Sesame seeds and sesame oil are first attested in Mesopotamia in texts from Adab written in the so-called „Middle Sargonic“ style. They date to the time of the provincial governors Šarru-ālī and Lugal-ayaĝu who served at Adab after the revolt against king Rimuš. Their rule covers the latter part of the reign of Rimuš (2284-70?) and of Manistusu (2269?-62) as well as the early part of Narām-Suen’s long reign (2261-2206 BCE), before the Great Revolt took place, thus around 2280-2240 BCE (+/- 10 years; see description of Archive). With the texts from Adab, which date to the time of Sargon’s sons and the early years of Naram-Suen, ,a case study in the introduction of sesame into Mesopotamia can be undertaken.
1. Mesopotamian Contacts with the Indus Valley 2300-2200 BCE and the Introduction of Sesame Cultivation
Sesame (sesamum indicum) was domesticated on the Indian subcontinent from its progenitor Sesamum orientale var. malabricum (Bedigian 2010: 2) and is attested in the Indus valley in sites of the Harappan period (2600/2500 to 2000 BCE; Bedigian 2010: 3-4).
However, the time and route of the introduction of sesame into Mesopotamia had remained unclear so far, even though reference has always been made to the intensive trade relations between Mesopotamia and the Indus civilisation in the extant literature (e.g. Bedigian 2010: 4). Previous research on the subject only had access to the archives from the „Classic Sargonic“ period, i.e. the later years of Narām-Suen and his successor Šarkališarri (ca. 2230-2180 BCE). Waetzoldt 1985: 80 summarises this as follows: „Die frühesten Belege für die Bezeichnungen giš-ì [„sesame“, W.S.], še-giš-ì [„sesame seeds“, W.S.] und ì-giš [„sesame oil“, W.S.] in Mesopotamien stammen aber erst aus der Akkad-Zeit. Besonders etwa seit der Zeit Naramsîns [2261-2206 BCE, W.S.] gibt es relativ viele Erwähnungen.“ He continues: „Wo und auf welche Weise die Mesopotamier diese neue Pflanze kennenlernten, muss derzeit offen bleiben. Möglich wäre, dass man sie während der Kriegs- und Beutezüge Sargons und seiner Nachfolger irgendwo im syrisch-assyrischen Raum oder in Elam vorfand. Doch könnte sie, bzw. ihre Samen auch aus einem anderen Gebiet zusammen mit anderen Dingen importiert worden sein“ (Waetzoldt 1985: 80). He further refers to „imports“ of sesame from Khuzestan (Susa; but see here Dossier A.1.1.06) and the Diyala area (Karaḫar, see here Dossier A.1.1.01) in the Ur III period (c. 2070-2040 BCE), but completely overestimates their importance, as shown by the sesame production in a province like Girsu (Dossier A.1.1.03) or Umma (Dossier A.1.1.05). The introduction of sesame as an oil plant into Mesopotamia must therefore not have taken place in small steps overland; rather, sesame was already domestic and widespread in the south in the Ur III period.
Mesopotamia maintained connections with the land of Meluḫḫa (the Indus Valley and Gujarat) at the time of the Harappan civilisation. Direct contacts are attested for the Sargonic period, that is, the time of the rulers of Akkade (Heimpel 1997: 53); previous and later contacts, however, went through Dilmun (Bahrain) and Magan (Oman peninsula and the region around the Strait of Hormuz; Laursen/Steinkeller 2017: 33-34). Of all the testimonies from inscriptions, the encounters of the first two rulers of Akkade stand out. Sargon of Akkade recorded after the triumph against Lugalzagesi (after 2300 BCE):
‚He moored ships from Meluḫḫa, ships from Magan, ships from Dilmun at the quay of Akkade‘ (FAOS 7, 164 Sargon C 2:11-16; RIME 2.01.01.11: Sum. 9-13 = Akk. 11-16).
