The Oxford History of the Biblical World by Michael D. Coogan Page B

victorious,” he scolded another time, “down there you lie about among the women!” A letter survives in which Yasmah-Adad defended himself against one of his father’s barbs, arguing that his subordinates must have been lying about him to his father.
    The archives at Mari, as well as smaller ones from Tell Shemshara (Shusharra) and Tell er-Rimah, show Shamshi-Adad as an energetic administrator, constantly moving about his empire and involving himself in all the important—and many of the unimportant—decisions made in the cities that he ruled. It is a tribute to his personal abilities that he held his empire together so well.
    Shamshi-Adad ruled for thirty-two years after his conquest of the city of Ashur. His empire, however, did not survive his death. Once he died, the city-states Eshnunna in the southeast and Yamhad to the west immediately began reestablishing their influence in the region. Ishme-Dagan maintained control of Assyria for a while, but he had to surrender the rest of the empire. Yasmah-Adad was overthrown in Mari within four years of Shamshi-Adad’s death, and the previous dynasty returned, Zimri-Lim assuming the throne.
    Most tablets from Mari come from the reign of Zimri-Lim. From them we not only learn many details about this king and his domain, but also gain important background information about his family, whom Shamshi-Adad had forced from the throne of Mari. This information explains much about Zimri-Lim’s actions as king.
    About the time of Shamshi-Adad’s rise to power in Assyria, Mari was ruled by Yahdun-Lim, a member of the Simal (northern) branch of the Hanean tribal confederation. Inscriptions that survive from his reign depict him as a potent rival to Shamshi-Adad. But eventually Yahdun-Lim suffered a serious defeat in battle andwas apparently assassinated by a member of Mari’s royal court, Sumu-yamam, who may in fact have been Yahdun-Lim’s son. Within two years Sumu-yamam himself fell victim to a palace coup. Shamshi-Adad thereupon saw his chance to expand southward and incorporate an important rival into his kingdom. Capturing Mari, he placed his son Yasmah-Adad on the throne.
    The young Zimri-Lim, apparently either Yahdun-Lim’s son or nephew, had fled Mari before Shamshi-Adad’s conquest of the city and found asylum in Aleppo, the capital of Yamhad. Sumu-epuh, the king of Yamhad and Shamshi-Adad’s most significant rival, presumably considered that offering support to Zimri-Lim as the legitimate heir to Mari’s throne might give him valuable leverage against Shamshi-Adad.
    After Shamshi-Adad’s death, Zimri-Lim returned to Mari and regained his family’s throne. In this he got substantial support from Yarim-Lim, Sumu-epuh’s successor in Aleppo. Zimri-Lim not only came to dominate the land around Mari, but he also brought all of the middle Euphrates and the Habur River Valley under his sway and opened extensive trade relations throughout the Near East. He maintained good relations with Yamhad, marrying Yarim-Lim’s daughter, Shiptu, early in his reign. But he also cultivated cordial relations with Babylon to the south and with Qatna to the west.
    The correspondence of Zimri-Lim shows that he followed Shamshi-Adad’s example in maintaining close contact with his governors, vassals, and officials. A wide variety of issues filled the letters dispatched to the palace at Mari. Messages from various governors kept him informed about the political situation throughout his realm. His ambassadors to other states sent regular reports. Numerous letters concerned relations between the government and the pastoral nomads who migrated through the middle Euphrates and the Habur region. Reports from members of his palace staff and his family also found their way into the archive, as did letters from religious personnel, often reporting omens, prophecies, or unusual dreams that seemed to affect the king.
    Zimri-Lim’s correspondence makes possible a partial account of his reign. Soon