-50, ·in~which he dis. ,

". cusges boatbuil,dersamong other artisans "

f

,

~

'

.

.j

.,

-

.

-

~

Q.

~o See, however, .the-insttince ,ci,ted ipSassQn, Military Establishments,~.33. .

-~

.

lIef. also ARM XIV 127, in which Zimri-Lim orgered Yaqqim-Addu

tQ establish

a

II\~P' ofRkaliat~ wh?was 'to he brought .

guard for a

,

"~

to Mariby bo~t.

In'bot:h.cc;Lses, ",that of thewag6ncaravan' and that ".

,".

">

of the' ~oat,o Zimri-LimSpecif:ica.lly 'i1]structed' his -governor to pro..

~

'~-

-

"

-..

.

-

~

"

ri)-'!

'".

vide a gflard,contingent; 'this empha~dzes 'the 'facl:that extragu'ards

\

,

4,

'.

•

_

/:, '.

<;

,

.-\

.~

. . . : ; . . . . . .

•

•

would no.t :nOrIl1all~aVe been added to a" t,ravel~ng, party in the midst

q! ",

i~s

.

"

"

.

journey'.

12Jack Sasson, "Norther!mtos~ Syria," pp. 10,?-106.

174

-.

-(~-.

13 See discussion of diplomatic travel, supra, pp.

.

14 Of tangential interest here·

~22-l31~.· .,~

d'· . .f S ./ "NorthlS e lSCUSSlon 0 assjOP.'f' rnmost Syria, "p. 106, concerning 'ihe reasons for tte fall Mari~~,.

~

h

J

15 Leemans,' Foreign Trade, p. 133 • .

16Cf. s:upra, pp. 164-165.

".

I

r

1,

.

17presumably the port referred" to here 'is the port of, S g:kratum. t

should b~ noted also that it is possible the wagons, rat,h.r ~han -f

.

I

eing off-lq>aded into the boats, were themselves loaded, ful' . i

[J

'

.

of.cargo,

/.

nto boats Ifor the rest of. the journey. ~, . & .~. 18 Thir letter is transliterated and' translated sup!a,

~t9Cf

94-95.

discussionsupra,.pp. 107-108.

/xcep tional

! /

I

I

happeried.• If

21Sasson~''Northerrirnbs~ Syria," p. 111. e

•

.22~his 'Iet,ter ,istrans.1i,teratedf~nd'translated su r., ppP: 38-39 . .,.

relations,

tl.3 See the treatm'ent in the chapter on ::tnterna tiona o

supra, pp.

l22-l~1.

, ",.'"

. 2ltA-n interesting .repor~ is

.

.

,--.

" the re-

ARM XJ::V,?5; concerned

On,

"

,capture of a Yamh~4icm deserter wh'o had fled bn a z,.

that in

this -text offerso no infonnation <:>n travel itself, ,

(presiImably) e~ceRtional c{rcum?tances'" it w:as

at nigh t.

,-f!

;i

,

"

Chapter VIII ..6

~,

"" RELIGIOUS EXPRESSIONS AND CULTIC RITUAL

Religious consciousness 9-nd'-'~~pre'st,(on wer~ part of the f,.abric ~:t.",

"--.f,

Mari,a~

of life' at

in all the 'Old Babylonian world. 'For example,

.

.

the famous "Investiture" mural found on a wall of the palace of Mari 1 .. is a visual repre,sentatiol) of the philoso\,hy ,widelY acce:pted in ,--

f.

~'

\~

ancient Mesopotamia, that the authority of" th.~li'l~~_"toJ'?s',directf' bestowed upon: him by the gods,;2

The exoavations at Mati have revealed 'lo.._

/

from the period of Zimri-Lim temples to the deities Istar,. Dagan'~ a1.ld Ninhursag.3 Sl'd era bl ' e

Further evidence is the/fact that there existed a con-

. th pan ", eon at M'~ ar1. l

"

Governm'ental Sponsorship of Religiolls Observances The importancE\:'of the gods and the cult are r~fle.cted as well in the, letterH of,Yaqqim--Addtrand>theother, governors. ~.,

,

'

They were

.

~

,)? involved in a numper of aspects 'of the .sacrific~s to various deities.

Sometimes 'their involvement was a,t' t;he.connnandof the king,' as iridi:,

cated in ARM XIV'9: 'tas-sum' niqim

5

"~"

;, , r

a~rla

.

" ' 1 ' rki' e-em 'a-1m, '

k:L

'\

. sa.Ha --la--ab . .

~

dAJdu

.

.

0

. r na"~q:£';'im be-Ii i$-pu-ra-aril

16.KAM 4Samas: er;~~b~_ret"

, , ,'runJ

,

Tr.

r

,

tup

\,

:''''4

.

,

•

1;'.

, , '

.

,

"

~

I"

'-'-pl1;be~11.-la

."

'

ik-su-dam

.

'.

176 v ,.r k··1. 1 -rna na-as-pa-ar-t i I

10

.

..."

' , [ be ] -11-ia a-na haal-s1-im , . v . w. • Rev.

.

urn

"

v b e-·l1." 1.s-pu....ra· v sa

15

am

d'.

~

I

A~du1.n-na-aq-q1.·

'a-na

Translation:

My lord wrote, to me concerning the. offering ,

in ~ach town of the s.~crificeto,Addu-of";'Halab. The ,~.-

~

-

tablet of my lot'do arrived on the sixte~nth day -t,at . • . . . . . , ~ ,

,sunset.

~~ • q

In accordance with the instructions of

~my

.

.

•

lord,', I alerted the distr:fct.

,...... a

-.

.

The sacrifice ¥hich

'.

;my lord instructed me will be offered to Addu on , f

the eight~enthday.' In this letter" the Oilly direct information supplied 'b,y Yaqqim~-_.<

.\.

- " . - '.

•

,

•

- ,

'1."-. ~

.~'

,Addu is' ~1~ in9i.cat~on of compliaD:ce ~ith ~he instructions of Zimri_"~#'.

•.

-.

~

.

I.

.

'

.~ •

•

. . r.im.', lJ6wever,thElt .,:tnformatioll', is of some importanc.e . .

'It was the

.

.

thronewhich·set the i:iin~~t~or this major.dIstrict-wide. sacrifice to .

"

l

'

.

.

,-.

