The Encyclopedia of Ancient History-2021-Tavernier-Teppir

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Teppir reference to the “treaty of the teppir of Akkad”:

[d]è-pi-ir [A-kà-dè]ki . This text confirms that,
JAN M. TAVERNIER
from the start, the lexeme teppir was used
Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium
to indicate a high-ranking official, a kind of
prime minister of a state, as Hinz (1971: 651)
SPELLINGS AND ETYMOLOGY calls him.
In the Old Elamite Akkadian texts from
With two exceptions, the Elamite lexeme teppir Susa, the teppir is more active in the juridical
occurs exclusively in texts from Elam itself. The world. The occurrence of a “gate of the teppir”
various spellings are (cf. Tavernier 2007: 58–9): in MDP 23 327 confirms this. In addition,
three teppirs are witnesses in legal texts and
1. Old Elamite another is one of the parties in a litigation. In
a. Elamite: dè-pi-ir. three texts (MDP 22 161; MDP 23 320, 321/22
b. Akkadian: de-bi-ir, te-eb-bi-ir, te-ep- (cf. Tavernier 2007: 59–60; De Graef 2018)), a
pi-ir, te-ep-pír, te-pír. teppir, together with a judge, is responsible for
2. Middle Elamite the legal judgment. These texts demonstrate
a. Elamite: te-ep-pír, ti-pi-ir. that the teppir must have been a member of
b. Akkadian: te-ep-pír. the juridical and even political elite of the
3. Neo-Elamite: te-ep-pír, ti-pi-ir, ti-pi-ra. kingdom. He probably possessed a higher
4. Achaemenid Elamite: te-ep-pír, ti-pi-ra, rank than ordinary judges and appears only as
tup-pi-ra. an adjudicator in cases that were apparently
important enough, other cases being handled
The lexeme appears once in a documentary by ordinary judges only (Tavernier 2007: 60;
text from Mari in the spelling zi-bi-ir (Durand Scheil 1932: 161 translates teppir as “grand
1986: 120–1). This spelling, showing a varia- judge”).
tion z/t for the initial consonant, suggests that The high-ranked position of the teppir in
in reality the Elamite word was pronounced Old Babylonian Susa is also visible in two
/čepir/ (Tavernier 2010: 1076). Note also the inscriptions on objects (a kunaki-vessel and
proper name Zi-bi-ir-na-s.ir in another text a seal), revealing the close contacts between
from Mari (ARM 24 236 i 15). teppirs and the Elamite king. The mention of a
The lexeme teppir is most likely a nomen field of a teppir in another text proves that they
agens in -r of the root tep(i)- “to shape, to form” could own plots of land (Tavernier 2007: 59).
and should not be confused with the Akkadian The mention of Zibir Anshan in a Mari text
lexeme t.uppu, which entered Elamite as tuppu is also interesting. It is clear that this is not a
“inscription, tablet.” It is possible, however, personal name, but an expression referring to
that the meaning “scribe” for teppir was influ- the teppir of Anshan (Vallat 1996: 315; Durand
enced by the Akkadian loanword, an allegation 2013: 335). The text itself mentions that the tep-
seemingly corroborated by the Achaemenid pir receives some presents.
Elamite spelling tup-pi-ra (Tavernier 2007: 67). In the Middle Elamite period, the word
probably retained the same meaning, although
HISTORY AND ROLE sources are very sparse (there are only three
attestations, one of which may be a personal
Teppirs appear in documents from all peri- name; see Herrero and Glassner 1990: 31). In
ods in Elamite documented history. The oldest a royal inscription of Shilhak-Inshushinak I, a
attestation is in the so-called Naram-Sin Treaty, divinity (Tirumithir) is called “teppir” (EKI 54
the oldest text drafted in Elamite. This text has a i 9). Finally, a man named Assizah appears as
The Encyclopedia of Ancient History: Asia and Africa. D. T. Potts (General Editor), Ethan Harkness (General Editor),
Jason Neelis (General Editor), Roderick McIntosh (General Editor).
© 2021 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2021 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
DOI: 10.1002/9781119399919.eahaa00244
2
teppir in the administrative texts from Anshan RAI (1989).” In K. De Graef and J. Tavernier, eds.,
(Tavernier 2007: 62). Susa and Elam: archaeological, philological, histor-
Although the teppir continued to hold an ical and geographical perspectives. Proceedings of
important position in Neo-Elamite society the International Congress held at Ghent Univer-
sity, December 14–17, 2009: 329–39. MDP 58. Lei-
(he was at one time called “the one of the
den and Boston.
lord” and he may also have enjoyed some
Herrero, P. and Glassner, J. J. (1990) “Haft-Tépé:
religious importance), the accent of his activ- choix de textes I.” Iranica Antiqua 25: 1–45.
ities shifted to the scribal field, an evolution Hinz, W. (1971) “Persia, c. 2400–1800 bc.” The Cam-
which the Achaemenids would complete. In bridge ancient history 1/2: 644–80. Cambridge.
the Achaemenid Elamite texts, the word teppir Scheil, V. (1932) Actes juridiques susiens (Suite: no
refers to a scribe working in non-cuneiform 166 à no 327). MDP 23. Paris.
writing systems. He became identical to the Tavernier, J. (2007) “The case of Elamite tep-/tip- and
sēpiru, attested in Akkadian texts (Tavernier Akkadian t.uppu.” Iran 44: 57–69.
2007: 62–4). As such, he played an impor- Tavernier, J. (2010) “On the sounds rendered by the
tant role in the translation process of royal s-, š- and s./z-series in Elamite.” In L. Kogan, ed.,
Proceedings of the 53e Rencontre Assyriologique
and satrapal orders (cf. Tavernier 2017) and
Internationale, vol. 1: language in the ancient Near
received relatively high rations.
East. Babel und Bibel 4: 1059–78. Winona Lake.
Tavernier, J. (2017) “The use of languages on the var-
see also: Persepolis; Persepolis Fortification ious levels of administration in the Achaemenid
tablets; Sukkalmah regime. Empire.” In B. Jacobs, W. F. M. Henkelman,
and M. W. Stolper, eds., Die Verwaltung im
Achämenidenreich: Imperiale Muster und Struk-
REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS turen/Administration in the Achaemenid Empire:
tracing the imperial signature. Akten des 6. Inter-
De Graef, K. (2018) “The seal of an official or an offi- nationalen Kolloquiums zum Thema “Vorderasien
cial seal? The use of court seals in Old Babylonian im Spannungsfeld klassischer und altorientalis-
Susa and Haft Tepe.” Journal of the American Ori- cher Überlieferungen” aus Anlass der 80-Jahr-Feier
ental Society 138: 121–42. der Entdeckung des Festungsarchivs von Persepo-
Durand, J.-M. (1986) “Fragments rejoints pour une lis, Landgut Castelen bei Basel, 14–17 Mai 2013:
histoire élamite.” In L. De Meyer, H. Gasche, 337–412. Wiesbaden.
and F. Vallat, eds., Fragmenta Historiae Elamicae: Vallat, F. (1996) “L’Élam à l’époque paleo-
Mélanges offerts à M.-J. Steve: 111–28. Paris. babylonienne.” In J.-M. Durand, ed., Amurru 1:
Durand, J.-M. (2013) “La ‘suprématie’ élamite sur les Mari, Ébla et les Hourrites. Dix ans de travaux.
Amorrites: réexamen, vingt ans après la XXXVIe Première partie: 297–319. Paris.

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Teppir reference to the “treaty of the teppir of Akkad”:

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