The Land grant to Munnabittu kudurru is an elongated egg-shaped black limestone ancient

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...

n ''narû'' or entitlement stele (

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 ...

), 46.5 cm high and 20.5 cm wide, which details the reconfirmation of a gift of 30 GUR of land (around 750 acres) by

Kassite The Kassites () were people of the ancient Near East, who controlled Babylonia after the fall of the Old Babylonian Empire c. 1531 BC and until c. 1155 BC (short chronology). They gained control of Babylonia after the Hittite sack of Babylon ...

king Marduk-apla-iddina I to his servant Munnabittu (a name meaning "fugitive, refugee"), son of Ṭābu-melû (probably a

Hurrian The Hurrians (; cuneiform: ; transliteration: ''Ḫu-ur-ri''; also called Hari, Khurrites, Hourri, Churri, Hurri or Hurriter) were a people of the Bronze Age Near East. They spoke a Hurrian language and lived in Anatolia, Syria and Northern ...

name). It is significant because, in addition to portraying eighteen divine icons around its top, it lists forty-seven gods in its inscription, more than any other similar object.

The stele

Recovered from

Susa Susa ( ; Middle elx, 𒀸𒋗𒊺𒂗, translit=Šušen; Middle and Neo- elx, 𒋢𒋢𒌦, translit=Šušun; Neo-Elamite and Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼𒀭, translit=Šušán; Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼, translit=Šušá; fa, شوش ...

during the French excavations under

Jacques de Morgan Jean-Jacques de Morgan (3 June 1857, Huisseau-sur-Cosson, Loir-et-Cher – 14 June 1924) was a French people, French mining engineer, geologist, and archaeologist. He was the director of antiquities in Khedivate of Egypt, Egypt during the 19th ...

at the turn of the twentieth century, excavation reference Sb 26, it is currently located in the

Musée du Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

. The text covers around three quarters of the surface of the sides with the top part engraved with a relief of religious iconography. It records the granting of a tract of land in the limits of the town of Šaknanâ, on the banks of the Mēdandan canal, district of Ḫudādu (Baghdad?), originally by Meli-Šipak. The failure to issue a record of this deed resulted in its contention by Munnabbittu’s neighbor, Aḫūnea (probably the

hypocoristic A hypocorism ( or ; from Ancient Greek: (), from (), 'to call by pet names', sometimes also ''hypocoristic'') or pet name is a name used to show affection for a person. It may be a diminutive form of a person's name, such as ''Izzy'' for I ...

form of his name), son of Dayyān-Marduk, who laid claim to a three GUR and twenty ''qa'' portion of the field, claiming that "it is the 'gate' of my field". On appeal to Marduk-apla-iddina I, the former governor of Ḫudādu, Kidin-Ninurta, under whose period in office the original grant had been made, and Ṣir-šum-iddina, his successor, together with various city elders, were consulted and unanimously upheld Munnabittu’s claim. Ṣir-šum-iddina and the scribe Bēl-ippašra were dispatched to resurvey the property and confirmed its size.

Cast of characters

* Meli-Šipak (the earlier king, grantor) * Munnabittu, son of Ṭābu(DUG.GA)-melû (the beneficiary) * Izkur-Nabû, “son of Arad-Ea” (neighbor) * Kidin-Ninurta, son of Namru (ex-governor of Ḫudādu) * Nabû-šum-iddina, son of Šuzib-Marduk, “son of Arad-Ea” (Meli-Šipak’s royal scribe) * Marduk-apla-iddina I, (the king rendering judgement) * Aḫūnea, son of Dayyān-Marduk (the plaintiff) * Ṣir-šum-iddina, son of Aḫu-banû (governor of Ḫudādu) * Bēl-ippašra, "son of Arad-Ea" (scribe, surveyor) Witnesses: * Libur-zanin-Ekur, ''ša rēši'' (^lúSAG), a court official * Ḫa-SAR-''du'', ''sukkal mu'erru'', previously a beneficiary himself in the

land grant to Ḫasardu kudurru The land grant to Ḫasardu kudurru, is a four-sided limestone ''narû'', or memorial stele, from the late 2nd millennium BC Mesopotamia recording the gift of 144 hectares of land on the bank of the Royal Canal in the Bīt-Pir’i-Amurru region ...

