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.[1][2][3] The original kudurru would typically be stored in a temple while the person granted the land would be given a clay copy to use to confirm legal ownership.[4] Kudurrus are often linked to what are usually called "ancient kudurrus", land grant stones from the third millennium (typically Sargonic and Ur III) which serve a similar purpose though the word kudurru did not emerge until the 2nd millennium (Middle Babylonian in fact).[5]
The objects are traditionally called kudurru which is Akkadian for "frontier" or "boundary". because early epigraphers frequently found that word in the text and assumed they were placed in agricultural setting, not the temples they actually were. While there is consensus on the main group of kudurru there are other "debatable kudurru for which opinion is divided, such as those on clay nails. Kudurru typically referred to themselves as "narû" which is Akkadian for stone or stele (occasionally as kudurru, asumittu, or abnu). About one third of the 160 known kudurru were found in temples at Susa where they were taken when the Elamites conquered Mesopotamia. Half of those excavated in Babylonia were also found in temples. They range in height from 10cm to 1 meter and the inscriptions on them ranged from 39 to 390 lines.[6] Examples are in the Louvre, the British Museum, and the National Museum of Iraq. One kudurru, of Marduk-nadin-ahhe (1095–1078 BC) of the Second Dynasty of Isin is found in the Warwick Museum. Another kudduru of that ruler, long and essentially complete, was found near Ctesiphon and is held in the Baghdad Museum.[7] They are examples of how kudurru usage continued for several centuries after the end of the Kassite Dynasty.[8] The last known kudurru was of the Babylonian ruler Ashur-nadin-shumi (700–694 BC).[9][10]
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While most kudurru record land grants some serve other purposes. Two kudurrus of Nebuchadnezzar I (1121–1100 BC) records his victory over the Elamites and his recovery of the cult statue of Marduk, the city god of Babylon, captured years earlier. Another example, from the reign of Nabu-apla-iddina (886–853 BC) commemorates the recovery of the Sippar city-god Shamash, lost circa 1100 BC when the Suteans overran several cult centers in Babylonia. This replaced a sun disk erected by the ruler Simbar-shipak (1021–1004 BC) as a stand in. Other kudurru record legal cases, usually when loss of life is involved, making it the domain of the ruler. Finally, some kudurru record gifts of prebends (income from land for temples or priests) or royal relief from taxes or labor for individuals.[6]
Kudurru have a standard format with some features being optional. They contain:
A description of the kudurru's intent, granting land, etc. There may be a relief illustrating this, showing the king, the grantee, or the defendant as appropriate.[6]
A call upon the gods to recognize and endorse the kudurru and to curse anyone who violates the intent or damages the stone. There may be symbols of the relevant gods on the stele to strengthen this call. These symbols have been the cause of much speculation over the years, some of it chronological.[11][12][13]
^Paulus, Susanne. "10. The Babylonian Kudurru Inscriptions and their Legal and Sociohistorical Implications". Volume 1 Karduniaš. Babylonia under the Kassites 1, edited by Alexa Bartelmus and Katja Sternitzke, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2017, pp. 229-244
^Kathryn E. Slanski, "The Babylonian entitlement narûs (kudurrus) : a study in their form and function", Boston : American Schools of Oriental Research, 2003 ISBN 089757060X
