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Saggarâtum (sa-ga-ra-tumki) was a city in the ancient Near East which is still unlocated though it is known to have been on the Habur River, a tributary of the Euphrates. In texts from Ebla it is called "Sag-garki". One proposal is that other readings of the name were "Sapiratum" or "Sapirete" though this is generally thought to be a different cities.[1] Another suggestion is that by the 1st millennium BC it had become "Sangarite".[2]

Saggarâtum was a river port and known to have been the location of one of the kingdoms icehouses and a source of truffles. In a text from Yaqqim-Addu I, governor of Saggarâtum, to his king Zimri-Lim he wrote:

"Ever since I reached Saggaratum five days ago, I have continuously dispatched truffles to my lord. But my lord wrote me: 'You have sent me bad truffles!' But my lord ought not to condemn(?) with regards to the truffles. I have sent my lord what they have picked for me..."[3]

The religion of Saggarâtum is unclear. A deity "Aštabi-Il" was mentioned in documents found at Mari. A deity, Aštabi, was known to have been worshiped at nearby Ebla in the 3rd millennium BC.[4] It is known the cult statutes were held in Saggarâtum.[3] It has been proposed that the Hurrian deities Teshub and Ḫepat were worshiped there though most of the personal names at Saggarâtum were Semitic.[5]

History

[edit]

Initially, the area of Mari, including Saggarâtum, came under the control of the Kingdom of Upper Mesopotamia ruled by Shamshi-Adad I of Ekallatum. Shamshi-Adad I assigned control of Mari to his second son Yasmah-Adad. In one text Isme-Dagan I, first son of Shamshi-Adad I, writes to Yasmah-Adad, governor of Saggarâtum: "In truth, because of the emigrees in Saggarâtum, there was rebellious activity, so that the king ordered executions there"[6]

After the collapse of the Kingdom of Upper Mesopotamia Mari, including Saggarâtum, came under the control of the Lim dynasty of Suprum beginning with Yaggid-Lim. The 2nd ruler, Sumu-Yamam, is known from two year names one being "Year in which Sumu-Yamam built the city wall of Saggaratum".[7] The Old Babylonian period kingdom of Mari was made up of several parts, the central districts of Mari, Terqa and Saggarâtum, Qaṭṭunān (a short distance upstream on the Habur from Saggarâtum), and Tuttul. Little is known of Qattunan (a location of Tell Fagdami has been suggested) though some of its governors were Akšak-magir, Ilušu-naṣir, Zakira-ḫammu, and Zimri-Addu. Known governors of Saggarâtum were Mášum, Itûr-Asdû (under Yasmah-Addu, also governor of Mari), (Ḫ)abduma-Dagan (died in Zimri-Lim year 1, also a governor of Tuttul), followed by Sumḫu-rabi (Zimri-Lim years 1 to 3), and Yaqqim-Addu I.[8][9][10] Mášum, an Amorite, is notable for being contemporary to Hammurabi of Babylon in the period while Babylon was an ally/vassal of Shamshi-Adad I of Ekallatum.[11]

Under the next ruler, Zimri-Lim, Mari faced problems with incursions by tribal elements, especially the Yaminites. At one point there was a large Yaminite uprising which Zimri-Lim put down, reflected in his year name "Year in which Zimri-Lim was victorious against the Yaminites in Saggaratum and killed their kings". During the Mari period a prophet, Lupaḫumis is recorded as saying "As before, when the Yaminites came to me and settled in Saggaratum, I was the one who spoke to the king: “Do not make a treaty with the Yaminites" indicating that the Yaminites were a problem for the city.[12] A Mari directive stated "record all of the Yaminites from Zimri-Lim’s districts of Mari, Terqa, and Saggaratum who are supposed to serve with the king’s armies".[13] Zimri-Lim, ruler of Mari, had a palace at Saggarâtum.[14][15]

After a long and successful reign which included an alliance with Babylon the kingdom of Mari, minus Mari itself which had been destroyed, fell under the control of Babylon during its expansionist phase under Hammurabi whose 33rd year name included "... overthrew in battle the army of Mari and Malgium and caused Mari and its territory and the various cities of Subartu to dwell under his authority in friendship ...".[16][17] The last significant mention of Saggarâtum was in the Old Babylonian period during the reign of Samsu-iluna (c. 1749–1712 BC), seventh ruler of First Dynasty of Babylon and son of Hammurabi. His 33rd year name read "Year in which Samsu-iluna the king at the command of Shamash and Marduk restored completely all the brickwork of the city of Saggaratum".[16]