'~h~- ~ost.importa·n~ gods .~E'~t4e.west,~emiticpant~i~on.

ohe of

Zimri-

Lim's' ini;tiativeis" probabiy t:o~be explained by the fact that this~ '. . .. ,-

.

:

.. '

. . '

.

".

-

: 'gbd was'asso~ia~e~lwi:th the.(~apitaf>,c.ity 'of his patrotla:nd father..

~

---

.

. ".

in...,lq w, Yarim"':Lim.of ~.Yamlia(l.'

.

,*. ,' ..

'.,

~-.

..

. I _,- -

,

. '. Tbat this was not .an extrao'rd~nary' situation is. i.ndic_a:te~. . by r

A..

.......

'b

-

'-

"'-

, •... !

".

-

'8

~

.

-

-fetter bf'Kihri~Dagan·.'·'InARM'III45he:'inform~dtheking that, in o

"

.

,

'

-

~\-

. :

•

•

. . .

\ .

accO:rdailce"withhisl.hstruc'tions,the:·~ownand cllst:;rict; of Terqa. had ..

....

~.

.

'..

'offered the sacrifices ,of'Addu on"the~wenty-fifthday. . ..

.

."..

., -

~.

.

"

Though, these ',. '. _.-

..

~

sacrific¢:i were to the same god, they '~couldhot h~vebeenthe same'

177 ,-

sacrifices as those I:~ferred to by Yaqqim-Addu,' becclUse they were ',- .-

-I .

offered on a different day . . The governors' responsibilities, were to . " .

.-

diss'eminate throug~ their district~ the king 's decision concer,ning "

.....th.~....:.~}mi~g ,of the sacrifices, then report" ....':'"--- - --P... -...... . , "-. -~'

'to

L

•

the, king,.

It would: have been a physical . impossibility for th~' govellllors

, ' to atten4 all the '$acrifices to Addu across their respective distr'ic.tj. .

~

" .

J

..

"

.

'

A number 'of letters' do indicate, 'however, tl;1at attendance ~t sacri>'

.f

ices~even

including some at Mari.--:H:self, was a p·art'.of their"duty. .'

,

'.'

. ' . .•.>.;./f

".

..

,. '.

.;

Writing on a differeht'subj ect in ARM XIV 66, Yaqqim;:;(Addu pegged' it· to- • '.

,.

',.'.",

:",.

- .- . - .

w~:.I~·

.

t,'

.,

sacrif:f.~e

asoccu rr ing when he had a;rrived at Marl for·. the

..

'y

. .'

pf I$Ulr.

Kibri~I>agan,tnARM TIT 8, r,equest,edth.;:lt he be excused ~ froom an' ob.... ,

; ,.- . - j ' .

-

.,

.

serva.nce.honor'ing Dagan, because offloodfng in his dfstrictwhich ..

.

.

'

l.

..

0' . ._~

,.

'

.~,

.

r-equ':i-red -h;i's '.attenti"oo.• · Under,' o.ormal c-ir(YUIJfst_anc-e~r~ .'he .Wd'Uld hav!=·· ...

..

made t~e. trip. to M~ri. .

.

"

)

A governor could be responsiblefor·providingsilcr.ificial' ani-' ,~

.

- ,

.

.

-'

..p

.-

.

• •

'.'

,r

' .

.

".

.:'.mals, as indicated in .--' AAM:XIV S,~ddressedio Ziniri~ti.In, and ARM" .' ....' . . "'. .~~.

.'..

,

'.,'

.

' . "

'

XIV~6 ,: add~~~~-~e~ tg:-~~~~.h~iahalu:~ - th.~-~ki~~~-J ~$-~cretary andyaqql~~-,' ·,·,t,'·· . Addu '$ 6..._

:,.

" .<

'. fi'di:al hUl1~hich'xa§~im-Addu'~anted tos'ert4 by boat. d~wnstrkam£o" .T

:I'

?

.

:', .'

'.'~'-'

.,'.,

·Mart •.

.

""~ '"

",,~c <:'Ya.qqi~~A~·~tl .had.:tl:le:~·.; :destined, for ,the' sacrifice of . an .'

,;.;

,.....

:..,\

,','

(:.,:

'.

.

.

.

'.

.

.

. I:lewas . t~ppan~ntlY at· the

. .

'."

.

'1,'.'

.'

• 'i- .. '

.

I.

. '

.

appar~ntlY;:,fattened th~ b~l:t;~~~ forrhis part.~cular '.

,

. '

,

...'...

.

.......,',

'.

.

\

",

"

,

s·Cl.crifice tor 'a number' of. y,e(ir£r;' but this· had .neVe'It happenedbefore~ .. . . . .. . . . (~

..

"-~'.."

~

,.

~',

,-;'

';,.

. ':.

;

;:',

The ustial course" of:actftm had.~· :been .to· send:them tp':Mari' overland•.

".

~

.

I."

. ;.

.

,:

..

",

ul1 nam e d',gQ4: or"'goddes~;Jlready:fattened~

. Yaqqim'"':Addu: had

,

~.

~

• j"

4'.:

Q.

,;,.

'\

.. 178

\

I'

Ii I

\

\

~

I,

j

\

Bu t' in this erner;ge cy\ he appealed both to the king and 'tio his friend \

Sunu~~tah~lu ..

.

for\p rmission to $end' this one by boat, \ -

~""f'''''

\

V~..:._"~.

l'

.

"

f

s~\! ~hat ~-

~

ition tp be used in the sacrifice, a~ he did not

would arrive in

I

\

\;

,'hav.e another. 'j

t~~ le'ttet~

·1 In

\

;' 1the Ling, ARM XIV lb

, \

In the Irtter adcl\ressed to

Addu requested

'I

\

", i'fer1

compelling.reas~

1"

tt

inti~ate. inv~lvement

we have evidence of more,

I la sa¢rifice on thef rt of' aqqim-Addu.. ,

it

\

"

permi~~ion to~~~~:oil

,:!,hur~ied trip to sacr\fice to Amu-of-,-Tibran, and offered what to him.

inc oined to

r~fus'e h~,

for

S

,

j . '/ ~the

the'k~ng ShOUl~ ha~e been

" I f . "1

•

s i t a IdS details mi"sing! from

I

,>

Lest

reque'sl' he wrote also to /Sunu.huraba:flu.'The "

.

".ha I with Zimri-L:lm. s

so.

