THE TEMPLE OF ISTAR AT OLD BABYLONIAN

ALALAKH*
JACOB LAUINGER
Abstract
The temple of Istar is well attested in the Old Babylonian (level VII) texts from
Alalakh. However, it is not evident from these attestations whether the temple
was an autonomous institution or part of the palace administration. This article
demonstrates rst that an excavated temple dating to the level VII occupation is
the same temple of Istar known from the texts; and second that the excavated
temple contained an archive documenting a store of the palaces silver. These
conclusions arm that the temple of Istar lay within the purview of the palace
administration. The article ends by suggesting that the palace may have encompassed the temple not just administratively but also architecturally.
Keywords: archives, Alalakh, Istar, Old Babylonian, temple

The goddess Istar and her cult are well attested in the Old Babylonian
(level VII) texts from Alalakh.1 From these attestations, it is clear

* This article revises and expands arguments initially presented in my dissertation Archival Practices at Old Babylonian/Middle Bronze Age Alalakh (Level
VII), University of Chicago, 2007: 138-190. A preliminary version of this article
was presented at the 218th meeting of the American Oriental Society. I am grateful to Dominique Collon for sharing her thoughts on and her unpublished photographs of the sealing ATT/47/21, to Michael Kozuh for his comments on an
earlier draft of this article, and to the Oriental Institute of the University of
Chicago for permission to reproduce gure one. Abbreviations follows those of
M. T. Roth (2006) The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of
Chicago, vol. (Chicago: The Oriental Institute) ix-xxxii. The transliteration and
normalization of personal names follows the guidelines, with accompanying caveats,
put forward by von Dassow 2008: xiii-xiv. Of course, any errors herein are entirely
my responsibility.
1 The attestations are gathered in appendix one. The goddesss name is consistently written with the logogram ISTAR, that is is8-tr. For convenience, I normalize this logogram as Istar and translate it as Istar. However, the reading of
this logogram is still unclear, see Zeeb 2001: 284 n. 331. Istar, Isara, and Sauska
are all possible readings as all three divine names appear in syllabic spellings in
the level VII onomasticon. Zeeb suggests the reading Isara on the basis of
Wiseman Alalakh 276: 4-5, in which he wishes to identify an individual named
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that the goddess had both a temple and priests at Alalakh and that
this temple was given sheep and grain by the palace administration. Despite this evidence of Istars veneration, the scholarly literature shows a dierence of opinion as to the palaces role in the
cult. On the one hand, Klengel has pointed to the palaces provisioning of sheep and grain and suggested eine Zugehrigkeit des
Tempels zur konomischen Einheit Palastwirtschaft . . ., d.h. zum
Haushalt des Alala-Frsten.2 On the other hand, Zeeb has described
these same provisions as probably having a symbolic character als
eine Art Proertorium,3 so that der Tempel in konomischer
Hinsicht autonom war.4
To a large degree, this dierence of opinion arises from the
nature of the evidence at our disposal, namely textual references
that can be interpreted in opposing ways in the absence of supporting data. The purpose of this article is to remedy the lack of
such data and to demonstrate that the palace exercised some degree
of administrative control over the temple of Istar. The rst part of
this article identies the temple of Istar mentioned in the texts with
an excavated structure from level VII that was described as a temple in the site report. This identication provides a new avenue of
approach to the debate outlined above because the excavated temple contained an archive of tablets.5 The second part of this article examines this archive and concludes that it consists of the
documentation of an oce of the palace administration. In other
words, among its religious functions, the temple served, at the least,
as the storage site of palace records, implying that the palace exercised some degree of administrative control over the temple. The
article concludes by reviewing the extent of the level VII excavations

nu-wa-as-si-dISTAR (line 4) with nu-was-as-si-dis!-a!-ra! (line 5), see Zeeb (2001)

no. 68. These emendations are dicult to support epigraphically, as, according
to Zeebs copy, the divine name in line 4 is dIM and the proposed divine name
in line 5 is logogram BUR.GUL.
2 Klengel 1979: 449.
3 Zeeb 2001: 287.
4 Zeeb 2001: 492.
5 Following van den Hout 2005: 280, I use archive with the meaning commonly accepted in the eld of archival science: The whole of the written documents, drawings, and printed matter, ocially received or produced by an
administrative body or one of its ocials, in so far as these documents were
intended to remain in the custody of that body or ocial, see Muller, Feith, and
Fruin 1968: 13.

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183

and suggesting that the temple of Istar may have been incorporated not just administratively but also architecturally into the palace
of Old Babylonian Alalakh.
* * *
In order to reach this conclusion, it must be established rst that
the structure identied in the site report as a temple was in fact a
temple, and furthermore, that it was the temple of Istar attested in
contemporaneous texts. The structure in question was uncovered
in the 1947 season during the course of one of two deep soundings that were used by Woolley, Alalakhs excavator, to trace the
history of the site to its beginning6 (see gure one for a plan of
the level VII excavations). From an archeological perspective, its
identication as a temple seems secure. The structure is an approximately square building with walls about 11.5 meters in length and
four meters thick.7 Its interior space is divided into an antechamber and a cella, in which an altar sat upon a two-level platform
of uncut blocks. A drain behind this altar may have been used for
libations.8 The presence of the altar alone conrms the structures
identication as a temple. Furthermore, the architectural form, two
rooms and an altar aligned with the entrance along a central axis,
is characteristic of Syrian temples in the Middle Bronze Age.9
Can we determine the deity or deities to whom the temple was
dedicated? The question has been addressed by Nahaman, who
argues that this deity was the goddess Istar.10 Nahaman claims that
both an uninscribed diorite head that was found in the temple11
and also the enormous thickness of the temple walls12 are mentioned in the level VII texts. However, these claims are problematic.

6 Woolley 1955: 10. The temple sounding is mentioned with reference to this
aim on page 11.
7 Woolley 1955: 59.
8 Woolley 1955: 63.
9 Yener 2005: 106. For a comparison of the Alalakh temples plan to those of
the temples from Shechem and Megiddo, see Mazar 1992:163. Note that the
plans of the two Alalakh temples are mislabeled. Figure 12, which is given as the
plan of the level VII temple, is actually the level IV temple. Figure 13, which is given
as the plan of the level VI temple, is actually the plan of the level VII temple.
10 Nahaman 1980: 214.
11 Woolley 1955: 64 and plates XLI-XLII.
12 Woolley 1955: 61.

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According to Nahaman, the statue head, which Woolley dubbed

the Head of Yarim-Lim after the rst king of Alalakh, was intuitively13 recognized by Alalakhs excavator for it appears in Wiseman
Alalakh 1 as an object dedicated by the king to the temple of Istar:
Wiseman Alalakh 1:8-1014
. . . i-na u4-mi-su mia-ri-im-li-im
9
DU[MU ma-am-mu]-ra-p R mab-ba-AN [ALAM-su]
10
[a-na d]ISTAR -se-li
8

At that time, Yarim-Lim, the s[on of ammu]rabi, the servant

of Abba-il,15 dedicated [his statue to the temple] of Istar.
Even if we accept the restoration of the key word ALAM in this
text, there is still no reason to connect this reference with the uninscribed statue head that was found in the temple. Therefore, the
statue head cannot help identify the excavated temple with the temple of Istar known from the texts.
Nahaman also nds reference to the thick walls of the excavated
temple in the ration lists, where he follows the original editors
reading of Wiseman Alalakh 243:9, 13 as recording the disbursement of barley and emmer to .BD dISTAR, the fortress of
Istar.16 Again, no direct connection exists between these references
and the excavated temple, only the assumption that fortresses must
have thick walls. Furthermore, Zeeb argues against the reading
.BD, noting that for bt drim, diese Wendung einer spteren
13

Nahaman 1980: 211.

