Addu-duri
Addu-duri (c. 18th century B.C.E.) was a powerful female official during the reign of King Zimri-Lim, possibly the queen mother, in the ancient city-state of Mari, in what is now Syria.
Biography
[edit]Based on the archaeological record, the scholar Bernard Frank Batto classified Addu-duri as a "powerful woman administrator" in Mari, an ancient Semitic city-state in modern-day Syria.[1]
During the rule of Zimri-Lim in the 18th century B.C.E., Addu-duri held great influence, and the king frequently relied on her for important projects.[1][2] While her exact title is unknown, she likely served in an official capacity in Mari, with broad jurisdiction over the entire capital city, particularly its palace and temples.[1] She was involved in both religious and secular affairs, including legal matters such as property disputes.[1] She retained access to her own wealth via owning estates, livestock, and luxury gifts.[2][3]
Addu-duri herself resided in the palace,[1] and scholars including Jack M. Sasson have theorized that she was Zimri-Lim's mother,[3][4][5][6][7] although Batto had previously concluded that it was unlikely she was a blood relative of the royal family.[1] She died during the height of Zimri-Lim's rule, around the seventh year of his reign.[4][8]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Batto, Bernard Frank (1974). Studies on Women at Mari. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-1605-5.
- 1 2 Batto, Bernard F. (1980). "Land Tenure and Women at Mari". Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient. 23 (3): 209–239. doi:10.2307/3632056. ISSN 0022-4995. JSTOR 3632056.
- 1 2 Sabloff, Paula L.W. (2020). "The Political Agency of Royal Women: A Comparative Analysis of Eight Premodern States According to Societal Rules and Roles". Journal of Archaeological Research. 28 (1): 53–97. doi:10.1007/s10814-019-09131-y. ISSN 1059-0161. JSTOR 45378918.
- 1 2 Sasson, Jack M. (1998). "The King and I: A Mari King in Changing Perceptions". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 118 (4): 453–470. doi:10.2307/604782. ISSN 0003-0279. JSTOR 604782.
- ↑ Deluty, Julie B. (2020). "Prophecy in the Ancient Levant and Old Babylonian Mari". Religion Compass. 14 (6) e12351. doi:10.1111/rec3.12351. ISSN 1749-8171.
- ↑ Sánchez Abarrio, José Andrés (2025-11-03). "Prophecy in Clay: The Construction of Prophetic Identities in the Royal Archives of Mari". Religions. 16 (11): 1400. doi:10.3390/rel16111400. ISSN 2077-1444.
- ↑ Halton, Charles; Svärd, Saana (2018). Women's Writing of Ancient Mesopotamia. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-05205-5.
- ↑ Sasson, Jack M. (June 1984). "Thoughts of Zimri-Lim". The Biblical Archaeologist. 47 (2): 110–120. doi:10.2307/3209891. JSTOR 3209891.