,

t~e lett!e; to

•

v

[a] - r nq" Su- U':"hu.,..ra";'ha-lu.,..u \.,

....

'.

.

1\

q!

. r'

urn-rna - .. _. . . . --

)

~

b~

\....

'~.

"'Q"

.•-:\

J

a

~.

dA'dind , a-ql,lL -'., u...rna .,.

-- - - -

- 'f

._~

--

-awil.mes 'i-nu-rna a-na" e ....er '. ,·Ha-na

.

~

..

5

.

·, .• ··.1.

Tr.IO

\,

~"

'

"

kirig, we will dis~ SS.lt, ARMXrV 11:

,',' I

.

!

"

'1 awi1BU·'h....···· r i .1- a"rhoarran1m _.'; (-_ . .K.AS·KA·.. L.A) .', w ar1 . v ' .

.. '

Rev • rl~ [

] rt',' du

,uk:

\.,

"

.'\

~:# ,Ii"

,_~

.J

"

./

179 . ] v a - [ na Sa-ga-ra -tim ki ak-su-ud-ma

r ,

v [2 amatum m:l.~l - r ta , u, b~ ':l.t:l..ti k a- 1 u-su

15 ,, ,,, ,, ,,,

r pa-r~" '-J. d wa- r ar, - ka -tam

,f :

'ki , [urn] -ma-a- r rnJ.• , dA-mu- T"1-J. h.., -ra-an

I

; ; ; ;

)

,

ff

!

v

ras-sumniqi'

I I f; I

20

l

' ap-rtl~us-ma

su

x [

] -rna a-na se-er be-If-ia

[

'ki '] a-na Qa-at-tu-na-an

.

,

[

y .1 '1 -m? be] ·~, r1~' su-qJ....J. ..L

\

Tr.

r

,

.

'

"

Iu -ul-li-ik

rna

[lu-uq-q:!-ma al- rna' be..:.l:l-ia r ' , 1u-uk-[ru'

25

Y'

To Sunuhurahalu say, thus Yaqqim-Addu: 6

Translation:

""'"

;: ,,':::>i:j..'

'-'

-

J'

.'

When, my Ibrdsentme to the. Haneans, I left the oJ

flo1;ir and the sheep for the sacrifice of Amu-of", ,)

Tib'ran in QattunanBut the sacrif,icecontinual1y --- .-- -- .---=-..• _.'-'

-

-~~--'-~---:---------'------'.-~---~ . ._ . ~ ,

~--,-----,-"--------

worried me .. Now when I dep'artedfrom Mari, [some-' thing] ~ill,~d a f?ulfaruonthe journey.

(When) I

, arrived at Sagaratum, [t\l7o
I

investigated the

affair', '., (and came to a conclusion), ~thus: I;)

tIt is)

,

'..

',.

my: lord. lo

we~e dead,

i' ... ;r., . >to.Qfl'~,funan ~._...,.;--

'

. .. .persuaqe my lord,

~:- _'_:1:~""':,~ !':~

that T may go, Jthat I"may offer] this sac.rif~e, ;,' I '

~~-

(and) that T may pray for my lord. Amu-of-Tioran did not comman~d sufficient respect from Z~mri-Lim

. :...

180

that he thought it necessary to rearrange his schedule in order that his sacrifice be offered at the appointed time.

In this judgment

. r~luctantly,

Yaqqim-Addu apparently concurred happen

~n

his household.

"

,~

,~,,\.{~ ,~,

Amu~of-Tihran,

...

until things began to

That he"attril5Uted his misfortune to the im-

"

patience of

;~f~J'

rather

~han ;~.

to some other deity, indicates

.t·.<_·~:~l~t;

,~

.

that he did in the final analysis have':'considerable respect for him. k' i

letter~

It is only in these two

concerning the sacrifice to

Amu-of~TihranJthat prayer to a god ,is sp~cifically roe~tioned.

Sacri-

Yaqqim-Add~promised spe-

fice implies prayer, but in these letters

cifically to pr~y for the king~ no~doubt to strengthen his case for ~lJ

going at that time.

.,

In the lett.er.to-Sunu!!urahalu, he repeated that

position so ,that Sunuhurahalu could remind the king that he too would benefit from allowing Yaqqim-Addu to carry out the sacrifice immediately. ' Several points in these lette'rs, taken together, indicate that Yaqqim.:,;.Addu was genuinely pious ... One is his indication that even ---~~

-

-

---~

~

---- - - - - - - - -

before the deaths of three persons in his household he had been worriedover the neglect of the

sacri~ice.

Another is his attribution

of those deaths to the displeasure ,of a minor deity, rather than a major deity, or simply to natural causes of misfortune and disease. That he would write to the king; in I

an~ttempt

to have set aside a

rather st,rong directive furthe,r emphasizes his concern. ',As only six

.c

v

of his letters were,addressed ~o Sunuguragalu, any sU~j ect about which

?

'.

"f

'

a letter was addressed to him/assumes added

importance~'"

Finally., the

i

i !

troubled tone of the two lett,ers reflects, not only administrative con-:, I I

If

''I'

cern over a disrupted househbld, but also genuine religious anxiety. _

1.L

.

_

•

181

Governmental Interference in Religious Observances The Mari correspondence reveals that Zimri-Lim appreciated the importance of religion in the lives of the people.

He paid attention

to what should be, as well as to what actually was, occurring . in the cultic observances of the various gods, and goddesses., However, his attitude toward Amu-of-Tihran, just discussed, indicates that his actions were not always religiously, piously motivated.

Several of

Yaqqim-Addu's letters iu~ther indicate that the Mari bureaucracy that is,

Zimri~Lim

- .was not above manipulating cultic observances

for "political benefit. 7 The first of these is ARM XIV 8, which re..

veals that in order to impress upon the people that the central government was strong and stable, Zimri-Lim had taken the images of the gods of the region from their temples, and removed them to the large fortified towns of Sagaratumand Dur-Yahdun-Lim.

•

In this way,

he forced the village leaders,. the sugagu, to come to the governor and ask for. the return of the gods. when. it -

~--~--~-

--

~-~~--

-

----

-----

and sacrifice to the gods.

~----

-

---~---

time for the festival

~came

- - - -- - - - - - - -

-~~-----

-

----

The gods were thus being treated by

Zimri-Lim as political hostages guaranteeing the good behavior and subse.:vicnce of the uillagers. 8 , ~,

From the fact that .'

