The estate of Takil-ana-ilīšu kudurru is an ancient

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

n white limestone ''narû'', or entitlement stela, dating from the latter part of the

Kassite The Kassites () were a people of the ancient Near East. They controlled Babylonia after the fall of the Old Babylonian Empire from until (short chronology). The Kassites gained control of Babylonia after the Hittite sack of Babylon in 1531 B ...

era which gives a history of the litigation concerning a contested inheritance over three generations or more than forty years. It describes a patrimonial redemption, or "lineage claim", and provides a great deal of information concerning inheritance during the

late Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

. It is identified by its colophon, ''asumittu annītu garbarê šalati kanīk dīnim'', "this stela is a copy of three sealed documents with (royal) edicts" and records the legal judgments made in three successive reigns of the kings, Adad-šuma-iddina ( 1222–1217 BC), Adad-šuma-uṣur ( 1216–1187 BC) and Meli-Šipak ( 1186–1172 BC). It is a contemporary text which confirms the sequence of these

monarchs given on the Babylonian king list and provides the best evidence that the first of these was unlikely to have been merely an

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...

n appointee during their recent hegemony over

Babylonia Babylonia (; , ) was an Ancient history, ancient Akkadian language, Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Kuwait, Syria and Iran). It emerged as a ...

Tukulti-Ninurta I Tukulti-Ninurta I (meaning: "my trust is in he warrior godNinurta"; reigned 1243–1207 BC) was a king of Assyria during the Middle Assyrian Empire. He is known as the first king to use the title "King of Kings". Reign Tukulti-Ninurta I succeed ...

, as his judgments were honored by the later kings.

The stela

The

kudurru A kudurru was a type of stone document used as a boundary stone and as a record of land grants to vassals by the Kassites and later dynasties in ancient Babylonia between the 16th and 7th centuries BC. The original kudurru would typically be stor ...

was excavated from the ruins of the

Marduk Marduk (; cuneiform: Dingir, ᵈAMAR.UTU; Sumerian language, Sumerian: "calf of the sun; solar calf"; ) is a god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of Babylon who eventually rose to prominence in the 1st millennium BC. In B ...

temple in

Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...

Hormuzd Rassam Hormuzd Rassam (; ; 182616 September 1910) was an Assyriologist and author. He is known for making a number of important archaeological discoveries from 1877 to 1882, including the clay tablets that contained the ''Epic of Gilgamesh,'' the world ...

and his chief foreman Daud Thoma in 1880 and is now in the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

assigned museum reference BM 90827. The text is inscribed on six columns on a two foot high stone block topped by a triangular apex carved with fifteen divine symbols. The case begins "When the house of Takil-ana-ilīšu lapsed for want of an heir in the time of King Adad-šuma-iddina, King Adad-šuma-iddina gave the house (i.e. the estate) of Takil-ana-ilīšu to Ur-Nintinuga, brother of Takil-ana-ilīšu."

Deities invoked in curses

As was customary on such monuments, various deities were invoked to curse any party who might dispute the legal decision recorded on the kudurru. These included Anu,

Enlil Enlil, later known as Elil and Ellil, is an List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian god associated with wind, air, earth, and storms. He is first attested as the chief deity of the Sumerian pantheon, but he was later worshipped by t ...

, and Ea (evil eye), Sîn,

Šamaš Shamash (Akkadian language, Akkadian: ''šamaš''), also known as Utu (Sumerian language, Sumerian: dutu "Sun") was the List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian Solar deity, sun god. He was believed to see everything that happened in t ...

