Zimri-Lim
In-game article clicks load inline without leaving the challenge.
Zimri-Lim (died c. 1760 BC) was the last king of Mari (c. 1775-1760 BC high middle chronology; 1767–1752 BC low middle chronology) during the early Middle Bronze IIA (c. 1820-1750 BC). He was contemporary with Shamshi-Adad I and Hammurabi of Babylon.
Early Life
Family
Zimri-Lim (Akkadian: 𒍣𒅎𒊑𒇷𒅎 Zi-im-ri Li-im) was the son or grandson of king Yahdun-Lim of Mari.
Zimri-Lim's personal life is partly known through tablets preserved in the state archive of Mari.
Royal Harem
His first wife was Dam-hurasim, a princess from Qatna is known from the Mari Archive as a key figure within the "harem" or the inner royal household of Zimri-Lim.
He also married Shibtu, a princess of Yamhad (Aleppo and surrounding territory), and is known to have had at least eight daughters through various wives. Several of his daughters were married to rulers of local towns, and two others are known to have become priestesses. Correspondence between the king and his daughters provides evidence that Zimri-Lim thought highly of women and considered them competent at making decisions.
Exile
The assassination of Yahdun-Lim by his own servants during a palace coup, forced Zimri-Lim to flee to the neighboring court of Sumu-Epuh of Yamhad (Halab, Aleppo). Shamshi-Adad I, the king of Assyria, later put his own son Yasmah-Adad on the throne of Mari.
Marriage Alliance
In exile, Zimri-Lim married Shibtu, the king's daughter of Yarim-Lim I of Yamhad and Gashera.
Ruler of Alalakh
Yarim-Lim I of Yamhad installed his exiled Zimri-Lim, unable to claim his reighful inheritance to the throne of Mari, as the vassal ruler of Alalakh (MB IIA, c. 1820-1750 BC, Stratum VIII). Zimri-Lim held this position until the death of Shamshi-Adad I around 1776 BC when he returned to his throne in Mari.
Reign
In 1776 BC, the death of Shamshi-Adad I saw Zimri-Lim aided by Yarim-Lim I, the Great King of Yamhad, oust Yasmah-Adad from the throne of Mari.
There is an Akkadian literary text, written in the early years of his reign, entitled The Epic of Zimri-Lim.
Zimri-Lim ruled Mari for around 14 years, and campaigned extensively to establish his power in the neighboring areas along the Euphrates River and the Khabur valley.
- He had a tenuous relationship with kingdom of Andarig, with which he battled and occasionally allied.
- He went to war against the city of Kahat in the Khabur triangle, an important trade center on the road from Qaţţunan to Šubat-Enlil.
Kingdom of Mari
During the reign of Zimri-Lim, Mari expanded into a "great kingdom" controlling the Middle Eurphates region, the confluence with the Balikh river, expanding along the Khabur river and controlling trade in the Lower Euphrates region.
Major cities included: Mari (capital), Terqa, Tuttul (near Balikh), Saggaratum (Khabur), Qattunun (Khabur).
The Kingdom of Mari was bordered by Babylon (Iraq) in the southeast. In the southwest, a trade route when by Palmyra to the Kingdom of Qatna (Syria). To the west was the Great Kingdom of Yamhad (Aleppo, Syria). To the northwest the Kingdom of Carchemish. To the north the "Kingdom of Upper Mesopotamia" and the northeast Assyria. To the east Eshnunna. Under the "great kings" there were several lesser semi-autonomous petty kingdoms/city-states.
Mari Archive
Letter ARM 27 | A letter to Zimri-Lim by governors of the district of Qaṭṭunan (Khabur River): Ilsu-Naßir, Zakira-Hammu, Zimri-Addu, and Yatarum.
Architecture
Palace
In Mari, Zimri-Lim extended the Royal Palace of Mari (2.5 ha), which was possibly the largest at the time, containing over 260 rooms at the ground level, and certainly the envy of other kings. Around 1760 BC, it was damaged by Hammurabi of Babylon.
He was known for his lavish banquets at which delicacies such as chickpea salad, fried locusts, and large amounts of desert truffle were served.
Ice House
In Terqa, he constructed an "ice house" as recorded in a cuneiform tablet.
Elamite War
He was also active on a wider stage, and around 1764 BC was allied with Hammurabi in his wars against Elam, Eshnunna, and Larsa, such as the during the Elamite War. Zimri-Lim lent troops to Hammurabi's campaigns, and although the two kept extensive diplomatic contacts, it appears they never met in person.
