The Statue of Idrimi of Alalakh
Artifact: Stone statue
Provenience: Alalakh
Period: Middle Babylonian (ca. 1400-1000 BC)
Current location: British Museum, London
Text genre, language: Royal inscription; Akkadian
CDLI page
Description: The statue of the Alalakh king Idrimi is one of the outstanding pieces for the second half of the 2nd millennium in Syria. The inscription written all over the statue (even on the beard) is one of only a few specimens of autobiographical texts from Mesopotamia. Alalakh, modern Tell Atchana, belonged then to the territory of Aleppo and therefore to the powerful kingdom of Mitanni. The text tells Idrimi's story about fleeing to Emar and then moving on to live amongst Canaanite tribes. There he was able to gain control and marched back to Alalakh. Parattarna, the king of Mitanni, recognized his power over the throne of Alalakh. (Klaus Wagensonner, University of Oxford)
Lineart: UF 13
Edition(s): Smith, S. 1949. The Statue of Idri-Mi. Occasional Publications of the British Institute of Archaeology in Ankara 1. London; Greenstein, E. 1976. "The Akkadian Inscription of Idrimi," JANES 8, 59 - 96; Dietrich, M. and O. Loretz. 1981. "Untersuchungen zu Statue und Inschrift des Königs Idrimi von Alalah: Die Inschrift der Statue des Königs Idrimi von Alalah," Ugarit-Forschungen 13, 201 - 268; Klengel, H. 1981. "(…) Historischer Kommentar zur Inschrift des Idrimi von Alalah," Ugarit-Forschungen 13, 269 - 278; Mayer-Opificius, R. 1981. "(…) Archäologischer Kommentar zur Statue des Idrimi von Alalah," Ugarit-Forschungen 13, 279 - 290.