, on which both Libur-zanin-Ekur and Iqīša-Bau appeared as witnesses * Marduk-kudurrī-uṣur, ''ša rēš šarri'' (^lúSAG LUGAL), a court official * Uzib-Bēl, ''sukkal'', a court official * Iqīša-Bau, "son of Arad-Ea," ''pīḫātu'', a minor provincial official?

Divine names and symbols

The

's significance lies in its extensive

list of Mesopotamian deities Deities in ancient Mesopotamia were almost exclusively anthropomorphic. They were thought to possess extraordinary powers and were often envisioned as being of tremendous physical size. The deities typically wore ''melam'', an ambiguous substa ...

used in the curse section, the longest by far to appear on any similar object, where around a dozen usually suffice. The elaborate endorsements, however, provided no protection to the monument as within around fifteen years it was taken back to

Elam Elam (; Linear Elamite: ''hatamti''; Cuneiform Elamite: ; Sumerian: ; Akkadian: ; he, עֵילָם ''ʿēlām''; peo, 𐎢𐎺𐎩 ''hūja'') was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of modern-day Iran, stretc ...

as war-booty by the invading army of Šutruk-Naḫḫunte. The following gives the names of the gods and goddesses in the order in which they appear in the text, with the cuneiform synonym in parentheses when the name is not written phonetically. The divine symbols are numbered as per Hinke's diagram (opposite). Sb 26 divine symbols

* Anu (4. shrine with tiara) *

Enlil Enlil, , "Lord f theWind" later known as Elil, is an 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 the Akkadians, Bab ...

(5. shrine with tiara) * Ea (6. goat-fish in front of shrine) *

Ninhursag , deity_of=Mother goddess, goddess of fertility, mountains, and rulers , image= Mesopotamian - Cylinder Seal - Walters 42564 - Impression.jpg , caption=Akkadian cylinder seal impression depicting a vegetation goddess, possibly Ninhursag, sitting ...

* Sîn (^d30) (1. crescent moon) *

Ningal Ningal ( Sumerian: "Great Queen"), also known as Nikkal in Akkadian, was a Mesopotamian goddess of Sumerian origin regarded as the wife of the moon god, Nanna/Sin. She was particularly closely associated with his main cult centers, Ur and Harran, ...

Šamaš Utu (dUD "Sun"), also known under the Akkadian name Shamash, ''šmš'', syc, ܫܡܫܐ ''šemša'', he, שֶׁמֶשׁ ''šemeš'', ar, شمس ''šams'', Ashurian Aramaic: 𐣴𐣬𐣴 ''š'meš(ā)'' was the ancient Mesopotamian sun god. ...

(^dUTU) (3. sun-disc) * Aya (^dGAL) *

Bunene The ancient Mesopotamian deity Bunene, inscribed in cuneiform sumerograms as dḪAR and phonetically as d''bu-ne-ne'', was a subordinate to and '' sukkal'' ("vizier") or charioteer of the sun-god Šamaš, whom he drove from the eastern horizon at da ...

(^dḪAR) *

Kittu ''Kittu'' ( te, కిట్టు) is a 2006 traditionally animated Indian feature film. It is the first animated film to be made in the Telugu language. It won the National Film Award and is also credited with AP state award (Nandi Award) as ...

(^dNIN.GI.NA) * Mêšara (^dNIN.SI) * ^dAT.GI.MAḪ * ^dŠE. RU.ŠIŠ *

Marduk Marduk (Cuneiform: dAMAR.UTU; Sumerian: ''amar utu.k'' "calf of the sun; solar calf"; ) was a god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of the city of Babylon. When Babylon became the political center of the Euphrates valley in the time of ...

