society, institutions, law, and economy 57
2.6 Further Court Officialsthe inscriptions mention several other titles of officials of the royal
administration whose functions are not clear. it is possible to trace sev-
eral titles to their akkadian synonyms attested in assyrian administra-
tive structures. there is a debate about whether the borrowing of these
titles was accompanied by the borrowing of the function of the assyrian
officials. p.-e. dion remarks that, “La nature et la distribution de ces attes-
tations suggèrent que les araméens adoptèrent l’expression akkadienne,
et il n’est pas impossible qu’ils aient reçu des assyriens l’institution elle-
même.”132
one of these titles is sārīs (srs). p.-e. dion thinks that the srs had a
similar rank to servants of the king. the term is also set down as ša rēši
in akkadian literature. Because the aramaean srs is only attested in the
(probably assyrian-influenced) Sefire treaties, e. Lipiński doubts that he
originally belonged to the royal officials of the aramaean king.133 it is
further debated whether these officials were eunuchs who worked in the
harem of the palace.134
the two functionary titles ngr/d and pqd are displayed side by side in
the inscription of the Sefire stele iii (Kai 224: 10). Because of the almost
identical forms of the letters resch and dalet in aramaic it is possible to
read the first title as either ngr or ngd. Both make sense. p.-e. dion votes
for a reading of ngr.135 the assyrian title nāgiru (nimGir), marking a high
official in the assyrian-Babylonian context, is attested for a leader of ara-
maean bandits in a cuneiform text of the 8th century B.c. from Suḫu.136
e. Lipiński rejects the reading ngr and prefers the reading ngd.137 in his
view, this royal official functioned as envoy.138 the origin of the title
132 dion 1997: 277 n. 26, especially on the function of the srs.
133 Lipiński 2000a: 506.
134 dion 1997: 277, with detailed bibliography; Lipiński 2000a: 506 rejects the interpre-
tation as eunuch; cf. deller 1999 for the state of discussion.
135 dion 1997: 278, with detailed literature.
136 dion 1997: 278 n. 31.
137 “the use of this title in the document from Suḫu simply reflects a particular
neo-assyrian terminology. it does not fit the context of the Sefire treaty which deals with
high-treason and regicide. the argument thus misses the point.,” Lipiński 2000a: 501.
138 he hints at Syriac nāgūda and Jewish-aramaic nāgōda with the meaning “chief,
leader” and hebrew higgīd “to report.” there is a parallel meaning of aramaic ngd with
the mār šipri from ugarit who—according to the amarna correspondence—obviously
functioned as a messenger, cf. Lipiński 2000a: 501f.