Yaqqim~Addu

had to write for instructions on

.t<

~he

whether or nqt to release the gods to their temples for ~r

.

'_

.. f ices (it 'follows that such release was not automatic,

\

f~U.t

sacri0

rather

conditional upon the judgment of the 'king himself.· This accentuates the control which he was trying to exert and maintain over a

popu~

lation whose fidelity and energy in serving his cause he could not fully trust.'

----------

\

\

\ \

\

~other letter, ~[ XI~ 12, also deals with political inter-

~2

ference in the cult, this tJ. in appointing the time of sacrifices: ,awil.mes v rk ., u mu-use nu-urn

I'

v - i" [ha] r su~nu , n I qet ¥ -

Sa pa-ag-ra-i u~-te-e su-u-rma' v H' um-ma su-nu-ma nIqetim- ni-ir-se-re'

5'

warham e-ri-ba--am un 8

ni-ip-p~-e~ um-ma a-na....ku-ma

' \ a-na- ku-uI pu-ur-sa-a-am s~a

\~q-etl..h~_kUW_. nu •

I V {} a-qa-a.b-be-e-ku-nu-s i -im

"

.

'"

Tr.

a-na ~e-er .rbe' -li-ia 11.1-~~-PU\\.rur' -{rna]

10'

pu-ru-sa-a-am li-il-qti-[nim] ,

.

Tr. lat.

.,.

r

"

i-·na-an-na· ~um-ma nlq~ti

a

' v '

"u:n 8

KAM nlqetl.'... - • h<1-

\

h -[~u-~ul

i-pe-su an-ni--tam la an-nt-tam be-.l! li-is-pu"-ra- '"am'

\

[

[vsu- rlu 9

\

\ \ \

\

_.. . Tran~~:::O:~in::n:n:::::. ::;:~_~:::c:::i::S~~;: ken_urn . (spoke) in these yerms, "We have prepared t\e sacI

rifices; we Will perform (them) next month, tQn)

\

the. eighth day." I (replied) in these terms, \\ ,

"Sha~l I give you the d~cision on your sacrifi:ces \ '. . . \

Let me write, to my lord, and let 'him take the deci-\\ .

sion.I,I

\.

Now, (as 'to) whether [their] sacrifices they \\

(may) perform, let my lord write to me one way or the other.

On the eighth day [their] sacrifices •

.

The difference between this episode and the setting of the time for sacrifices to Addu discussed above is that they Here

183

state-sponsored sacrifices, while this observance was local and without royal backing.

Thus, again we have a case of political inter-

ference in the cult by the crown for the purpqse,of reinforcing and accentuating the crown's authority. , .

Philosophically, at least, re-

!igion is the most important part of Hfe. ,assume control over the timing of the

For I'd-Lim', then, to

~agra'U~rifices w~to

solid-

ify his hold on the people who had been, after all, under the rule

"

v v of Samsi-Adad for a number of years. 10

This is the only occurrence in the letters of the term pagra'u-sacrifices.

Yaqqim~Addu

of

This term was translated, by Finet as But von Soden s~ggests "battle-offer-

"sacrifices to the dead. ,,11

ing," 12 while Birot considers the question of their nature st.ill open. 13

lVhatever the true nature of these sacrifices, they are de-

finitely.different from the ordinary sacrifices to the gods.

Thus,

we see thqt Zimri-Lim had established control over anot,her.;csegment of the people's religion. --

.

----_._-

~----

.-

-

-----

- - - - - - - - _ . ~ - - - - _ . ~ - - - . - -~ _ . ~ -

-

-----~

--------"

Phenomena Attributed to the Gods One of the responsibilities of the governor was to report any extraoDdinary phenomena occurring within his district. 'i~~

,

On occasion

these were of such a nature as to be attributed to one of the gods.

ARM XIV 7 is one such report: u -um tup-p{ an-ne-em a-na ~e-er be-l{~ia

4

Y b··1 r u', -sa1- am .

I'"

.,.

.

r1 -lg-ma-a-a t

d

Add u

J~]-da-an-ni-~in' abnam ra-ab-"hi-tam it-ta-ad-di [

] U 20 immeratim

(= UDU.HA) ta-ma-hi!-ra-am 14 ,

. '"

- I'"ab' -bi-ih' u-ta-

184 Translation:

On the day I sent this letter to my lord,

(occurred) the roaring of Addu.

His shout became

stronger than before; he hurled large hailstones.

'. -.~

Immediately I slaughtered 15

•

•

and 20 sheep.

•

i

Addu, as tpe storm god, was deemed responsible for at least two ~

hailstorms occurring in the district. before~

vastating than

Yaqqim-Addu's primary concern was the safety

and property of his district.

...

0

This latest one was more de-

,

As this was an extraordinary and

threatening event,the governor arranged for a special sacrifice, larger than the normal daily sacrific~.16 Among the letters which treat of significant actions taken by. the governor, a high proportion deal with actions commpnded by the

.....

king, with requests for permission from the king to act, with requests for instructions from the king on

w~ich

' t

with requests for aid in 'undertaking action. . this one, which .

'\;'-~

~

d~pict ,

"

action(s) ,to take, or

o~m

•

the governor acting on his own initiative and "

- - - - -~------~-----------'-----_!_----- ._--,--_._---------_.. _-----

utilizing his

t

Those letters, like-

-

-----_

- -

-

---

•

_; __ c

_~

•

re'sources entirely, provide an important balance

in our view of the governor.

l']ithout them, he would seem to have

all responsibility, with iittle or no authority. _ In instapces like this one, we---see that his authority, to aet on his own initiative was indeed' commensurate

hi 9 accountability.

~'1ith

In ARM XIV 10 and 11, discussed above, 17 Yaqqim-Addu ascribed, the death of three of his servant~ to the ~etribution which a minor . )~

letters were,

report.~,ei;f fr~

~

household.

'j;

.: "

if

th~

deity, Amu-of-Tihran, took for his neglect of

sacrifice.

These

the s:ltuation as it stood in the governor r S

.

!;

•

'.

•

.~

'J-

'.

1

"

They were also rE:7quests t.o be allowed to ree tify it by

,,'

J'

~'.

185 the offering of the delayed sacrifices. servants, ascribed to the god,

~hich

It was the death of the

prompted both the reports and

the requests. In ARMT XIII III Kibri-Dagan reported upon the safe andval at '.

