New Sources on the History of Larsa: Letters of King Sumuel

Abstract

In 2018, A. R. George published a transliteration and translation of a large group of cuneiform letters, including more than 30 letters written in the name of king of Larsa Sumuel (1894– 1866 BC) and his entourage. Letters were written at the very end of the reign of king Sumuel, when the long-standing rivalry between Larsa and its northern neighbor Isin intensified. King of Isin Erra-imitti, apparently tried to cut off Larsa from direct control over the water resources of the Euphrates, and his soldiers made constant raids on the border territories of Larsa. Sumuel in his letters exchanges information with the senior officers about the movement of the enemy, gives orders for the deployment of military units, for urgent construction of defensive structures, supplying military garrisons with grain, reconstruction of city walls damaged during enemy raids etc. When making decisions of a military and strategic nature, Sumuel, like other rulers of that time, tried to follow the will of the gods, the reflection of which could be “read” on the liver of the sacrificial animal. Documents published by A. George represent a valuable addition to a very meager collection of cuneiform sources from Larsa in the mid — 19th century BC. Their study makes it possible to trace the methods of government and warfare used by king Sumuel, and sheds new light on the dramatic events that ended the reign of this king.