The Biblical Archaeologist - Vol.34, N.1

40 Pages·1971·4.65 MB·English

by  American Schools of Oriental Research

The
BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST
4
Publishedb y
THE AMERICAN SCHOOLS OF ORIENTAL RESEARCH
126 Inman Street, Cambridge, Mass.
Vol. XXXIV February, 1971 No. 1
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Fig. 1. Statue of Ur-Nina (Ur-Nanshe), the "great singer" at the court of king Iblul-Il of Mari
(mid-3rd mill. B.C.). From Mission archeologique de Mari, III: Les temples d'Ishtarat et
de Ninni-Zaza (1967), PI. XLVIa.
2 THE BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST (Vol. XXXIV,
The Biblical Archaeologist is published quarterly (February, May, September, December)
by the American Schools of Oriental Research. Its purpose is to meet the need for a readable,
non-technical, yet thoroughly reliable account of archaeological discoveries as they relate to the
Bible.
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Copyright by American Schools of Oriental Research, 1971
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, BY TRANSCRIPT PRINTING COMPANY
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Contents
Mari, by AbrahamM alamat ............................................ ... .2... .......2
The "Ghassulian"T emple in Ein Gedi and the Origin of the
N elsoHno aGrl du efcrkom: I Nn aMhae lm Mo risiahmm ar, by David Ussishkin ............................ .......... 2339
................................................................................
Mari
ABRAHAM MALAMAT
Hebrew University, Jerusalem
(This article is a slightly modified version of the study "Mari" submitted by the author to the
ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA (scheduled to appear in late 1971 or early 1972); it is printed here by
sthelee ctekdin d fopre rmRiAss iorne adeorfs . KTatheer aPrutbicllies hinfgu lly Houupsdea, tesJ ertuhsea lemea, rly Israaretilc. le Thoef iGllu. strEa.t ioMnse ndeanrhea lls veciifnic alolyu r
1948 volume. Assyriologists will know that the letter h in all Akkadian words should be understood
as the hard letter usually represented with a hook beneath it.)
Mari was one of the principal centers of Mesopotamia during the third
and early second millennia B.C. The archaeological and epigraphical dis-
coveries there are of prime significance for the history of Mesopotamia and
upper Syria, and for biblical research, especially on Hebrew origins and the
formative stages of Israelite history. Mari (sometimes Ma'eri in the cunei-
form sources) was located at Tell Hariri, at present about a mile and one-
half west of the Euphrates near Abu Kemal, some fifteen miles north of the
modern Syria-Iraqb order. It was in an optimal position for contacts with the
west, and its location on the river artery, yet immediately adjacent to the
desert, was continually decisive in the shaping of its fortune and character.
1971, 1) THE BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST 3
Excavations and Discoveries
The French excavations at Mari, instituted in 1933 under the direction
of Andre Parrot, have continued (with a break during and after World War
II) into their nineteeniths eason in 1970.
The archaeological evidence indicates that Mari was founded at the
end of the 4th millennium B.C. (Jemdet Nasr period) and reached a cul-
tural-artisticp eak during the first half of the 3rd millennium. Dating to this
period ("Early Dynastic II-III," or "pre-Sargonic")a re a ziggurat and several
*HATTUSHA
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-' ~CARCHE'S H' j HARRAN KARANAE, KMNNA1NN L1 /LA ARTRUA PtHA
(Teuat-Rimah) RREH
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Cyprus UGARIT t *SAGARATIM
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v, 45 JADMER
ATNA TAMER MARI
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Z SIPPAR SUSA,
S *DAMASCUS BABYLON
LAISH NIPPUR
HAZOR .ISIN LAGASH
4 URUKLARS
AM. . 0 00
AMo
Fig. 2. Map of the Near East in the Mari period, prepared by the author.
sanctuaries: the temples of Dagan (where the earliest list of the Mari pan-
theon was discovered), Shamash, Ninhursag and Ishtar, together with the
pair of temples of Ishtarat and Ninni-Zaza. In the three last-named, there
came to light many inscribed statues of local kings (such as Lamgi-Mari,
Iku-Shamagana nd Iblul-I1), lesser royalty and courtiers (Fig. 1). Although
Sumerian culture predominated, the charactero f the cultic installations, the
appearance of bearded figures in art, and especially the occurrence of parti-
cular divine and private names are all clearly indicative of a basic Semitic
element from earliest times; Semites ruled Mari centuries before the rise of
Akkad.