Terqa of the gods La.gamal and t~udum..

Upon their arrival he had

had sacrifices,.offered, and that night it had b'egun t'o rain. A significaht activity ascribed to the gods in the Mari archfVe

prophetic me"Ssages,

~

'q

is the revelat:L:m of •

•

,

p;;.

was in an ~tstatic trance. 18

{

,

,

~

~;.~~ ~-: .~

.

t..ec~ive'r.

usually ,,,hile; the

~aqqim-Addu dis! flat;, pass along reports

,,'\.

..

.~

.'

'_;'

of ~ny '''01 these prophet ic ep isodes .., Kibri-Da~~n repo5ted on threi;'

h

. .

,

(~ III 40 and 18; AmIT XIII "112), and Babdi-Lim on. one (A~~{ VI 45) ;••.} •

. . " , '

~~.~he

1ft each of his letters, Kibri-Dagan relayed the message \

'I

',,""

•

'I,

,e

1j

kini;

'),'n:"

.

Bahdi-:-Li!n did ,not repeat the message ofi-he ecstati~~l~~ts~,tablet, '

..

but sent

alon~ t4e' ~I~bletl.~f the

matter.

Bandi-Lim, i~ ~his )episq.de, and Kib1:'i-Dagan 'once (~RMr

;,

t

__X:~~__ <~,.~5!

•

appr~~ him of the

priest who had

,

.

r~

••

se~_~ ~_~on:_~~~ .loc~,~ f~~nge ~~~~~~~l~~ . .r~q~,~red~s_':_e~l-

l

f ication pleqges' of those qcetving the proRhet~c messages'",,' - '

'

J

'\

It is significant

"

that?'th~se mes~ages

with'

.'

"~:

,.

re1igi;u~ ~;importanc{~

~

r

were transmitted to the k~ng by officials of the government, rather than by officials of the cult.

)\.:.~

.

,

"

This' "is further evidence of ~the ac-

tive role 9£ ~h~ gover~~rs in the religious affair~ of the kingdom. "

-:.i

_

~l

'

It demon~t:4ates the concern of the'king tor facilitatin'g comm~m:fca,

tion between

."

tha t

It

'

himq~lf

in tha t period

and the gods.

...

'I

Finally, it,underscores:the fact ' ..

" the king was the prlmary wagister of re,

"

I:

'

,

ligious activ.itie~.1t19

. ~

V

.~I}

~

"·j:;l,":';.;r,

.

The answering of inquiries thr~ugh the taking.of Qm~~~,J;I1ay b~ 40'

",

.

':'

regardeq as an

act~vlty

of the gods.

,

186 Two let ters

of Yaqqim-Addu , .... .r .. :-'

Q

~ention

'"

o~ens.,

the taking of

.

The first is ARM XIV 22:4-9.

In this

~

letter Yaqqim-Adque'did npt rec;ot-d what the omen concerned, whether ~

~t.

.. O f - ·

t

"

_

- . . . ,

~

. '

~

_

.

J

turned out favorably or·.unf.avorably, or WQat action was taken (or ,

not taken) as aresU:lt. , ,

.

This implies that if ,any action was"required

..

,

it,~as t,aken care of by'the governor.

"--

.['he second letter dealing~:h omens is

ARM XIV -86:31-34.

again 'we are not told tHe n.ature of the omen which

it

the, result, such ~s·

Here

w~s ta~en.

But

w~s, is ~ecorded; this omen ,was unclear.

By

fA

\.

contrast,. t~e':reports of Kibri-Dagan"'(ARM III 41, 63; ARMT XIII 115, .

",134) and

.

Babdi~Lim ~.

,p'!.~

.

(ARM VI 75) generally

•

_'_

.•

i:

.

:_.

. .

;I..

l

indica~d

that the omens'

..

0-_

were'favor~ble.· JnARM I~T~41' Kibri--Dagan reported that he had been; - . --..::: . . ~

~

.

.

taking omens,coritinua~ly, but di~<not report on the ou-tcome
-:-;

"

From'Ii' '1;pis /~nd from the'J?aucity on reports, wei'may conclude •

of them.

t

.:

I.

'that the routine omens; if" they aug~led well, were not reported to

"

Zimr:i--Lim. ,

,

, ;

.....

"

.

SUmmary.

<~

/'

,

.

• The governor,s had vari.ou~ ,tespbn~'.i.ties,in adnl.inist'Eftj.ng. ....

,,].~

~'::. . . . .

-.t'-".

~ . ._. _ _

raspects of th~ throJ}e'.s involvement with the cult.,·.~1)ey,:<Jet:e ex•

~~

'.

.

.,

.

'1..

,,<,'

"

,~

pected to see tha't tert"l:iinsacrific:eswere carried ou't ;.::it the ap<,

I

pointed. :times. ' They~couldb.e ,expected.toprovi4e sacrificia.l ani':" .....

•

.'

"",'-'.

,~,

~.'

.• '

'."

~

-

:

mals'. ' 'ZiIari.;;;Lim' spoii~Y towa'rd certain .of ,the o

.

_

....

.~'

-/

-

.:~

,'. "'":

:

'-, .. t.-. •

,.'

:t.r.ibal,g~ds was de-

•

_ .,;.

.'

__ '~<:".-

't.·

."f

_,~

-'.

~

signed t'o enhance alld display' his c~:mtrolover'the tribes~ Ofp.en '" .. the govern'ors were·' theagent:swho :,L~plemented· these policies., They

.

'

"'t;'

<

f'." . • • -'~.

'.,

.-

-

-:.'

-.",

",

.

187 the king of the t'ime for cultic observances.

.

The responsibili,ty of tne governors to fbrwa'rd any ang all information which might be useful,·to t'he 'king~meant th~t sometimes ., .-

-

' I ·

.J....

. These inclu'ded na-t-. •

.

:)

,

they reported on events attributed to a deity.'

I

.

ural disasters and othe't" misfortunes.- 'Mes:sages from the')goqs, through ecstatic utteJ;afl.eeIJ" '<:'

.

been' taken were. also ,

.'

The activit'tes

and sometimes 'the'resu1ts' of 'omens which had' . r~layed

t(i) the'king,. ,

;

.

I

"

the gove:rnors in the,religiou~ 're:;tlm reflect

of

the. awaren~ss~f. the 'Mart 'bur~auc:tacy that religion _could be ,used to' I

.