After the fall of Babylon c. 1600 BC, Saggarâtum, along with Qaṭṭunān, became part of the Kingdom of Hana, with Terqa usually considered to be its capitol (though Saggarâtum has been proposed in that role as well). This continued until c. 1400 BC when Hana fell to the Mitanni Empire. After that there are no records of Saggarâtum.[18][19][20][21]

Location

[edit]

Saggarâtum is known to have been on the Habur River, a tributary of the Euphrates river and is thought to have been near the confluence between these rivers. The site of Tell Feddeïn, 30 kilometers from the confluence, has been proposed as well as that of Tall Suwwar .[22][23] A subsequent survey of the region indicated those proposals are not correct.[24]

The town of Ziniyan (on the border with Terqa) is known to have been in the territory of Saggarâtum.[25] Also Dur-Yasmaḫ-Addu / Dur-Yaḫdullim which has a suggested location of Tell Mohasan.[26][27] And Niḫadu, Manuhatan, Zibnatum, and Dabis.[8][23]

Shamshi-Adad I of Ekallatum wrote to Yasmah-Adad about a planned visit to Mari from his capitol in Shubat-Enlil saying

"What you send to Shubat-Enlil in Saggaratum let them receive in boats. From Saggaratu[m] to Qattunan. From Qattunan in wagons let the Qattunaneans ta[ke] it. Let them carry it to Shubat-Enlil."[28]

An itinerary from the time of Shamshi-Adad I indicated that travel between his capitol at that time, Shubat-Enlil, and Saggāratum took 5 days (about 175 kilometers) and proceeded on the route Shubat-Enlil, Tilla, Aslhum, Iyatu(m), Lakusir and then Saggāratum.[29][30]

Zimri-Lim took two "pilgrimages in his reign. The first proceeded to Ṣuprum, then to Terqa and then upstream of the Ḫabur, to Saggāratum, Raṣum, Tâdum, Ilānṣurā and Razamā ending at Ḫušlā where observances to Addu of Kummê were made.[31]

It is known that there was a canal between Saggarâtum and Suprum. Suprum, upstream of Mari, was the home of the Lim dynasty and Tell Abu Hassan has been suggested for its location.[32]

