Iris Kamil

The letter is better known than some others, having appeared in Oppenheim’s “Letters from Mesopotamia”, which also features the famous complaint to Ea-nāṣir. Iddin-Sîn who lived during Ḫammurabi’s time (1792-1750 BCE) was at boarding school, as was not unlikely for the offspring of wealthy and high-ranked families. His father, Šamaš-ḫāzir, was a high administration official in Larsa (Moran 1969: 629b). It shows some sloppiness in script and colloquialism in grammar, attesting to the young age or at least the training position the writer was in (ibid.).

Going to school with future priests, scribes & nobles meant a certain appearance had to be kept up. And to be fair to Iddin-Sîn, it does sound pretty stressful. Unimaginable the stress of seeing the son of your father’s servant/subordinate wear better garments than you!

This letter is one of the clearest attestations of how back then, too, clothing could be used to signal social class and status. And it is perhaps also an attestation of the eternal uncoolness of mum’s hand-made wool sweater. Zinû, Iddin-Sîn’s mother, was apparently not willing to send him a new garment (ll. 22-23), perhaps setting some boundaries. We (I) do not know how often he requested new garments before this letter.

Predating vestis virum facit, was thus perhaps ṣubātūm awīlam ippešū?