'

Js,.

,

..

"

J"

.'

'.

'. .

'

,"

.

enhance th~ poweY. -an'd' prestig'e of 'the, thr;one. :'But,they a1sdreveal ,

'/fr

genuin~ personaLpi,ety.on the' part .

snpport'tpe

con'ci~sion

..

0:( the ,governors ,cm
~

-..

:.

'

th~, k41g' was' genuin~iy .f.~ligtous, aswe~l,

that

.

"i .. ~

.,."

i'

They te~d' to confipIl th~~.t~iigion is intimatelybQi.md't:o n~~1Z1y~ all 'even political -: b,ehavi'dur. ~t

.. '

,

, r

,

-.J:'_o-.,

..... , . " .'-J. . . .

:~:""

. ".. ", a ~f

:

..

~/'<;'t: ~_

.

..

"-:- /J

'~I

,.- •

,r-, .

'''''~--'

:<_. _

.

,

.1.-

"'~. .

.}

""'/~ j , ' , { '

..

~

,

.,

D.

41'

.

-~

,

.

0

'

.

""

~-.

.

I>

.,'

". p

Chapter VIII "

'NOTES .

IFor a 4iscus$ion- of this' imp,ortant artwork, Jee Marie'~Therese

Barrelet~ '~Uriepe'inture dela cour l06,du palais·.'d;·~ri~". Studia

'M~riana, 'r

•

eq .'i\J;ldre

Il~rrot ~'(L~iden: (0 • • \

•

See also·.riowtheimportant work of ,Yas.1rt M.AI-Khalesi,. The' Cour.t· of 1

-

"

-

.

. the Palms::· A FunctionaX Interpretation of the .Mari Palace (Mal~bu:. . . . .

,J

<

i_

I

2Not~. :a.+!eady. toward. the' beginning. of· the . h~storical period, in·'

arici~mf :.S·unter, .the accepta:nceof this philosophy, ~s disc.uB,sed by: ThorkildJacohsen; tI.~arfy:EoliticalDeyeiop~e~t in '. Mesopo~amia,'i ..' . .

.

.'

.

-

"

.

I. ....

".',

Toward the . Ima.ge~f·~.a~u~ ,ed. ,Willia~:"L.Moran·.(e,ambridge: . Harvard .. c

.

We~tern Asiain . the·Eatly:SeGond ·MilI:enium,lLC •. ," trag 1,.8 (19?6), ..

.

.

'

whichwe.ar e'conc·erned. ".

. _ . ' ""

•••

:3 A?drePaFrot,

"<

• • •'

.' e'

•

'.'-.-

"DeCbuverte·~t·exPl~r~tion·~de··Marf," . ·studiaMari- .'

, '. ,lfTh.ebest stud:te'sof t.he Mari pan.'theonar;eGeorgesD<;>ssin, "Le' " .-

•

. Brl11~

"C'"

.

i\,.-_

'

•.-•

-

"-

",

. ' .

'.-.'

1'9'5.0) ,pp •.. 41;-50;' . ana·Dt.a.· Edzard, ·'·~Pantheonund.K·ult. in',

Mari,HXV~ Rericontre.:ass'yriOlog:lgueint~·rnat:ionale: .. ,La·.civilisation· .'>

•

'1"

189 ~

Les Belles Lettres, 1967), pp. 51-71.

de Mari, ed. J .-R. Kupper (Paris:

5Pordi.scllssionof •the secretary" s role, see A. Leo Oppenheiin, .

,

"A Note on the Scribes in

o

Mesopot'amia," inU. G., Ctitterbock and Thor/

kild Jacobsen, eds., StudlesinHonor of BennoLandsberger on His .

(Chicago: . ..'.

.The University oi,ChicagoPress,

. .

.

1965), pp. ,253~256'. , , 'GAn intetesting ·sidEUight.6fthA-s' I~tteris that· of the'sixad-. ;..

•

o·

.:

dressed ,by yaqqim...A'ddu to ,s.unuhur~alu,' only in' this one ,
to' call

gle'ct

hitti~elfr~'.imka,.'iyourfriend~i',..Yet .

.

this

.

-,

.

he' n'e:':'

:- •

was' theone"

. ..

with .t4e "greatest, favor to a~k, c'ouched' .nthe greatest t'onesof

~n:Xiety.

It may have be~~ that his worry over the trouble in his'

, ., ,holl,sehold, caused

Y~q,qim~Addu to

forget'the

usu~lameI1iti~s.~"· :-".t;"~i{~;~'-.·r~, :.~

l' . ,

,

,

" . '

,',.

" ,

,

,~.

.

I

'

~_:

:$'

7FoT Z~rf~Lim' sinterferenceinthe cultfc'ohseryanc~s,~,see . .

.

-

.

Victor i14tthews " ~'GovernmentInvolvement in the R~ligJ.on oft'he', Marl ,- . 1\ing4om,"

'M< . 72 ,'(197-B), ~ 51-156,. e-..

..

,-

" ,,' ,

'

'

8 See Matth~,ws ,"Government Involv~ent,"PI'.. 154·15f? 'w • '9Maurice, Bi:t;.o~,' Lettres'~e Yaciqim-Ad~u gotiveriieur de, Sag~l1:-~ttim . (ARMT-, XIV) " (Paris:., . " {

.

-

-

.,

.

"

L:ibrarie "bti,entalisteP,a'Ul'Geuthn~r,.197 4)',op .:tis, ~. ",

.

.'.

'. _ • . . . .

. -

'.'

':

'pl"

_•.:"

0_ "••.-.-, -

".>

• • : ,:.

l

• •

.:_

_ . '

• :.

•

• ..'. _

':.:.

'prop.oses' aXe$tbrat!on,' "O(1:pe.ut envisag'er"de resti.t'uei'.f; fuwarha,m, o

o

,

-e-~i-ba~aIll]'uD ~'KAM :niq~tiba~ t·.~u~'nu·~'~-pe-~u-ul <-<[ehoutl; el,-est~ce" " .:".

.

.

..

-

-

.

.

'-.

-

.

-,,~-'

-.

-

.

..'

'. ~

..

- '

.

;.

- -

. . '.\

. . . . . ".

.

'.

.

-

.- - .

..-.

