The Labors of Idrimi: Inscribing the Past, Shaping the Present at Late Bronze Age Alalah

Since the 1949 publication of the Late Bronze inscriptions on the Statue of Idrimi, scholars have debated the significance of the carefully structured and vividly detailed cuneiform text that recounts the rise of King Idrimi of Alalah. Jacob Lauinger significantly advances prior scholarship through an in-depth historical analysis that combines textual and material perspectives on both the statue and the inscriptions. His study reveals how two distinct inscriptions were added to an originally anepigraphic statue to advance a claim about royal legitimacy long after Idrimi’s death during a time of political upheaval at Alalah.