Transliteration following Nahaman 1980: 209. Dietrich and Loretz 2004: 47
read, to much the same end, 8 . . . i-na u4-mi-su mia-ri-im-li-im 9 DUM[U maam-mu]-ra-p ARAD mAb-ba-an 10 A[LAM a-na d]ISTAR -se-li.
15 Some studies of Old Babylonian Alalakh read the name written ab-ba-DINGIR as Abban, see Zeeb 1991: 402 n. 10 and Zeeb 2001: 308 n. 423. This interpretation understands the /n/ as a nasalization that occurs in PNs with a nal
vowel, a phenomenon attested in other names in the Alalakh VII onomasticon.
The name Abban would then be a hypocoristic. However, a hypocoristic does
not seem likely, as this royal name would then be unattested in its full form
in the Alalakh VII texts. It seems better to read the nal sign as DINGIR and
to interpret the name as a nominal sentence, especially in light of the writing
ab-ba--l attested in ARMT 13 1 xi 14, see Gelb 1980: 45, cf. Streck 2000:
279. Gelb also cites JCS 12 112:17 for the writing dab-ba--l, but I have been
unable to locate the name in JCS or in YOS 14, where the text in question was
reedited.
16 Nahaman 1980: 213. This entry also appears in two other ration lists, Zeeb
2001: no. 50:9 and no. 61:3, that were unpublished at the time Nahamans article appeared.
14

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185

Sprachstufe zugehrt und eher in militrischen Kontexten belegt

ist.17 Zeeb reads the signs as gisBANSUR. Epigraphically, this reading seems sound, and it is supported by the appearance of the word
passrum, spelled syllabically, elsewhere in the ration lists where it
is used to refer to grain intended for the king.18 Zeebs reading,
then, seems preferable, although collation of the relevant signs is
desirable.
In sum, Nahamans suggestion that the excavated temple should
be identied with the temple of Istar seems likely, but must remain
a suggestion in the absence of evidence that can directly link the
two structures. Happily, a clay sealing, ATT/47/21,19 that Woolley
found in the temple provides such evidence. The sealing originally
covered a rectangular object, and its reverse shows the impression
of string, meaning that this sealing was used to seal a box or a
lock on a square-shaped object.20 As ocials sealed locks and other
objects to prevent unauthorized access, sealings oer valuable evidence of who had institutional authority over what.21 Unfortunately,
the inscription on the reconstructed impression is fragmentary and
only preserves part of the seal owners name.22 However, the same
seal that was impressed into ATT/47/21 also appears on Zeeb
1992: 477, the envelope to Wiseman Alalakh 18.23 My collation of
the envelope has shown that the impression on the envelope is
accompanied by the caption na4KISIB lSANGA, seal of the priest
(the priests full title lSANGA dISTAR appears in the envelopes
witness list).24 In other words, the clay sealing that was discovered
17 Zeeb 2001: 283. According to CAD D s.v. dru in bt dri, the phrase appears
in NA royal inscriptions and letters and in one SB hemerology.
18 Wiseman Alalakh 273:2, see Zeeb 2001: 283.
19 For the composite edition of the impression, restored from three sealings, see
Collon 1975: no. 15.
20 Collon 1975: no. 15 describes ATT/47/21 as a jar sealing. At my request,
Collon kindly reviewed her unpublished photographs of the sealing, noting at the
time her study of the Alalakh seal impressions was published, the use of sealings
on locks was not commonly understood. See Zettler 1987: 197 on this same point.
21 Zettler 1987 provides a classic case study.
22 The inscription should perhaps be restored as 1[E]-li-d[ISTAR] 2[DU]MU
Ni-iq-mi-a-[du] 3[]R sa d[ISTAR], see n. 42.
23 Republished as Dietrich and Loretz 2005: 260-261.
24 Note that the position of the seal impression (not illustrated) and the caption on the envelope are misleadingly presented in Zeeb 1992: 477, where they
appear to be located on the envelopes top edge. In fact, they are on the envelopes left side, as can be seen in Dietrich and Loretz 2005: 260 and the photograph of the envelope presented in Collon 1975: plate LVIII.

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in the excavated temple was made by the priest of Istar or his subordinate.
The details of the administrative process that led to the deposit
of the sealing on the temple oor are unclear. We do not know,
for example, whether the sealed object was permanently stored in
the temple or whether it was in transit and the sealing was broken o to check its contents.25 Nonetheless, the presence of the
priest of Istars seal impression inside the excavated temple implies
that he exercised administrative control over this space, and it allows
us to identify the excavated temple with the temple of Istar mentioned in the level VII texts.
* * *
This identication is signicant because it aords a new approach
to examining the temples relationship to the palace. We are no
longer conned to attestations of the temple in the textual record,
which, as described above, have been interpreted in opposing ways.
Now we can use the material culture of the temple itself.
A few relevant examples of the material culture excavated from
the templethe altar, the drain, the statue head, and the sealing
have already been mentioned. However, these were not the only
nds from the temples main room. On either side of the altar, the
excavators found two long hollow benches made of brick and cement
into which wooden boxes had been inset.26 The covers to these
boxes showed signs of having been, as Woolley puts it, violently
torn open, suggesting that the temple had been looted before it
was destroyed in the re that marks the end of level VII.27 Although
not many small nds were discovered in the temple, presumably
because of this looting, several objects made of ivory and alabaster
still remained in the bench-boxes. Some fragments of similar objects,
as well as larger pieces of statuary such as the Head of YarimLim, discussed above, lay on the raised platform and underneath
the ash that covered the temple oor. Mixed among these objects
on the platform and on the oor were eighteen cuneiform tablets
and two envelope fragments.28
25

Zettler 1987: 227.

Woolley 1955: 62-63.
27 Woolley 1955: 64.
28 Wiseman Alalakh 176, 373-378, 382-389, ATT/47/4, 6 and 8 (tablets) and
ATT/47/10 and 15 (envelope fragments). Woolley 1955: 64 claims that several
26

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187

Transliterations and translations of the texts in this archive appear

in Appendix Two. I have added one text, Wiseman Alalakh 381
to the archive. Although Wiseman Alalakh 381 was found eight
years prior to the excavation of the temple,29 the tablet displays the
unique shape, format, and terminology of documents in Dossier
Two, (discussed in more detail below) and it undoubtedly formed
part of this archive. Unfortunately, the unpublished tablets and the
one envelope fragment that is inscribed, ATT/47/10, are illegible,
and therefore I have not included them in the appendix.
In and of itself, the presence of this archive in the temple does
not seem remarkable, for ancient Near Eastern temples could be
important institutions with substantial assets, and accounting for
these assets often produced many tablets. However, this archive
does not reect the administrative life of the temple. Rather, it
records the management of silver that belonged to the palace.
The remainder of this section examines the texts in the temple
archive in order to demonstrate this claim. For this purpose, I
have arranged these texts into two dossiers on the basis of their
content.30 The rst dossier, Wiseman Alalakh 373-377, consists of
texts that record the disbursement of silver. The second dossier,
Wiseman Alalakh 381-389, consists of texts that record the receipt
of silver.31

tablets were found in one of the bench-boxes, noting that the others were found
on the oor of the temple. However, he provides no excavation numbers for the
former group, while, for the latter group, he cites the excavation numbers of all
the tablets found in the temple. Unpublished excavation cards now in the collection of the British Museum record that the tablets from the temple were found
either on the oor or on the raised platform. Even if we assume that no tablets
were found in the bench-box, the distribution of ivory, which was found on the
oor and the raised platform as well as in the bench-boxes, suggests that the
tablets may also have been originally stored in the bench-boxes and scattered during the nal destruction of the temple.
29 Wiseman Alalakh 381 was found at the beginning of the 1939 season. The
tablet is not mentioned in the site report. Its excavation card records that the
tablet was found in square N 10 in the terrace lling, but gives no mention of
the occupation level, most likely because the excavators were themselves unsure.
Square N 10 is approximately 20 meters north of the temple, corresponding to
the wall between rooms 7 and 9 of Yarim-Lims palace. As Wiseman Alalakh 381
was excavated before this palace was reached, however, the terrace lling in which
the tablet was found must belong to level VI at the earliest.
30 Dening a dossier as a group of documents that all relate to the same task,
see Muller, Feith and Fruin 1968: 83.
31 I do not discuss Wiseman Alalakh 176 and 378, as these texts seem to
document the personal assets of a member of the temples personnel, either the