,,'

,{ices?»", ,,10

Cf '.M~t thews:, -"GOVernment 'lnvolvement~" pp .15i~154, ," .',

.'il~e~nBott~ro "and ~ndre ,

IaV; (MMT'XV)" (Paris: .

..

,

Impritne~ie 'Nat'!9nale,·19-54) ~'p .•·_,238~ , , '": . -

.

Finet,Repertoire'a'nalytiqu'e<}es, tomes -

.

.

, " 12Wolf·rainVon,Soden,Akka~tsches'H,andworterbuch,Vol. .>

II""

.~

190

(Wiesbaden:Otto Harrassowitz " 1972), p. 809a. ,PBirot, ARMT XIV, pp., 217~218. ?",j.

'i--r

l.4ULrot, ARMT XIV, p'. 216, says, HJe nepuisexpli~querta~ma::hi~--

.. "

.

ra.. .am •• l.es .

';.'

,c,

J.

'

~

fd'rmationsdu ty,pe. taparis's'Out ±nconpues;toute,fpis a:, . . ... .

.

.

,

.

.

'

-

Mati. meme, on conn:ait maintenantta-la,,:,me"'du(p()ur talmidu) «?ppr~nti»: ~,

+

•

.

-

,

.

'

•

•

•

•

•

hy his','IroarJng!I slalightered the .·§heep and -the other- :anlmai(sr, lost., ..

in the

.

.

'.

.

.'~-'

-. '. .

,"

.'

- (1'

.. -;

't,".

erasure, a tthe'beginn:Lngof the line;, 'l!ow:ever:; the context·

. wouiase~ .torequir.e the ~r~.ndering"! slaughtered ll ' as' a ·sacrifice . r·. .

.

-

.

~/

-'.

' .

..

by whichYa.:qqim:-:-Add~ was ,attetnPting'toappease'th~ anger'ot' the, g~o4. "

·.i6~n~h~, tablet .'

.• :

-

-

-

•

'a

PP .:4.3"'45,

, .. ~~...

.

.

'

.'

"'J"

IILe~antheo'nd~~Mari,'I

pul:dishedby' Do'si:dn,'

'/~'-'

' . -

.

_.'.

-.'

-

. - .

•

- ~_

. _.

'.

•

_

r

"

•

-':,..-

•

.:;;.

Aclp-.uandDagan:were', a~ongthe, f ewgods, .rece;lv:lngsj.x -'. -f"

. . '

....

.'

-

,...":'....

:,' .. ,

.

.'

. she~peae,J')r<:b;l thes,acrifice;most of the other godsanq. goddesse~'.' I.• p-,-..,,·, " '... ,. " . '.' . '

.

.

"

receiv¢don'e' ,5r:' .( .

i

7'

. '....

two

-. --.

'",

..

'

.

-' . .

'

sheep each.·'·

.,

.0'

.'

. , ."' .. ' , '

:' ., See' :sup ra " pp' .>~~ 78--].8:0. .' '.' . .' ' .

.'

.

'-.

-.

-.'

,

.

180npli"op~ec'Y ~n~~.a~l"se,eH,~tb~tt· B~ :,H~.ff~ont,.'~proph·ecycill:i:be Mar.iLet,ters;"· The' Rih~ical A~'c~aeologist:~l',(~96:8):, ;101':""124; Wil~ian{ .....'.. ,

,

,

,

'L~ ~Qr:an" ",New, E~i.dence,fromM~t'fotLthe,History,of ,;Prophecy ;"Bihlica ." .' '. .... .. . ; .' .' I . ,-

• •t

o

SO' (1969) ;,.:t~~56:;·ahd':Herbert,B.lluffmQri, "The'Origfn·s. ofl>rophec.y-,". . . . . ..". . .'.' . ._. '. . • . ._', . '. _. • ,;' " .0 ". .' . . '. . ."~'

~

,Ma~na.liCl/Q,e i, ,eds. ",FrankMo()re:·tr6'~'s',,\We~rter,E.~~m'ke ,:- andPa ~t:ickD.,~, • '. ,

;.

o'

19.Ma. t thews; i'Governnlentltivolvement, I' p. . ."

-.

,_',

\.

,

"

. " ' . -'

. -

_. . --

··0·-

,

. . '-

.

•

._

•

-

_

152/:·' .

..

-

.

'-

.

~

CONCLUSION

I

This investigation has been an attempt to delineate the range

of responsibility and authority of the district governor in the' ,

kingdom of Mari', with special reference to the correspondence of ~~fM:~rnor

. 'Yaqqim-Addu,;

of Sagaratum.

To this end, it has followed

the lead of the, subjects discussed·in the letters. ., . t: . .

.

.

..

~.

",

shown·that the spectrum of subj ects covered by the respondence was broad indeed.

'e'

It: has been goyernor~'

cor-

':['here' do not 'appear to 'be any facets

of public life within their districts with which the governors were .: ... Th~ir

not concerned.

personal involvement extended to the point

·.····....--·...--'..flia-t.."..t hey...·were--.·of.t·en'···.r·equired--···t·o----b·e·" ..ab'S·ent·,--f·rom....t-hei:r.... ·d±stri,ct;--"'eap'i-',~,.,~",?" ..""".,,,,,,,,,.,

..... , ;;'

.

.

.

-(/

tals for days at a time. .

~-

\,.

La£geprojects, suc;h as flood control works, requ.ired the go¥ernors' dire,ct supervision. . Reception of travelling di.gnitaries and involvement in military matters werepaFtof their responsibil':" 'ity.

The other end of the e;pectrum is the governors' personal in-

volvement in such enterprises as hu,nting truffles and securing building stone to'be; shipped- to Mari~ •

'~l-

•

The governor~frespo.nsibilityt~keep the pala.ce.lnf armed overarched all the individtiafareas of concern.

Mal1ylettersare

purely. ·l.trft3rmcitlonal, advising the king of the details of a given •

11

••,,-: .-:

-

--~~;e.~.

-.

.

.

situation, sometimes giving~ as well the governor 'sopinion on the \.....

.

proper course of action.

Nany other letters, after. outlining the 101

problem or situation,

.

192

sked the king for instructions. .

~

Still others

are reports that his p evious instructions had been carried out.

.

Zimri-Lim required of h s governors close and constant·communication .

"

.

on matters of lesser as' ell 'as greater importance. This is not

~o

the governors were without authority to

say

act on their,..