4 THE BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST (Vol. XXXIV,
Since 1964, the excavationsh ave revealedt wo superimposedp alaces
from pre-Sargonicti mes, most impressivei n themselves,i ncluding a royal
chapelw ith an earthena ltar( cf. Exod. 20:24); its sacredt raditionw as pre-
servede ven in the Old Babylonianp alaceb uilt there some 700 yearsl ater
(see below). Within the palacec omplexa jar came to light containinga
"treasurei"n cludinga lapis lazuli bead with a votive inscriptionm entioning
Mesannepadaf,o undero f the First Dynasty of Ur. This indicatesa close
contactb etweenM ari and Ur at an early date, as do otherf nds fromM ari
such as shell inlays essentiallyi dentical with those of the "Ur standard"
(war panel). The pre-Sargonicp alace was destroyede ither by Eannatum
of Lagash( mid-25thc enturyB .C.) or by Lugalzaggesoi f Uruk (mid-24th
century).
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Fig. 3. Lapis lazuli bead with votive inscription of Mesannepada, king of Ur, found in the pre-
Sargonic palace (first half of 3rd mill. B.C.). From Mission archdologique de Mari. IV:
Le 'trisor' d'Ur (1968), P1. XXII.
After Sargon's conquest in the second half of the 24th century, Mari
became a vassal city within the empire of Akkad; among the epigraphic
evidence from this period are the names of two daughters of Naram-Sin,
king of Akkad. In the final two centuries of the 3rd millennium, Mari
was a sort of loose dependency of 3rd-Dynasty Ur, flourishing anew under
local governors who bore the title Jakkanakku (eight are known by name).
Indeed, a ruler of Mari is known to have given his daughter in marriage
to a son of Ur-Nammu, king of Ur.
The pre-eminence of Mari throughout the 3rd millennium is well re-
flected in epigraphic sources: in the Sumerian King List, it appears as the
seat of the tenth post-diluvian dynasty; in the inscriptions of Eannatum
1971, 1) THE BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST 5
mention is made of the penetration and repulse of forces from Mari as far
south as Lagash; and Mari also appears in the inscriptions of Sargon and
of Naram-Sin of Akkad. At the close of the 3rd millennium, Ishbi-Irra,
"a man of Mari," founded the Isin dynasty and facilitated the collapse of
the empire of 3rd-Dynasty Ur. After an obscure period of two centuries
(from which several economic texts and 32 inscribed liver models are
known), Mari reached its final period of glory, in the 18th century under
West Semitic rule. Then Hammurapi, king of Babylon, quashed Mari, and
it never regained its formerp osition.
In the 13th century, Tukulti-Ninurta I conquered the meager settle-
ment there and stationed a garrison in the city for a short time. To round
out the archaeologicalp icture, the uppermost layer on the site dates to the
Seleucid-Roman period.
In the second half of the 2nd millennium, Mari was still sufficiently
important to be mentioned in the Nuzi documents (horses and chariots
were sent there), -in recently found texts at Ugarit ("Ishtar of Mari" in an
alphabetic text, and in an epithet of another deity in a Hurrian text), and
in the Egyptian geographical lists of Thutmosis III and probably also of
Ramses III (15th and 12th centuries, respectively). The land of Mari ap-
pears in the neo-Assyriang eographical treatise describing Sargon's Akkadian
empire; it was on this basis that W. F. Albright identified Mari with Tell
Hariri long before excavation began. Finally, Mari is mentioned in a Greek
itinerary,i n the (Aramaic) form Merrhan.
