Balmunamḫe of Larsa: Research History and New Letters

Abstract The life of Balmunamḫe, son of Sîn-nūr-mātim, has been the subject of a century-long research that began in the 1910s with the first editions of Old Babylonian cuneiform texts from Larsa (modern Tell Senkereh), and which continues to this day due to the discovery and publication of new texts (legal and administrative documents, royal, business and private letters). After a brief overview of the research history, the article focuses on a group of 10 recently published or reedited letters from the State Hermitage Museum (DV-15058, 15059, 15230, 15233), the Yale Babylonian Collection (YBC 7566, NBC 7348, 8696), the Princeton Theological Seminary (PTS 256) and the M. Schøyen Collection (MS 3642, 3771). Eight of the letters shed new light on the multifaceted role of Balmunamḫe as a high-ranking official and manager of the economic institution “the House”; two other letters offer insight into the life of Balmunamḫe’s relatives (Ṣillī-Šamaš, Gimillum and Balmunamḫe II). The article ends with an appendix that provides a revised version of Balmunamḫe’s family tree.