While some requests for instructions on

relatively trivial matte:rs would suggest this, other letters relate the governors' decisions al eady ~aken and implemented on matters of considerableimp'ort ance.·

given the number of letters recov-

ered and thepresul11:ed tenur . (even by conservative estimates) of the individuals in the

must assume that

natorial decisions

m~ny

guber-

s were never committed to writing •. The

governors were accountable, blt they were not without latitude . ........ ······:..·

·..···A·...fu£.t-her.·..:i:n4.i.c.a.tio.n

.Qf· his

. free to give the king advice.

is the fact ,that the governors felt occasion, they even argued against

,

att~mptin&

an order already given by

to persuade him to

change his mind. X~_SPtna.'bJ.Y

One of .theadvantages t

the att l:" act ions , . of,the .p- .

•

0

gubernatorial office was that th to the king. it in

(i.

of communication went direct ly . privilege fully.

Yaqqim~Addu

He also used

very businesslike manner.' ·'Hisletters reflect:·no devia,tion

from .the mat~er at hand; very seld m did he even report'in general terms that the city and dis,trict w :e):well, as did the other\~overnol;'s. j

\

Though the range of subjects c veredin these letters is very ,

.f

broad, there are subjects which rec

or no attention.

are very few ref erences,. forinstanc ,to legal matters.

There

In spite of

.'

Wi

193 Yaqqim-Addu 's concern for the p;pper veneration of thego(t~, there is only one reference in his letters to cultic personnel.

Also, despite

the presence in Te.rqa and Sagaratum of palaces of Zimri-Lim, there is /

F

no 'reference in Kibri-Dagan' s or Yaqqim-Addu's letters to membE7rs of !

the royal family r.esident in either' city. While it goes without saying that Sagaratum was not as important a city as Mari, Yaqqim~Addu's district capital was also outranked by Terqa, which

w~s-

near the conf luence of the lia.bur with the EUphrates,

and thus ci/ser to the capital of the kingdom.

The district of Saga-

raturn was important from a d;f..plomati,c and military standpoint, however. If it had belonged to a hostile ruler, the kingdomof,Mari would have been threatened continually with quick defeat and dismemberment.

From

the ntmlbers of diplomatic and other personnel travelling through this district capital,. it is certain that a maj or travel route passed that .

....

way;. travellers to Mari from both east and west, as well as north, came throughSagaratum. The corresponde,I1ce of Yaqqim-Adgu in particular will be signi£icant for the study of Old Babylonian onomas~ics. ~.

However, such an _

it. .- {

.. ~

investigation must of necessity be incorporated "lnt~:'an:YtiIiomastic .• ' . -.-c:;') ; study of the ~nt·ire Mari corpus.

Therefore, it lies outS£de'the scope

"I'

~,±,WayofsUlllinary wemay.say that the district governor was probably in re'Cjl terms the most important official in Mar!' s, bureaucracy, .

_~c:-

next to the. king himself .

'.

.~

{

Capable district g-overnors were indispens.-

able to the functioning of the gov~rnment of the kingdom of Mari.

...

INDEX. OF . MARL TEXTS C Page(Note)

Letter*

ARM II

8

-

_ .."1.

59, 177

~,,-

31

.".t'

60(3)

? 33

J'

_,152(6)

----------

48

67

92

153(13)

12

67

13

139

96, 111, 1l.6

'14

148

108-·110

15

67

101-107

13(13)

101 101:5-31

-j

,..

102

67

16

120(24), 147

104

37

17

60(3) , 147

106

76, 80, 163 "

107

79, ·150, 163, 170

'i

,17:25-31 '18

2

3

5 7

21 46, 118(6)

147

59,

134 105.., 134

22-26

. 118(6)

23

1~3

88 159 89

23:5-17

,53'

24

-

3~

19....20

ARN III

,

159 -,

*Underlining indicates nrarisliterations. and translations included on pages cited. .~~ lOLL

.."-

195 25

159

76

54

27

.31, 140

77

60(3)

27:5-7, 13-23

78

161-162

. 97; 146,.1;85

28

37 . .

78:28-30

30

139

79

30:7-15, 20-39

'27 54, 118(&)

/24-26 ARM V

20 18, 71

33~7-15

.

/.5'~·' '-~

.?

40

185

.41

186

!

j.

.. ,1~:(6) , .

..

-'''':/ 1_-

it-

f

!

I~

VI

43

116

7: ' .. '

44

129

9\~"

54

45'

176

1

54

14

125

107

54~

\,

46' 0'.-

"'

.~

.;\,

112

47

..

..,

1,31

15-

123

'

.'1-

55

123

58

67

61

74

62

79170 ,.

63

186

65

'13 (14)

-'.

..

. ,127 'f: .~

..

21

1i6, 15"1 (3') \ 126

451

107,.185 's.

············70 ..

74

75

,.

71

,47;:

116

49

54

57

\.

60(3)

,.

196 58

69

,2: 24

65

107, 146

3

68

148, 165

72

-

85(26) 119(19)

3:5-21

lb3-104

163

4:5-21

165-166

75

186

5

73; 115, 163, 1]7

76

75

6

73, lis, Y-63, 177

/

76:20-21

136

;113'3-184

7:3-7 /

/

7:6)'/'

55

/

, ARM X

-{: 7

190(15)

'.',

33

/

, 153 (9)

/

19'

7:4'

;/ 7

.

/

J

/y.//

126

84(15), 172(4)

8

181 175-176

9 :5-15

104, '178, 184

10,

ARMT XIII

'70, 104, 184

11

178.. . 179

11:1-25

,

186

11:5

53 "

12:3'-14'

113

13

,

//

112

121-122

30 182

47-49., 99'(6), 118(6) 55

13: 16-18

/

126

163

13:24

134

186

14

137

116

14:5-33

16

15-17

1

80, 100{6)

2

70, 79, 80

"

-

15:5-9 16

51-53

..

112 50, 119 (19)

15

ARM XIV

54,

49

---------.sil,-·-90'

--

197 63 (10) , 70

17

IT: 9' -12'

20

18:5-10 18:2'

91-92

29:25-27

116

45

30

88,-147

47, 49

31'

15(32)"

18:2'-15'

45-46

151(3)

19:14-16

49

33:2'-l'160

19:17-20

54

34

20

54 .

21

55

22

70., 73, 147

"

.

36, 37

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