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The ve texts of Dossier One contain between two and seventeen entries for a total of thirty-seven entries. The typical entry
records the amount of silver disbursed, its recipient and the reason for its disbursement, with the majority of the recipients receiving silver not for their own use but as intermediaries. While the
texts are undated, two of the longer texts, Wiseman Alalakh 376
and 377, include summary sections that total the disbursements,
and the two shortest texts, Wiseman Alalakh 374 and 375, do not.32
This dierence may indicate that the dossier contains documents
from two dierent stages of a bookkeeping process in which a small
number of disbursements were rst recorded as short memoranda
and later compiled into larger accounts.
Who wrote these texts? On whose behalf did the intermediaries
named in the texts perform their tasks? Who, ultimately, is the
source of the silver? The names that appear in the texts are the
best evidence at our disposal with which to answer these questions.
Because of the frequent use of hypocoristics and the lack of additional qualifying information in both these texts and the level VII
corpus as a whole, an exhaustive prosopography of the names is
impossible. Nonetheless, as the table below illustrates, the texts of
Dossier One mention certain key individuals, identied by name
or profession, who may be safely identied in the ration lists:

priest of Istar or Kuzzi, the diviner. While Wiseman Alalakh 378 does record the
disbursement of silver, the end of the text states that the silver, in the form of
cups, was disbursed when the priest of Istars daughter married Kuzzi. This
specication echoes similar statements in Wiseman Alalakh 409:41-46 and Wiseman
Alalakh 411:21-25, which record a bride price and a dowry, respectively, paid by
Ammitaqum, the king of Alalakh. Wiseman Alalakh 378, then, most likely records
the dowry given by the priest of Istar or the bride price paid by Kuzzi. Wiseman
Alalakh 176 is badly damaged, but the text preserves three names that also appear
in Wiseman Alalakh 378, suggesting that this text was composed in connection
with the same event. (The text cannot be, as Zeeb 2001: 245 proposes, a roster
of the palaces male workforce by virtue of fDn-Addus presence in line 7'.)
Wiseman Alalakh 176 and 378 may have been stored in the temple because that
is where their owner worked, and the texts should perhaps be considered a distinct archive.
32 The longest text, Wiseman Alalakh 373, lacks a summary section. It is also
the only text in the dossier in which entries continue onto the left side. Perhaps
the scribe misjudged the size of the tablet he would need and ran out of room
for a summary section?

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189

Table 1: Persons who appear in Dossier One and in the

ration lists
Person(s)

Dossier One

Lau(l)-Addu
nuatimmum
Nami-Dagan
rkibum
Kuzzi, brm

Wiseman Alalakh
376:5
Wiseman Alalakh
376:7
Wiseman Alalakh
373 r. 3'
Wiseman Alalakh
373 r. 6'

agr
Eluwa parkullum

Wiseman Alalakh
373 r. 14', 377:1

Suba-ali

Wiseman Alalakh
376:16

Kunnate

Wiseman Alalakh
373:7

Ration lists

Date of ration listsa)

Wiseman Alalakh
IC
278:6
Wiseman Alalakh
IIB, XB
274:6, 244:6
Wiseman Alalakh
IIB, VC
274:30, 269:16
Wiseman Alalakh
VIIA, IC, IVC
258:15, 278:11,
257:15
Wiseman Alalakh
IIB, IIB, VIB,
274:3, 263:14,
XB, XIB, IC
268:3, 243:16
240:14, 247:6,
11
Wiseman Alalakh
XIIA, VIB, XIB,
252:12, 268:5,
XIB, IC, IIIC;
240:10, 241:44,
VIIB, VIC
278:1, 238:37;
Zeeb (2001)
no. 47:10' , 27:6
Wiseman Alalakh
VIIA, IXA, XA,
258:4, 265: 13, 25,
XIA, IB, IIB,
31, 277:11, 252:2,
IIIB, VIB, VIIB,
13, 246:20, 34,
VIIIB, XIB, XIIB,
274:2, 256:6, 18,
IC, IIIC, IVC,
254:5, 25, 272:1,
VC, VC; VIIB,
237:4, 283b r. 2',
IIbC, VIC
264:19, 239:9, 251:
13, 28, 248:4,
238:9, 257:6,
253:23, 269:61,
63, 66, 72; Zeeb
(2001) no. 47: 7',
r. 1', 23:3, 37,
72:6', r. 4'

a)

I follow the chronological arrangement of the ration lists presented in Zeeb (2001)
158-183. According to this arrangement, the ration lists span a period of twenty-eight
months over three years (A, B, and C) and conclude with the destruction of the palace
that marks the end of level VII. This span begins in month VA and ends in month VIIC.

In the fourth column, bold italics highlight a signicant overlap in

the dates of activity in which these persons are attested in the ration

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190

lists. The overlap is clearest with those individuals who appear only
occasionally in the ration lists. Thus, the hired laborers appear in
only three ration lists, one of which, Wiseman Alalakh 278, also
contains the only attestation of the cook, Lau(l)-Addu, and an attestation of Suba-ali. This text dates to the rst month of Year C,
around one of the times that Eluwa, the seal-cutter, is also attested
in the ration lists. As the table shows, with the exception of the
diviner Kuzzi, every other individual who can be securely identied
is attested in the ration lists at this approximate time, a fourmonth period from the tenth month of Year B to the rst month
of Year C.
This observation has two implications. First, it provides a terminus post quem for the composition of Dossier One at month IC, or
about six months before the destruction of the palace. Second, it
means that at the same time that these individuals were receiving
grain from the palace, they were also receiving silver. On its own,
this second point need not necessarily imply any further connection between the two dossierscraftsmen, for example, could have
received grain from the palace and silver from the temple for unrelated work done for each institution. However, the context in which
one particular craftsman, the seal-cutter Eluwa, received his disbursements, suggests that this is not the situation.
Zeeb has shown that Eluwa was the representative of a small
group of seal-cutters who most likely were not residents of Alalakh
but stayed there on two occasions, once in the rst half of Year B
and once at the end of Year B and the beginning of Year C.33
During each visit, Eluwa and the seal-cutters received grain in
two unequal disbursements: a larger amount as payment for their
materials; and a smaller amount for their personal sustenance. The
texts of Dossier One coincide with the second visit and in these
texts, Eluwa also receives two unequal disbursements of silver, the
rst, twenty shekels, being much larger than the second, two-thirds
of a shekel. Notably, the entry recording the larger amount (Wiseman
Alalakh 377:1) uses the preposition GR to indicate that this silver, like the larger grain disbursement, was not intended for the
seal-cutters personal use but rather for the purchase of materials.
The entry recording the smaller amount (Wiseman Alalakh 373

33

Zeeb 2001: 448-451.

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191

r. 14'), which was intended for their personal use, does not have
this preposition.
In other words, this group of craftsmen received grain and silver not only at the same time but also in the same unequal disbursements. As the palace disbursed the grain, it must also have
been responsible for the silver. However, two dierent oces of
the palace administration disbursed these two commodities.
Consequently, the records of the disbursements appear in two
dierent archives. One of these archives, containing the ration lists,
was stored in the palace, while the other, containing Dossier One,
was stored in the temple.
In spite of their storage location, then, the texts of Dossier One
seem to record the disbursement of silver that belonged to the
palace administration. What about the texts of Dossier Two? These
texts record the receipt of silver but the persons appearing in connection with this silver cannot be securely identied with persons
appearing in other level VII texts (discussed in more detail below).
Therefore, we must use the administrative formula itself to reconstruct the nature of the transaction it documents. The formula consists of three phrases:
1. # shekels of silver which was received.34
2. sa PN1 (+ patronym/profession).
3. PA PN2 (+patronym/profession).35
Wiseman Alalakh 381-385 and 389 present this formula, while
Wiseman Alalakh 386-388 oer variations. The meaning of the
formula is not readily apparent, and Zeeb uses the variations to

34 The word written ma-a-ru/r is analyzed as a 3 m. s. stative in the subjunctive. The writings alternate between RU and RUM (=r), meaning that the
form lacks mimation and cannot be a verbal adjective modifying kaspum. In
Wiseman Alalakh 386, the silver has not been received, as expressed by la maru.
The use of la instead of ul signies that -u morpheme appearing on marum
throughout almost all the dossier is the subjunctive marker and that the form is
a 3 m. s. stative. The presence of the subjunctive means that the form should be
translated as an asyndetic relative clause. In Wiseman Alalakh 381, the stative is
in the indicative.
35 In the original publication of the texts, Wiseman proposes reading PA as
UGULA for waklum, overseer. This proposal is followed by Dietrich and Loretz
2005: 281-283. However, as the occurrences of PA precede the personal names,
this reading seems unlikely.

