Letters to the King of Mari: A New Translation, with Historical Introduction, Notes, and Commentary

686 Pages·2003·2.23 MB·English

by  Wolfgang Heimpel

Letters to the King of Mari
General Editor
Jerrold S. Cooper, Johns Hopkins University
Editorial Board
Walter Farber, University of Chicago Marvin Powell, Northern Illinois University
Jean-Pierre Grégoire, C.N.R.S. Jack Sasson, University of North Carolina
Piotr Michalowski, University of Michigan Piotr Steinkeller, Harvard University
Simo Parpola, University of Helsinki Marten Stol, Free University of Amsterdam
Irene Winter, Harvard University
1. The Lamentation over the Destruction of Sumer and Ur
Piotr Michalowski
2. Schlaf, Kindchen, Schlaf! Mesopotamische Baby-Beschwörungen und -Rituale
Walter Farber
3. Adoption in Old Babylonian Nippur and the Archive of Mannum-mesu-lißßur
Elizabeth C. Stone and David I. Owen
4. Third-Millennium Legal and Administrative Texts in the Iraq Museum, Baghdad
Piotr Steinkeller and J. N. Postgate
5. House Most High: The Temples of Ancient Mesopotamia
A. R. George
6. Textes culinaires Mésopotamiens / Mesopotamian Culinary Texts
Jean Bottéro
7. Legends of the Kings of Akkade: The Texts
Joan Goodnick Westenholz
8. Mesopotamian Cosmic Geography
Wayne Horowitz
9. The Writing on the Wall: Studies in the Architectural Context of Late Assyrian Palace Reliefs
John M. Russell
10. Adapa and the South Wind: Language Has the Power of Life and Death
Shlomo Izre'el
11. Time at Emar: The Cultic Calendar and the Rituals from the Diviner’s Archive
Daniel E. Fleming
Letters to the King of Mari
A New Translation,
with Historical Introduction, Notes,
and Commentary
Wolfgang Heimpel
Eisenbrauns
Winona Lake, Indiana
2003
ç Copyright 2003 by Eisenbrauns.
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Heimpel, Wolfgang.
Letters to the king of Mari : a new translation, with historical introduction,
notes, and commentary / Wolfgang Heimpel.
p. cm. — (Mesopotamian civilizations ; 12)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-57506-080-9 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Akkadian language—Texts. 2. Assyro-Babylonian letters. 3. Mari
(Extinct city)—History—Sources. I. Title. II. Series.
PJ3721.M3H45 2003
492u.1—dc22
2003019783
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National
Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI
Z39.48-1984. †‘
Contents
Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x
Technical Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii
Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii
Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii
Explanations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiv
Measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiv
Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv
Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xix
Part 1
Reconstructing the History of Mari
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
A. Discovery of the Royal Archive of Mari . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
B. Reading and Interpreting the Tablets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
C. The Geographic Orbit of Mari . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1. Territory of the Kingdom of Mari 7
2. Hilly Arc 9
3. Northern Plains 10
4. Southern Mesopotamia 11
5. Mountain Lands in the East and the North 11
6. The West 12
D. Languages and Peoples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1. Amorites 14
2. Akkadians and Amorites in Southern Mesopotamia 19
3. Suteans 25
4. Groups That Cannot Be Linked to a Language
and Whose Ethnicity Cannot Be Defined 29
E. The Hana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
1. Hana Encampments 30
2. Encampments Outside the Hilly Arc and the Northern
Plains 32
3. Transhumance 33
4. The Term Hana 34
v
vi Contents
2. Reconstruction of Events during Years 9u to 11u of
Zimri-Lim’s Reign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
A. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
1. On the Eve of Hammu-Rabi’s Unification of Mesopotamia 37
2. The Tin Factor 38
3. The Last Days of Zimri-Lim’s Predecessor 38
4. The Early Years of Zimri-Lim’s Reign 42
5. Calendrical Problems 54
B. Clash between Elam and Babylon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
6. Elam 56
7. Elam’s Conquest of Esnuna 57
8. An Elamite Ploy Backfires 58
9. Elamite Moves from Esnuna 59
10. Events around Upi 60
11. A Battle with the Elamites and the Sack of Kasalluk 61
12. Chronological Considerations 63
C. Events in the North . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
13. Attempted Coup-d’État in Ekallatum 64
14. Death of Qarni-Lim and Prelude to the Siege of Razama 65
15. First Phase of the Siege of Razama 66
16. Continuation of the Siege of Razama 67
17. Chronology of the Continuation of the Siege 69
18. Askur-Addu’s Entrance into Subat-Enlil 69
19. Kunnam’s Entrance into Subat-Enlil 70
20. Haya-Sumu’s Submission to Elam 71
21. Zimri-Lim Leaves for Razama 73
22. Turning Point 75
23. Arrest of Ibni-Addu 77
24. Conflict between Yamßum and Ustasni-El 78
25. The Unhappy Marriage of Kirum 80
26. Atamrum Changes Sides 82
27. Kunnam Hands over Subat-Enlil to Simat-Huluris 83
28. Atamrum Becomes the New Master of Subat-Enlil 84
29. Taki’s Rescue of Subat-Enlil 86
30. The End of Ibni-Addu 86
31. The Flour Problem 87
32. An Alleged Oath Violation 88
D. Back in the South . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
33. Mariote Troops Come to Babylonia 89
34. Reports of a Diviner Who Accompanied Troops Going
to Babylonia 94
35. Support from Yamhad and Zalmaqum 95
36. Babylonian Troops Come to Mari 97
37. Elamite Moves in ZL 9u 100
38. Babylonian and Elamite Troops Move into Position 101
39. Isme-Dagan Joins Coalition against Elam 102
40. Siege of Hiritum 103
41. During the Siege of Hiritum 105
42. Date of the Siege of Hiritum 106
spread is 6 points long
Contents vii
43. Elamite Withdrawal 107
44. A New King in Esnuna 108
45. A New Order 109
46. Renewal of Relations with Elam 110
47. Mariote Troops Return Home 111
