Publisher's Synopsis
The mound of Drehem was occupied for only a short period of time toward the end of the second millennium B.C. Built by King Shulgi of Ur early in his reign, it was abandoned during the general collapse of his dynasty under his grandson Ibbi-Sin. Its location, like that of nearby Nippur, was at the crossroads of communication between Sumer and Akkad, and therefore was ideally suited to serve as a depot for the many payments in kind to which the kings of Ur subjected their people. These payments were disbursed in turn for the needs of the religious capitol, at Nippur, and the political capitol, at Ur.
The more than 600 texts published in this volume all emanate from Drehem, and thus throw additional light on the political, religious, and economic life of the neo-Sumerian period. They were copied between 1920 and 1940 by the later C. E. Keiser, who also prepared preliminary indices and descriptions. The latter have now been thoroughly revised and brought up to date by S. T. Kang, who has also provided an introductory essay calling attention to some of the principal new insights provided by the texts. Among these, the role of women—as queens, princesses, and priestesses—emerges as particularly illustrative of the material thus afforded for a new synthesis of ancient Mesopotamian society.
C. E. Keiser, 1884-1958, was assistant curator of the Yale Babylonian Collection from 1913-16 and lecturer in Assyriology from 1919-20.
