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understanding of thc occupational cnigma of Bahrain bctween the 13th and the 8١١,
ccntury B.C.

In his rccent studics of the Kassite scqucnccs from Bahrain and Failaa, I:.
HMjhund has divided the material from Oal'at al-Bahrain into ١wo subphases, IIIA
and IIIB, roughly covcring the l6th and the 15th centuries B.C. (table .‫ )ﺍ‬he large
Kassite storage building, destroycd by fire possibly in the 15th or early 14th century
B.C. was not rebuilt ٩. But a stonc slab with a fragmcntary cuneiform inscription
mentioning a sanctury and a palace and referring to Burnaburiash (١I?), the Kassite
ing of Babylon, still testifics to the presencc of Kassites and of major
administrative buildings by the middle of the ١4th ccntury B.C. his is, however,
our last indirect evidence of Kassite building activities at Oal'at al-Bahrain.

A considerable number of Kassite burials sometimes secondary as burials in
earlier graves, sometimes in roc-cut, plastered chambers have been excavated
by the epartment of Antiquities in Bahrain, at Sar, Ali, Karaan, Buri,
al-Maqsha, Hamad own, lsa own, and AI-Hajjar. he graves are dated by City
IIIA-B pottery, and by many seals, including at least 25 Mitanni cylinder seals. A
couple of graves with Elamite cylinders, found at Al-Hajjar, and datable to the
13th century B.C. at the latest, seem to represent the last Kassite burials nown
from Bahrain '.

Assuming that Bahrain at this time is identical with ilmun, or at least
constitutes an important part of ilmun, there are besides the inscription from
Oal'at al-Bahrain, mentioned above three other inscriptions, possibly referring
to local rulers of ilmun during the Kassite period. he ifrst of these is a dedication
on the well-nown basalt stone found by Captain urand in 1879. It mentions he
palace of Rimun, servant of the god lnag of Agarum', and the context seems to
suggest that Rimun, living in a palace may have been a ruler or governor of
ilmun. he other inscription is found on a cylinder seal recently published by
Julian Reade (1986). he seal was owned by Ubalisu-Mardu, a descendant of
Usiananuri (٠..), said to be viceroy or governor of ilmun. Ubalisu-Mardu was
an oiffcial under Kurigalu, the Kassite ing of Babylon, but it is not clear from the
context whether the ing was Kurigalau I or II. Whichever the case,
Usiananuri-(...) shall probably be placed in the 15th century B.C. A third ruler or
governor of ilmun is lli-ippashra, nown from two letters addressed to his
"brother' Ililiya, governor of Nippur during the reigns of Burnaburiash II
(1359-1333 B.C) and Kurigalu I (1332-1308 B.C.).

Ili-ippashra is the last Kassite governor of ilmun we now of. By the middle of
the 13th century B.C. ilmun vanishes from the Kassite records. It is mentioned
for the last time around 1240 B.C. in connection with the conquest of Babylon by
uulti-Ninurta I. In a commemorative inscription on an alabaster tablet he styles
himself not only ing of Assur, Sumer and Aad, but adds that he is aiso 'ing of

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