The Old Babylonian Palace and Royal Archives
The main discoveries at Mari are from the period of its domination
by the West Semitic dynasties in the last quarter of the 19th century and
the first half of the 18th century (reckoned on the "middle" chronology;
if one uses the "low" chronology of Albright and others, the dates would be
64 years lower). Several temples of this period were built over correspond-
ing sanctuaries of pre-Sargonic times, namely those of Ishtar, Ninhursag
and Shamash; a second temple of Dagan, also known as the "lions temple"
from bronze lions found flanking its entrance, was founded earlier, by the
end of the 3rd millennium. Dagan, biblical Dagon, held a prime position
in the West Semitic pantheon, and at Mari bore the titles "King of the
Land" and "Lord of all the Great Gods."
The outstanding architectural discovery from this period, however, is
the royal palace, a structure of unparalleled magnificence and widespread
fame in its time (Fig. 4). This residence, enlarged successively by each of
the West Semitic rulers at Mari, reached its zenith under Zimri-Lim, at-
taining an area of about eight acres and including over 300 chambers, cor-
ridors and courts. Besides the private quarters for the royal family and en-
6 THE BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST (Vol. XXXIV,
QI
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Fig. 4. Plan of Zimri-Lim's palace at Mari. Legend: gateway (A), forecourt (B), foreign
visitor's quarters (C), kitchen (D), great court (E), old throne-room with murals (F),
sacred area (G), sanctuary with earthen altar (H), sanctuary with podium (J), "dining
hall" with murals (K), store-rooms and workshops (L), court 106 with investiture mural
(M), entrance-hall with statue of goddess on podium (N), throne-room (P), kitchens and
bath (Q), palace administration (R), steward's and officials' quarters (S), scribal school
(T), royal quarters (V), "king's chamber" (W). The numbered rooms refer to the places
where archives have been found: administrative archives, mainly palace provisions (5),
Yahdun-Lim's disc inscription (18), molds for fancy cakes (77), economic and other
archives, including liver models and Hurrian texts (108), economic archives (110),
administrative archives, mainly palace provisions (111), diplomatic archives (115),
economic archives, including documents of Sumu-Yamam (119), economic archives (134 &
135), economic and administrative archives, including documents of Yahdun-Lim (142).
1971, 1) THE BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST 7
tourage, there are administrativeo ffices, a scribal school, quarters for visit-
ing dignitaries, a royal chapel, a throne room and a reception chamber.
Service areas included guard quarters, workshops and storerooms.A special
elegance was provided in several halls and courts by multicolored frescoes
depicting chiefly ritual and mythological scenes, including one depicting
the investiture of a king (perhaps Zimri-Lim?) in the presence of several
deities (Fig. 5). This ceremony occurs in an idealized garden, its trees
guarded by "Cherubim"a nd symbolically watered by four streams flowing
i~a'AfA
AZT-~ _41-i
VWVWM
-
. .
11*7,
Fig. 5. Multi-color wall-painting in the Old Babylonian palace, depicting the investiture of a
Mari king. From A. Parrot, Sumer (1960), pp. 279-280.
from a single source - all reminiscent of the biblical paradise story. Many
of the figures in these murals are depicted as typical West Semites.
The discovery of greatest impact on historical and biblical research
comprises the more than 20,000 cuneiform tablets from the several archives
in the palace, written in the Babylonian language. So far, some 3000 do-
cuments have been published by the noted AssyriologistsG . Dossin (dean
of the Mari epigraphers), M. Birot, J. Bott6ro, Mme. M. L. Burke, A.
Finet, J. R. Kupper, and the late G. Boyer and Ch. F. Jean; they are pub-
lished mostly in the series Archives royales de Mari (henceforth ARM),
I-XIII (1946-67). Though only a small proportion of the total found, these
8 THE BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST (Vol. XXXIV,
texts have shed much light on the administrative, economic, cultural and
political face~tsm ainly of upper Mesopotamia and upper Syria in the 18th
century B.C., regions previouslyk nown only vaguely.
