Calendars, Festivals, and Rituals at Mari during the šakkanakku Period: From the End of the Third to the Beginning of the Second Millennium BC

peer reviewedThe order of the months in the calendar at the end of the šakkanakkū period (19th century B.C.) is now well established. This calendar is largely similar to the one in use during the amorite period. This paper will focus on the rituals and festivals at Mari during the end of the šakkanakkū period: expenditures for temples, deities and rituals are mentioned in many administrative texts dated to the mid-19th century. Nevertheless, these texts are very patchy and the festivals are not clearly named. The latest excavation archaeological excavations at the site of Tell Hariri-Mari provided us with eleven administrative texts dated to the middle of the šakkanakkū period (i.e. UrIII period or slightly earlier). These texts reveal a calendar which is partly similar to the late šakkanakkū one