2nd Millennium

La gestiô ramadera durant el segon mil. lenni

by Maria Sana

Nippur and Dilmun in the second half of the fourteenth century BC: a re-evaluation of the Ilī-ippašra letters

by Eric Olijdam

Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 27 (1997): 199-203.

Three cuneiform letters (BE XVII 88, Ni. 615 and Ni. 641) written by Ilī-ippašra, governor in Dilmun, and addressed to... more Three cuneiform letters (BE XVII 88, Ni. 615 and Ni. 641) written by Ilī-ippašra, governor in Dilmun, and addressed to his 'brother’ Enlil-kidinnī, governor of Nippur, have been found at Nippur (Iraq). They were part of a diplomatic correspondence archived at the regional palace in Nippur and deal with the political situation in Dilmun during the reign of king Burna-Buriaš II (1359-1333 BC).

A number of new readings and reconstructions based on Goetze's copy are proposed resulting in a fresh understanding of the content of these letters, which if anything make an even stronger case for Dilmun’s politico-administrative incorporation into Kassite Babylonia.

These letters present a lively and fascinating insight into the duties and responsibilities of a high Kassite official during an otherwise little-known yet extraordinary period in the history of this region. From the letters it is eminently clear that Dilmun was beset by internal problems caused by Aḫlamû. It is suggested that it was not a dispute with disgruntled (nomadic) agricultural laborers as has been maintained up till now, but a full-blown rebellion by mutinous soldiers/mercenaries, i.e. Ilī-ippašra's power-base.


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N.B.: Volume U/W of the Chicago Assyrian Dictionary (page 45, uḫinnu 1c) offers the following improved reading for lines 20-22 in Ni. 641: bēlū uḫinne kî ērišušunūti ul iddinuni; when I asked the owners of the unripened dates (for some of their produce) they did not give me any.

Towards a more balanced assessment of land use on Bahrain during the City II period

by Eric Olijdam

Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 30 (2000): 157-163.

Dilmun established itself as the principal mercantile power in the Gulf at the end of the 3rd millennium BC, resulting... more Dilmun established itself as the principal mercantile power in the Gulf at the end of the 3rd millennium BC, resulting in a 'Golden Age' which led to an increased socio-political complexity, a significant increase of its population, an extension of its territory and a cultural boom expressing a strong indigenous identity. Consequently, much emphasis has been placed on Dilmun's mercantile nature, masking the fact that it was basically a rural society with most of its population involved in the subsistence economy.

It has been suggested that the population explosion on Bahrain at the beginning of the City II period, exemplified by a remarkable expansion of habitation sites southwards along the west coast, was made possible because of increased precipitation which allowed extensive cereal production under dry-farming conditions. City II land use is captured in a theoretical model consisting of four exploitation zones centred around Qal'at al-Bahrain, the ancient capital, representing different modes of subsistence: two narrow bands of irrigated farm land (palm gardens) in the vicinity of Qal'at al-Bahrain, followed by wide areas of rain-fed extensive cereal cultivation along the eastern and western coasts and another for herding and hunting, which constituted the southern third of the island and the slopes of the Bahrain dome, i.e. marginal areas not suitable for agriculture.

Recent archaeological discoveries and studies, particularly of botanical and faunal remains from the settlements of Qal'at al-Bahrain and Saar, as well as new insights call for an assessment of this model. For instance, the newly established sites along the west coast are related to artesian fresh-water springs, while renewed chronologies now place the City IIa-c expansion in a period of reduced precipitation (with possible evidence of desertification). The dental record indicates that cereals did not play a significant role in Early Dilmun diet and yet it is retrieved in a majority of samples analysed from Saar. It is suggested that cereals, particularly barley, were produced primarily as animal fodder. Evidence suggests the existence of different modes of herd management (part-time v. full-time and specialised/'commercial' v. domestic) as well as a close link between the pastoral and agricultural cycles by means of a seasonal 'migration' through Bahrain's landscape. The various modes of animal husbandry are also indicative of, or at least congruous with, status differences in meat consumption and animal use.