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establish the meaning of the formula.36 Thus Wiseman Alalakh 388

has KI PN1 in line 2, so Zeeb understands sa PN1 to mean that
the silver is received from PN1. Similarly, Wiseman Alalakh 387
ends with the phrase ana PN2 nadin, so he understands PA PN2 to
mean that the silver was given to PN2.37 According to Zeeb, then,
these texts record the receipt of silver from PN1 by an unidentied
party that subsequently disbursed the silver to PN2. However, he
does not describe the administrative context in which these transactions took place, nor does he explain why someone (presumably
the unidentied party mediating the transactions?) saw t to document the transactions in the rst place.
The scenario that Zeeb reconstructs results from his methodology, which, again, uses variations from the formula in order to
establish the formulas meaning. In the case of orthographic or
morphological variants, as in the discussion of the form maru above,
this approach can be valuable. However, variations from the formula proper are just as likely to have occurred because the texts
in which they appear record situations that likewise varied from
the norm (as is clear in Wiseman Alalakh 386 in which the silver
has not been received). Therefore, we should not too readily understand the phrase KI PN1 in Wiseman Alalakh 388 and the phrase
ana PN2 nadin in Wiseman Alalakh 387 as simply synonyms for the
phrases sa PN1 and PA PN2, respectively.38
A text from the palaces main archive in the basement storerooms, Wiseman Alalakh 270, oers a dierent perspective on the
phrase PA PN2. Although some features of Wiseman Alalakh 270
remain obscure,39 the basic structure and function of this text is
clear. The text contains thirteen entries, each of which records a
quantity of emmer associated with a single individual. The end of
the text (lines 39-40) totals the amount of emmer and describes this

36

Zeeb 2001: 61-64.

Zeeb 2001: 64 suggests understanding PA als eine Konjunktion nach Art
des arab. und ugar. fa- bzw. p-.
38 As Wiseman Alalakh 388 also omits the phrase PA PN , according to Zeebs
2
methodology, KI PN1 should substitute for sa PN1 PA PN2 in toto.
39 Specically, the meaning of the sign TAR that occurs after every two or
three entries (lines 3, 9, 14, 20, 27, 31, and probably 35 and 38) and is immediately followed by a high ocial or other individual identied by name; and the
specication repeated four times (lines 8, 19, 26, and 34) that a varying amount
of emmer from among the amount recorded in four entries in incumbent upon
a certain individual named Taggiya.
37

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193

total as emmer owed by Alalakh (the amount of the emmer in

the total is the same as the sum of the individual entries). The
function of this text is to document the amounts of emmer that
certain residents of Alalakh, presumably land owners, owed to the
king of Alalakh.40 In this function, Wiseman Alalakh 270 is similar to four other texts from the same archive, Wiseman Alalakh
42, 45, 319, and 380, memoranda that record obligatory payments
from other villages controlled by the king of Alalakh.
Signicantly, the sign PA prefaces each of the thirteen entries in
Wiseman Alalakh 270. As in the texts of Dossier Two, the reading of PA, and even whether it is a logogram or an abbreviation
for an Akkadian word, is unclear. Whatever its reading, in Wiseman
Alalakh 270, the sign evidently designates the amount of emmer
that follows as an obligatory payment. We can connect this use of
PA to the appearance of PA in the texts of Dossier Two and propose that the sign has a similar function there, namely to designate
the silver as an obligatory payment by PN2. The meaning of the
preceding phrase, sa PN1, remains dicult, but perhaps is a periphrastic genitive separated from the head noun kaspum that serves
to indicate not who paid the silver but who actually delivered it.41
Several pieces of circumstantial evidence not only support this
interpretation of the texts in Dossier Two but may help qualify it.
First, following my restoration of the text, Wiseman Alalakh 387
lacks the phrase sa PN1 but goes on to say that the silver was given
to a mkisum, tax collector. That is, in this variant from the formula, in which the silver was not delivered by a third-party, the
text includes a note specifying that the silver was paid directly to
a tax collector. Second, the vast majority of the individuals appearing in these texts cannot be identied with individuals known from
other level VII texts, which implies that they were not palace personnel. Moreover, some of these individuals seem to be foreigners

40 Goetze 1959: 37 suggests that the grain was delivered to the persons appearing after the sign TAR, though he does not know how to translate the sign.
Bunnens 1982: 81 n. 5 remarks only that [c]e texte semble enregistrer des taxes
en nature dues par lville dAlalakh et rparties entre divers contribuables.
41 The statement in Wiseman Alalakh 388 that the silver is KI PN may
1
then mean that PN1 both paid and delivered the silverin eect, a shorter rendering of the same situation documented in Wiseman Alalakh 384. In Wiseman
Alalakh 386, the silver has not been received, and so in this text sa PN1 cannot
mean that PN1 delivered it. Seemingly, the phrase has a dierent meaning in this
context.

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jacob lauinger

to Alalakh: in Wiseman Alalakh 385, the silver is sa Alasiya, the

Cypriote; and the name of the oil-presser in Wiseman Alalakh
389, Sumu-alab, may indicate that he was a resident of the city
of alab. Third, six out of the nine texts specify the amount of
silver received as ten shekels, suggesting that ten shekels was the
standard amount of silver for the transactions documented in these
texts. This circumstantial evidence suggests that the silver documented in the texts of Dossier Two was indeed an obligatory payment, and may have been a generally xed amount collected by
the palace from individuals traveling into or through its territory,
perhaps on a trade route that connected the empire of Yamad to
the Mediterranean.
* * *
The texts of both Dossier One and Two, then, document the movement of silver that can be connected, directly in the case of Dossier
One and circumstantially in the case of Dossier Two, with the
palace administration. The texts are not concerned with what we
expect to be a temples administrative responsibilities, such as the
care and feeding of the gods or the provisioning of cultic personnel and sacricial animals. Yet, as the rst section of this article
has demonstrated, these texts were found in the temple of Istar.
How do we account for this seeming discontinuity?
A speculative interpretation of the evidence posits that the silver
documented in the texts was actually stored in the temple, kept in
one of the bench-boxes that adjoined the altar. This bench-box was
sealed by the square-shaped sealing found on the temple oor, and
thus the silver inside was administered by Eli-d[x], the priest of
Istar.42 A more minimalist interpretation of the same evidence holds
that the silver and the administrative body responsible for it may
42 Wiseman Alalakh 369, a text from the palaces main archive in the basement storerooms, records the disbursement of two silver vessels and 190 shekels
of silver that is qualied as K.BABBAR dISTAR (l. 2). The expenditure was
made under the authority of an individual named Eli-Istar, who should perhaps
be identied with Eli-d[x], the priest of Istar. Wiseman Alalakh 369 may have
been transferred from the temple to the palace because it recorded the disbursement of a relatively large amount of silver. This Eli-Istar should not be identied
with Eli-Istar, the priest of Addu, who appears in Wiseman Alalakh 30:13 (see
Zeeb 1993: 471 on reading SANGA instead of -ra) and Wiseman Alalakh 55:35.
These texts were composed at alab and this latter Eli-Istar was a functionary
in the cult of Addu at alab.

