Babylonia, the Gulf Region and the Indus. Archaeological and Textual Evidence for Contact in the Third and Early Second Millennia BC 9781575067568

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Babylonia, the Gulf Region, and the Indus

ME:SOPOTAMIAN QVILIZATIONS General Editor Jerrold S. Cooper, Johns Hopkins University Editorial Board Walter Farber, University of Chicago Piotr Michalowski, University of Michigan Simo Parpola, University of Helsinki Karen Radner, Ludwig�Maximilians Universität, Munich 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17.

Jack Sasson, Vanderbilt University Piotr Steinkeller, Harvard University Marten Stol, Free University of Amsterdam Irene Winter, Harvard University

The Lamentation over the Destruction of Sumer and Ur, by Piotr Michalowski Schlaf, Kindchen, Schlaf! Mesopotamische Baby,ßeschwörungen und ,Rituale, by Walter Farber Adoption in Old Babylonian Nippur and the Archive of Mannum,me5u,li��ur, by Elizabeth C. Stone and David I. Owen Third,Millennium Legal and Administrative Texts in the lraq Museum, Baghdad, by Piotr Steinkeller and J. N. Postgate Hause Most High: The Temples of Ancient Mesopotamia, by A. R. George Textes culinaires Mesopotamiens

/ Mesopotamian Culinary Texts, by Jean Bottero

Legends of the Kings of Akkade: The Texts, by Joan Goodnick Westenholz Mesopotamian Cosmic Geography, by Wayne Horowitz The Writing an the Wall: Studies in the Architectural Context of Late Assyrian Palace Reliefs, by John M. Russell Adapa and the South Wind: Language Has the P ower of Life and Death, by Shlomo lzre'el Time at Emar: The Cultic Calendar and the Rituals from the Diviner's Archive, by Daniel E. Fleming Letters to the King of Mari: A New Translation, with Historical Introduction, Notes, and Commentary, by Wolfgang Heimpel Babylonian Oracle Questions, by WG. Lambert Royal Statuary of Early Dynastie Mesopotamia , by Gianni Marchesi and Nicolo Marchetti The Correspondence of the Kings of Ur: An Epistolary History of an Ancient Mesopotamian Kingdom, by Piotr Michalowski Babylonian Creation Myths, by WG. Lambert Lamastu: An Edition of the Canonical Series of Lama5tu Incantations and Rituals and Related Texts from the Second and First Millennia b.c„ by Walter Farber

18. 19. 20. 21.

The Lamentation over the Destruction of Ur, by Nili Samet The babilili,Ritual from Hattusa (CTH

718), by Gary M.

Beckman

Assyria: The Imperial Mission, by Mario Liverani Babylonia, the Gulf Region, and the Indus: Archaeological and Textual Evidence for Contact in the Third and Early Second Millennia B.C„ by Steffen Laursen and Piotr Steinkeller

Babylonia, the Gulf Region, and the Indus Archaeologi,cal and Textual Evidence for Contact in the Third and Early Second Millennia B.C.

Steffen Laursen and Piotr Steinkeller

Winona Lake, Indiana EISEN BRAUNS 2017

© Copyright 201 7 Eisenbrauns

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. www.eisenbrauns.com

Library of Congress Cataloging.-in.-Publication Data

Names: Laursen, Steffen, author. 1 Steinkeller, Piotr, author. Tide: Babylonia, the Gulf Region, and the Indus : archaeological and textual evidence for contact in the third and early second millennia B.C. / Steffen Laursen and Piotr Steinkeller. Description: Winona Lake, Indiana : Eisenbrauns, 201 7. 1 Includes bibliographical references. 1 Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed. Identifiers: LCCN 20 1 70073 1 8 (print) 1 LCCN 201 701 2647 ( ebook) 1 ISBN 9 7 8 1 5 75067575 (ePDF) 1 ISBN 978 1 5 75067568 1 ISBN 9781 5 75067568 (hardback) : alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Iraq-Civilization-To 634. 1 lraq-Antiquities. 1 Babylonia-Civilization. Classification: LCC DS69.5 (ebook) 1 LCC DS69.5 .L38 201 7 (print) 1 DDC 935/.05-dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/20 1 70073 1 8

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sci­ ences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI

Z39.48-1984. §™

The story of life is quicker than the wink of an eye - J imi Hendrix

In fand memory of Maurizio Tosi (1944-2017), a colossus of Middle Asian archaeology and a dear friend and colleague

Contents

ix

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . 1.

Introduction . . . . . . Working Premise 3 Confronting and Combining Archaeology and Texts Some Methodological Considerations 5

1 3

2.

The Prehistoric Foundation ( ca. 6000-2650 BC) . .

3.

The Pre--Sargonic Period (ca. 2650-2350 BC) Archaeology 1 5 Texts 2 1

15

4.

The Sargonic Period ( ca. 2350-2200 BC) Archaeology 24 Texts 30

24

5.

Makkan and Tilmun between ca. 2200 and ca. 2 1 00 BC .

40

6.

The Ur III Period (ca. 2 1 00-2000 BC) Archaeology 4 7 Texts 53 The Role of Amorites in Tilmun and Makkan

47

8

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

60

7.

The Post--Ur III Period ( 2000-1 800 BC) Archaeology 63 Texts 67

8.

