The Administrative and Economic Aspects during the Reign of Samsu-Iluna, King of Babylon

Abstract

The present research and studies include a group of six previously unpublished Old Babylonian tablets dating to the reign of Samsu-iluna (1750-1712 B.C), king of Babylon, during the middle Old Babylonian period, these texts housing in the Slemani Museum. Four of these six tablets are legal contracts, although the lasting two are administrative tablets. In the present paper, we tried to classified the tablets according of their year names, all of which belong to five different years of Samsu-iluna, king of Babylon. The first tablet is a contract dated to the first year of Samsu-iluna’s reign. The second text of the paper, which is also a contract, dates to the seventh year of the same king. The third text is a contract dating to the eighteenth year of the Samsu-iluna, while the fourth texts is likewise a contract dated to the year tweeny fourth year of the same king. The final two tablets of the present research are administrative texts dated to the year tweeny eighth of Samsu-iluna. The tablets cover a range of administrative occupations, including labor assignments, commodity distribution, and institutional oversight, shedding light on local governance and the operational mechanisms of provincial administrations. Philological analysis reveals both continuity with earlier Old Babylonian scribal traditions and adaptations to the new realities of Samsu-iluna’s reign, particularly in response to internal revolts and the decline of centralized authority.