Drehem Administrative Documents from the Reign of Amar-Suena.

• Author: Sigrist, Marcel
• Position: Book review

Drehem Administrative Documents from the Reign of Amar-Suena. Cuneiform Texts from the Ur III Period in the Oriental Institute, vol. 2. By MARKUS HILGERT, with a contribution by Clemens D. Reichel. Oriental Institute Publications, vol. 121. Chicago: THE ORIENTAL INSTITUTE, 2003. Pp. xxxviii + 649, plates. $140. [Distributed by The David Brown Book Company, Oakville, Conn.]

Dr. Markus Hilgert has published a superb volume of 506 tablets housed in the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. These tablets, found at the site of Drehem, are all dated to the reign of the third king of the Third Dynasty of Ur, Amar-Sin. The book has no fewer than 649 pages and seventy-nine plates, divided into thirty-four sections. The author offers a marvelous treatment of this group of tablets by presenting all possible information to be gained from them. Numerous charts and tables facilitate access to all of this data. The book is a mine of information for various difficult readings in the texts, and also for understanding the Drehem archive. The following remarks are not meant to diminish the value of this editio princeps of these tablets.

Given the size of the volume needed to present the five hundred tablets, it would have been interesting to add a little more about the interpretation of the administrative system during Amar-Sin's reign. It seems to me that the reign of Amar-Sin achieved its most accomplished state in its administration of Drehem, even without the routine use of seals as in Girsu or Umma. Such a practice would become usual once more only with the reign of Su-Sin.

The central office (p. 54), headed by Abbasaga, recorded all deliveries brought to Drehem, recognizable by the fact that all the tablets are labeled mu-tu[m.sub.2] "delivery." Such tablets without the name of Abbasaga were receipts given to the person who made the deliveries. In most cases one finds mu-tu[m.sub.2] Abbasaga [i.sub.3]-dab[.sub.5], "Abbasaga took into account." Once the delivery had been recorded by the Drehem central administration, in most cases Abbasaga transferred the cattle to other officials or fatteners, according to the needs of the palace or temples and the type of animals received. These transfers are made to a number of bureaus, as demonstrated here. These transactions can be recognized as ki Abbasaga-ta PN [i.sub.3]-dab[.sub.5].

In some instances, Abbasaga directly dispensed the animals under his control: these tablets employ the formula ki...