Sargon’s son and successor Rīmuš (2284-70? BCE) defeated in battle a coalition of Baraḫšum (identified with Jiroft), Elam, Gupin (unidentified), and with Meluḫḫa, in Baraḫšum (FAOS 7, 206 f. Rīmuš C 6; RIME 2.01.02.06); he thus secured Elam (roughly the region of Fars). The high number of more than 30,000 men killed and captured indicates at least that Rīmuš went there with a considerable army. His campaign in south-eastern Iran is evidenced by the written references to his victory over Elam and Baraḫšum and its booty in over 100 dedicatory inscriptions by Rīmuš found in the sanctuaries of his empire from Sumer to Upper Mesopotamia (see Sommerfeld 2008: 372-75). His brother Manistusu (2269?-62 BCE) also led a campaign into the Persian Gulf against 32 cities of Magan (Steinkeller 1990: 334; on the sources see also Michalowski 2020: 714-723; Laursen/Steinkeller 2017: 24–39).
In Mesopotamia, precious stones, primarily carnelian, precious woods and gold were imported from Meluḫḫa (Heimpel 1997: 54-55; Laursen/Steinkeller 2017: 82–88). According to written sources, goods tradeed with Magan, i.e. the Oman peninsula and the region around the Strait of Hormuz, included stone, especially gabbro and diorite, and copper as well as bamboo and various woods, onions and dates (Heimpel 1997: 198-99 with literature). More specifically, the imports from Meluḫḫa are carnelian, mangrove wood and other woods, bamboo ((Laursen/Steinkeller 2017)). Sesame does not appear in these lists. The traders who brought carnelian or metals to Sumer even before Sargon may indeed have paid attention only to the precious materials that yielded the greatest profit. But with the army from Akkade’s intensive encounter with the area of Jiroft, a region known as „Little India“ in later times, and with the trade in the Gulf region intensified by Sargon, the scope of interest may have widened, so that even sesame, which at first glance was unimpressive, might have become interesting. (Boehmer 1974) showed that, in addition to metals and stones, other items also reached Mesopotamia from India in the early Akkadian period: the water buffalo (the domesticated Arni buffalo) appears in figurative representations in glyptics towards the end of the reign of Sargon (Boehmer 1974: 4); with regard to the Sargonic period, the water buffalo is mentioned only in literature, and significantly in connection with Marḫaši/Baraḫšum, the region of Jiroft (Boehmer 1974: 10, Curse of Akkade lines 20-21; on the water buffalo also Laursen/Steinkeller 2017: 88). Further probable imports from the Indus Region, but attested only for the post-Sargonic period, are the elephant and the chicken (darmušen) (Laursen/Steinkeller 2017: 87-88).
Trade with the Gulf was not confined to precious goods, but included plants and types of wood as well. Laursen/Steinkeller 2017: 92-99 and (Dornauer 2018: 82-83) point to large shipments of barley including „seeds“ from Babylonia to Magan, the Oman peninsula, in the Ur III period (21st century BCE). Dornauer 2018: 83-84 already listed the introduction of sesame from the Indus Region and Gujarat as another example of agricultural imports, and he argued that „East Asian proso millets migrated in the mid-third Millennium BC from China to India and from Meluḫḫa, „Gujarat“ to Magan „Oman“, either via sea trade between Magan and Meluhha or via overland trade to southern Iran and then across the Gulf to Oman… … quickly after their migration to Oman, proso varieties … had reached Babylonia via Gulf trade about 2,400 BC.“ (Dornauer 2018: 85). The textual attestation and most plausible identification of East Asian proso millets in the late Presargonic period (ca. 2320-2300 BCE), represents a most relevant datum to better understand the successful import of sesame. Proso millet, as sesame, is heat-tolerant; it is a summer fruit, and harvesting presents the same difficulties, since „grains of proso millet do not mature simultaneously in the panicles, and there is high risk of losing grain kernels when reaching full maturity“ (Dornauer 2018: 20). Millets are cultivated in arid regions as well, and therefore, its dissemination may well have happened step by step along the Gulf trade routes already in the Presargonic period, when trade was dominated by Dilmun (Baḥrain; Laursen/Steinkeller 2017). Sesame, however, arrived slightly later, and it must have been introduced more or less directly, to find suitable conditions for cultivation.