^Brinkman, J. A. “Babylonian Royal Land Grants, Memorials of Financial Interest, and Invocation of the Divine.” Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, vol. 49, no. 1, 2006, pp. 1–47
^J A Brinkman, “Remarks on Two Kudurrus from the Second Dynasty of Isin.” Revue d’Assyriologie et d’archéologie Orientale, vol. 61, no. 1, 1967, pp. 70–74
^I. J. Gelb, P. Steinkeller, and R. M. Whiting Jr, "OIP 104. Earliest Land Tenure Systems in the Near East: Ancient Kudurrus", Oriental Institute Publications 104 Chicago: The Oriental Institute, 1989, 1991 ISBN 978-0-91-898656-6 Text Plates
^ abc[1] Slanski, Kathryn E. “Classification, Historiography and Monumental Authority: The Babylonian Entitlement ‘Narûs (Kudurrus).’” Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 52, 2000, pp. 95–114
^Livingstone, Alasdair. “A NEGLECTED KUDURRU OR BOUNDARY STONE OF MARDUK-NĀDIN-AḪḪĒ.” Revue d’Assyriologie et d’archéologie Orientale, vol. 100, 2006, pp. 75–81
^Lambert, W. G. “The Warwick Kudurru.” Syria, vol. 58, no. 1/2, 1981, pp. 173–85
^Sandowicz, Małgorzata. "Companions of Nabonidus" Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie, vol. 110, no. 2, 2020, pp. 161-175
^Brinkman, J. A./S. Dalley (1988): A royal kudurru from the reign of Aššur-nādin-šumi, ZA 78, 76–9
^Slanski, Kathryn E. “Representation of the Divine on the Babylonian Entitlement Monuments (Kudurrus): Part I: Divine Symbols.” Archiv Für Orientforschung, vol. 50, 2003, pp. 308–23
^Tuman, V.S., "Astronomical Dating of the Kudurru IM 80908", Sumer, vol. 46, pp. 98-106, 1989-1990
^Pizzimenti, "The Kudurrus And The Sky. Analysis And Interpretation Of The Dog-Scorpion-Lamp Astral Pattern As Represented In Kassite Kudurrus Reliefs", February 2016 https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.220910
Further reading
Al-Adhami, K. "A New Kudurru of Maroduk-nadin-ahhe." Sumer 38 (1982): 121-33
J. A. Brinkman, "A Political History of Post-Kassite Babylonia", AnOr 43 (Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1968), 348
Brinkman, J. A. and Dalley, Stephanie. "A Royal Kudurru from the Reign of Aššur-nādin-šumi", ZAVA, vol. 78, no. 1, 1988, pp. 76-98
Brinkman, M.E. and Brinkman, J.A.. "A Tenth-Century Kudurru Fragment" , vol. 62, no. 1, 1972, pp. 91-98
Charpin, D., "Chroniques bibliographiques, 2: La Commemoration d'actes juridiques: Apropos des kudurrus babyloniens.", Revue d'assyriologie 96: 169-91. 2002 (published November 2004) (in french)
Frame, Grant. "A Kudurru Fragment from the Reign of Adad-apla-iddina." Altorientalische Forschungen 13.1-2 (1986): 206-211
[2] W. J. Hinke, "Selected Babylonian Kudurru Inscriptions", (Semitic Study Series, edited by R. J. H. Gottheil and Morris Jastrow, jun., No. XIV.) Leiden: late E. J. Brill, 1911
Hurowitz, Victor (Avigdor). "Some Literary Observations on the Šitti-Marduk Kudurru (BBSt. 6)" , vol. 82, no. 1, 1992, pp. 39-59
[3] L.W. King, "Babylonian Boundary Stones and Memorial Tablets in the British Museum (BBSt)" (London: Trustees of the British Museum, 1912)
Reade, J. E. 1987. "Babylonian Boundary-Stones and Comparable Monuments in the British Museum." Annual Review of the Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia Project 5: 47-51
[4] Ursula Seidl, "Die babylonischen Kudurru-Reliefs: Symbole mesopotamischer Gottheiten", Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht (December 31, 1988) (in german)
Steinkeller, Piotr. "“Ancient Kudurru” Inscriptions." Ed. AR George, Cuneiform Royal Inscriptions and Related Texts in the Schøyen Collection, The publication of Cornell University Studies in Assyriology and Sumerology 17 (2011): 211-220
Zimmermann, Lynn-Salammbô. "Wooden Wax-Covered Writing Boards as Vorlage for kudurru Inscriptions in the Middle Babylonian Period" Journal of Ancient Near Eastern History, 2022
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kudurru.
