society, institutions, law, and economy 47
oxen, and donkeys as well as grain fields.67 nevertheless, p.-e. dion
remains cautious about its application to the time before the assyrian
annexation: “cette faculté de posséder était-elle une nouveauté? Les pay-
sans attachés au sol en avaient-ils joui dès avant l’assyrianisation? on ne
saurait dire.”68
- institutions
2.1 Kingshipmost of the aramaeans who lived in the countryside surrounding the
Babylonian cities maintained their semi-nomadic lifestyle. in contrast,
the aramaeans who gained power over a distinct territory in Syria suc-
ceeded in establishing a kingship. aramaean inscriptions as well as assyr-
ian annals testify that the chiefs69 of the tribes adopted the title mlk.70
along with the title, they also took on the customs and traditions of an
institutionalized kingship. unfortunately, we have only a few sources that
deal with the ideology of kingship among the aramaeans. the assyrian
sources mention the name and title of aramaean kings. the best infor-
mation on the institution of kingship among the aramaeans results from
the inscriptions of the kings of Samʾal. the following considerations are
mainly based on these.
whereas a chief or sheikh was usually chosen and confirmed by mem-
bers of his tribe based on his charisma, military strength, or affiliation
with an important family, the aramaean kings emphasized their divine
legitimacy. From the inscriptions of the aramaean kings we learn that the
new aramaean rulers borrowed the idea that kingship was bestowed by
the gods, an idea prevalent in neo-hittite states and assyria. From royal
inscriptions and stelae, which depict the rulers and the symbols of their
gods, it becomes evident that the gods bestowing kingship were not only
the dynasty’s tutelary gods, but also the principal deities of the land or
67 Fales 1973: 124; dion 1997: 288; Lipiński 2000a: 519–521.
68 dion 1997: 288.
69 in the assyrian annals the leaders of the semi-nomadic aramaean tribes in Baby-
lonia are called nasīku, which probably means “sheikh.” For the term itself and several
proposals of its etymology, see Lipiński 2000a: 494–496 and dion 1997: 233–235.
70 King hazael of aram-damascus adopted the title māriʾ, cf. Lipiński 2000a: 388f,
390f, 499.