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195

have been located elsewhere, but the palace chose to store the documentation of some of its assets in the temple.43 Such a decision
implies that the palace exercised a degree of control over the temple.
This conclusion allows us to reenter the debate outlined at the
beginning of this article. The textual attestations of the cult of Istar
are not enough on their own to allow us to characterize the relationship between the temple and the palace at Old Babylonian
Alalakh. The nature of the temple archive, however, supports the
view that the temple was not an autonomous institution, as argued
by Zeeb, but rather was incorporated into the larger structure of
the palace administration, as argued by Klengel. Therefore, the
grain and sheep that the palace supplied to the temple are better
understood not as symbolic gestures but as the transfer of commodities between the oces of a single institution.
The sheep in particular point to a signicant ramication of this
arrangement. The two texts recording the disbursement of sheep
for the hiyaru-festival of Istar form part of a small archive located
in room 2 of the palace. Also in this archive are two texts recording the receipt of sheep from the king of Carcemish (Wiseman
Alalakh 349) and from a certain fIrpa-Ab (Wiseman Alalakh 347),
who may have been a member of the royal family of the SyroAnatolian city of Apisal.44 Were these deliveries of sheep also intended
as oerings to Istar of Alalakh? If so, then the palaces administrative control of the temple positioned it to take advantage of the
goddesss veneration outside the immediate vicinity of Alalakh.
In fact, the palace may have encompassed the temple architecturally as well as administratively. Yener, the director of the current excavations at Alalakh, has tentatively identied the open area
to the west of the palace as a courtyard (see gure one). Woolley
was prevented from digging around this open area by the level IV
palace, which the Turkish authorities wished to preserve. One test
sounding in the level IV palaces courtyard, however, uncovered
the foundations of monumental architecture dating to level VII.45
43 Because the tablets were found mixed among the ivory and statuary fragments that lay beneath the ash layer covering the temple oor, the tablets cannot be a later deposit.
44 The only other attestation of the name occurs in Wiseman Alalakh 409:16.
This text lists various gifts that the king of Alalakh gave to the royal family and
courtiers of Apisal on the occasion of his marriage to the king of Apisals daughter.
45 Woolley 1955: 110 describes them as the most massive found by us at
Alalakh.

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196

The presence of these foundations suggests that the level VII palace
may have extended westward.
If this is the case, then the palace most likely also continued
southward from this extension to encompass the temple, so that
the palace was in fact a square-shaped structure organized around
a central courtyard. This proposal, if correct, would have two important implications. First, the location of the temple of Istar within
the palace of Alalakh would serve as an important parallel to the
divine sanctuary of Istar located within the near-contemporaneous
palace of Zimri-Lim at Mari.46 And second, the original excavations of Alalakh would have uncovered only half of the level VII
palace, with the other half still awaiting excavation. Hopefully, the
current excavations at Alalakh will be able to clarify this proposal.
Appendix One
Attestations of the Cult of Istar in the Old Babylonian Alalakh Texts
The attestations are arranged under the following subject headings:
Temple
Personnel
Oerings
Attestations of oerings via personnel appear under personnel.
Temple
Wiseman Alalakh 1:10, see Dietrich and Loretz 2004: 47
. . . i-na u4-mi-su mia-ri-im-li-im 9 DU[MU a-am-mu]-ra-bi R
m
ab-ba-DINGIR 10[ALAM? a-na d]ISTAR -se-li
8

At that time, Yarim-Lim, the son of ammurabi, the servant of

Abba-il, dedicated a statue? to the temple of Istar.
Wiseman Alalakh 61:18, see Dietrich and Loretz 2004: 113
16

ma-al K.BABBAR K.GI

46

See Durand 1986: 71-73.

17

a-na ISTAR .[L.E]

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197

(Whoever breaks the contract), he will pay the full amount of silver and gold to the temple of Istar.
Wiseman Alalakh 126:39, see Dietrich and Loretz 2004: 54
38

qa-ta-ka -ul me-si

39

a-na dISTAR te-ru-ub

Your hands are not washed when you enter the temple of Istar.
Wiseman Alalakh 127:10 and 15, see Dietrich and Loretz 2005:
254-255
9

[S]U.NIGIN 7 me-tim 8 GN K.BABBAR 10 a-na dISTAR

ia-ri-im-li-im 12 i-pu-ul 13 1 li-im (erasure?) 14 8 me-tim si-d-at
K.BABBAR 15 sa (erasure: ?) dISTAR 16 UGU ia-ri-im-li-im

11 m

Total: 708 shekels of silver, Yarim-Lim has paid (this amount) to

the temple of Istar. 1,800 (shekels) is the remainder of the silver of
Istar owed by Yarim-Lim.
Personnel
Wiseman Alalakh 26 r. 5', see Dietrich and Loretz 2005: 267
5'

IGI sar-r[a-]i lSANGA dISTAR

Witness: Sarrai, the priest of Istar.

Wiseman Alalakh 27:11, see Dietrich and Loretz 2005: 268
11

IGI lSANGA dISTAR

Witness: the priest of Istar.

Wiseman Alalakh 61:23, see Dietrich and Loretz 2004: 113
23

IGI lSANGA sa dISTAR

Witness: the priest of Istar.

Wiseman Alalakh 65:11, see Dietrich and Loretz 2004: 138
11

IGI lSANGA dISTAR

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198

Witness: the priest of Istar.

Wiseman Alalakh 270:3, see Oliva Mompen 1998: 596 and Dietrich
and Loretz 2005: 294
1

PA (text: GIS) 32 pa-ri-si ZZ

e-di 3 TAR lSANGA dISTAR

as-ta-bi-LUGAL DUMU am-mi-

Payment of 32 parsus of emmer, Astabi-sarra, the son of Ammiedi, determined by (?) the priest of Istar.
Wiseman Alalakh 281:6, see Zeeb 2001 no. 78
6

15 GR lSANGA dISTAR

15 (parsus of barley) via the priest of Istar.

Wiseman Alalakh 378:9', see Zaccagnini 1979: 474 and Dietrich
and Loretz 2006: 130
SU.NIGIN 33 1/3 GN K.BABBAR 8' sa a-na dugGAL.I.A
is-ku-nu 9' i-nu-ma DUMU.SAL lSANGA dISTAR 10' mku-uz-zi
l
UZ 11' i-i-ru
7'

Total: 33 1/3 shekels of silver which was set aside for vessels when
the daughter of the priest of Istar married Kuzzi, the diviner.
Zeeb 1992: 477:19 (envelope to Wiseman Alalakh 18), see Dietrich
and Loretz 2005: 261
19

[IGI] lSANGA dISTAR

Witness: the priest of Istar.

Ibid. left side 1 (below seal impression)
1 na4

KISIB lSANGA

Seal of the priest.

Zeeb 2001: no. 2:13

the temple of iStar at old babylonian alalakh

13

199

[x] a-ri-a-du L ISTAR

[x] (parsus of grain to) Ari-Addu, the man of Istar.

Oerings
Wiseman Alalakh 242:15, see Zeeb 2001: no. 32
14

1 pa SE 1 pa ZZ a-na a-li-ia

15

a-na pa-ni dISTAR

1 parsu of barley and 1 parsu of emmer to aliya at the disposal

of Istar.
Wiseman Alalakh 243:9, see Zeeb 2001: no. 1
9

25 sa

gis

BANSUR dISTAR

25 (parsus of grain), that of the table of Istar.

Ibid.:13
13

20 pa ZZ sa

gis

BANSUR dISTAR

20 parsus of emmer, that of the table of Istar.

Wiseman Alalakh 269:11, see Zeeb 2001: no. 35
11

1 a-na pa-ni dISTAR i-na u4-um -ti-it-i

1 (parsu of emmer) at the disposal of Istar on the festival-day of

the month of Utiti.
Ibid.:44
44

1 pa SE a-na pa-ni dISTAR sa u4-um -ti-i[t-i]

1 parsu of barley at the disposal of Istar, that of the festival-day

of the month of Utiti.
Wiseman Alalakh 346:2, see Dietrich and Loretz 2006: 109

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200
1

3 UDU i-na u4-um

i-ia-ri-i dISTAR

3 sheep on the festival-day of the month of iyari of Istar.

Wiseman Alalakh 348:2, see Dietrich and Loretz 2006: 110
1

20 UDU i-na u4-um

i-ia-ar-ri-i dISTAR

20 sheep on the festival-day of the month of iyari of Istar.

Zeeb 2001: no. 50:3
3

1 a-na

gis

TUKKUL pa-ni dISTAR

1 (parsu of grain) to the weapon before Istar.

Ibid.:4
4

2 a-na pa-ni dISTAR

2 (parsus of grain) at the disposal of Istar.

Ibid.:9
9

30 a-na

gis

BANSUR dISTAR

30 (parsus of grain) for the table of Istar.

Zeeb 2001: no. 61:3
3

10 a-na

gis

BANSUR dISTAR

10 (parsus of barley) for the table of Istar.