(^dAMAR.UTU) (15. spade) * Zarpanitum *

Nabû Nabu ( akk, cuneiform: 𒀭𒀝 Nabû syr, ܢܵܒܼܘܼ\ܢܒܼܘܿ\ܢܵܒܼܘܿ Nāvū or Nvō or Nāvō) is the ancient Mesopotamian patron god of literacy, the rational arts, scribes, and wisdom. Etymology and meaning The Akkadian "nab ...

(^dAG) (11. horned dragon before brick shrine) * Tašmetum *

Ninurta , image= Cropped Image of Carving Showing the Mesopotamian God Ninurta.png , caption= Assyrian stone relief from the temple of Ninurta at Kalhu, showing the god with his thunderbolts pursuing Anzû, who has stolen the Tablet of Destinies from En ...

(12.

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

lion-headed

symbol A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...

) * Ninkarrag ( Gula) (7. dog) *

Zababa Zababa (Sumerian: 𒀭𒍝𒂷𒂷 dza-ba4-ba4) was the tutelary deity of the city of Kish in ancient Mesopotamia. He was a war god. While he was regarded as similar to Ninurta and Nergal, he was never fully conflated with them. His worship is at ...

(10. vulture-headed symbol) * Bau (16. the walking bird) *

Damu Damu ( sux, 𒀭𒁕𒈬) was a Mesopotamian god. While originally regarded as a dying god connected to vegetation, similar to Dumuzi or Ningishzida, with time he acquired the traits of a god of healing. He was regarded as the son of the medici ...

* GEŠTIN.NAM *

Ištar Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, divine justice, and political power. She was originally worshiped in Sum ...

(2. Venus-star) *

Nanaya Nanaya (Sumerian language, Sumerian , Dingir, DNA.NA.A; also transcribed as "Nanāy", "Nanaja", "Nanāja", '"Nanāya", or "Nanai"; antiquated transcription: "Nanâ"; in Greek language, Greek: ''Ναναια'' or ''Νανα''; Aramaic: ''ננױ� ...

* Anunitum *

Adad Hadad ( uga, ), 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. ...

(^dIM) (14. bull reclining beneath lightning bolt) * Šala * Mišarru *

Nergal Nergal ( Sumerian: d''KIŠ.UNU'' or ; ; Aramaic: ܢܸܪܓܲܠ; la, Nirgal) was a Mesopotamian god worshiped through all periods of Mesopotamian history, from Early Dynastic to Neo-Babylonian times, with a few attestations under indicating hi ...

(^dU.GUR (9. lion-headed symbol) * Lâṣ * Išum * Šubula * Lugalgirra * Meslamtae’a * Šarṣarbati (^dLUGAL.GIŠ.A.TU.GAB.LIŠ) * Ma’-me-tum * Alammuš (^dLÀL) *

Ningublaga Ningublaga (, less commonly Ningublag) was a Mesopotamian god associated with cattle. His cult center was Kiabrig, a little known city located in the proximity of Ur. He belonged to the circle of deities related to the moon god, Nanna, and some ...

(^dNIN.BAD) * Tišpak * Ištarān (^dKA.DI) (18. coiled snake) *

Nusku Nuska or Nusku, possibly also known as Našuḫ, was a Mesopotamian god best attested as the sukkal (divine vizier) of Enlil. He was also associated with fire and light, and could be invoked as a protective deity against various demons, such as La ...

(^d PA+KU) (13. lamp) *

Sadarnunna Sadarnunna was a Mesopotamian goddess regarded as the wife of Nuska. Very little is known about her individual character. She was worshiped in Nippur, and appears alongside other deities of this city in texts from the Ur III period already. In lat ...

* Uraš (^dIB) *

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 ...

* Šuqamuna (17. bird on a perch) * Šumalia (17. bird on a perch) Išḫara (8. scorpion), the only symbol not named

Principal publications

* and pl. 9–10: translation and photographs * line art

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Land grant to Munnabittu kudurru Kassites Kudurru boundary stones Sculpture of the Ancient Near East Near East and Middle East antiquities of the Louvre