The archives were found to be distinguished according to subject. The
political-diplomatica rchives (ARM I-VI and XIII) include correspondence
between the king of Mari and his agents, both at the palace and abroad,
as well as with foreign potentates. The 1000 letters published so far (com-
pare the mere 350 at el-Amarna!) provide the earliest insight into the com-
plexities of suzerain-vassalr elationships, diplomatic protocol, and the fluct-
uating alliances and plots rampant in the ancient Near East. A noteworthy
class of letters is the extensive women's correspondence (so far, only cunei-
form copies of 179 documents have been published, in ARM X), revealing
the prominent role of females in activities of the realm. The outstanding
case is that of Shibtu, Zimri-Lim's" chief wife," who entertained the king's
utter confidence, representing his interests during his absence from the city
and exercising considerable influence in her own right (cf. Fig. 8).
The majority of documents (ARM VII, IX, XI and XII) are economic
or administrative in nature, dealing with the maintenance of the palace,
official trade abroad, lists of goods, and rosters of persons in royal employ
(such as a list of nearly 1000 male and female captives (?) from the Har-
ran-Nahor region, engaged in manufacturing clothes for the palace). Of a
unique character are the some 1300 tablets containing lists of daily provi-
sions for the palace, often summarizedb y month. Though dealing only with
"vegetarian"f oodstuffs and beverages, they shed light on Solomon's "provi-
sions for one day" and possibly also his monthly quantities (cf. I Kings
4:22-23, 27 [Heb.: 5:2-3, 7]; cf. also Neh. 5:17-18). The royal table at
Mari, known to have entertained hundreds of guests on occasion, was served
from spacious kitchens; in one of these were found numerous molds for
preparing fancy cakes, some bearing animal and goddess motifs (recall Jer.
44:19 and see Fig. 9).
Dozens of legal tablets were also found, mostly contracts concerning
transactions and loans of silver or grain (ARM VIII), revealing that the
palace served as a sort of exchange. Of exceptional interest is an adoption
contract which ensured the "primogeniture"o f the "eldest" (that is, first
adopted) son, stipulating that he receive a double portion of the inherit-
ance; this is in full accordw ith biblical law (cf. Deut. 21:15-17).
The very few literary and religious compositions found at Mari include
a lengthy Ishtar-rituali n Babylonian, as well as six texts in Hurrian. That
Hurrian was used occasionally in diplomatic correspondencei s known from
the only other tablet at Mari in that language, a letter written to Zimri-Lim.
1971, 1) THE BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST 9
Mari under West Semitic Rule
The origins of the West Semitic, or "Amorite,"d ynasties is shrouded in
darkness, though there are pointers to north Syria for the local line at Mari.
Thus the theophoric name element -Lim, perhaps derived from "folk,"
"people"( see Ugaritic l'im and Hebrew le'om); is found at both Aleppo (in
the dynastic name Yarim-Lim) and Mari (in the royal names Yagid-Lim,
Yahdun-Lim and Zimri-Lim). It is also present in the name of Yashi-Lim,
ruler of Tuttul (probably the one at the mouth of the Balikh river), several
generations earlier th'an ithe time of the above-named. Furthermore, the
title "king of Mari, Tuttul and land of Hana" was borne by both
.the
Yahdun-Lim (Disc Inscription) and Zimri-Lim (on a fragmentary in-
scription from Terqa, located between Tuttul and Mari). And, indeed,
the site of ancestor worship for both the local and the "Assyrian"d ynasties
at Mari lay at Terqa, about 44 miles to the northwest at the mouth of the
Khabur river. Hence, the immediate origin of the West Semitic rulers at
Mari would appear to be in the Terqa region.
The Reign of Yahdun-Lim. The historical figure of Yagid-Lim, founder
of the local dynasty at Mari, is vague and none of his records have been
found. Nor have many tablets from the reign of his son, Yahdun-Lim, been
published, though in 1965 an archive of some 300 of his economic texts
came to light. It is known, however, that Yahdun-Lim was able to stabilize
his kingdom, establishing his dominance over the entire middle Euphrates
region, as is evident from the dozen known year-formulasa nd especially
the two extant royal inscriptions from his reign.
