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loan. It is still a matter of debate whether chattel slaves and/or
indentured persons (of the palace or in private hands) were released
under edicts issued by the king of Arraphe (anduràru, kirenzi,“ùdùtu).
The textual evidence is scanty and by no means explicit.^64- F
5.1 Marriage and Divorce
Some one hundred Nuzi documents are directly concerned with mar-
riage agreements of various kinds.^65 In addition, an equal number
of marriage arrangements are included in adoptions and testaments.^66
All these records belong to the private sector. As a whole, the legal
and institutional features of the Nuzi family do not substantially
diverge from those attested in Mesopotamia and northern Syria in
the latter part of the second millennium, or earlier.^675.1.1 Marriage Agreements
Marriage was preceded by an agreement between the parties—
the bride and the groom, or their respective legal representatives.
The agreement was recorded in a contractual document (†uppi riksi)
in the presence of witnesses who sealed it. A girl could be trans-
ferred from her natural family to a third party, who would then
arrange her marriage. Her transfer took the form of an adoption^68
whereby she acquired the status of daughter and/or daughter-in-law,
or sister (màrtùtu, kallùtu, and a¢àtùtu, respectively).^695.1.2 Parties
5.1.2.1 The personal status of a Nuzi bride, as reflected in the mar-
riage documents, is always that of a free person;^70 the groom could(^64) See Lion, “L’anduràru.. .,” esp. 319–26; Zaccagnini, “Debt...”
(^65) For a general overview, cf. Breneman, Nuzi Marriage...
(^66) Cf. ibid., 330–36.
(^67) Again, see especially the evidence of the Emar, Alalakh IV, and Ugarit archives.
(^68) The use of this term is largely conventional.
(^69) An overview of the Nuzi occurrences of kallatuand kallùtu(lit., “daughter-in-
law” and “status of a daughter-in-law”) shows that quite often the terms designated
the (status of a) dependent woman placed under the authority of the person who
took her in adoption.
(^70) See, however, HSS 19 46: 2, concerning the marriage of a woman qualified
as “palace servant” (amtu“a ekalli).
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