The Adoration of a God. Impression of a cylinder-seal inscribed with the name of Appâni-îl (see p. 555). (The figure on the left has been added by a later hand to obliterate part of the inscription.) Published by permission of the owner, Mr. J. Offord, and the Society of Biblical Archæology.
Yet the king does sometimes come forth from his shell, and then we see him in his two aspects--as king, giving his orders to the officials of his court and army, and as the chief citizen of the country over which he ruled. The former is illustrated by the despatches and letters in which his name occurs, and the latter by such references to him as we find in the contracts--and these are very few, as the colophon-dates and invocations of his name in the legal oaths do not count.
Many letters of Hammurabi have been found, and indicate how active he was as a ruler. These texts, which, as far as they are published, are generally in a very incomplete state, nevertheless show that this most successful king paid every attention to the welfare of his subjects, even those in distant parts of the country. Thus in one of these communications he gives instructions to Sin-idinnam (who was apparently military governor of Larsa or Ellasar) to pronounce judgment against a certain person who laid claim to a field. Another letter to the same person refers to grain taken by Awel-îli, concerning which the king says, "I have seen these reports. The grain of the recorder (?), which Awel-îli has taken, let him return to the recorder." In another place he writes to his officer rather angrily because Inuh-samar, apparently Sin-idinnam's lieutenant, had taken away from Sin-magir certain documents signed by the king. He asks Sin-idinnam why he had done this (placing the blame directly upon him), and concludes, "The documents, the property of Sin-magir ... with the impress of my seal, which thou hast taken, restore to him." If Sin-idinnam had not been a very high-placed official, he would in all probability have been dismissed.
The following is a letter from king Ammi-titana to his agent--
"To the agent of Sippar-Ya'rurum say thus: 'It is Ammi-titana. The wool-merchant has thus informed me: "I keep sending to the purveyor of Sippar-Ya'rurum concerning the wool ordered from him, to cause (it) to be sent to Babylon, but he has not caused the wool ordered from him to be sent." Thus he informs me. Why hast thou not caused the wool ordered from thee to be sent to Babylon? As thou hast not feared to do this, when thou seest this tablet, cause the wool ordered from thee to be brought to Babylon.' "