# Iltani

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Iltani Years active c. 1750 BC Spouse Aqba-hammu

**Iltani** (fl. c. 1750 BC), was the wife of the ruler [Aqba-hammu](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aqba-hammu&action=edit&redlink=1). She was the daughter of king Samu-Addu of Karana.[1] Her archive was discovered[*[when?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Dates_and_numbers#Chronological_items)*] in the palace of Karana (modern day [Tell al-Rimah](/source/Tell_al-Rimah)). The main group of tablets from the archive consisted of about 200 letters and administrative records, which directly concern the queen.[2]

The letters tell us that Queen Iltani worked hard at running the palace industries, in particular the textiles and food, and had to meet her husband’s frequent, urgent demands for goods and personnel. She had to deal with many letters from individuals asking for help or resources, and she was concerned with her own health, querulous and indignant. Iltani’s work as overseer of the textile business in the palace of Rimah is well documented in the archive. The “department of Iltani,” as the business was called, employed 15 women and 10 men. Iltani was also involved in the metal trade; she personally received copper from her male subordinate.[*[who?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Words_to_watch#Unsupported_attributions)*][*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

[Belassunu](/source/Belassunu) was either the sister or daughter of Iltani.[3]

## *Naditu* priests named Iltani

There were at least three *[naditu](/source/Naditu)* priestesses named **Iltani**: the sister of [Hammurabi](/source/Hammurabi), the daughter of [Sin-muballit](/source/Sin-Muballit), and the sister of [Ammi-Ditana](/source/Ammi-Ditana).[4]

The city and cloister of [Sippar](/source/Sippar) are well documented[*[where?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(geographic_names))*] and serve as a microcosm of the lives of women, especially women priests, in the [Old Babylonian period](/source/First_Babylonian_Dynasty).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] The temple of [Shamash](/source/Shamash) was the most prominent building in Sippar. Women were just as active as men in the temple and cloister. Only women could become *naditu* priests. There were generally about two hundred celibate *naditu* priests of Shamash living in the cloister at a given time. Most were from royal or upper-class families. Iltani, the *naditu* sister of King Hammurabi, made offerings of date cakes at festivals.[5] She also leased her orchard for payment of back taxes[*[whose?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Avoid_weasel_words)*] and leased her field to a scribe.[*[who?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Words_to_watch#Unsupported_attributions)*] (140)[*[clarification needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Please_clarify)*]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Cohen, Noam (January 2024). "The Iltani Archive and the Messiness of Spousal Violence". *Avar*. **3** (1). Transnational Press London: 45–72. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.33182/aijls.v3i1.2838](https://doi.org/10.33182%2Faijls.v3i1.2838).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Dalley_2002_2-0)** [Dalley, Stephanie](/source/Stephanie_Dalley) (2002). *Mari and Karana : two old Babylonian cities* (2. publ ed.). NJ: Gorgias. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1931956022](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1931956022).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Eidem, Jesper (1989). ["Some Remarks on the Iltani Archive from Tell al Rimah"](https://www.jstor.org/stable/4200296). *Iraq*. **51**. British Institute for Study of Iraq: 67–78. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2307/4200296](https://doi.org/10.2307%2F4200296).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Tetlow_2004_4-0)** Tetlow, Elisabeth Meier (2004). *Women, Crime and Punishment in Ancient Law and Society: Volume 1: The Ancient Near East*. New York [u.a.]: Continuum. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0826416284](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0826416284).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Harris, Rivkah (1975). *Ancient Sippar : a demographic study of an old-Babylonian city, 1894-1595 B.C.*, Nederlands Historisch-Archaeologisch Instituut.

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