upper Mesopotamia in the ^18th century   : portrait gallery

As part of the PCEHM program (" Power and written culture in Upper Mesopotamia in the ^eighteenth century BC "), funded by the ANR under the aapg 2022, this year's lecture will portray people of very varied status and activities who lived in the kingdom of Mari during the reign of Zimri-Lim (1775-1761 BC) and are known from the very rich archives discovered in the capital. Firstly, the sovereignhimself, then the members of the royal family, his close relations and the kingdom's leading dignitaries in the fields of crafts, trade, religious life, provincial administration, military life and diplomacy. We conclude with portraits of some of the nomadic chiefs, who played just as crucial a role as the sedentary population.