Faculty of Arts University of Helsinki THE ‘QUEENS OF THE ARABS’ DURING THE NEO-ASSYRIAN PERIOD Eleanor Bennett DOCTORAL DISSERTATION To be presented for public discussion with the permission of the Faculty of Arts of the University of Helsinki, in Juhlasali (49), Kielikeskus, on the 19th of April, 2021 at a quarter past 1 o’clock. Helsinki 2021 ISBN 978-951-51-7191-7 (pbk.) ISBN 978-951-51-7192-4 (PDF) Unigrafia Helsinki 2021 The Faculty of Arts uses the Urkund system (plagiarism recognition) to examine all doctoral dissertations. ABSTRACT During the Neo-Assyrian period (approximately 934-612 BCE, based in modern Iraq) the annals and royal inscriptions of several kings mention women with a curious title: ‘Queen of the Arabs’. These women have been included in previous discussions regarding Assyrian interaction with the ‘Arabs’, but a full investigation into their roles as rulers has been lacking. This is what this dissertation seeks to answer: what were the roles of the ‘Queens of the Arabs’ during the Neo-Assyrian period? The reason for no prior traditional Assyriological research into these women is due to a very small number of texts. As Assyriology has traditionally been a text- based discipline, a corpus of just twenty-eight texts has not been seen as ‘worthy’ of a full investigation. This dissertation goes beyond the traditional approach, by incorporating gender theory and comparative methodology. A key heuristic tool in this dissertation is Michael Mann’s ‘IEMP’ model of power. This has identified three key areas where we can clealy see the roles of the ‘Queens of the Arabs’: military, economic, and religious roles. The most important finding was that the process of researching about ‘Arabs’ meant contending with two layers of misinterpretation. The first of which is the misunderstandings of modern scholars allowing modern stereotypes influence how they write about ‘Arabs’. The second is that the ancient sources themselves do not seem to know who or what they refer to when they discuss the ‘Arabs’. This has resulted in a discussion based on these women as individuals, not as a group. We do not know if they all ruled the same population group, and so they may have all been rulers of different cultures. We see Samsi, Teʾelḫunu, and Adiye in positions of military leadership, and Samsi was potentially even present on the battlefield. Zabibê, Samsi, and Tabūʾa all exhibited the ability to control either resources or access to the networks that transported these resources. And finally, Teʾelḫunu likely had a religious role of some sort as part of her leadership duties, but we do not know what that was. None of these women appear in all of the chapters, and as such should be discussed as individuals 3 For my Grandma, Jackie, who passed away whilst I wrote this dissertation, and who would have been very proud. 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Anyone writing a doctoral dissertation knows it is difficult, and this one certainly had its hurdles. Luckily, I had many people’s support. I want to begin by thanking the late and great Alasdair Livingstone, who introduced me to the ancient Near East and the topic of the ‘Queens of the Arabs’. Without him, I would not have the passion for the subject, and I would certainly not be where I am now. I would also like to thank Cale Johnson, who during a particularly difficult period of my dissertation was able to support and encourage me. Finally, Saana Svärd has been invaluable for the completion of this work, and has given me the confidence to continue researching the ancient Near East. There have been many moments where I was worried this dissertation would not be completed, and I would like to thank my parents, Simon and Beverley, for encouraging me, and whose only worry has been my success. I hope this particular worry can now be laid to rest but, knowing them, they will find something else to worry about very soon. My sisters Fiona and Lorna have been just as supportive, and in times of intense stress they have never doubted me, and I would like to thank them for believing in me when I found it difficult to do so. Finally, my intense thanks go to Erik, my long-suffering fiancé. He witnessed my doubts in person, and he always helped me find a way through the most difficult periods. 5 CONTENTS 1.1. BACKGROUND ................................................................................................ 14 1.1.1. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND ................................................................. 15 1.1.2. PREVIOUS WORK ON ‘ARABS’ AND THE ‘QUEENS OF THE ARABS’ 21 1.2. GENDER THEORY .......................................................................................... 24 1.3. COMPARATIVE APPROACH .......................................................................... 28 1.4. DEFINITIONS ................................................................................................. 29 1.4.1. TITLES OF ASSYRIAN KINGS AND ASSYRIAN ROYAL WOMEN ....... 33 1.4.2. IATIʾE AND THE ASSYRIAN PERCEPTION OF THE STATUS OF ŠARRATU .................................................................................................... 38 1.4.3. HOW DID THE ASSYRIANS CLASSIFY THE ‘ARABS’? ........................ 41 1.5. MANN’S ‘IEMP’ MODEL OF POWER AND THE SCOPE OF THIS DISSERTATION .............................................................................................. 44 2.1. TEXTUAL EVIDENCE ..................................................................................... 51 2.1.1. ROYAL INSCRIPTIONS ........................................................................... 51 2.1.2. ADMINISTRATIVE LETTERS ................................................................. 66 2.2. PALACE RELIEFS ........................................................................................... 68 2.2.1. RELIEF 1: SAMSI, ‘QUEEN OF THE ARABS’, BRINGING CAMELS TO ASSYRIA ...................................................................................................... 71 2.2.2. RELIEF 2: SAMSI, ‘QUEEN OF THE ARABS’, FLEEING THE BATTLEFIELD ............................................................................................ 75 2.3. ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE FROM THE ARABIAN PENINSULA ....... 78 2.3.1. ADUMMATU ........................................................................................... 80 2.3.2. TAYMA .................................................................................................... 80 2.4. SUMMARY ...................................................................................................... 82 3.1. NEO-ASSYRIAN ROYAL WOMEN ................................................................. 86 3.1.1. SAMMU-RĀMAT ...................................................................................... 86 6 3.1.2. MILITARY UNITS OF THE ‘WOMAN OF THE PALACE’ ...................... 89 3.2. ‘QUEENS OF THE ARABS’ ............................................................................ 90 3.2.1. SAMSI ....................................................................................................... 91 3.2.2. TEʾELḪUNU .......................................................................................... 105 3.2.3. IAPAʾ AND BASLU ................................................................................. 112 3.2.4. ADIYE ..................................................................................................... 118 3.3. SUMMARY .................................................................................................... 129 4.1. THE WEALTH OF ARABIA .......................................................................... 133 4.1.1. AROMATICS ........................................................................................... 135 4.1.2. DROMEDARIES ..................................................................................... 137 4.2. TRADE ROUTES ........................................................................................... 143 4.3. ‘ARAB’ AND ASSYRIAN INTERACTIONS ON THE BORDER .................... 151 4.4. METHODS OF CONTROLLING THE TRADE THROUGH THE ARABIAN PENINSULA .................................................................................................. 153 4.5. THE ‘QUEENS OF THE ARABS’ .................................................................. 157 4.5.1. ZABIBÊ ................................................................................................... 157 4.5.2. SAMSI ...................................................................................................... 161 4.5.3. TABŪʾA .................................................................................................. 168 4.6. SUMMARY .................................................................................................... 174 5.1. APKALLATU OR TEʾELḪUNU? ..................................................................... 177 5.2. ‘ARAB’ GODS AND DIVINE IMAGES .......................................................... 181 5.3. ALTERNATIVE MODELS OF ROYALTY AND RELIGIOUS ROLES .......... 188 5.3.1. THE ASSYRIAN KINGS ......................................................................... 189 5.3.2. NEO-ASSYRIAN ROYAL WOMEN AND RELIGION ........................... 195 5.3.3. ARABIAN ALTERNATIVES .................................................................. 199 5.4. SUMMARY .................................................................................................... 205 6.1. A CRITICAL LOOK AT MANN ...................................................................... 207 7 6.2.