IZ NINIVE S LJUBAVLJU – JEDNA MIKRO ISTORIJA
FROM NINEVEH WITH LOVE – A GLIMPSE INTO A MICRO HISTORY

Summary/Abstract: The Assyrian conquest of Egypt in 671 BC resulted, among other consequences, in the deportation of the local population of Northern Egypt. A vivid account of Esarhaddon’s (690–664 BC) exploits over Egypt and her defeated ruler Taharqa (681–669 BC) has been preserved on Zincirli stele (Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin, VA2708). Most of the deportees from Egypt were settled in two major Assyrian centres: Ashur and Nineveh. The archive of Inurta-šarru-ušur, son of the palace (marekalli), discovered in Niniveh during the excavation at the Shamas Gate in 1967/68, preserves 33 cuneiform tablets reflecting various aspects of life of the Egyptian community (most of them being deportees) in the Assyrian capital. The tablets have limmu dating after 669 and before 612 BC. One of the documents (IM 76882) is concerned with a marriage between Egyptians. A household slave woman named Al-Hapi-Mepi (Egyptian name Ꜥr-ḥp-r-mn-nfr – “The Apis bull has been brought to Memphis”) was sold, together with her sons, by the Egyptian Puṭu-mehepi as a wife to Puṭu-Eši. The contract specifies that in case of divorce, Al-Hapi-Mepi would be obliged to pay to her husband ten shekels of silver and will be free to leave, but as long as Puṭu-Eši lives she and her sons will be votaries of Ištar of Arbela. The name Ꜥr-ḥp-r-mn-nfr is a well attested ancient Egyptian masculine name of the Late period. However, the feminine name Ꜥr-ḥp-r-mn-nfr is, to the best knowledge of the author, recorded just once on a fragment of a Late period bronze statuette (Agyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung, Berlin 174) which was dedicated by [Har] pekhrod-iah ([ḥrw-]pꜢ-ẖrd-jꜥḥ), son of Arhepermennufer (Ꜥr-ḥp-r-mn-nfr). Due to the scarcity of the name, the chronological congruence of attestations, as well as the societal circumstances of the community of Egyptian deportees in Nineveh, it may be assumed that Al-Hapi-Mepi (IM 76882) and Ꜥr-ḥp-r-mn-nfr (Agyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung, Berlin 174) were the same person.

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