E. Back in the North . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
48. Atamrum Becomes King of Andarig 114
49. Haya-Sumu’s Star Is Fading 115
50. Atamrum Besieges Asihum and Adallaya 117
51. Sadu-Sarrum Aborts His Plan to Go to Mari 119
52. A Thaw in Relations between Hammu-Rabi of Kurda
and Atamrum 120
53. Askur-Addu Becomes King of Karana 121
54. Yasim-El Goes to Karana 124
55. Revolt by Kukkutanum 125
56. Askur-Addu’s Trip to Mari 126
57. Habdu-Malik Sets Out on a Peace Mission to Andarig
and Kurda 127
58. First Attempt to Establish Peace between Kurda
and Andarig 128
59. Habdu-Malik Visits Karana 131
60. Habdu-Malik’s Mission Fails 131
61. Treaty between Atamrum and Askur-Addu 133
62. The Ekallatean Attack on Nusar 135
63. Isme-Dagan Withdraws from Urzikka 136
64. Events in the Fifth Month 137
65. Isme-Dagan’s Last Hurrah 139
66. Esnuna Withdraws from Ekallatum 141
67. Sasiya Cheats Isme-Dagan 145
68. The Issue of Amaz 146
69. A Flap between Andarig and Karana 149
70. Sadu-Sarrum Finally Goes to Mari 149
F. North and South Become a Single Theater of Operations . . . . . . . . 150
71. Conquest of Maskan-Sapir 150
72. During the Siege of Larsa 151
73. Before the Fall of Larsa 154
74. The Fall of Larsa 155
75. Atamrum’s Return from Babylonia 157
76. Babylon Builds a Bridgehead at Allahad 158
77. Inbatum’s Troubles 159
78. End of Zimri-Lim and Mari 161
Part 2
Translations
3. Introduction to Translations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Creating a Mess . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Searching for Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Creating Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
viii Contents
4. Translation of Texts from ARM 26/1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
1–3: Texts Concerning Extispicy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
4–88: Letters from and to the Diviner Asqudum and Namesakes . . . . . 176
90–167: Letters from and about Other Diviners and
Their Namesakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
168–172: Letters from Yamina Diviners to the Leader of a
Revolt against Zimri-Lim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
173–190: Further Letters Concerning Divination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
191–222: Messages to and from Gods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
224–240: Letters about Dreams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
241–248: Letters about Ominous Occurrences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
249–257: Reports on River Ordeals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
259–283: Letters Mostly Concerned with Illness and Disease . . . . . . . . 277
5. Translations of Texts from ARM 26/2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
284–298: Letters from Ußur-Awassu to Yasmah-Addu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
300: Document Concerning Ußur-Awassu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
301–356: Letters from the Garrison in Ilan-Íura . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
357–360: Letters from Yanuh-Samar in Subat-Enlil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
361–375: Letters from Yarim-Addu in Babylon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
376–386: Letters from Other Mariote Officers in Babylon . . . . . . . . . . . 328
387–400: Letters from Habdu-Malik on His Mission
in the Hilly Arc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
401: Letter from Menirum on the Situation in the Hilly Arc . . . . . . . . 342
402–442: Letters from Mariote Officers in Andarig,
Chiefly from Yasim-El . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
443–51: Letters from Persons Named Yanßib-Addu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
452–471: Letters from Abi-Mekim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
474–508: Letters from Buqaqum and Kibsi-Addu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
510–528: Letters from Iddiyatum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394
530–50: Letters from Íidqum-Lanasi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 404
6. Translations of Texts from ARM 27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411
1–24: Letters from Governor Ilsu-Naßir . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411
25–97: Letters from Governor Zakira-Hammu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419
99–170: Letters from Governor Zimri-Addu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 442
173–177: Letters from Governor Yatarum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470
Contents ix
7. Translations of Additional Texts Published in Various Places . . . . 472
Texts Providing Additional Documentation for the Events
during ZL 9u–11u . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 472
Letters Supplementing the Texts Published in ARM 27 . . . . . . . . . . . . 515
Part 3
Indexes
Index of Individuals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 525
Index of Group Designations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 571
Index of Place-Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 605
Appendixes
Appendix 1
Sumerian Personal Names in Mari Texts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 632
Appendix 2
Names of Suteans in Old Babylonian Texts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 634
Appendix 3
Conflict with Esnuna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 637
Appendix 4
Events during ZL 2 X–XII according to Records of Oil Expenditures
Published in FM 3 22–128 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 639
Appendix 5
Kings Informed by Mari of Impending Esnunakean Attack
in ZL 2u according to A.3591 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 640
Appendix 6
Timeline of Events during ZL 9u–11u . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 641
Appendix 7
Sequence of Key Events in Section 66 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 655
Appendix 8
Ominous Parts and Marks of the Liver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 656