statuesque autobiography

Many ancient kings have achieved immortality by committing their boasts and biographies to stone. For example, the great Babylonian king Hammurabi, 1728-1686 B.C., insured the permanence of his famous law code by having it engraved on a diorite stele. A lesser monarch, Idri-mi of Alalakh, about 1400 B.C., is known to us only because he covered his own statue with his autobiography.

---The photo above shows the front of the Statue of King Idrimi of Alalakh, now displayed in the British Museum. An associated cuneiform inscription tells that this king, following a popular revolt, was forced into exile. He went first to Emar on the Euphrates, then to Canaan, where he joined other refugees from Syria and lived with the Hapiru. Seven years later he recaptured the district of Mukish and was acclaimed king of Alalakh.---Read More:http://ferrelljenkins.wordpress.com/2009/01/10/

From the British Museum. ( see link at end) …This extraordinary statue represents Idrimi, a king of Alalakh. It was discovered by the excavator Leonard Woolley in the ruins of a temple at the site of Tell Atchana (ancient Alalakh). The statue had been toppled from its stone throne, presumably at the time of the final destruction of the city, around 1100 BC. Its head, with inlaid glass eyes, and its feet had broken off. The eyebrows and eyelids had originally been inlaid and the marks of a tubular drill can be seen, probably part of the process of manufacture.

The statue is inscribed in faulty Akkadian, using a poor cuneiform script, with an autobiography of Idrimi. It is a unique type of text signed by the scribe who wrote it. Idrimi was one of the sons of the royal house of Aleppo, which was subject to the powerful kingdom of Mitanni. The territory of Aleppo included the smaller city state of Alalakh. Following a failed revolt, Idrimi and some of his family fled to Emar (now Meskene) on the Euphrates, which was ruled by his mother’s family. From there he went south to live among nomads in Canaan (the earliest known reference to this land). Here he gathered troops and received popular support and help from his family. In time he made overtures to Parattarna, the king of Mitanni, who recognized his control of Alalakh. The inscription states that he had been ruling for thirty years when he had the statue inscribed, though it has been suggested that the text was actually added to the statue about three hundred years after Idrimi. The inscription ends with curses on anyone who would destroy the statue. Read More:http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/s/statue_of_idrimi.aspx

ADDENDUM:


…I took my horse, my chariot and my groom and went to the desert. I moved in with the Sutu. Together with him (: my groom) I stayed overnight before the throne of Zakkar. On the next day, I left and went towards Kanaan. In Kanaan, Ammija is situated. Also staying in Ammija were people from Halab, people from the country Mukish, people from the country Nihi and people from the country Amae. They lived there. When they saw me (and knew) that I was the son of their lord, they assembled around me. Thus I was made noble and received the command-authority. I stayed among the Hapiru-people for seven years. I let birds fly and sacrificed lambs. In the seventh year, Teshub turned to me. Thereupon I built ships….Read More:http://prophetess.lstc.edu/~rklein/Doc5/idrimi.pdf

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