Tattenai

Tattanu or biblically Tattenai was the Persian governor appointed under Dareios I in the Transeuphratene . Presumably he was subordinate to the Satrap of Babylon and the Transeuphratene Hystanes . Tattanu is known from cuneiform sources and biblical texts .

518 BC In the correspondence of Tattenai, the Babylonian “commissioner” Šamaš-aba-usur is mentioned by the Jewish exiles as a witness for an allegedly in 538 BC. Chr. By Cyrus II decreed decree in which the return of the temple equipment from the destroyed Jerusalem sanctuary is to be ordered.

Tattenai therefore traveled to Jerusalem specifically to inspect the said document on the spot, as he himself did not have a corresponding administrative document. The trip was an attempt to resolve the emerging tensions between the Samaritans and the Jewish returnees. Since no one was able to produce a duplicate of the administrative deed, Tattenai did not comply with the oral request to hand over the temple treasures and returned home without having achieved anything.

literature

Michael Jursa , Matthew W. Stolper : From the Tattannu Archive Fragment In: Festschrift for Hermann Hunger. Dedicated to his 65th birthday by his friends, colleagues and students (= Viennese magazine for the customer of the Orient. 97, ISSN 0084-0076 ). Self-published by the Institute for Oriental Studies, Vienna 2007, pp. 243–281, JSTOR 23861419 .
Albert T. Olmstead : Tattenai, Governor of "Across the River". In: Journal of Near Eastern Studies . Vol. 3, No. 1, 1944, ISSN 0022-2968 , p. 46, doi : 10.1086 / 370700 .
Matthew W. Stolper : The Governor of Babylon and Across-the-River in 486 BC In: Journal of Near Eastern Studies. Vol. 48, No. 4, 1989, pp. 283-305, doi : 10.1086 / 373409 .
Arthur Ungnad : Cuneiform contributions to the book Ezra and Ester. In: Journal for Old Testament Science . 58, 1940/1941, pp. 240-244, doi : 10.1515 / zatw . 1941.58.3-4.240 .

Web links

Entry in the online Britannica
Entry in the Jewish Virtual Library by Bezalel Porten

Remarks

↑ In 1Esdr Sisinnes .
↑ Bruno Meissner's early thesis that the biblically transmitted name is based on a spelling mistake and must be corrected, actually referring to Hystanes, has not been confirmed.
↑ On the significance of the temple implements for the theology of the chronicler cf. Peter-Runham Ackroyd: The Temple Vessels - A Continuity Theme. In: Studies in the Religion of Ancient Israel (= Vetus Testamentum. Supplements. 23). Brill, Leiden 1972, ISBN 90-04-03525-7 , pp. 166-181, doi : 10.1163 / 9789004275461_010 .

personal data
SURNAME	Tattenai
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Tattanu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Persian governor of the Transeuphratene
DATE OF BIRTH	6th century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH	6th century BC BC or 5th century BC Chr.

[1] In 1Esdr Sisinnes .

[2] Bruno Meissner's early thesis that the biblically transmitted name is based on a spelling mistake and must be corrected, actually referring to Hystanes, has not been confirmed.

[3] On the significance of the temple implements for the theology of the chronicler cf. Peter-Runham Ackroyd: The Temple Vessels - A Continuity Theme. In: Studies in the Religion of Ancient Israel (= Vetus Testamentum. Supplements. 23). Brill, Leiden 1972, ISBN 90-04-03525-7 , pp. 166-181, doi : 10.1163 / 9789004275461_010 .