Kudurru

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Babylonian kudurru from the II dynasty of Isin with mention of Marduk-nādin-aḫḫe (1099–1082 BC). Found near Baghdad by André Michaux

Kudurru is an originally Kassitic term that was used for both border and a stone document marking the border.

Form and content

The word kudurru was transferred to stones with royal land donation deeds, which often contain a description of the overwritten area and thus also its borders. However, not all steles name the king. The second part of the inscription contains formulas of curse . In the upper part of the stelae there are mostly symbols of gods, but some stones also show the donation itself. The Akkadian name of these stones is na 4 narû, stele or memorial stone made of stone. Kudurri are traditionally interpreted as boundary stones . As inscriptions show, there were also narû, which were part of buildings. Some of these stones were erected "In the face of the gods", which suggests a consecration ceremony. Slanski argues convincingly in favor of installation in temples.

The symbolic boundary stone had a high value and was therefore not in the open, but was kept in a safe place. It could be between 0.1 and 1 m high, the average height of a kudurrus was 50-60 cm, it usually had an inscription on the top. The length of the inscription is between 39 and 390 lines. In addition, god emblems were attached that were identical to the gods mentioned in the text. It was shaped like a stone stele with a rounded top .

The text itself includes an area assignment to a high-ranking personality in the country. Usually named settlements and staff were added to the content of the Kudurru text. The kudurru represents a deed of ownership. In other inscriptions, the recipient receives the right to be supplied with food and clothing by a temple. It was also possible to waive taxes or work for the crown. It is believed that these donations were hereditary. Over time, the Kassitian kings must have lost considerable land and tax revenues as a result of these donations.

However, now freed of charges land remained the property of the person using it as a loan to the mortgaged set available. Kudurrus were rarely used as process documents in land disputes.

Kudurri were made in Babylonia from the end of the 2nd to the middle of the 1st millennium BC. If one stone broke, another could be made as a replacement, as evidenced by an inscription from the time of Nazi Maruttaš . Kudurrus were first mentioned under Kurigalzu I in the 14th century BC. Older uses are possible. The Kudurru system initially represented allocations of regions and areas. Later, at the time of Nebuchadnezzar I , the texts were increasingly embellished with reasons for land allocations: Šitti-Marduk, who defeated the Amurites and stole the booty from the Kassites. Some kudurri also contain historical information relating to the circumstances under which the recipient earned the gift.

About 160 Kudurru are currently known. About 20 come from Babylonia, three from Kiš, almost a third of all known kudurri come from Susa , where they were carried off by Šutruk-Nahhunte II along with other written documents such as the stele of Hammurabi and the stele of Naram-Sin in the 12th century . They were probably kept in the courtyard of the Inšušinak temple (section 7 and 7α of the excavations from 1898) and therefore had to have great symbolic significance. Some Elamite inscriptions were added. Slanski assumes that these steles were stolen from Babylonian temples. The rest comes from the art trade and their place of origin is unknown.

A Kudurru of Meli-Sipak names the god Panigarra as Lords of Kudurru.

function

WJ Hinke interpreted the god symbols on the kudurri as a zodiac sign . VS Tuman tried to identify star constellations and use them for dating.

Part of the name

The expression Kudurri was the content of rulers' titles , but has nothing in common with border / boundary stone in terms of content . The term Kudurri in ruler's titles is a term in the Elamite / Akkadian language and means first-born or eldest son . From the basic forms Kudurru and nasaru follows the use of Kudurri and us.ur as an addition to the ruler's title: God Nabu eldest son kudurri protect / preserve us.ur = God Nabu protect / keep my firstborn / oldest son .

Research history

The first kudurru was discovered in 1788 by the French traveler Antoine Michaux south of Baghdad and given to the French National Library . He became known as Caillou Michaux . It comes from the reign of Marduk-nādin-aḫḫe (1099-1082 BC).

literature

  • Leonard William King: Babylonian Boundary-Stones and Memorial-Tablets in the British Museum . Longmans, London 1912 [1] .
  • John A. Brinkman, Stephanie Dalley: A Royal Kudurru from the reign of Aššur-nadin-šumi . In: Journal of Assyriology and Near Eastern Archeology 78, 1988 ISSN  0084-5299 , pp. 76-98.
  • Ursula Seidl : The Babylonian Kudurru reliefs. Symbols of Mesopotamian deities . Universitätsverlag et al., Freiburg 1989, ISBN 3-7278-0603-6 ( Orbis biblicus et orientalis 87).
  • Jeremy A. Black, Tina Breckwoldt: A concise dictionary of Akkadian . 2. corrected pressure. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2000, ISBN 3-447-04264-8 ( SANTAG 5).
  • Kathryn E. Slanski: Classification, Historiography and Monumental Authority. The Babylonian entitlement Narûs (kudurrus) . In: Journal of Cuneiform Studies 52, 2000 ISSN  0022-0256 , pp. 95-114.
  • Franz X. Steinmetzer: The Babylonian Kudurru (boundary stones) as a document form . Schöningh, Paderborn 1922, ( Studies on the history and culture of antiquity 11, 4/5 ZDB -ID 510174-8 ).

Web links

Commons : Kudurru  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Notes and individual references

  1. ↑ Kathryn E. Slanski: Classification, historiography and monumental authority . P. 95.
  2. ↑ Kathryn E. Slanski: Classification, historiography and monumental authority . P. 97.
  3. ↑ Kathryn E. Slanski: Classification, historiography and monumental authority . P. 99.
  4. ↑ a b Geeta De Clercq, The Goddess Ninegal / Bēlet-ekallim according to the ancient oriental sources of the 3rd and 2nd millennium BC Chr., Diss. Würzburg 2003, http://d-nb.info/982492596/34
  5. ↑ a b Kathryn E. Slanski: Classification, historiography and monumental Authority . P. 96.
  6. ↑ CL Crawford, Collecting, defacing, reinscribing. In: Norman Yoffee, Negotiating the past in the past: identity, memory, and landscape in archaeological research. Tucson, University of Arizona Press 2007
  7. ↑ BKI 103 = BBS 3
  8. ↑ WJ Hinke: A new Boundary Stone of Nebuchadnezzar I from Nippur. The Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania, Series D: Researches and Treatises 4 . University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 1907, pp. 71-115.
  9. ^ VS Tuman: Astronomical Dating of the Nebuchadnezzar Kudurru found in Nippur in February 1896 . In: Nippur at the Centennial: Papers Read at the 35 e Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale . The University Museum, Philadelphia 1988, pp. 281-285.
  10. ↑ Jeremy A. Black Dictionary of Akkadian , pp. 165 and 244