488
A remarkable statement on the powers of the king is preserved in
a narûwherein the king grants a huge territory to his son (and future
successor).^11 Part of the gift is a series of exemptions placed on the
land and the residents of its settlements. Among other restrictions,
the king and his officers may not put the residents to work on royal
building projects, nor take their produce or equipment, nor quarter
soldiers in their homes. The text also states that no future king may
violate these exemptions. On the one hand, this text implies that in
the absence of such exemptions, the king could exercise these pow-
ers. On the other, the king could elect to place restrictions on his
own royal powers and, theoretically, hold future kings to those restric-
tions as well. Throughout the narûcorpus are statements specifically
directed to the king that (even) he may not transgress the terms of
the transaction commemorated by the monument.2.1.2 The Legislature
There are a few hints of royal decrees of debt release, which could
be considered a form of legislation applying to the whole citizen
body.^122.1.3 The Administration
2.1.3.1 Central Administration
In the absence of evidence to the contrary, we can assume that, as
in earlier times, the central administration consisted of the king and
his palace officials. In two texts, an individual sitting in judgment
and identified as “akkanaku, an archaizing title for “governor,” is prob-
ably the king.^13 In the literary text about Kurigalzu (see 2.1.1 above),
the king is also referred to with the titles leader (of a work group
or caravan), supervisor, and inspector, as well as “akkanaku.2.1.3.2 Provincial Administration^14
The countryside was organized into provinces (pì¢atu, written NAM),
named variously after earlier countries, tribes, or a main city. There(^11) SBKI 2.
(^12) E.g., MAH 15922 (see 2.1.1 above), a reference to a decree freeing the women
of Nippur (4.3.4 below), and the anduràrureferences from ›ana (4.4.5 below).
(^13) E.g., UET 7 11, 73.
(^14) See Brinkman, “Provincial Administration.. .” and Brinkman, Political History...,
296–331.
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