Kudurru at British Museum BM 102485
Kudurru at British Museum BM 90841
Kudurrus at Seattle Art Museum
May 16, 2023
kudurru, kudurru, type, stone, document, used, boundary, stone, record, land, grants, vassals, kassites, later, dynasties, ancient, babylonia, between, 16th, centuries, original, kudurru, would, typically, stored, temple, while, person, granted, land, would, g. 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 1 2 3 The original kudurru would typically be stored in a temple while the person granted the land would be given a clay copy to use to confirm legal ownership 4 Kudurrus are often linked to what are usually called ancient kudurrus land grant stones from the third millennium typically Sargonic and Ur III which serve a similar purpose though the word kudurru did not emerge until the 2nd millennium Middle Babylonian in fact 5 Babylonian kudurru of the late Kassite period found near Baghdad by the French botanist Andre Michaux Cabinet des Medailles Paris Contents 1 Background 2 Content 3 Examples of kudurrus 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External linksBackground EditThe objects are traditionally called kudurru which is Akkadian for frontier or boundary because early epigraphers frequently found that word in the text and assumed they were placed in agricultural setting not the temples they actually were While there is consensus on the main group of kudurru there are other debatable kudurru for which opinion is divided such as those on clay nails Kudurru typically referred to themselves as naru which is Akkadian for stone or stele occasionally as kudurru asumittu or abnu About one third of the 160 known kudurru were found in temples at Susa where they were taken when the Elamites conquered Mesopotamia Half of those excavated in Babylonia were also found in temples They range in height from 10cm to 1 meter and the inscriptions on them ranged from 39 to 390 lines 6 Examples are in the Louvre the British Museum and the National Museum of Iraq One kudurru of Marduk nadin ahhe 1095 1078 BC of the Second Dynasty of Isin is found in the Warwick Museum Another kudduru of that ruler long and essentially complete was found near Ctesiphon and is held in the Baghdad Museum 7 They are examples of how kudurru usage continued for several centuries after the end of the Kassite Dynasty 8 The last known kudurru was of the Babylonian ruler Ashur nadin shumi 700 694 BC 9 10 Content Edit BM 90834 While most kudurru record land grants some serve other purposes Two kudurrus of Nebuchadnezzar I 1121 1100 BC records his victory over the Elamites and his recovery of the cult statue of Marduk the city god of Babylon captured years earlier Another example from the reign of Nabu apla iddina 886 853 BC commemorates the recovery of the Sippar city god Shamash lost circa 1100 BC when the Suteans overran several cult centers in Babylonia This replaced a sun disk erected by the ruler Simbar shipak 1021 1004 BC as a stand in Other kudurru record legal cases usually when loss of life is involved making it the domain of the ruler Finally some kudurru record gifts of prebends income from land for temples or priests or royal relief from taxes or labor for individuals 6 Kudurru have a standard format with some features being optional They contain A description of the kudurru s intent granting land etc There may be a relief illustrating this showing the king the grantee or the defendant as appropriate 6 A call upon the gods to recognize and endorse the kudurru and to curse anyone who violates the intent or damages the stone There may be symbols of the relevant gods on the stele to strengthen this call These symbols have been the cause of much speculation over the years some of it chronological 11 12 13 Examples of kudurrus EditEnlil bani land grant kudurru Nazimaruttas kudurru stone Kudurru of Kastiliasu Land grant to Ḫunnubat Nanaya kudurru Land grant to Marduk apla iddina I by Meli Shipak II Estate of Takil ana ilisu kudurru Land grant to Ḫasardu kudurru Land grant to Marduk zakir sumi kudurru Land grant to Munnabittu kudurru Kudurru of Gula Kudurru for Sitti Marduk Eanna shum iddina kudurru Marduk nadin ahhe kudurru Marduk zakir sumi I kudurru Marduk apal iddina II kudurruSee