Yasmah-Adad  was the youngest son of Shamshi-Adad I, the founder of the 1st Assyrian Empire.   This name is somewhat misleading since Shamshi-Adad did not come from Assyrian nobility, but was an Amorite.  The Amorites were a loose coalition of nomadic tribes from Syria who began to infiltrate Mesopotamia and gain control of its major power centers.  We will encounter them again when we meet Hammurabi, who was also an Amorite.  Shamshi-Adad I resided in Shubat-Enlil, his oldest son ruled in Ekallatum, in the southern part of his empire, and his youngest son, Yasma-Adad, was made ruler of Mari. 

Judging by the letters discovered in the palace archive at Mari,  Yasmah-Adad had a difficult relationship with his father. 

Yasmah-Adad’s troubles were further compounded by trouble closer to home.  His first wife was a daughter of the former king of Mari.  However, his father had arranged a second marriage to the daughter of the king of Qatna, a major power in the region. The marriage may have made peace between nations but it sparked a battle royale within his own palace.  His new wife, a princess of Qatna, did not feel as though she was being given the proper place due her so she complained to her father, the king of Qatna, who then complained to Shamshi-Adad, the father of Yasmah-Adad! One cannot help but feel sorry for Yasmah-Adad when he received another angry letter from his father, this time scolding him for treating his second wife improperly.  Then again, it cannot have been easy on his two wives either. 

Despite these difficulties at home and abroad, Yasmah-Adad ruled in Mari for nearly twenty years. The royal dynasty founded by Shamshi-Adad seemed secure until a new ruler named Hammurabi rose to power in Babylon.  Yasmah-Adad seems to have perceived the threat this new king posed to Mari and expressed his concerns to one of his officials. We have a record of the official’s response:

This may not have been the most reliable intelligence since we know that Hammurabi was an ambitious king who would eventually attack Mari and destroy the palace, although by then Yasmah-Adad had already been swept off the throne by Zimri-Lim, another Amorite king.

Royal Palace of Zimri-Lim

Zimri-Lim was the most famous of Mari’s kings.  Having seized the throne from Yasmah-Adad, he proceeded to build a massive palace that became a major destination in the region as can be seen in a letter from a king of Ugarit who wrote to Zimri-Lim, stating that he was sending his son to Mari in order to “see the great house”. 

The palace was made of mud brick walls erected on stone foundations.  It measured 200 x 150 meters.  The lower floor contained over 260 room.  These were arranged around open courtyards, the largest of which is closest to the entrance, while the inner courtyards were reserved for special guests.  The walls of the inner courtyards were decorated with colorful frescoes, several of which have been well preserved.  One scene depicts men leading a bull to a sacrifice.  The king is leading the way, depicted larger than life.  

The Investiture of Zimri-Lim

Another wall, probably belonging to a shrine inside the palace, depicts a familiar scene, the king being presented to the gods.  

The fresco depicts the king receiving a circle and a rod, symbols of royal power,  from the goddess Ishtar.  The identity of the goddess is betrayed by the weapons extending from her shoulder, and the lion under her feet. 

The king and the goddess are standing in the top floor of a two story building.  This probably represents the upper floor of the king’s palace.  Beneath them, stand goddesses, holding vases from which flow streams of water.  The water irrigates date palms growing on either side of the palace.  This may be a true to life depiction of the palace since a statue of a goddess holding a vase was actually found in the throne room of the palace.  The statue is hollow so that water would from the hole in the vase held by the goddess.

Also flanking the palace are mythical beasts such as human-headed bulls and female sphinxes.  Some have drawn parallels between this scene and the book of Genesis which speaks of a garden watered by four rivers and guarded by cherubim.  However, when taken as a whole, it is perhaps best to think of the cherubim in the Bible as having human features rather than animal.   Thus in the Genesis account, they have hands with which to hold the flaming swords that guard the way to paradise.  And in Isaiah’s vision they have hands in addition to wings, and not just two wings but six.  That being said, the fresco at Mari may perhaps preserve some distant memory of an earthly paradise like Eden.

Chronology

There has been some debate about the date of these frescoes.  Scholars have noted the differences in dress on the various fragments of fresco.  In several instances, the people wear a flounced skirt traditionally worn by the Sumerians.  In the procession scene, they wear a fringed garment.  In the investiture scene, the king wears a striped, multi-colored garment that probably bears some resemblance to the precious multi-colored garment that Jacob gave to his son, Joseph.  Do these fresco’s date to different periods?  It seems more likely that the different garments belong to people of different rank or office.  The individuals wearing the flounced skirts may have been priests or priestesses who chose to wear the traditional garments of the Sumerians.

The King and his Palace

A king’s power is often measured by the size and grandeur of his monuments, especially of his palace.  A great king must have a great house as can be seen, for example, in the name ‘pharaoh’ which literally means ‘great house’.  When a king received foreign dignitaries, it was customary to show them his palace as a means of displaying his great wealth and power.  A king had to look strong if he wanted to have influence and form strong alliances.  If he was perceived as looking weak, he was more likely to be attacked.  All of this is what Machiavelli termed realpolitik.

There is a short episode in the book of Isaiah where king Hezekiah received foreign dignitaries from Babylon in his palace.