Trade with Meluḫḫa, the Indus Valley region, was not confined to the capital Akkade, as indicated most prominently by the find of six Indus-type seals in Babylonian cities from Ur in the south to Kiš in the North (Laursen/Steinkeller 2017: 26; 83). Indeed, the same archive that offers the first Mesopotamian evidence for sesame, the Middle Sargonic texts from Adab, also contains references to direct trade contacts with Meluḫḫa. Thus the „captain of the Meluḫḫan boats“ received „a sheep“ as a gift (1 udu nu-banda3 ma2 me-luḫ-ḫa, CUSAS 20 153 o.3; cited also by Laursen/Steinkeller 2017: 83 (4)). Of particular importance is a record stating that aromatized lard was given to Muni from the Storehouse „for the expedition of the Meluḫḫa boats“ (TCBI 1 102). The Storehouse (e2-niĝ2-gur11) is the central storage building that can be assigned to the palace of the governor of Adab, in which Muni had a leading administrative function (Molina 2014: 34). People from Meluḫḫa are also still encountered in the somewhat later, „Classic Sargonic“ documents from Adab (c. 2230-2180 BCE) (CUSAS 19 077 o. 5 1 sheep for a man from Meluḫḫa; Adab 712 o.10 barley for 4 men from Meluḫḫa; the latter cited Laursen/Steinkeller 2017: 82 (2)).
2. Sesame Seeds in the Storehouse of the Governor’s Palace in Adab
Here, in the Storehouse of the governor’s palace in Adab, we can thus trace concrete evidence of exchange with Meluḫḫa (the Indus valley region); and likewise we see the first evidence of sesame and sesame oil (see below): the same Muni, steward at the Storehouse, who cared for the Meluḫḫan ships (TCBI 1 102), received large quantities of sesame seeds (še ĝeš-i3), totalling 11.2.0 gur (= 2760 sila/litres; CUSAS 20 115; on the capacity measures Molina 2014: 39).
Other texts from the same archive also mention larger quantities of sesame seeds (še-ĝeš-i3), listed in descending order:
- 11.2.0 gur (= 2760 sila/litres) for Muni, an important administrator in the Storehouse (CUSAS 20 115), mentioned above
- 9.2.0 gur (= 2280 sila/litres) and 2.3.5 gur (710 = sila/litres), respectively as delivery for emmer groats (mun-du) (CUSAS 23 132 and TCBI 1 164, both deliveries to the same individual called Eane)
- 6.2.2 gur (= 1580 sila/litres) in a transfer (CUSAS 20 116; here the form ĝeš-i3 is used for „sesame seeds“ instead of the usual še-ĝeš-i3)
- a delivery by an individual in three instalments (of 5.0.4 + 1.2.0 + 0.2.1 5 gur) adding up to 1735 sila/litres (SCTRAH 318); the verbal form with the ventive (mu-[de6], „he brought“) indicates that the sesame seeds were delivered „hither“, to the governor’s palace
- 4.2.0 gur (= 1080 sila/litres) as part of a compensatory payment next to wool (CUSAS 20 286)
Around the governor’s palace in Adab in the empire of Akkade, sesame was thus available in large quantities in the time after the revolt against Rīmuš. That the sesame had been imported from India in such quantities is not only not attested and not very likely, but on the contrary, in this archive sesame is specifically associated with a field name, and therefore originated from local cultivation (CUSAS 20 116).
3. Sesame Oil in the Storehouse of Adab Palace
As with many other commodities, the written records of the period do not document the milling process. Whether the bulla CUSAS 11 316 belongs to this archive must remain somewhat uncertain; it states in general terms that oil was to be reimbursed to the extent of the supply of sesame seeds (verb šu gi4). Moreover, when sesame oil (i3-ĝeš) appears in the same archive in the same context among the goods distributed as gifts, it can be concluded that the oil mill was working on behalf of the palace of Adab, probably also in the palace area – just as 250 years later an oil mill worked in the governor’s palace of Irisaĝrig (see Dossier A.1.1.12). The attested amounts of sesame seeds delivered to the Storehouse range between 1735 and 2760 sila/litres (see the list above). Assuming the low 20 %vol yield of oil as known from Ur III Girsu (Dossier A.1.1.08), between 347 and 552 sila/litres of sesame oil could have been produced from these deliveries.