Adad Hadad (), Haddad, Adad ( Akkadian: 𒀭𒅎 '' DIM'', pronounced as ''Adād''), or Iškur ( Sumerian) was the storm- and rain-god in the Canaanite and ancient Mesopotamian religions. He was attested in Ebla as "Hadda" in c. 2500 BCE. From ...

and

(tearing out the foundation); Ningursu and Bau (joyless fate), Šamaš and Adad (lawlessness); Pap-nigin-gara (destruction of the landmark),

Uraš Uraš (), or Urash, was a Mesopotamian goddess regarded as the personification of the earth. She should not be confused with a male deity sharing the same name, who had agricultural character and was worshiped in Dilbat. She is well attested in as ...

and

Ninegal Ninegal (also spelled Ninegalla) or Belat Ekalli (Belet-ekalli) was a Mesopotamian goddess associated with palaces. Both her Sumerian and Akkadian name mean "lady of the palace." From Mesopotamia the worship of Ninegal spread to Elam in the e ...

(evil);

Kassite deities Kassite deities were the pantheon of the Kassites ( Akkadian: ''Kaššû'', from Kassite ''Galzu''), a group inhabiting parts of modern Iraq (mostly historical Babylonia and the Nuzi area), as well as Iran and Syria, in the second and first mil ...

Šuqamuna and Šumalia (humiliation before the king and princes),

Ištar Inanna is the ancient Mesopotamian goddess of war, love, and fertility. She is also associated with political power, divine law, sensuality, and procreation. Originally worshipped in Sumer, she was known by the Akkadians, Babylonians, and As ...

(defeat); all the named gods (destruction of the name).

Cast of characters

The roles and readings of the names of the participants have changed since the first publication of the text and the identifications given here follow Paulus (2007), who argues that the outcome of the case hinges on the performance of the " River ordeal". The protagonists: * Takil-ana-ilīšu, the deceased, a ''barû'' or diviner * Ur-Nintinuga, son of Sāmu, a fellow or "brother" ''barû'' to the deceased Litigants and witnesses during the reign of Adad-šuma-iddina: * Kidin-Ninurta, son of uš -, son of the daughter of Takil-ana-ilīšu, first plaintiff, loses case * Zāqip-Pap[nigara "brother" of the deceased, second plaintiff, loses case * Ninurta-muštāl, "brother" of the deceased, third plaintiff, loses case * Enlil-zākir-šumi, the son of N[a-, ''šandabakku'' of Nippur, witness * Kudurana, the son of Enlil-[. . . . .], witness * sons of Ami[. . . . . . . . . .], witness Litigants and witnesses under the reign of Adad-šuma-uṣur: * Izkur-Ea, the son of Adallalu, the son of a daughter of Bit-Takil-ana-ilīšu, fourth plaintiff, loses case * Enlil-šum-imbi, the son of Daian-Marduk, the '' nišakku-''priest of Enlil, and ''šandabakku'' of Nippur, acts on King's instructions * Takil-ana-ilīšu, the son of Ninurta-riṣûa, a ''bēl pīḫāti'', provincial governor, an official sharing the name of the deceased, uncertain role * Bēlānu, unwitting purchaser of 10 GUR of the estate, acquired from an unnamed son of the deceased * Rīmūtu and Tābnūtu, the sons of Bēlānu, fifth and sixth plaintiffs, compensated following the redemption of the land * Amīl-Nabû, the King's representative Litigants and witnesses under the reign of Meli-Šipak: * Aḫu-dārû, son of (the house of?) Enlil-kidinnī, seventh plaintiff, complains he was overlooked when young, forcibly seizes the land, and wins his case when he undergoes the river ordeal * Marduk-kudurrī-uṣur, son of Ur-Nintinuga * Nabû-šakin-šumi, uncertain relationship, but links Aḫu-dārû to the house of Enlil-kidinnī * Enlil-nādin-šumu, son of Aḫu-dārû, eighth and last plaintiff, exchanges seizure for compensation after Marduk-kudurrī-uṣur is vindicated by a second river ordeal in Parak-māri

Principal publications

* "Grenzstein" no. 103 * * pp. 7–18, pls. V–XXII * no. 3 * no. 12 * (Forthcoming)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Estate of Takil-ana-ilishu kudurru Kassites Kudurru boundary stones Sculpture of the ancient Near East Middle Eastern objects in the British Museum 1880 archaeological discoveries Archaeological discoveries in Iraq 12th-century BC steles