Fall of Mari to Babylon
After the defeat of Elam, there was no outside force to keep the precarious balance of power between the Kings of Mesopotamia. The alliance between Zimri-Lim and Hammurabi deteriorated after Babylon's conquest of Larsa. Around 1762 BC, Hammurabi conquered and sacked Mari (though it may be that the city had surrendered without a fight), despite the previous alliance. At this time, Zimri-Lim disappears from historical view, and is presumed to have been killed.
In the aftermath, Hammurabi completely destroyed Mari as a kingdom controlling the Midde Euphrates, creating a buffer zone. Terqa became the new center of the Kingdom of Ḫana further upstream away from Babylon.
Reconstruction
| Year | Regnal Year | Events |
|---|---|---|
| c. 1775 BC | 1 | Zimri-Lim becomes king of Mari; Year 18 of Hammmurabi of Babylon |
| c. 1774 BC | 2 | |
| c. 1773 BC | 3 | |
| c. 1772 BC | 4 | The Benjamite War: A massive revolt by the Binu-Yamina (Benjamites/Yaminites). Zimri-Lim defeats them at the battle of Saggaratum. |
| c. 1771 BC | 5 | |
| c. 1770 BC | 6 | |
| c. 1769 BC | 7 | |
| c. 1768 BC | 8 | |
| c. 1767 BC | 9 | The Elamite Threat: Zimri-Lim forms a "Great Alliance" with Hammurabi of Babylon to repel the invasion of the Elamites from the east. |
| c. 1766 BC | 10 | |
| c. 1765 BC | 11 | The Journey to the West: Zimri-Lim travels to Ugarit on the Mediterranean coast. This was a famous diplomatic tour where he visited his father-in-law in Aleppo and Aplahanda in Carchemish. Start of the Elamite War. |
| c. 1764 BC | 12 | Hammurabi, supported by troops from his then-ally Zimri-Lim of Mari, first captured the border fortress of Mashkan-shapir. He then laid siege to Larsa itself, which fell after six months. The war ends, resulting in a Babylon and allied victory. |
| c. 1763 BC | 13 | |
| c. 1762 BC | 14 | |
| c. 1761 BC | 15 | Year 32 of Hammurabi who attacks Mari. Later, Mari is destroyed completely and the successor state Land of Hana centers on Terqa further northwest. |
- Zimri-Lim is known from a series of unsorted year-names.
- A reconstruction of events between Year 9 and 11.
Attestations
- Louvre AO 19826 | The Investiture of Mari.
- Louvre SH111538| At Mari, a brick with the inscription: "Zimri-lim, the great king, he who accomplishes the works of the gods."
- Louvre AO 21988 | A cylinder seal "originally inscribed in the name of Ana-Sin-Taklaku, an official of Zimri-Lim, the cylinder was later acquired by Adad-Sharrum, who had the inscription erased and his own name engraved on it".
See also
Sources
- Burke, Madeleine (1958). "Un nouveau nom d'annee du regne de Zimri-Lim?". Revue d'Assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale. 52 (2): 57–59. JSTOR .
- Charpin, D. (1992). "Les legendes de sceaux de Mari: Nouvelles Données". In Young, Gordon D. (ed.). Mari in Retrospect: Fifty Years of Mari and Mari Studies. Eisenbrauns. pp. 59–76. ISBN 978-0-931464-28-7.
- 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, 2022, pp. 579–590
- Heimpel, Wolfgang. "2. Reconstruction of Events during Years 9` to 11` of Zimri-Lim’s Reign". Letters to the King of Mari: A New Translation, with Historical Introduction, Notes, and Commentary, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, 2021, pp. 37–164
- 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, 2014, pp. 109–186
- Sasson, J. M. (1972). "Zimri-Lim's March to Victory". Revue d'Assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale. 66 (2): 177–178. JSTOR .
- Sasson, Jack M. (June 1984). "Thoughts of Zimri-Lim". The Biblical Archaeologist. 47 (2): 110–120. doi:. JSTOR . S2CID .
- Sasson, Jack M. (December 1984). "Biblical Archaeologist Update: Zimri-Lim Takes the Grand Tour". The Biblical Archaeologist. 47 (4): 246–251. doi:. JSTOR . S2CID .
- Sasson, Jack M. (October 1998). "The King and I a Mari King in Changing Perceptions". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 118 (4): 453–470. doi:. hdl:. JSTOR .
- Van de Mieroop, Marc (2005). King Hammurabi of Babylon (Third ed.). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. pp. 16–78. ISBN 1-4051-2660-4.
- Válek, František, "The Epic of Zimrī-Lîm.", Masters Dissertation, Czech Institute of Egyptology, Univerzita Karlova, Filozofická fakulta, 2022.