Queen Iltani (), was the wife of the ruler Aqba-hammu. Her archive was discovered in the palace of Karana(modern day

Tell al-Rimah Tell al-Rimah is a tell, or archaeological settlement mound, in Nineveh Province (Iraq). Its ancient name may have been either Karana or Qattara. It is located in Nineveh Province (Iraq), roughly west of Mosul and ancient Nineveh in the Sinjar re ...

). The main group of tablets from the archive consisted of about 200 letters and administrative records, which directly concern the queen. The letters tell us that Queen Iltani worked hard at running the palace industries, in particular the textiles and food, and had to meet her husband’s frequent, urgent demands for goods and personnel. She had to deal with many letters from individuals asking for help or resources, and she was concerned with her own health, querulous and indignant. Iltani’s work as overseer of the textile business in the palace of Rimah is well documented in the archive. The “department of Iltani,” as the business was called, employed 15 women and 10 men. Iltani was also involved in the metal trade; she personally received copper from her male subordinate. Belassunu was Iltani's sister.

''Naditu'' priests named Iltani

There were at least three '' naditu'' priests named Iltani: the sister of

King Hammurabi Hammurabi (Akkadian: ; ) was the sixth Amorite king of the Old Babylonian Empire, reigning from to BC. He was preceded by his father, Sin-Muballit, who abdicated due to failing health. During his reign, he conquered Elam and the city-states ...

, the daughter of King Sin-muballit, and the sister of King Ammiditana. The city and cloister of

Sippar Sippar ( Sumerian: , Zimbir) was an ancient Near Eastern Sumerian and later Babylonian city on the east bank of the Euphrates river. Its '' tell'' is located at the site of modern Tell Abu Habbah near Yusufiyah in Iraq's Baghdad Governorate, some ...

are well documented and serve as a microcosm of the lives of women, especially women priests, in the

Old Babylonian period The Old Babylonian Empire, or First Babylonian Empire, is dated to BC – BC, and comes after the end of Sumerian power with the destruction of the Third Dynasty of Ur, and the subsequent Isin-Larsa period. The chronology of the first dynasty ...

. The temple of

Shamash Utu (dUD "Sun"), also known under the Akkadian name Shamash, ''šmš'', syc, ܫܡܫܐ ''šemša'', he, שֶׁמֶשׁ ''šemeš'', ar, شمس ''šams'', Ashurian Aramaic: 𐣴𐣬𐣴 ''š'meš(ā)'' was the ancient Mesopotamian sun god. ...

was the most prominent building in Sippar. Women were just as active as men in the temple and cloister. Only women could become ''naditu'' priests. There were generally about two hundred celibate ''naditu'' priests of Shamash living in the cloister at a given time. Most were from royal or upper-class families. Iltani, the ''naditu'' sister of King Hammurabi, made offerings of date cakes at festivals.Harris, Rivkah (1975). ''Ancient Sippar : a demographic study of an old-Babylonian city, 1894-1595 B.C.'', Nederlands Historisch-Archaeologisch Instituut. She also leased her orchard for payment of back taxes and leased her field to a scribe. (140)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iltani 18th-century BC people 18th-century BC women Babylonian women Ancient queens consort Sippar