Saggarâtum has also been said to be near the Kingdom of Hana and possibly at Tell Abu Ha'it.[33]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Heimpel, Wolfgang, "Introduction", Letters to the King of Mari: A New Translation, with Historical Introduction, Notes, and Commentary, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 1-36, 2003
  2. ^ Dalley, Stephanie, "The Late Bronze Age and the Iron Age", Mari and Karana: Two Old Babylonian Cities: With a New Introduction by the Author, Piscataway, NJ, USA: Gorgias Press, pp. 179-207, 2003
  3. ^ a b [1] Sasson, Jack M., "Thoughts of Zimri-Lim", The Biblical Archaeologist, vol. 47, no. 2, 1984, pp. 110–120, 1984
  4. ^ Frayne, Douglas R. and Stuckey, Johanna H., "A", A Handbook of Gods and Goddesses of the Ancient Near East: Three Thousand Deities of Anatolia, Syria, Israel, Sumer, Babylonia, Assyria, and Elam, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 1-42, 2021
  5. ^ [2] Sasson, Jack M. "Hurrians and Hurrian Personal Names in the Mari Texts", Ugarit-Forschungen 6, pp. 353-400, 1974
  6. ^ [3] Sasson, Jack M., "Treatment of Criminals at Mari: A Survey", Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 90–113, 1977
  7. ^ Sumu-Yamam year names at CDLI
  8. ^ a b Sasson, Jack M., "Administration", From the Mari Archives: An Anthology of Old Babylonian Letters, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 119-180, 2015
  9. ^ Miglio, Adam E., "Zimri-Lim's Conduct of International Politics", Tribe and State: The Dynamics of International Politics and the Reign of Zimri-Lim, Piscataway, NJ, USA: Gorgias Press, pp. 109-186, 2014
  10. ^ Heimpel, Wolfgang, "Index of Individuals", Letters to the King of Mari: A New Translation, with Historical Introduction, Notes, and Commentary, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 525-570, 2003
  11. ^ Lewy, Hildegard, "Šubat-Šamaš and Tuttul", Orientalia, vol. 27, no. 1, 1958, pp. 1–18, 1958
  12. ^ Nissinen, Martti, "Sacred Springs and Liminal Rivers: Water and Prophecy in the Ancient Eastern Mediterranean", Prophetic Divination: Essays in Ancient Near Eastern Prophecy, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 441-460, 2019
  13. ^ Fleming, D. E., "Democracy’s Ancient Ancestors: Mari and Early Collective Governance", Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004
  14. ^ Postgate, J. N., D. O. Edzard, and M. P. Streck, "Palast AV", Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie 10, pp. 212-26, 2004
  15. ^ Ziegler N., "Le Harem de Zimri-Lim. La population féminine des palais d’aprè s les archives royales de Mari", FM 4, Mémoires de NABU 5, Paris, 1999
  16. ^ a b Ebeling, E. and Meissner, B., "Reallexikon der Assyriologie (RIA-2)", Berlin, 1938
  17. ^ Yamada, Shigeo, "The City of Ṭābatum and its Surroundings: The Organization of Power in the Post-Hammurabi Period", Organization, Representation, and Symbols of Power in the Ancient Near East: Proceedings of the 54th Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale at Würzburg 20–25 Jul, edited by Gernot Wilhelm, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 591-604, 2012
  18. ^ Chavalas, Mark, "Terqa and the Kingdom of Khana", The Biblical Archaeologist, vol. 59, no. 2, pp. 90–103, 1996
  19. ^ Podany, Amanda H., "Hana and the Low Chronology", Journal of Near Eastern Studies, vol. 73, no. 1, pp. 49–71, 2014
  20. ^ Buccellati, Giorgio, "The Kingdom and Period of Khana", Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, no. 270, pp. 43–61, 1988
  21. ^ [4] Yamada, Shigeo, "An adoption contract from Tell Taban, the kings of the land of Hana, and the Hana-style scribal tradition", Revue d’assyriologie et d’archéologie orientale 105.1, pp. 61-84, 2011
  22. ^ Dossin, Georges, "Archives de Sûmu-iamam, roi de Mari", Revue d’Assyriologie et d’archéologie Orientale, vol. 64, no. 1, pp. 17–44, 1970
  23. ^ a b Heimpel, Wolfgang, "Index of Place-Names", Letters to the King of Mari: A New Translation, with Historical Introduction, Notes, and Commentary, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 605-630, 2003
  24. ^ [5] Röllig, Wolfgang, and Hartmut Kühne, "The Lower Habur. A preliminary report on a survey conducted by the Tübinger Atlas des Vorderen Orients in 1975", Les Annales Archéologiques Arabes Syriennes, vol. 27/28, pp. 115-140, 1977/1978
  25. ^ Archi, Alfonso, "Studies in the Pantheon of Ebla, II", Ebla and Its Archives: Texts, History, and Society, Berlin, München, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 601-614, 2015
  26. ^ Safren, Jonathan D., "Dūr-Yaḫdun-Lim: The Raison d’être of an Ancient Mesopotamian Fortress-City", Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 1–47, 1989
  27. ^ Sasson, Jack M., "Introduction", From the Mari Archives: An Anthology of Old Babylonian Letters, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 1-20, 2015
  28. ^ Roskop, Angela, Itineraries: Their Forms and Contexts", The Wilderness Itineraries: Genre, Geography, and the Growth of Torah, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 50-82, 2011
  29. ^ [6] Goetze, Albrecht, "An Old Babylonian Itinerary", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 51–72, 1953
  30. ^ [7] Charpin, Dominique, "From Mari to Yakaltum: a route westwards according to the royal archives of Mari", Entre les fleuves–III. On the Way in Upper Mesopotamia: Routes, Travels and Environment as Basis for the Reconstruction of Historical Geography 30, pp. 119-132, 2023
  31. ^ Pappi, Cinzia, "Religion and Politics at the Divine Table: The Cultic Travels of Zimrī-Līm", Organization, Representation, and Symbols of Power in the Ancient Near East: Proceedings of the 54th Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale at Würzburg 20–25 Jul, edited by Gernot Wilhelm, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 579-590, 2012
  32. ^ Miglio, Adam E., "A Dynamic Socio-Political Landscape: “Mari and the Land of the Mobile Pastoralists”", Tribe and State: The Dynamics of International Politics and the Reign of Zimri-Lim, Piscataway, NJ, USA: Gorgias Press, pp. 55-108, 2014
  33. ^ [8] Podany, Amanda H., et al., "An Adoption and Inheritance Contract from the Reign of Iggid-Lim of Ḫana", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 43/45, pp. 39–51, 1991