also EditSun God Tablet Tablet of Shamash Stele of Meli Sipak Kurgan stelae RunestoneReferences Edit Paulus Susanne 10 The Babylonian Kudurru Inscriptions and their Legal and Sociohistorical Implications Volume 1 Kardunias Babylonia under the Kassites 1 edited by Alexa Bartelmus and Katja Sternitzke Berlin Boston De Gruyter 2017 pp 229 244 Kathryn E Slanski The Babylonian entitlement narus kudurrus a study in their form and function Boston American Schools of Oriental Research 2003 ISBN 089757060X Brinkman J A Babylonian Royal Land Grants Memorials of Financial Interest and Invocation of the Divine Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient vol 49 no 1 2006 pp 1 47 J A Brinkman Remarks on Two Kudurrus from the Second Dynasty of Isin Revue d Assyriologie et d archeologie Orientale vol 61 no 1 1967 pp 70 74 I J Gelb P Steinkeller and R M Whiting Jr OIP 104 Earliest Land Tenure Systems in the Near East Ancient Kudurrus Oriental Institute Publications 104 Chicago The Oriental Institute 1989 1991 ISBN 978 0 91 898656 6 Text Plates a b c 1 Slanski Kathryn E Classification Historiography and Monumental Authority The Babylonian Entitlement Narus Kudurrus Journal of Cuneiform Studies vol 52 2000 pp 95 114 Livingstone Alasdair A NEGLECTED KUDURRU OR BOUNDARY STONE OF MARDUK NADIN AḪḪE Revue d Assyriologie et d archeologie Orientale vol 100 2006 pp 75 81 Lambert W G The Warwick Kudurru Syria vol 58 no 1 2 1981 pp 173 85 Sandowicz Malgorzata Companions of Nabonidus Zeitschrift fur Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archaologie vol 110 no 2 2020 pp 161 175 Brinkman J A S Dalley 1988 A royal kudurru from the reign of Assur nadin sumi ZA 78 76 9 Slanski Kathryn E Representation of the Divine on the Babylonian Entitlement Monuments Kudurrus Part I Divine Symbols Archiv Fur Orientforschung vol 50 2003 pp 308 23 Tuman V S Astronomical Dating of the Kudurru IM 80908 Sumer vol 46 pp 98 106 1989 1990 Pizzimenti The Kudurrus And The Sky Analysis And Interpretation Of The Dog Scorpion Lamp Astral Pattern As Represented In Kassite Kudurrus Reliefs February 2016 https doi org 10 5281 zenodo 220910Further reading EditAl Adhami K A New Kudurru of Maroduk nadin ahhe Sumer 38 1982 121 33 J A Brinkman A Political History of Post Kassite Babylonia AnOr 43 Rome Pontifical Biblical Institute 1968 348 Brinkman J A and Dalley Stephanie A Royal Kudurru from the Reign of Assur nadin sumi ZAVA vol 78 no 1 1988 pp 76 98 Brinkman M E and Brinkman J A A Tenth Century Kudurru Fragment vol 62 no 1 1972 pp 91 98 Charpin D Chroniques bibliographiques 2 La Commemoration d actes juridiques Apropos des kudurrus babyloniens Revue d assyriologie 96 169 91 2002 published November 2004 in french Frame Grant A Kudurru Fragment from the Reign of Adad apla iddina Altorientalische Forschungen 13 1 2 1986 206 211 2 W J Hinke Selected Babylonian Kudurru Inscriptions Semitic Study Series edited by R J H Gottheil and Morris Jastrow jun No XIV Leiden late E J Brill 1911 Hurowitz Victor Avigdor Some Literary Observations on the Sitti Marduk Kudurru BBSt 6 vol 82 no 1 1992 pp 39 59 3 L W King Babylonian Boundary Stones and Memorial Tablets in the British Museum BBSt London Trustees of the British Museum 1912 Reade J E 1987 Babylonian Boundary Stones and Comparable Monuments in the British Museum Annual Review of the Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia Project 5 47 51 4 Ursula Seidl Die babylonischen Kudurru Reliefs Symbole mesopotamischer Gottheiten Vandenhoeck amp Ruprecht December 31 1988 in german Steinkeller Piotr Ancient Kudurru Inscriptions Ed AR George Cuneiform Royal Inscriptions and Related Texts in the Schoyen Collection The publication of Cornell University Studies in Assyriology and Sumerology 17 2011 211 220 Zimmermann Lynn Salammbo Wooden Wax Covered Writing Boards as Vorlage for kudurru Inscriptions in the Middle Babylonian Period Journal of Ancient Near Eastern History 2022External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kudurru Kudurru at British Museum BM 102485 Kudurru at British Museum BM 90841 Kudurrus at Seattle Art Museum Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Kudurru amp oldid 1129466326, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
