The Babylonian World - Historia Antigua

— Babylonia and the Levant during the Kassite period —
16 The sites on the Middle Euphrates reflecting Kassite traces in Babylonia are Terqa, in the
Hamrin (Tell Mohammed, Tell Imlihiye, Tell Zubaydi; in Sumer-Babylonia (Ur, Larsa Uruk,
Isin, Nippur, Babylon, Dur-Kurigalzu, Sippar); at Susa and on both Failaka (Kuwait) and
Bahrain (Qal’atal-Bahrain). The large bulk of these are concerned with the economic life in
Babylonia. The large variety of sites economically active during this period substantiates the
proposal that a great support system existed, which is required for a gateway status (Brinkman
1980: 468–469).
17 For an introduction to the archaeological site, see Kühne (1997: 156–157); Baqir (1942: 43
and 1946: 73–93) and the texts related to the site, see Pedersén (1998: 104–107), Gurney
(1949: 131–149 and 1953: 21–34).
18 Cf. Pedersén (1998: 108–112) for detail on the archaeological discoveries at the site and note
106 for bibliography of excavations.
19 Cf. Pedersén (1998: 112–116) for detail on the archaeological discoveries at the site and note
113 for bibliography of excavations.
20 Cf. Pedersén (1998: 108–112) for detail on the archaeological discoveries at the site and note
121 for bibliography of excavations.
21 It has been accepted (Brown 1991) that lapis lazuli is described in Sumerian as ZA.GIN and
in Akkadian as uqnû. Different qualities have been identified in antiquity (Cohen 1973: 157ff.
and 286ff. and Oppenheim et al. (1970: 12) and various types were described as ‘multi-coloured’,
‘wild-donkey coloured’ or ‘wine-coloured’ (Röllig 1983).
22 Cf. other evidence of early lapis lazuli trade in Herrmann 1968: 21–57; Brown 1991: 5–13;
Röllig 1983: 488–489; Tosi and Vidale 1990: 89–99; Tosi 1974: 3–33; Tosi and Piperno
1978: 15–23; Reiner 1956: 129–149; Rosen 1990; Wyart 1981: 184–190; and Moorey 1994:
88–92.
23 Evidence provides special contact with Egypt, Anatolia and as far as Greece. Even places such
as Hattusa, which could have reached the mountains of Afghanistan without problems, found
it economical for them to acquire this from Babylonia, unless Babylonia had a monopoly on
the trade of lapis lazuli.
24 The import and export of lapis lazuli was mainly found in an uncut or rough format mostly
with the calcite matrix removed. The lumps of raw lapis lazuli were obviously cheaper to
import and this already took place in the fourth millennium BC (Tosi and Vidale 1990: 89–99).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Adams, R.M. (1974). ‘Anthropological perspectives on ancient trade’, Current Anthropology, 15:
239–58.
Balkan, K. (1954). Kassitenstudien: 1. Die Sprache der Kassiten. New Haven, CT: American Oriental
Series 37.
Barag, D. (1962). ‘Mesopotamian vessels of the second millennium BC. Journal of Glass Studies, 4:
9–27.
Bietak, M. (ed.) (2000) The Synchronisation of Civilisations in the Eastern Mediterranean in the Second
Millennium BC (Proceedings of an international symposium at Schloss Haindorf, 15–17 Nov.
1996 and Austrian academy, Vienna, 11–12 May 1998), Wien: Verlag der österreichischen
Akademie der Wissenshaften.
Bouzek, J. (1985) The Aegean, Anatolia, and Europe: cultural interrelations in the second millennium BC,
Praha: Academia.
Brinkman, J.A. (1974). ‘The monarchy in the time of the Kassite Dynasty’, in P. Garelli (ed.), Le
palais et la royauté, Compte rendu de la XIXe Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale. Paris:
Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, 395–408.
–––– (1976). A Catalogue of Cuneiform Sources Pertaining to Specific Monarchs of the Kassite Dynasty.
Materials and Studies for Kassite History, vol. 1. Chicago, IL: Oriental Institute of the University
of Chicago.
–––– (1980) ‘Kassiten’. Reallexikon der Assyriologie 5: 464–473.
523