This archive, consisting of a hundred and fifty letters and fifty economic texts, belonged to a princess, Iltani, Samû-Addu’s daughter and sister of Asqur-Addu, king of Karanā. She married Haqba-Hammû, a diviner, and lived in the former palace of Ḫadnurābi, king of Qaṭṭarā. Iltani’s archive, dated to some years after the destruction of the Mari palace, is the primary epigraphic source for the period and the region.
1. An Archive Found in an Old Babylonian Palace
About 200 of the tablets uncovered at Tell al-Rimah, ancient Qaṭṭarā[geogr=Qaṭṭarā], in the palace of King Ḫadnurābi, among several lots of tablets belonging to older or contemporary archives, were identified as part of Iltani’s archive (see Langlois 2017: 31-36 for a summary of archival lots from the Old Babylonian period). Unlike some batches of tablets, scattered in several museums, the tablets from Tell al-Rimah have an archaeological context rich in information (for details of the findings, see Langlois 2017: 15-29).
The earliest date on the administrative texts in Iltani’s archive is that of the eponym Attaya, which corresponds to the years 34/35 of Ḫammurāpi’s reign (1759-1758); it thus appears that the texts belonging to Iltani’s archive dated to the second half of the 18th century BCE. Iltani was of royal lineage; her archive shows well the managerial activities of a woman in the Old Babylonian period and provides evidence of many aspects of the daily life of the elite in Northern Mesopotamia at that time.
2. History of Research on Iltani’s Archive
Iltani’s archive, uncovered by an English archaeological mission between 1964 and 1971, was published in its entirety — copy, transcription, English translation, and commentary — by S. Dalley, in 1976, in the collective book The Old Babylonian Tablets from Tell al Rimah, S. Dalley, C. B. F. Walker and J. D. Hawkins (Dalley/Hawkins/Walker 1976 abbreviated as OBTR). In 2017, Langlois edited the texts afresh with an extensive historical commentary and a particular focus on the history of gender and how the micro-historical approach permitted by Iltani’s archive allows to assess the personality of an 18th century BCE princess (Langlois 2017). This study gives us a better knowledge of Iltani and her entourage. It clarifies some aspects of their life and the history of the kingdom. It also describes the daily life of a high-rank woman from Upper Mesopotamia during the Old Babylonian period, which helps to improve our understanding of the place of women in that society.
3. A Royal Lineage Woman in the Old Babylonian Period
Iltani was of royal lineage: she was the daughter of Samû-Addu (king of Karanā?) and the sister of Asqur-Addu, the last known king of Karanā (Langlois 2017: 46). She married the diviner Ḫaqba-ḫammû, who had an essential role in the kingdom. This wedding testifies to her high status in Mesopotamian society at the time. Iltani’s cylinder seal also indicates her role in the management and administration of the domain; all the princesses of this period did not have a cylinder seal if we consider the complaints of the princesses of Mari about this. Iltani’s archive includes 150 letters and 50 administrative texts; according to Langlois, her high social status is probably the reason why we found so many documents concerning her. Actually, the Mesopotamian elite of the time had recourse to writing to manage their domains, and archaeological excavations have often focused on palatial complexes.
Iltani lived in the former palace of Ḫadnurābi, king of Qaṭṭarā, while her husband mainly stayed in Karanā. According to Langlois, the couple may have given birth to at least four children. Among the senders of the letters to Iltani, it seems that four individuals may have belonged to her siblings, thus testifying to the fact that King(?) Samû-Addu of Karanā would have had at least six children: Asqur-Addu, king of Karanā, Napsuna-Addu, probably governor of Ṣarbat, Amāt-Šamaš nadītum-priestess at Sippar and Lammassani potentially priestess at Aššur (Langlois 2017: 47-48).
4. Iltani’s Role as a Manager
Iltani’s archive bears witness to her management of the Qaṭṭarā’s estate. She administered the staff of her household, organised the means of transport, and held trade caravans‘, merchants‘, and soldiers‘ mobility. In addition to overseeing a textile workshop and other craftsmanship productions such as metal- and goldworking, woodcraft, masonry, ceramics, and basketry, she managed various agricultural activities, such as farming, fishing, and animal husbandry.
In the framework of the i3.MesopOil project, several letters are of interest, testifying to the production of sesame oil and the transport of sesame seeds by donkeys (OBTR 022, OBTR 023, OBTR 114, OBTR 120, OBTR 153). From two letters (OBTR 022, OBTR 023), the oil production workshop may have been at Napsuna-Addu’s, who was Iltani’s brother. An administrative document mentions juniper oil (supālum; OBTR 204), showing the presence of aromatized oil in Qaṭṭarā.