Hezekiah was doing what all kings do.  But the prophet Isaiah condemns him for it.:

There is a different calculus, another way of measuring decisions, that has nothing to do with the size of one’s palace or the number of horses and chariots in one’s employ.   “If you do not stand in faith,” Isaiah said to king Ahaz, “you will not stand at all!”  (Isa. 7:9)

Yasmah-Adad  was the youngest son of Shamshi-Adad I, the founder of the 1st Assyrian Empire.   This name is somewhat misleading since Shamshi-Adad did not come from Assyrian nobility, but was an Amorite.  The Amorites were a loose coalition of nomadic tribes from Syria who began to infiltrate Mesopotamia and gain control of its major power centers.  We will encounter them again when we meet Hammurabi, who was also an Amorite.  Shamshi-Adad I resided in Shubat-Enlil, his oldest son ruled in Ekallatum, in the southern part of his empire, and his youngest son, Yasma-Adad, was made ruler of Mari. 

Judging by the letters discovered in the palace archive at Mari,  Yasmah-Adad had a difficult relationship with his father. 

Yasmah-Adad’s troubles were further compounded by trouble closer to home.  His first wife was a daughter of the former king of Mari.  However, his father had arranged a second marriage to the daughter of the king of Qatna, a major power in the region. The marriage may have made peace between nations but it sparked a battle royale within his own palace.  His new wife, a princess of Qatna, did not feel as though she was being given the proper place due her so she complained to her father, the king of Qatna, who then complained to Shamshi-Adad, the father of Yasmah-Adad! One cannot help but feel sorry for Yasmah-Adad when he received another angry letter from his father, this time scolding him for treating his second wife improperly.  Then again, it cannot have been easy on his two wives either. 

Despite these difficulties at home and abroad, Yasmah-Adad ruled in Mari for nearly twenty years. The royal dynasty founded by Shamshi-Adad seemed secure until a new ruler named Hammurabi rose to power in Babylon.  Yasmah-Adad seems to have perceived the threat this new king posed to Mari and expressed his concerns to one of his officials. We have a record of the official’s response:

This may not have been the most reliable intelligence since we know that Hammurabi was an ambitious king who would eventually attack Mari and destroy the palace, although by then Yasmah-Adad had already been swept off the throne by Zimri-Lim, another Amorite king.

Royal Palace of Zimri-Lim

Zimri-Lim was the most famous of Mari’s kings.  Having seized the throne from Yasmah-Adad, he proceeded to build a massive palace that became a major destination in the region as can be seen in a letter from a king of Ugarit who wrote to Zimri-Lim, stating that he was sending his son to Mari in order to “see the great house”. 

The palace was made of mud brick walls erected on stone foundations.  It measured 200 x 150 meters.  The lower floor contained over 260 room.  These were arranged around open courtyards, the largest of which is closest to the entrance, while the inner courtyards were reserved for special guests.  The walls of the inner courtyards were decorated with colorful frescoes, several of which have been well preserved.  One scene depicts men leading a bull to a sacrifice.  The king is leading the way, depicted larger than life.  

The Investiture of Zimri-Lim

Another wall, probably belonging to a shrine inside the palace, depicts a familiar scene, the king being presented to the gods.  

The fresco depicts the king receiving a circle and a rod, symbols of royal power,  from the goddess Ishtar.  The identity of the goddess is betrayed by the weapons extending from her shoulder, and the lion under her feet. 

The king and the goddess are standing in the top floor of a two story building.  This probably represents the upper floor of the king’s palace.  Beneath them, stand goddesses, holding vases from which flow streams of water.  The water irrigates date palms growing on either side of the palace.  This may be a true to life depiction of the palace since a statue of a goddess holding a vase was actually found in the throne room of the palace.  The statue is hollow so that water would from the hole in the vase held by the goddess.

Also flanking the palace are mythical beasts such as human-headed bulls and female sphinxes.  Some have drawn parallels between this scene and the book of Genesis which speaks of a garden watered by four rivers and guarded by cherubim.  However, when taken as a whole, it is perhaps best to think of the cherubim in the Bible as having human features rather than animal.   Thus in the Genesis account, they have hands with which to hold the flaming swords that guard the way to paradise.  And in Isaiah’s vision they have hands in addition to wings, and not just two wings but six.  That being said, the fresco at Mari may perhaps preserve some distant memory of an earthly paradise like Eden.

Chronology

There has been some debate about the date of these frescoes.  Scholars have noted the differences in dress on the various fragments of fresco.  In several instances, the people wear a flounced skirt traditionally worn by the Sumerians.  In the procession scene, they wear a fringed garment.  In the investiture scene, the king wears a striped, multi-colored garment that probably bears some resemblance to the precious multi-colored garment that Jacob gave to his son, Joseph.  Do these fresco’s date to different periods?  It seems more likely that the different garments belong to people of different rank or office.  The individuals wearing the flounced skirts may have been priests or priestesses who chose to wear the traditional garments of the Sumerians.

The King and his Palace

A king’s power is often measured by the size and grandeur of his monuments, especially of his palace.  A great king must have a great house as can be seen, for example, in the name ‘pharaoh’ which literally means ‘great house’.  When a king received foreign dignitaries, it was customary to show them his palace as a means of displaying his great wealth and power.  A king had to look strong if he wanted to have influence and form strong alliances.  If he was perceived as looking weak, he was more likely to be attacked.  All of this is what Machiavelli termed realpolitik.

There is a short episode in the book of Isaiah where king Hezekiah received foreign dignitaries from Babylon in his palace.

Hezekiah was doing what all kings do.  But the prophet Isaiah condemns him for it.:

There is a different calculus, another way of measuring decisions, that has nothing to do with the size of one’s palace or the number of horses and chariots in one’s employ.   “If you do not stand in faith,” Isaiah said to king Ahaz, “you will not stand at all!”  (Isa. 7:9)