The shorter inscription, the "Disc Inscription," relates that Yahdun-
Lim fortified Mari and Terqa, founded a fortresso n the desert fringe (nam-
ing it after himself: Dur-Yahdun-Lim), and laid out an extensive irrigation
system, boasting that "I did away with the water bucket in my land." The
other text, the Foundation Inscription of the Shamash Temple, is a splendid
literary composition relating his campaign to the Mediterranean coast and
to the "cedar and boxwood mountain," where he obtained several types of
choice wood "and made known his might." However, this was probably only
a passing episode and not a lasting conquest.
Thirty-five economic texts published in 1970 mention two year-formu-
las for one Sumu-Yamam, an obscure character who ruled at Mari either
before or after Yahdun-Lim. Also elusive is his kinship - whether to the
local dynasty or otherwise - because the few other references to him, such
as in a "letter to a god" (ARM I, 3), are inconclusive. This same letter also
reveals the assassinationo f Yahdun-Lim in a court conspiracy, much to the
benefit of Shamshi-Adad, scion of a rival West Semitic dynasty, who es-
tablished himself in Assyria, swiftly gaining control over large portions
of Mesopotamia.
10 THE BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST (Vol. XXXIV,
The Assyrian Interregnum. Yahdun-Lim's removal facilitated a take-
over by Shamshi-Adad, who installed his son, Yasmah-Adad,a s viceroy at
Mari. Under his father's tutelage, Yasmah-Adad reorganized the local ad-
ministration, cultivated ties with neighboring lands, and secured his flank
against marauding nomads. Though his brother Ishme-Dagan, upon suc-
ceeding to the throne of Assyria, promised to maintain the proitectivep olicy
of their father, Yasmah-Adadw as left adrift only three or four ecarsl ater
when he was defeated by Lshnunna, a West Semitic kingdom beyond the
Tigris. Altogether, Assyrian control of Mari lasted less then twenty years.
The Kingdom of Zimri-Lim. Thus the stage was set for the advent of
Zimri-Lim, son of Yahdun-Lim, who in the interim had lived in exile under
the wing of Yarim-Lim,k ing of Yamhad (with his capital at Aleppo). Yarim-
Lim, who had become Zimri-Lim'sf ather-in-law, was most instrumental in
restoring him to the throne of Mari. Thirty-two year-formulasa rc known
for Zimri-Lim'sr eign, though many of them are probably alternates for he
cannot have ruled for so long a period.
Zimri-Lim'sr eign, during the tumultuous interval between Assyria'sd e-
cline and the rise of the empire of Hammurapi, marks Mari at its apogee.
It is this period which is best represented by the archives found at Mlari
which provide thorough insight into organization of the kingdom. Interest-
ingly, several of Zimri-Lim'sl etters have recently been found in the royal
archives at Tell er-Rimah (between the upper Khabur and the Tigris), prob-
ably to be identified with the city of Karana mentioned in the MTarci orre-
spondence. Mari had become a principal political force in 1Mesopotamia,
alongside Babylon, Larsa, Eshnunna, Qatna, and Yamhad (as is known from
a contemporaryp olitical report). Relying heavily on his diplomatic cunning,
Zimri-Lim developed an elaborate intelligence system, within his sphere of
influence and beyond it. Frequent alliances, as with Yamhad and Babylon,
were designed to meet the danger of the moment - for example, now against
Eshnunna, then against Elam. His military endeavors were directed mainly
against the hostile tribal federation of the Yaminites (the previously subdued
Hanean tribes were already in his service;f or both, see further below).
This political situation crystallized hand in hand with the development
of economic ties branching out as far as the island of Dilmun (in the Pers-
ian gulf), Elam on the east, Arrapha and Shusharra in southern Kurdistan,
Cappadocia in the north, Phoenicia and Palestine in the west, and even
Kaptara/Crete in the Mediterranean. Indeed, tolls from caravan and river-
ine trade were one of Zimri-Lim'sp rincipal sources of income.
This golden age at Mlaric ame to an abrupt end, however, when Ham-
murapi turned on his former ally and conquered the city in his 32nd year,
during the consolidation of his empire - the year was 1759 B.C. by the