How were alliances made? Paradoxically, while the greatest number of treaties date from the second half of the 2nd millennium, information on how alliances were concluded is much more abundant for the preceding period; it is therefore mainly the Paleo-Babylonian period that has been discussed in this lecture. A distinction must be made from the outset between two types of situation, depending on whether the kings met or the alliance was concluded at a distance. This may seem obvious, but it wasn't until 1990 that this point was emphasized and, above all, that conclusions were systematically drawn [1]. Since this approach has recently been called into question, it was appropriate to revisit the issue [2].
By definition, alliances concluded at meetings leave fewer written traces than those concluded at a distance, but thanks to the letters discovered at Mari, we have numerous allusions to this type of alliance. We have studied in detail the letter ARM 26/2 404, which recounts in a hundred lines an alliance concluded between Atamrum, king of Andarig, and Asqur-Addu, king of Karana. The central rite consisted in immolating a colt, exchanging oaths and drinking from a cup. The contents of the cup are not indicated, but the question of "blood" mentioned in several texts has been taken up again. This kind of ceremony could bring together not only kings, but also representatives of their people. This type of collective alliance disappeared in the middle of the 2nd millennium.
When alliances were concluded at a distance, preliminary negotiations took place, during which recollections of the past played an important role. The king taking the initiative would then send his counterpart the wording of the oath he wished him to swear; the sovereign receiving the text could then indicate to the messengers which clause(s) he wished to see modified, added or deleted. He would then draft a symmetrical oath proposal, which he in turn would send in writing. Once the text of each king's pledge had been drawn up, a ceremony took place in each capital in turn. The first king would send the other "his gods" (it's never specified whether these were statues or symbols), before whom the other king would perform the lipit napištim rite: by striking his throat, he signified that he was putting his life on the line in the event of perjury. A delegation then left for the other capital, where a similar ceremony took place. So it was only when alliances were concluded at a distance that the text of the oaths was written down.
