| This thesis treats the solidarity and authority of two socio-political groups, tribes and states, in order to sharpen our understanding of the political history of the Amurrite age. It advances the argument that these two groups were distinct by the degree to which each relied upon traditional authority structures in their domestic political organization. Members of tribes appealed to their kin-based mechanical solidarity, whereas others recognized the kin-based composition of tribes as an aggregate of qinnu. At the same time, the distinctive feature of tribes, namely their mechanical solidarity, which facilitated a traditional authority structure, was not without exceptions. The recurrent interactions between tribes and states in the Amurrite age, which are equated with Giddens' 'inter-societal system,' resulted in instances in which the differences between tribes and states were obscured. Thus under Zimri-Lim the Sim'al tribe attempted to directly exercise legal authority as a proxy for the Mariote state at the city of Zalluhan. The Sim'al tribe, however, would prove unsuccessful in its attempt to create organic solidarity as a proxy for the Mariote state.;In foreign politics, both tribes and states used legal means to organize their relationships. Inter-tribal relations were facilitated by hipsu -alliances, whereas states and their sovereigns negotiated the system of international relations. Zimri-Lim's engagement in inter-tribal networks was both his preferred and his most efficient means for conducting foreign politics. By comparison, his interactions with contemporary heads-of-states were marked by inconsistency and unresponsiveness. This difference in Zimri-Lim's exercise of authority among tribes as opposed to states was met with crisis in ZL 9-11. When Elam campaigned into the Habur, they undermined the Sim'al's inter-tribal alliances in the region. At the same time, the Sim'al's alliance with the Yamina, who were dwelling in Mari's districts, grew increasingly uncertain. The repulse of the Elamite threat and the subsequent calming of the Habur was only accomplished with the aid of Hammu-rapi of Babylon, who emerged as an eminent international authority. Thus Zimri-Lim was left without his privileged means for foreign policy in the aftermath of the events of ZL 10-12 and was susceptible to a new, unfavorable political system. |
