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(i.e., the bride’s) gift that was given by her husband.” After the death
of her husband, the wife could take the ter¢atuwith her if she had
to leave the matrimonial home (RS 15.92 and RS 16.200). In another
text (RS 16.141), the daughter-in-law (a king’s relative?) would also
leave together with her bride-price if she were to refuse to complete
the marriage. In both cases it seems to be self-evident that she also
took her dowry.
The (silver of the) ter¢atu(in RS 15.92, it consists of 80 shekels)
could be used as an exchange commodity to acquire real estate (her
father’s house, in RS 16.158).^17
Marriage could be polygamous. In RS 94.2168, three categories
of wives are attested for 'Abdimilku: slaves (amht), ßrdt(perhaps con-
cubines), and a noblewoman, namely the king’s daughter.^18 Marriage
with a female slave is also attested in RS 16.250. As already men-
tioned, female slaves were sometimes manumitted by their master
before being given in marriage (cf., e.g., RS 8.303).
Evidence of “domestic” divorce only comes from a reference in
RS 16.143, in which a noble states that the mother of one of his
sons “took everything (of hers, i.e., silver and chattels) and left.” On
the other hand, two “dynastic” divorces are attested, namely the one
between king 'Ammi∆tamru II and the Amurrite princess, and the
one between another king of Ugarit (‘Ammurapi’ or Niqmaddu III)
and the Hittite princess. Despite their obvious international and diplo-
matic aspects, in legal terms they display hardly any difference from
a private divorce. In the former case, the reason for divorce is adul-
tery.^19 As a result, as stated in RS 17.159, the king divorced her
(ètezib“i). The divorced queen then could take the dowry with her,
namely everything that she had brought into his house (ll. 12–16).
A provision is made that, should the husband contest anything
belonging to her dowry, the sons of Amurru shall take an oath, so
that he will reimburse them in full (ll. 18–21). According now to
another text of the same “dossier” (RS 17.396), all possessions the(^17) Zaccagnini has suggested that this contract be interpreted as a “counter-dowry
payment” typical of the Nuzi documents (“On Late Bronze Age Marriages,” 599f.).
(^18) I wish to express my sincere thanks to Pierre Bordreuil and Dennis Pardee,
epigraphers of the Mission de Ras Shamra, who kindly made available to me their
transliteration and copy of this unpublished Ugaritic text.
(^19) See, most recently, Márquez Rowe, “The King of Ugarit, His Wife.. .,” in
which the full dossier is studied.
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