Amat-Mamu

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Amat-Mamu (c. 1764 BC – c. 1711 BC) was a Babylonian nadītu priestess. She lived in a closed nadītu community in Sippar, where she worked as a scribe. Besides the tablets she produced in her career, several tablets related to her property and inheritance have been preserved, including one that provides a detailed account of a legal dispute over the ownership of land.

Nadītu[edit]

Amat-Mamu was born c. 1764 BC,[1] the daughter of Sîn-ilî.[2] She was consecrated as a Babylonian nadītu, a priestess of the god Shamash. Her name translates to "woman servant of Mamu", Mamu being the daughter of Shamash.[3] As a nadītu, Amat-Mamu lived in a walled quarter in Sippar, the gagûm, which was separated from the rest of the city. She was allowed to own land, but not to marry or have children.[3]

Amat-Mamu worked as a scribe in the gagûm.[3] Though scribes were traditionally men in Sippar, the nadītu rarely interacted with men. Because of this, Amat-Mamu was one of several women in the community who was taught to read and write so she could work as a scribe when no men were present. Archeologists know of her role as a scribe because they were expected to sign their names to tablets that they produced.[4] Three known documents that Amat-Mamu produced were under three different kings—Hammurabi, Samsu-iluna, and Abi-eshuh—indicating that she worked as a scribe for at least 40 years.[5] She died c. 1711 BC.[1]

Property and inheritance[edit]

The nadītu Šāt-Aya, a daughter of Šamaš-ilum, declared Amat-Mamu to be her heir. As Amat-Mamu was not a blood relative, this came with an entitlement that Amat-Mamu must offer Šāt-Aya various items during Šāt-Aya's life. Upon Šāt-Aya's death, Amat-Mamu inherited a house and a field.[6] Amat-Mamu received another inheritance from her aunt Naramtum, which was given without condition.[7] Like many nadītu women, Amat-Mamu kept slaves and is known to have sold at least one slave, Annunītum-ummī, to another nadītu.[8] As documented in the tablet designated CT 2 41, Amat-Mamu was permitted by her parents to choose which of her brothers would control her property, which was in accordance with section 179 of the Code of Hammurabi.[9]

Inheritance from Belessunu[edit]

In 1736 BCE, Amat-Mamu was adopted as the heir of the nadītu Belessunu, the daughter of Manium. Per the terms of the agreement, Amat-Mamu was required to provide Belessunu with grain, wool, and oil while Belessunu lived. Upon Belessunu's death, Amat-Mamu inherited one house, two empty plots, two cooking pots, some number of slaves, and four fields with a total area of 43 arpents.[10] Amat-Mamu was given the deeds, or "mother tablets", entitling her to Belessunu's property.[2] Two years after the agreement was made, two of Belessunu's cousins laid claim to the inheritance of a field. They mayor of Sippar, Zimri-Erah, ruled that the inheritance was rightfully Amat Mamu's. The cousins were penalized for making a false claim over property, and they were forced to give Amat-Mamu a tablet that relinquished their claims.[11]

The tablets were stored in her uncle's home, following the tradition that they be kept with a male relative.[2] When they were lost, her father Sîn-ilî had adeposition taken from the uncle admitting to their loss.[11] Amat-Mamu was forced to go to the court so the judges could authorize the creation of new tablets.[2] This sequence of events was documented on a legal tablet designated CT 47 63, which is used as a reference to understand Babylonian property and inheritance law.[2][10]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b Leick 2002, p. 12.
  2. ^ a b c d e Jacquet 2013, p. 77.
  3. ^ a b c Lion 2011, p. 99.
  4. ^ Lion 2011, p. 100.
  5. ^ Harris 1962, pp. 1–2.
  6. ^ Seri 2011, p. 55.
  7. ^ Charpin 2010, p. 64.
  8. ^ Seri 2011, p. 51.
  9. ^ Harris 1961, pp. 167–168.
  10. ^ a b Charpin 2010, pp. 63–65.
  11. ^ a b Charpin 2010, pp. 64–65.

References[edit]

  • Charpin, Dominique (2010). Writing, Law, and Kingship in Old Babylonian Mesopotamia. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-10159-0.
  • Harris, Rivkah (1961). "The nadītu Laws of the Code of Hammurapi in Praxis". Orientalia. 30 (2): 163–169. ISSN 0030-5367.
  • Harris, Rivkah (1962). "Biographical Notes on the nadītu Women of Sippar". Journal of Cuneiform Studies. 16 (1): 1–12. doi:10.2307/1359426. ISSN 0022-0256.
  • Jacquet, Antoine (2013). "Family Archives in Mesopotamia during the Old Babylonian Period". In Faraguna, Michele (ed.). Archives and archival documents in ancient societies: Legal Documents in Ancient Societies IV: Trieste 30 September-1 October 2011. Edizioni Università di Trieste. pp. 63–85. ISBN 978-88-8303-460-2.
  • Leick, Gwendolyn (2002). Who's who in the Ancient Near East. Routledge. ISBN 9780203287477.
  • Lion, Brigitte (2011). "Literacy and Gender". In Radner, Karen; Robson, Eleanor (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Cuneiform Culture. Oxford University Press. pp. 90–112. ISBN 9780191743597.
  • Seri, Andrea (2011). "Domestic Female slaves during the old babylonian Period". In Culbertson, Laura (ed.). Slaves and households in the Near East: papers from the Oriental Institute Seminar. Oriental Institute Seminars. Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. ISBN 978-1-885923-83-7.
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