The „scribe“ (d[ub-sar]) Muni was involved in the sale of sesame oil (SCTRAH 096). The text phrases it very succinctly, but it seems that Muni acted as scribe for the palace, while both the oil and a garment were sold and went to a person named Lugalitida. This is a significant clue to a possible way in which sesame oil, a commodity possibly produced only in the palace, reached wealthy external people and thus the use of the newly discovered oil could spread rapidly in society. The price, incidentally, is not particularly high: 1 jar (= 30 sila/litres) of sesame oil cost 2 giĝ/shekels (= 16.8 g) of silver, so one could buy 15 litres for 1 giĝ/shekel; this corresponds to the cheapest price for sesame oil in the Ur III period, when sesame oil had become much more widespread (Dossier A.1.1.09). The reverse case, that sesame oil was used as a means of payment by external parties, could possibly be present in TCBI 1 165: a Diĝirsipa repaid his barley obligation by supplying sesame oil; but the persons involved cannot be identified prosopographically, so that the relationship to the palace must remain open.
The precious product sesame oil was distributed like butter or lard from the Storehouse to people who came to the palace as guests (Molina 2014: 68-82, group 2.1.1.1. „Gifts“). Thus, a representative of the royal administrator (šabra e2) received 10 mana (= 5 kg) of wool, 1 sila/litre of sesame oil (i3-ĝeš), 1 sila/litre of lard (i3-šaḫa2), and a pair of sandals; a commissioner of barley (maškim še) only 1 sila/litre of sesame oil (SCTRAH 026; here also SCTRAH 040).
The sesame oil could be aromatised with wood, and this is what a gardener received along with wool and sandals (SCTRAH 027). The relevant text is remarkable because the governor of Adab, Lugalayaĝu, who ruled under Narām-Suen, is named in the subscript (on him (Molina 2014: 30)). Finally, CUSAS 35 318 is cited with the following gifts: 1 sila/litre of „sesame oil, aromatized with wood“ (i3-ĝeš ĝeš šum2-ma) together with 1 garment, a pair of shoes, and a palm frond.
In addition to sesame oil, other fats were likewise distributed as gifts to guests. Recorded here is „lard“ (i3-šaḫa2; e.g. SCTRAH 029 o. 2: 2 sila/litres; SCTRAH 034 o.1 : 5, one sila/litre each), while other documents simply write i3 „oil, fat“ (e. g. SCTRAH 028; SCTRAH 031) or i3 du10-ga „aromatized oil/fat“ (e.g. SCTRAH 032). The abbreviated form i3 „oil, fat“ may include sesame oil, for the gift of 1 sila/litre each of „sesame oil“ (i3-ĝeš) to two honoured guests is referred to in the subscript as „oil/fat that was expended“ (i3 zi-g[a-a]) (SCTRAH 040 r.6). i3-nun „butter“ can also be abbreviated to i3 „oil, fat“ (e. g. CUSAS 26 104).
Sesame oil, 1 sila/litre per person, is furthermore given to four men who punted boats loaded with barley (CUSAS 35 313). The two modest transfers of sesame oil to the barber Lugal-Sude probably belong to this archive as well (CUSAS 23 133: 3 sila/litres sesame oil as requested; month I/April; CUSAS 20 117: 1/2 or 10 sila/litres as expenditure; month XII/March).
4. In Conclusion
The archive from the governor’s palace in Adab, dating to the decades after the revolt against Sargon’s son Rīmuš and before the Great Revolt against Narām-Suen, ca. 2280-2240 BCE, thus illustrates well how sesame was introduced in southern Mesopotamia. The intensive exchange with seafaring merchants from the Indus valley region did not stop at the royal harbours; the courts of the provincial governors were also eventually included in this large trade network. The imports from India included not only stones and metals, but animals like the water buffalo (see above), and – as we see here – the introduction of sesame, the most precious oil plant, and its cultivation.
A governor’s palace was the second place, after the royal palace in Akkade, where an agricultural innovation could have taken place. Apparently only a generation after Sargon had claimed to have moored the ships from India (Meluḫḫa) and the Gulf (Magan, Dilmun) at the quay of Akkade, an event which must date to the years 2300-2285 BCE, sesame seeds were harvested and milled into sesame oil in the governor’s palace at Adab during the early years of Narām-Suen (2261 until ca. 2240 BCE). The governor’s palace was not only a place for agricultural experiments, but oil and fat were also needed there as part of the standard welcome gifts to honoured guests besides wool or textiles and sandals. In Adab, sesame oil was used side by side with lard in gift-giving, and both were aromatized with wood, a technique known for a long time in Mesopotamia and previously applied mainly to butter fat.
