Cxvii the Royal Archives from Tell Leilan
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PIHANS. UITGAVEN VAN HET NEDERLANDS INSTITUUT VOOR HET NABIJE OOSTEN TE LEIDEN voorheen Publications de l’Institut historique-archéologique néerlandais de Stamboul onder redactie van J.G. DERCKSEN, J. EIDEM, K. van der TOORN en K.R. VEENHOF CXVII THE ROYAL ARCHIVES FROM TELL LEILAN OLD BABYLONIAN LETTERS AND TREATIES FROM THE LOWER TOWN PALACE EAST THE ROYAL ARCHIVES FROM TELL LEILAN OLD BABYLONIAN LETTERS AND TREATIES FROM THE LOWER TOWN PALACE EAST by Jesper Eidem with an introduction by Lauren Ristvet and Harvey Weiss Published in Cooperation with the Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums of the Syrian Arab Republic NEDERLANDS INSTITUUT VOOR HET NABIJE OOSTEN LEIDEN 2011 Copyright 2011 by Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten Witte Singel 25 Postbus 9515 2300 RA Leiden, Nederland [email protected] www.nino-leiden.nl All rights reserved, including the rights to translate or to reproduce this book or parts thereof in any form Cover image: View of the Lower Town Palace East, October 1987. In the background, to the right, excavation of tablets proceeds in rooms 17 and 22. The Royal Archives from Tell Leilan. Old Babylonian Letters and Treaties from the Lower Town Palace East / by Jesper Eidem. — Leiden: Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten. PIHANS = Uitgaven van het Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten te Leiden (ISSN 1571-5728; 117) (voorheen Uitgaven van het Nederlands Historisch-Archaeologisch Instituut te Istanbul = Publications de l’Institut historique-archéologique néerlandais de Stamboul) ISBN 978-90-6258-328-7 Printed in Belgium TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE.................................................................................................................... XIII ARCHAEOLOGICAL INTRODUCTION Micro- and Macro-Contexts of the Tell Leilan Eastern Lower Town Palace Archives.. XVII The Eastern Lower Town Palace ...............................................................................XIX Building Level 4........................................................................................................... XXII Building Level 3........................................................................................................... XXII Building Level 2........................................................................................................ XXVII Building Level 1...........................................................................................................XXX An Archaeological Analysis of the Eastern Lower Town Palace Archives................XXXI Northern Mesopotamian Palaces during the Mari Age........................................XXXIII The Two Palaces of Tell Leilan ...............................................................................XXXIV Palaces and Royal Households.................................................................................. XXXV Šeḫnā and the Land of Apum............................................................................. XXXVII Amorite Sedentarization and Inter-regional Conflict...........................................XXXIX Acknowledgments..........................................................................................................XLII Works Cited................................................................................................................. XLIX PART I. THE LETTERS 1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1.1. Chronological and Historical Context.........................................................................1 1.1.1. Historical Background ..........................................................................................1 1.1.2. Evidence from the Lower Town Palace................................................................4 1.1.3. The Leilan Kings...................................................................................................5 1.1.4. The Leilan limmus...............................................................................................10 1.1.5. Archival Context of the Tablets..........................................................................12 1.2. Synchronic Survey......................................................................................................16 1.2.1. The International Horizon...................................................................................16 1.2.2. Trade through Leilan...........................................................................................18 1.2.3. The habbātum .....................................................................................................18 1.2.4. A Note on Historical Geography ........................................................................22 1.2.5. The Jezira Kings and Kingdoms .........................................................................27 1.2.6. The Kingdom of Apum and its servants .............................................................38 1.3. Diachronic Patterns...................................................................................................44 1.3.1. Basic Premises ....................................................................................................44 1.3.2. The Reign of Mutija: War against Andarig and Razamā....................................46 1.3.3. The Transition Mutija – Till-Abnû .....................................................................49 1.3.4. The Reign of Till-Abnû.......................................................................................53 1.4. Summary and Perspectives ........................................................................................56 Appendix 1. Selection of information in L.87 dated administrative tablets .................60 VI THE ROYAL ARCHIVES FROM TELL LEILAN 2. THE TEXTS 2.1. Introductory Remarks ................................................................................................66 2.2. Classification .............................................................................................................68 I. Letters to Mutija (1-22) .............................................................................................70 II. Letters to Till-Abnû (23-123)...................................................................................94 III. Letter to Jakūn-Ašar (124) ....................................................................................198 IV. Letters to bēlum (125-163) ...................................................................................199 V. Miscellaneous Letters (164-174)............................................................................237 VI. Letters where Name of Addressee lost (175-178) ................................................248 VII. Letters/Fragments with both Names in Address lost (179-219)..........................252 Appendix 2.1. Physical Characteristics of the Tablets...............................................274 Appendix 2.2. The Envelope Fragments from the Lower Town Palace...................279 Introduction.................................................................................................................279 The Inscriptions ..........................................................................................................281 Appendix 2.3. Two Additional Letters to Leilan Kings.............................................287 INDICES TO THE LETTERS A. Geographical Names ..................................................................................................290 B. Personal Names..........................................................................................................295 C. Divine Names .............................................................................................................302 D. Selected Vocabulary...................................................................................................302 PART II. THE TREATIES 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. General Introduction................................................................................................310 1.2. Précis of Old Babylonian Treaty Procedures ..........................................................311 1.2.1. The Basic Procedure .........................................................................................311 1.2.2. The lipit napištim ..............................................................................................317 1.2.3. Treaties and Tablets ..........................................................................................321 1.3. Historical Context of the Leilan Treaties.................................................................324 1.3.1. L.T.-1 to L.T.-5.................................................................................................324 1.3.2. Other Treaties in Leilan Evidence ....................................................................327 1.4. Format and Contents of the Treaties .......................................................................328 1.4.1. General Observations........................................................................................328 1.4.2. Adjuration .........................................................................................................329 1.4.3. Clauses ..............................................................................................................331 1.4.4. Curses................................................................................................................344 1.4.5. Subscript ...........................................................................................................345