Further reading

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  • Arkhipov, I./S. Loesov, "A retrospective review of the letters by Yaqqim-Addu, governor of Saggaratum under Zimri-Lim", Babel und Bibel: Annual of Ancient Near Eastern, Old Testament, and Semitic Studies 7, pp. 5–50, 2013
  • Birot, Maurice, "Lettres de Yaqqim-Addu, gouverneur de Saggarâtum", ARM 14, Paris: Geuthner, 1974
  • Birot, Maurice, "Correspondance des gouverneurs de Qaṭṭunân", ARM 27, Paris: Éditions Recherche sur les Civilisations, 1993
  • Bonechi, Marco; Catagnoti, Amalia, "Compléments à la correspondence de Yaqqim-Addu, Gouverneur de Saggarâtum", in Charpin, D.; Durand, J.-M. (edd.), Recueild’études à la mémoire de Maurice Birot. = FM 2, Paris: Sepoa, pp. 55–82, 1994
  • Bonechi, Marco, "Deux nouvelles lettres de Yaqqim-Addu, gouverneur de Saggarâtum", MARI 8, pp. 777–780, 1997
  • Durand, J.-M, "Administrateurs de Qaṭṭunân", in D. Charpin/J.-M. Durand (eds.), Florilegium Marianum II. Recueil d’études à la mémoire de Maurice Birot. Mémoires de NABU 3, Paris, pp. 83–114, 1994
  • [9] Fracaroli, Diego Barreyra, "About the mātum in Early Second Millennium Middle Euphrates Region. The Royal Inscriptions of Yahdun-Lîm", Claroscuro. Revista del Centro de Estudios sobre Diversidad Cultural 18, pp. 1–23, 2019
  • Guillot, Isabelle, "Les gouverneurs de Qaṭṭunân. Nouveaux textes (Textes no. 130 à 138)", in Charpin, D., Durand J.-M. (edd.), Recueil d’étudesà la mémoire de Marie-Thérèse Barrelet. = FM 3, (Paris: SEPOA), pp. 271–290, 1997
  • Heimpel, Wolfgang, "Translation of Texts from ARM 26/1", Letters to the King of Mari: A New Translation, with Historical Introduction, Notes, and Commentary, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 173–283, 2003
  • Heimpel, Wolfgang, "Moroccan locusts in Qaṭṭunan", Revue d'assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale, pp. 101–120, 1996
  • [10] Sasson, Jack M., "Year: Zimri-Lim Offered a Great Throne to Shamash of Mahanum: An Overview of One Year in Mari, Part 1: The Presence of the King", MARI 4, Editions Recherche sur les civilisations, pp. 437–452, Paris, 1985
  • [11] Sasson, Jack M., "The King and I a Mari King in Changing Perceptions", Journal of the American Oriental Society, 453–470, 1998
  • Soubeyran, Denis, "Une graphie atypique de Saggaratum?", Mari 3, pp. 276–276, 1984
  • Streck, M. P, "Sibilants in the Old Babylonian texts of Hammurapi and of the governors in Qaṭṭunān", in G. Deutscher/N. J. C. Kouwenberg (ed.), The Akkadian language in its Semitic context. Studies in the Akkadian of the third and second millennium BC. PIHANS 106. Leiden, pp. 215–251, 2006
  • Ziegler, Nele, "La province de Qaṭṭunân à l'époque de Zimrî-Lîm", Revue d’Assyriologie et d’archéologie Orientale, vol. 105, pp. 5–16, 2011
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