Article in special issue

In service of god and king: Thoughts on the kāribu, his profits, his duties, and his origins

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Abstract

On the basis of first-millennium attestations, the title kāribu is often understood as referring ordinary worshippers who make offerings, to be differentiated from the “offerings of the king”. Reassessing the term across its full chronological range, this article argues that such an interpretation doesn’t hold up in light of older and more specific attestations.

In kudurrus of the later second millennium BCE, beneficiaries of royal grants may be labelled kāribšu or kārib šarri, indicating a priestly figure appointed to intercede for the ruler and supported through endowed land or prebendary income. Lexical lists equate kāribu with Sumerian lu2-šud3-de3. The title lu2-šud3-de3 lugal-la on Old Babylonian seals pushes the institution further back and links it to royal restoration initiatives and palace-funded cult maintenance. First-millennium prebendary kudurrus and other sources that mention “offerings of the kāribu” are best read against this background: these offerings represent a structured and recurring revenue stream attached to temple offices, not casual private donations. The article therefore redefines kāribu as a royal-endowed temple function, illuminating palace influence on temple management from the second to the first millennium BCE.

Keywords: karibu, karib šarri, cultic kudurrus, royal endowment, karibu offerings, temple economy

How to Cite:

Goddeeris, A., (2025) “In service of god and king: Thoughts on the kāribu, his profits, his duties, and his origins”, Akkadica 146(2), 195-212. doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/akkadica.100535