Appendix Two
Texts from the Temple of Istar
This appendix presents transliterations and translations of the texts
found in the temple of Istar. When relevant, a brief philological

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201

commentary follows the translation. The texts are arranged under

the following headings:
Dossier One (Wiseman Alalakh 373-377)
Dossier Two (Wiseman Alalakh 381-389)
Other texts from the temple (Wiseman Alalakh 176 and 378)
Dossier One: Texts Recording the Disbursement of Silver
Wiseman Alalakh 373, see Dietrich and Loretz 2006: 118-119
Obverse
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.

10 GN K.BABBAR a-na a-ri-ib-sa-us-ka

i-na re-es ti-tu-ri-im na-di-in
2 GN a-na UGULA KAS4.E
7 GN a-ri-ib-sa-us-ka
sa a-na na-wa L eb-laki na-ad-nu
2 GN lu-bar-wa-an-di lNAR
sa a-na ku-un-na-te na-ad-nu
4 GN lTUR L urua-p-sal
sa a-na sa-li-mi-im i-lu-
6 1/2 GN i-ri-ba lta-ru-
3+x GN si-im xi.a

(remainder of obverse missing)

Reverse
(beginning of reverse missing)
1'.
2'.
3'.
4'.
5'.
6'.
7'.
8'.
9'.
10'.
11'.
12'.
13'.

10 GN si-im [x x x x x]
a-na tu-uk-ri-in
10 GN a-na ku-uz-zi lZU
sa a-na i-ri-ia-dISTAR
2 GN a-na ti-su-e
a-na l.mesag-ri na-di-in
18 GN si-im SILA4i.a
a-na L urua-la-abki
1 GN lTUR UGULA AGA.US
sa ANSEi.a -se-lu-
1 GN Rmes LUGAL
2 GN si-im ni-wa-ri sa .GIS
GR k-ir-ra

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jacob lauinger

14'. 2/3 GN e-lu-wa BUR.GUL

15'. IGI.5.GL si-im KU6
Left side
1. 2 GN qa-ti LUGAL i-na x x x
2.
a-na ka-ad-ri na-di-in
10 shekels was given to Arib-Sauska at the head of the bridge.
2 shekels to the overseer of the messenger.
7 shekels, Arib-Sauska, which was given to Nawa, the man of
Ebla.
2 shekels, Lubar-wandi, the singer, which was given to Kunnate.
3 shekels, the servant of the man of Apisal, who came up for
the peace agreement.
6 1/2 shekels, Iriba, the tarm.
3+[x] shekels, the purchase-price of x (pl.).
(break of uncertain length)
10 shekels, the purchase price of [x], for Tukrin.
10 shekels to Kuzzi, the diviner, which is for Iriya-Istar
2 shekels was given to Tisue for the hired laborers.
18 shekels, the purchase-price of lambs for the man of alab.
1 shekel, the servant of the troop commander, who dedicated donkeys.
1 shekel, the servants of the king.
2 shekels, the purchase-price of a niwaru of oil via Kirra.
2/3 of a shekel to Eluwa, the seal-cutter.
1/5 (of a shekel), the purchase-price of sh.
2 shekels at the disposal of the king when [x x x], (the silver)
was given for gifts.
5: Zeeb 1998: 854, followed by Rp gogr. 12/2 67 and Dietrich
and Loretz 2006: 118, reads the PN as the logogram NA.GADA.
8: Here et passim, Dietrich and Loretz 2006 read lTUR as lDUMU.
The rst reading seems preferable because of the determinative.
9: Dietrich and Loretz 2006: 118 read the sign sa- as ir-, understanding a personal name Irlimim. However, the etymology of this
name is unclear and personal names are typically not declined in
the Alalakh VII texts. On the other hand, Alalakh and Apisals
relations are documented elsewhere in the texts, and salmum is well
attested in the geographically and chronologically contemporaneous texts from Mari.

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203

10: The profession tarm also appears in Wiseman Alalakh 378:7.

The copy of Dietrich and Loretz 2006: 118 conrms the reading
suggested by AHw 1442a, although the lack of mimation is unexpected. The tarm appearing in the Alalakh VII texts should be distinguished from trm, male nursemaid, as the latter profession
is only attested in SB, see CAD T s.v. tarm.
r. 12': Following Dietrich and Loretz 2006: 119. See Zeeb 2001:
433-434 for a discussion of previous literature on this line.
l.s. 1: The end of the line is badly damaged. Dietrich and Loretz
2006: 119 read i-na S DIB.BA, which does not t the context.
l.s. 2: Following the reading of Dietrich and Loretz 2006: 119 with
hesitation. Collation of the line is desirable. While kadrm is attested
in the OB period, it appears in literary contexts and does not seem
appropriate here.
Wiseman Alalakh 374, see Dietrich and Loretz 2006: 120
Obverse
1. 1/2 GN K.BABBAR a-na ti-su-e
2.
<a-na> Lmes uruab-ra-ti-ikki
3. 1 GN a-na as-ta-bi-LUGAL-ra
4.
DUMU i-lu-ra
5. a-na bi-ik-ki-it-ti
6.
UGULA AGA.US
Lower edge
7.

-bi-il

1/2 shekel of silver to Tisue (for) the men of Abratik.

1 shekel to Astabi-sarra, the son of Ilura. He brought (the silver) to Bikkitti, the troop commander.
2: For the emendation, see Wiseman Alalakh 373 r. 5'-6'.
5: Dietrich and Loretz 2006: 120 read p-iq-q-it-ti in place of the
PN. This reading is morphologically and syntactically dicult.
Morphologically, the form would have to be singular, as piqittum is
feminine, but it lacks mimation. Syntactically, the role of UGULA
AGA.US is unclear if it is not in apposition to the preceding word.

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204

Wiseman Alalakh 375, see Dietrich and Loretz 2006: 120

Obverse
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

13 GN K.BABBAR
GR ku-su-e
i-na urutu-ni-ipki
-bi-il
4 GN K.BABBAR

Lower edge
6. GR i-ir-se
7. DUMU wu-ul-lu-ra
Reverse
8. a-na SM GU4
9. sa bi-ir-zi
10. a-na LUGAL GAL
13 shekels of silver via Kusue. He brought (the silver) into?
Tunip.
4 shekels of silver via irse, the son of Wullura for the purchase-price of Birzis ox for the Great King.
3: The expected preposition with wablum is ana, as in Wiseman
Alalakh 374:5-7. For a possible parallel to this line, see the SB
incantation Kchler Beitr. pl. 2:25, cited in CAD A/1 s.v. ablu A
mng. 2a-6', Gula . . . ina bt Asallui ubil elu, Gula . . . took the man
into the temple of Asallui. As the scribe presumably was located
at Alalakh, the use of the preposition in an ablative sense seems
impossible. Note also ina GN . . . alkum in Wiseman Alalakh 377:4.
Wiseman Alalakh 376, see Dietrich and Loretz 2006: 107
Obverse
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

6 GN GR a-bi-a-du lMASKIM
11 1/2 GN a-na GESTIN (text: LUGAL) KAS
i-na uru-ni-kaki uruu-tam-meki
i-nu-ma LUGAL GAL i-lu-
5 GN GR la--la-a-da
a-na l.mesMUALDIMi.a
1 GN GR na-a-mi-dda-gan

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205

8.
a-na lTUR sa tap-se a-na SAL EN / ub-lu
9. 14 GN GR sar-ru-ub-se
10. si-im GU4 a-na at-ta-na-ti ub-lu
Lower edge
11. 5 GN qa-ti LUGAL
12. 2 GN GR am-ma-ak-ku / lNAR
Reverse
13. 3 GN GR lTUR LUGAL
14.
sa AM -se-lu-
15. 1 GN GR lKAS4.E
16. 1 GN GR su-b-a-li
17.
a-na lTUR urunu-ra-an-tiki
18. SU.NIGIN 50 GN 1/2 GN L
19.
ZI.GA
6 shekels via Ab-Addu, the representative.
11 1/2 for wine and beer in Unika and utamme, when the
Great King came up.
5 shekels via Laul-Addu for the cooks.
1 shekel via Nami-Dagan for the servant who brought a tapse
for the lords woman.
14 shekels via Sarrub-se, the purchase-price of an ox which he
brought for the month of Attanatu.
5 shekels at the disposal of the king.
2 shekels via Ammu-akku, the singer.
3 shekels via the kings servant who dedicated a wild bull.
1 shekel via the messenger.
1 shekel via Suba-ali for the servant of Nuranti
Total: 49 1/2 shekels as expenditure.
2: Dietrich and Loretz 2006: 107 read the last two signs as
LUGAL.BI. However, the larger context of such an entry is unclear.
Rp gogr. 12/2 reads LUGAL.KAS. While the logogram
KAS.LUGAL is attested in the level VII texts (Wiseman Alalakh
34:5, 324b:8, 11, 13, and 17), the order of the two signs is never
reversed. The forms of the signs LUGAL and GESTIN are similar, and it seems better simply to emend the text here.

