Shining Among the Kings of Old

The Old Babylonian Mortuary Ceremony TCL 15 8

Bibliographic Data

ID6078125
AuthorsNiek Veldhuis (University of California, Berkeley, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume77
Pages67-95
Publication date2025-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Cuneiform Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-0256 • E-ISSN: 2325-6737
PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1086/736080
OpenAlexW4412401315
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited11

This contribution provides a new edition of TCL 15, 8 (AO 5374) and interprets the text as a mortuary ceremony for an (early) Old Babylonian royal figure, who is helped in his transition from this world to the next by netherworld gods and kings of the past, and eventually ends up in the skies as a star. The new edition is an occasion to discuss the relationships among Old Babylonian Emesal liturgies and relationships between Old Babylonian and later texts. The list of past kings includes the names of Ur III monarchs as well as kings of the Isin Dynasty. Such use of the past is further illustrated by an administrative text found at Ur (U.30628) that inventories precious objects in memory of kings of both dynasties (appendix 1)

Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · Ceremony · Ancient Egypt and Archaeology · Ancient Near East History · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History

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