Alaḫum

Alaḫum (also: Alāḫum ) was an ancient Assyrian trader who is known for his cuneiform archives from the Cappadocian kārum Kaneš , the lower town of the Kültepe site. He not only lived in Kaniš, but also had a house in Purušḫanda and possibly one in Aššur , where he lived temporarily. He traded in metals, lapis lazuli and textiles. When he died, he left debts of 2 talents and 30 mines of silver, around 75 kilograms. His main heirs were his son Aššur-taklāku and his daughter Tariša. The texts from the private archive of Alāḫum in Kaniš span a period of 15 years (1895–1880 BC mean chronology ), his death ten years later falls in the year of the annual pony Šu-Suʿen (1870 BC).

family

Iddin-Sîn , the father of Alāḫum, already lived in Kaniš and traded in wool and textiles. He received three letters from his sister Lamassātum complaining that he was neglecting the house.

Aššur-taklāku , the main heir of Alāḫum, traded in textiles. Like his father, he traveled a lot and also stayed in Purušḫanda and also had closer contacts with the city of Tamniya. He was accused of making common cause against Kaniš with the Prince of Tamniya and ended up in prison. During this time his textiles were destroyed by moth damage . Aššur-taklāku married Lušitiya and had three children. The texts from the private archive of Aššur-taklāku span a period of 20 years (1879–1861 BC).

Iddin-Kūbum and Ilabarat-bāni, two sons of Aššur-taklāku, continued to live in the house in Kaniš, but only a few documents have survived from them, dating from around 1840 BC. Were written shortly before the complete destruction of Kaniš around 1835 BC. Chr.

literature

• JG Drecksen: The Old Assyrian Copper Trade in Anatolia. Istanbul, 1996, pp. 107-118.
• Cécile Michel: The Alāḫum and Aššur-taklāku archives found in 1993 at Kültepe Kaniš. In: Ancient Near Eastern Research . Volume 35, 2008, pp. 53-56