jacob lauinger

206

8: The meaning of tapse is uncertain. The word may designate a

garment, see CAD T s.v. taps. Alternately, it may be connected
to the sijataltapse festival, for which tapse is used as an abbreviation
in the level VII texts, see Zeeb 2001: 285-286. Dietrich and Loretz
2006: 107 read the line dierently: a-na L.DUMU sa GABA
K.BABBAR MUNUS.EN / ub-lu.
Wiseman Alalakh 377, see Dietrich and Loretz 2006: 108
Obverse
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

20 GN GR e-lu-wa lBU[R.GUL]
2 GN GR na-as-we NAGAR
8 GN GR lSUKKAL i-nu-ma
i-na urueb-la i-il-la-ku
23 GN GR -bi
L ia-am-a-ad
10 GN GR l.mesag-ri
5 1/2 GN GR e-el-li

Lower edge
9.

si-im URUDUi.a

Reverse
10. SU.NIGIN 68 1/2 GN
11. ZI.GA
20 shekels via Eluwa, the seal-cutter.
2 shekels via Naswe, the carpenter.
8 shekels via the vizier when he goes into? Ebla.
23 shekels via Ubi, the man of Yamad.
10 shekels via the hired laborers.
5 1/2 shekels via lli, the purchase-price of copper.
Total: 68 1/2 shekels as expenditure.
4: The expected preposition with alkum is ana, cf. Wiseman Alalakh
375:3-4. The use of ina instead of istu and the lack of ventive make
a translation comes from unlikely. This entry provides the only
occurrence of a present-tense verb in the dossier.

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207

6: Zeeb 1998: 834 reads the GN as ia-am-<a>-a-ad. However, this

emendation results in an otherwise-unattested plene spelling of Yamad.
Dossier Two: Texts Recording the Receipt of Silver
The translations of this dossiers texts are claried by the discussion of these texts in the body of the article.
Wiseman Alalakh 381, see Dietrich and Loretz 2005: 281
Obverse
1. 10 GN K.BABBAR ma-i-ir
2. sa ak-da-mu
3. lSU.A
Reverse
4. PA bu-na-a-da
5. lSU.A
10 shekels of silver has been received.
That of (= delivered by?) Akdamu, the sherman.
Payment of Bn-Addu, the sherman.
4: Dietrich and Loretz 2005: 281 read the rst sign of the PN as
mu-.
Wiseman Alalakh 382, see Dietrich and Loretz 2005: 281:
Obverse
1. 10 GN K.BABBAR ma-a-r
2. sa a-ri-im-mu
3. DUMU ka-ba-/-ar-ta
Reverse
4. PA a-as-su
5. DUMU we-ri-it-te
10 shekels of silver which has been received.
That of (= delivered by?) Ari-Ammu, the son of Kabarta.
Payment of assu, the son of Ewri-itte.

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208

Wiseman Alalakh 383, see Dietrich and Loretz 2005: 282

Obverse
1. 4 1/2 GN K.BABBAR ma-a-ru
2. sa e-wi-ri-ha--wa
l
US.BAR
3.
Reverse
4. PA p-en-tam-mu
5. DUMU is-mi-il-a-du
4 1/2 shekels of silver which has been received.
That of (= delivered by?) Ewri-auwa, the weaver.
Payment of Pendi-Ammu, the son of Ismil-Addu.
Wiseman Alalakh 384, see Dietrich and Loretz 2005: 282
Obverse
1. 10 GN K.BABBAR ma-a-ru
2. sa e-li-a-du
3. DUMU p-en-du
Reverse
4. PA e-li-a-du-ma
10 shekels of silver which has been received.
That of (= delivered by?) Eli-Addu, the son of Pendu.
Payment of this same Eli-Addu.
4: The emphatic -ma indicates that this Eli-Addu is the same EliAddu who appears in line 2.
Wiseman Alalakh 385, see Dietrich and Loretz 2005: 282
Obverse
1.
2.
3.
4.

14 GN K.BABBAR ma-a[-ru]
sa a-la-si-ia
DUMU i-ri-ba
PA ku-we-en DUMU am-[x x x]

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209

14 shekels of silver which has been received.

That of (= delivered by?) Alasya, the son of Iriba.
Payment of Kuwen, the son of Am[xxx].
3: Dietrich and Loretz 2005: 282 read the nal sign in the PN as
-ma.
Wiseman Alalakh 386, see Dietrich and Loretz 2005: 283
Obverse
1. 3 GN K.BABBAR
2. la ma-a-r
3. sa ki-il-li-ia
3 shekels of silver which has not been received.
That of Killiya.
Wiseman Alalakh 387, see Dietrich and Loretz 2005: 283
Obverse
1. 10 GN K.BABBAR ma-a-r
2. [PA a]m-ma-ad-da-nu
3. [DUMU? x x]-nu
Reverse
4. a-na sar-ru-wa
5. lZAG.A
6. na-di-in
10 shekels of silver which has been received.
[Payment of A]mmaddanu, the [son of x x]-nu.
(The silver) was given to Sarruwa, the tax collector.
2-3: Dietrich and Loretz 2005: 283 restore these lines as [sa L].Maad-da-nu [id-d]i-nu.
5: CAD M/1 s.v. mkisu mng. 2a references this text as Wiseman
Alalakh 381 because of a mislabeling of the texts copy in Wiseman
Alalakh.
Wiseman Alalakh 388, see Dietrich and Loretz 2005: 283

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jacob lauinger

Obverse
1. 10 GN K.BABBAR
2. ma-a-r
3. KI a-li-ia
10 shekels of silver which has been received.
From aliya.
3: KI = itti. For a syllabic spelling of itti with the meaning from,
see Wiseman Alalakh 64:5.
Wiseman Alalakh 389, see Dietrich and Loretz 2005: 283
Obverse
1. 10 GN K.BABBAR ma-a-ru
2. sa a-si-ib-ta
3. PA su-mu-a-la-ab .SUR
10 shekels of silver which has been received.
That of (= delivered by?) asib-ta.
Payment of Sumu-alab, the oil-presser.
3: Dietrich and Loretz 2005: 283 read .SUR as BUR and understand
the sign to be part of the PN, Su-mu-a-la-ab-bur. alab also appears as
an element in personal names in Wiseman Alalakh 98f:9 and Dietrich
and Loretz 2004: 130:8', see Zeeb 1998: 834 (citing Wiseman Alalakh
98f as only 22.14 = AM xxxx, but see Dietrich and Loretz 2005:
311 where AM ohne Nr. = AlT 98f = 22.28[sic!]). Unfortunately,
both names are damaged. Wiseman Alalakh 98f:9 reads a-na a-laab-i(-)bi [x x x] (the text is unpublished but has been collated).
Dietrich and Loretz 2004: 130:8' reads a/a-la-ab-i-im DUMU
[PN]. In both names, Zeeb 1998: 834 interprets -i as a gentilic.
Other texts from the temple
Wiseman Alalakh 176, see Dietrich and Loretz 2006: 91
Obverse
(beginning of obverse destroyed)
1'. [x x w-a]n-di-dis-a-r[a]
2'. (erasure)

the temple of iStar at old babylonian alalakh

3'.
4'.
5'.
6'.
7'.
8'.

