Land grant to Marduk-zākir-šumi kudurru


The Land grant to Marduk-zākir-šumi kudurru is an ancient Mesopotamian narû, or entitlement stele, recording the gift of 18 bur 2 eše of corn-land by Kassite king of Babylon Marduk-apla-iddina I to his bēl pīḫati, or a provincial official. The monument is significant in part because it shows the continuation of royal patronage in Babylonia during a period when most of the near East was beset by collapse and confusion, and in part due to the lengthy genealogy of the beneficiary, which links him to his illustrious ancestors.

The stele

The monument is a large rectangular block of limestone with a base of 51 by 30.5 cm and a height of 91 cm, or around 3 foot, with a broken top making it the tallest of the extant kudurrus and has intentionally flattened sides. It was recovered from the western bank of the Tigris opposite Baghdad and acquired by George Smith for the British Museum while on his 1873–74 expedition to Nineveh sponsored by the Daily Telegraph. It was originally given the collection reference D.T. 273 and later that of BM 90850. The face has three registers featuring eighteen symbolic representations of gods and the back has three columns of text.
First register:
Second register:
Third register:
The land grant was situated west of the river Tigris in the province of Ingur-Ištar, one of perhaps twenty-two pīḫatus or provinces known from the Kassite period, and was bordered by estates belonging to the Bīt-Nazi-Marduk and Bīt-Tunamissaḫ, perhaps Kassite nobility.

Cast of characters

His ancestors:
Witnesses: