Understandably, contemporary historians often bemoan the lack of women’s voices from the past amidst the male-centered records of events. Fortunately, the clay tablets containing letters from Assyrian women (about 1860 BCE) provide a refreshing exception.
Assyrian Trading Colonies
These letters date to an early period of Anatolian history before the rise of the Hittite Empire. At this period, Assyrian traders traveled by donkey caravans from Mesopotamian cities such as Assur to Anatolian cities such as Kanesh. They followed established trade routes spanning much of the Near East. Moreover, the archaeological dig of ancient Kanesh, called Kültepe, shows that Assyrian traders often lived much of the year there. The excavated records and buildings in eastern Turkey reveal their life a thousand kilometers away from their families and home base.
Hearing Women’s Voices from Home
Meanwhile, the traders’ wives and other female relatives sent letters from home. They reveal women who produced textiles for international trade, understood the complexities of this business, and negotiated for the best prices. They even complained when they felt unfairly treated. Unlike the male correspondence archaeologists have found, the women’s letters express some powerful emotions. We hear about their loneliness at their husbands’ absences. The women reprimand their husbands for the scanty resources left behind to feed and care for their households. They talk about the threat of famine and other disasters. (The photo at top of a letter inside its envelope is by Dosseman on Wiki.)
To read snippets of these letters and learn about the women who wrote them, click through to “Housewives, Weavers and Businesswomen: Assyrian Women from Assur and Kanesh” in The Ancient Near East Today. I particularly enjoyed the author’s brief video trailer for an extended film, “Thus speak Taram-Kubi, Assyrian Correspondence.” It includes a reading in ancient Assyrian and a translation, along with excellent footage of the site at Kültepe.