[x
[x
[x
[x
[x
[x

211

x]x ni-mi-na-a-du
x]x ni-ma-a-du
x]x e-li-a-du
x] e-lu-ub-LUGAL-ri
x] fdi-na-a-du
x x x x]x-za

Reverse
1. [x x x x x]-pa
2. [x x x x x]-a-du
3. [x x x x x x]x
4. x x x x x]x dISTAR
(remainder of reverse destroyed)
[x] (to) Wandi-Isara.
(erasure)
[x] (to) Nimin-Addu.
[x] (to) Nim-Addu.
[x] (to) Eli-Addu.
[x] (to) Elub-sarri.
[x] (to) fDn-Addu.
[x] (to) [x x x]-za
[x] (to) [x x x]-pa
[x] (to) [x x x]-Addu
(lines r. 3-4 not translated)
3'-5': The left side of the tablet is missing. These three lines have
single vertical wedges as the rst preserved signs after the damage.
Dietrich and Loretz 2006: 91 interpret these wedges as three instances
of the Personenkeil. Accordingly, they transliterate the lines as undamaged, consisting of the Personenkeil followed by a personal name.
These lines seem to provide the basis for their restoration of the
text as a whole, which they see as a list of 12 personal names with
the last two names separated from the ten names that come before
by a horizontal stroke. There are two problems with this restoration. First, lines 3'-5' are not completely preserved. Dietrich and
Loretzs copy shows space for at least two signs at the beginning
of each line (conrmed by collation). The single vertical wedge that
Dietrich and Loretz take as the Personenkeil is actually the end of a

jacob lauinger

212

more complex sign (perhaps GN?). Each line of the text probably consisted of three elements: a number (entirely lost); a commodity ( partially preserved in lines 3'-5'); and the name of the
person to whom the commodity was disbursed (preserved throughout). This observation points to the second problem, Dietrich and
Loretzs restoration of lines r. 3-4. The horizontal stroke that separates these lines from the rest of the text implies that the lines
are not simply a continuation of the entries that came before but
are substantively dierent in content. Most likely in this section,
the scribe summarized the text, noting the total amount of commodities recorded in the text and the occasion of their disbursement. Therefore, the format of Wiseman Alalakh 176 parallels that
of Wiseman Alalakh 378 (see below). The two texts may have been
composed in connection to the same occasion. Some of the same
personal names appear in both texts (see the note to Wiseman
Alalakh 378 r. 2'), and the mention of Istar in the summary section of Wiseman Alalakh 176 recalls the appearance of the priest
of Istar in the summary section of Wiseman Alalakh 378.
Wiseman Alalakh 378, see Dietrich and Loretz 2006: 129-130
Obverse
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.

1/3 GN K.BABBAR SAL.DAM.A.NI -pu-li

11 SE ia-ri-im-li-im DUMU LUGAL
1/2 GN sa-am-si-dIM DUMU kur-ri-ia-an-ni
1/2 GN e-ar-ma-lik
IGI-6-GL SE su-mi-lam-mu lMUHALDIM
2 GN SAL.DAM.A.NI a-ri-ib-sa-us-ka
IGI-6-GL SE a-ia-DINGIR lta-ru-
1 GN x x as-ta-ab-ba-am-mu
1/2 GN dISTAR-te-er-ra DUMU ta-gi-a-d[u]
IGI-4-GL SE i-lu-ra-an
13 SE wa-an-di-ia lx x x

(remainder of obverse missing)

Reverse
(beginning of reverse destroyed)
1'. 1 GN tub-bi-[x x x]
2'. 1 GN ni-i[m x x x]
3'. 1 GN e-lu-u[b-LUGAL-ri]

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213

4'. 1 GN sa-am-si-[x x]
5'. 1 GN fdi-in-a-[du] DUMU.SAL na-x[x x x]
6'. 1/3 GN sa-am-si-dI[M DU]MU SANGA
7'. SU.NIGIN 23 1/3 GN K.BABBAR
8'. sa a-na DUG.GALi.a-tim is-ku-nu
9'. i-nu-ma DUMU.SAL lSANGA dISTAR
Top edge
10'. mku-uz-zi lUZ
11'. i-i-ru
1/3 of a shekel of silver, the wife of Upuli.
11 grains, Yarim-Lim, the kings son.
1/2 of a shekel, Sams-Addu, the son of Kurriyanni.
1/2 of a shekel, Ear-malik.
1/6 (of a shekel) in barleycorns, Summilla-Ammu, the cook.
2 shekels, the wife of Arib-Sauska
1/6 (of a shekel) in barleycorns, Aya-il, the tarm.
1 shekel x x, Astabi-Ammu.
1/2 of a shekel, Istar-terra, the son of Tagi-Addu.
1/4 (of a shekel) in barleycorns, Iluran.
13 barleycorns, Wandiya, the [x x x].
(break of uncertain length)
1 shekel,
1 shekel,
1 shekel,
1 shekel,
1 shekel,
1/3 of a

Tubbi[x x x]
Nim-[x x x x]
Elu[b-sarri]
Sams-[DN]
f
Dn-A[ddu], the daughter of Na[x x x]
shekel, Sams-Ad[du], the son of the priest.

Total: 23 1/3 shekels of silver which was set aside for vessels,
when the daughter of the priest of Istar married Kuzzi, the diviner.
2: Zaccagnini 1979: 474 emends SE to GN. Because the text is
damaged and a number of entries are missing, the sum of the
entries cannot be added and compared to the total given in r. 7'.
However, as discussed in the comment to line 5, the writing 11
SE seems to be in keeping with the accounting practices displayed
in this text.

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jacob lauinger

5: Zeeb 2001: 59-60 uses this entry and the entries in lines 7 and
10 to argue that the barleycorn was the equivalent of 1/60 of a
shekel at Old Babylonian Alalakh, as opposed to 1/180 of a shekel
as in the contemporaneous Mesopotamian weight system. In his
opinion, der sechste Teil eines 1/180 Seqels Silber kaum noch
wahrnehmber ist, and so Zeeb proposes a dierent measurement
in keeping with a sexagesimal counting system (though note the
convincing argument of Zaccagnini 1979 that the mina at Old
Babylonian Alalakh was the equivalent of fty, not sixty, shekels).
A simpler explanation is to view SE as an adverbial accusative and
not a genitive, so that, in line 5, the entry records 1/6 of shekel
of silver in barleycorns. This interpretation accords well with the
other measurements of weight listed in Wiseman Alalakh 378, where
we get amounts of silver less than a shekel recorded as:

1/2 GN (lines 3, 4, and 9)

1/3 GN (lines 1 and r. 6' )
IGI-4-GL SE (line 10)
IGI-6-GL SE (lines 5 and 7)
11 SE (line 2)
13 SE (line 11)

The scribe seems to be following the principle that amounts of silver weighing 1/3 of a shekel or more are recorded as fractions of
shekels; amounts weighing 1/4 to 1/6 of a shekel are recorded as
fractions (of shekels) in barleycorns; and amounts less than 1/6 of
a shekel are recorded as barleycorns.
7: See the note to Wiseman Alalakh 373:10.
8: The two signs following GN overlap and cannot be distinguished, cf. Zaccagnini 1979: 494. Dietrich and Loretz 2006: 130
read the signs in question as 21 1/3 SE. This reading cannot be
correct because it interprets the single vertical wedge that follows
the proposed SE as the Personenkeil. Not only is the Personenkeil unexpected before a name appearing in the middle of a line, but it is
not used before any other name in the text.
11: Dietrich and Loretz 2006: 130 read the profession as zu-ari. The lack of mimation would be unexpected.

the temple of iStar at old babylonian alalakh

215

r. 2': Zaccagnini 1979: 474 reads the last damaged sign as -i[n?].
Zeeb 2001: 462 reads it as -i. But cf. the names Nimina-Addu
and Nim-Addu in Wiseman Alalakh 176 4'-5'. Two other names
appearing in Wiseman Alalakh 176 (Elup-sarri and fDn-Addu)
appear in Wiseman Alalakh 378.
r. 8': Following Dietrich and Loretz 2006: 130, although it is dicult
to nd a parallel for this meaning of saknum (interpreted here as
an impersonal use of the 3rd p. pl.). Zaccagnini 1979: 474 reads
sa a+na DUGGALI.A ti! (TIM)-is-nu, understanding the silver to be
used to manufacture one cup (in spite of the plural determinative
I.A).

Figure 1. Architectural Layout of Level VII, reproduced from Yener 2005:

gure 4.27

216

jacob lauinger
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