The social context of a governor’s palace is decisive in appreciating the introduction of the oil-plant sesame from India to Mesopotamia and its rapid spread there. Each province of the empire of Akkade, that is, every centre of a former city-state, possessed such a palace, and there were probably around 30 provinces (Sallaberger 2008a: 36-37). In each province the cultivation of sesame spread, and shortly thereafter, in the Classic Sargonic period (2230-2180), sesame is attested in various cities and in both governor’s and agricultural archives (see Dossier A.1.1.23). Apparently, the political unity of Mesopotamia under Akkade contributed substantially to the rapid dissemination of the new crop.
The first appearance of sesame cultivation at Adab during the early years of Narām-Suen (ca. 2280-40 BCE) demands a closer look at the immediately preceding periods. Although animal fats and especially butter fat are well attested in earlier archives, sesame seeds and sesame oil do not appear in the large archives of the Presargonic period (24th century BCE): the Emunus at Girsu, the organization of the Lady of Girsu with many references to fats (dated 2333-2315 BCE), Presargonic Adab (2440-2320), Umma (2450-2317), Zabalam (2333-2315), and Presargonic/Early Sargonic Nippur (2340-2280?) and Ur (2340-2280?). Furthermore, sesame seeds and sesame oil do not appear in archives of the Early Sargonic period, especially the archive „Umma A“ 2300-2280 (Foster 1982: 8-51) and the so-called „Meskigala texts“ from Adab 2320-2280 (for the mentioned archives see the post „Chronology from Fara to Ur III„).
It must be underlined, however, that the attribution of tablets to this archive of the governor’s palace of Adab is certain only for cases where either the governor Lugalayaĝu (SCTRAH 027) or the Storehouse’s administrator Muni (CUSAS 20 115; TCBI 1 102; SCTRAH 096) are named explicitly. Prosopography is much more difficult in these texts; Ur-Inana and Melim (CUSAS 20 116) are both frequent names in this archive but hardly appear at all in the later Classic Sargonic texts. Furthermore, the typical expenditures to guests described above (following Molina 2014) also seem characteristic of this archive. However, a very important indicator to attribute tablets to this archive is a style defined by tablet format, layout and palaeography and labelled Middle Sargonic. Some texts labelled „Early Sargonic“ by the respective editors would thus slightly predate the archive discussed here. Although a scattered reference to sesame here and there from the time of Sargon and early Rīmuš (c. 2300-2280 in Adab) would not destroy our reconstruction, it is more prudent to treat these documents separately. In not one case, however, additional arguments would support an attribution to the Early Sargonic group and exclude it from the Middle Sargonic group.
5. Early Sargonic Adab Texts Concerning Sesame?
The following three Adab texts were published as „Early Sargonic“ texts, but a Middle Sargonic date seems more likely for the first two, whereas the third one looks earlier, but it cannot be attributed to an earlier text group.
- CUSAS 11 316, noting that sesame oil has to be returned for the sesame seeds that were spent (see above), is a spindle-shaped bulla, attributed to the „Early Sargonic“ group by Visicato/Westenholz 2010; the long lines and the sign forms, however, speak for a Middle Sargonic or Classic Sargonic classification
- TCBI 1 165, edited both as a „Middle Sargonic“ and „Early Sargonic“ text, refers to the replacement of barley by sesame oil (see above); a Middle Sargonic dating is not excluded;
- CUSAS 11 326, likewise included in the „Early Sargonic“ texts by Visicato/Westenholz 2010, lists both butter made from cow milk and sesame oil. The tablet format favours an Early Sargonic date, and if one trusts this criteria this Adab tablet would constitute the oldest reference to sesame oil in Mesopotamia; nobody, however, would build his arguments concerning the introduction of sesame on one single tablet with a dating based on tablet format only.
None of these three tablets, however, is listed as belonging to the earlier Meskigala group from Adab by Molina 2019: 153 n.9.