society, institutions, law, and economy 53
had a different mother. panamuwa i mentions brothers and friends (Kai
214: 13, 24–34). Bar-rakkab mentions 70 brothers of his father panamuwa
ii (Kai 215: 3). the inscription on the third stele from Sefire mentions
brothers and other dignitaries as well (Kai 224: 4, 9, 13, 21). obviously, the
title “brother” was used in a broader sense to refer to the allies of the king.103
it is not clear whether these allies were members of the king’s extended
clan or tribe or mere political friends. p.-e. dion assumes that the title
refers only to members of the king’s family or clan.104 he compares the
constellation of the king surrounded by brothers with the hittite tradition
of nobles surrounding the king. he cites the example of telipinu, who, like
panamuwa, tried to save the lives of the heir’s brothers and sisters and to
prevent the new king from attempting to murder his siblings to secure his
claim to the throne.105 this makes it clear that the brothers and dignitar-
ies were not only allies of the king but also permanent threats to the royal
power. the death of a king could cause a political crisis. the legitimate
heir of the throne had first to defend his claim to the throne against com-
petitors from the circle of nobles.106
Besides brothers, especially in the inscription of panamuwa i, friends
(mwddy) and sisters are mentioned (Kai 214: 24–28). we do not know the
exact relation of these friends to the brothers and sisters. J. c. L. Gibson
sees a familial relationship.107 in the treaties of Sefire, friends are men-
tioned immediately after the nobles (Kai 224: 12). therefore, they might
have belonged to the circle of advisors to the king. nevertheless, it is hard
to distinguish between the function of the nobles and that of the broth-
ers and friends in the treaties of Sefire. the nobles (rabīn)108 are char-
acterized as people who enter the palace, meaning that they enjoyed a
special relationship to the king. in the inscription of panamuwa i, friends
are mentioned along with brothers, and in the inscription on the third
stele of Sefire, friends are mentioned along with nobles. a logical assump-
tion may be that the friends and nobles are the same dignitaries, albeit
under different names. while the designation “friend” places the emphasis
on traditional tribal structures, the designation, rabīn (“nobles”), already
shows assyrian influence and adaptation to assyrian terminology.
103 Lipiński 2000a: 493.
104 dion 1997: 273.
105 dion 1997: 274.
106 Kai 214:15.20–21.
107 Gibson 1975: 49, 69.
108 aramaic rabīn corresponds to akkadian rabûti.