The Role of Gu'abba as Babylonia's Main Seaport and a Major Textile Production Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . Gu'abba, the Seaport 7 1 2 . Gu'abba, the Town 73 2 . 1 . The Shipyard 74 2.2. The Caravanserai 7 5 2.3 . The Weaving Establishment 75 Excursus: The Textile Industry at Ur 77

9.

1 0.

63

71

Contacts between Babylonia and Meluhha in the Late Third Millennium 1 . A Meluhhan Settlement in Southern Babylonia? 79 2. Contacts between Babylonia and Meluhha 82

79

Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . .

89

.

. . . vii

viii

Contents

Appendix 1.

The Ur III and Isin Texts Bearing on the Gulf Trade . . . . . . . . .

The Seaworthy Ships of Babylonia, the "Makkan Ships," and the Cylinder Seals of the "Big Ships" Personnel from Failaka and Bahrain 1 . Big Ships and Big Ship Captains 1 04 2. Ships of Makkan 1 06 3 . Boat Construction 1 07 4. The Cy linder Seals Owned by the Personnel of "Big Ships" from Failaka and Bahrain 109

92

Appendix 2.

Appendix 3.

The Babylonian Burial Jar in the Gulf Countries

1 04

1 13

Bibliographie Abbreviations

1 19

Bibliography .

1 19

Index

138

. . . .

Preface This book is the product of a collaborative effort that began, almost accidentally, in 2008. Follow, ing many e,mail exchanges about various points related to the archaeology and history of the Persian Gulf region during the third millennium BC, we concluded that, because of the great accumulation of new data and the persistence of some misconceptions, there was a pressing need to produce an up, to,date synthetic evaluation of this subject. Conceived originally as an article, this project gradually expanded, eventually becoming a monograph. The evidence bearing on the early Persian Gulf is enormous, and so the choice of data and top, ics explored in this book is of necessity selective. Because of our mutual interests, we focus primarily on the nature of cultural and commercial interactions that existed between Mesopotamia and the cultures of Tilmun ( Bahrain) , Makkan (Oman Peninsula) , and Meluhha ( Indus Valley) . Although we reach back to the fourth millennium, the time,frame of our investigation is essentially the third and early second millennia BC. lt is our great pleasure to acknowledge the assistance this project received from various individu, als and institutions. Laursen gives his special thanks to the Moesgaard Museum and its staff, who , over a period o f many years, have enthusiastically supported his excavations on Bahrain and offered a perfect environment for his research. His work on this book was made possible by a grant from the Danish Council for Independent Research / Culture and Communication. 1 We both offer our heartfelt thanks to Jim Eisenbraun for accepting our manuscript in his Meso, potamian Civilizations series, and to Jerrold Cooper, for reading it exceedingly carefully and suggesting many important improvements, both with regard to content and form. We also warmly acknowledge the editorial help provided by Ryan Winters. While all this assistance was essential, only we are re, sponsible for this book's final shape. There is yet another, more personal side to this project. Both of our interests in the ancient his, tory of the Persian Gulf in no small measure grew from the work and inspiration of our teachers: Flemming H0jlund and A. Leo Oppenheim and I. J . Gelb, respectively. H0jlund has extensively published and excavated in Bahrain and on Failaka Island, producing some of the fundamental stud, ies on Gulf archaeology ( see the bibliography below, pp. 1 1 9ff., esp. p. 1 26 ) . Oppenheim and Gelb wrote articles that were instrumental in putting Tilmun, Makkan, and Meluhha on the map. 2 Our abba as Babylonia's Main Seaport and a Major Textile Production Center

73

of Ur, conceivably at Eridu. While not confirmed textually any time during the third millennium, the existence of a seaport such as this appears particularly likely in pre--Sargonic times. This is indi-­ cated by the political prominence of the city--state of Ur during that period and the fact that Ur was involved in commercial exchanges with the Gulf (as shown from the presence of a rich assortment of eastern goods in the so--called Royal Tombs) , which probably were of a direct nature. Given the po-­ litical climate of pre--Sargonic times, which was characterized by a high level of competition for elite and strategic materials among the leading city--states, it is doubtful that Lagas would have allowed its rival Ur to have a free use of Gu)abba, thus forcing Ur to seek an alternative access to the seacoast. Be that as it may, Ur III sources contain no references to any form of maritime activity in the area of Ur (or Eridu) . 9 Therefore, it appears certain that, even if such a port existed, it was not used exten-­ sively in Ur III times. 10 Since the early Old Babylonian sources from Ur bearing on the trade with Tilmun place this operation at Ur (though not identifying Ur specifically as an embarkation point) , 1 1 it appears that, at that time, a port existed at Ur, which was directly linked by a waterway with the Gulf. lt is also important that the same sources mention a "harbor" of Ur, where various types of boats could be hired. 1 2 On the other hand, the name of Gu)abba is not attested in Old Babylonian times. These facts should perhaps be interpreted as implying that, following the disintegration of the Ur III empire, Gu)abba ceased to be a seaport, that role having been taken over by Ur or Eridu. 2. Gu>abba, the Town

The town of Gu)abba was the site of a temple--household of Ninmar, which constituted the largest religious and economic institution in the area. In addition, a number of other, smaller temple--house-­ holds were located there, among them those of (d)N a--du3 --a,