The Lions of Mari

This relief of a lion in a cage reminds me of two letters from Mari, dated to sometime in the first quarter of the 18th century BCE:

ARM 2, 106: "Previously, I sent a message to my lord, saying, 'A lion was caught in a loft at Bit-Akkaka. May my lord write me whether this lion is to remain in the loft until my lord’s arrival or whether I should have it sent directly to my lord.' My lord’s letter is slow to come to me. By now the lion has been stuck in the loft for five days. A dog and pig were thrown to him, but he refused to eat, so I thought, 'I fear the lion may yet pine away.'

Fearing this, I have forced the lion into a wooden cage, loaded it on a boat, and have had it conveyed to my lord."

ARM 14, 1: "lioness was caught at night in a loft at Bit-Akkaka. The next day, when I was notified, I made my way there. So as to disallow anyone from striking this lion, I am in Bit-Akkaka all day. I thought to myself, 'I want to have it reach my lord in full health.' So I threw him a [dog and] a pig, and he killed them. I left them there, but he would not take it for food. I myself wrote to the village of Biddaha to have a wooden cage brought here. While the cage was being hauled, the lion died the following day. I inspected this lioness: she was old and injured. My lord might think, 'this lion was certainly bludgeoned!' If anyone had even touched this lion, may I be treated as if transgressing my lord’s ban! Since this lion died, I have now had his skin flayed, handing it over for tanning. This lion was old; it died from debility."

Always worth digging into [Jack] Sasson's footnotes: 

"These two letters may give the impression that the killing of lions was a royal prerogative, as it was in the Neo-Assyrian period...However, several others show them killed by lesser folks, as in ARM 14 2 (LAPO 16 216), also from Yaqqim-Addu [the author of the above letters], “Because a lion was devouring sheep belonging to Ḫabdu-Ami in their fold, he dug a pit in it at Bit-Akkaka. Pouncing toward the fold, a lion fell into the pit—Ḫabdu-Ami was then in Dur-Yaḫdullim. So as the lion sought to climb out, shepherds gathered wood, filled the pit, and set it on fire. The lion got roasted by the fire. His hide is singed and is not for skinning. Another lion, a devourer, who was chased out of the district about four months ago, has been making raids in the district for a month now, killing 4 sheep. No longer is he running away at the sight of a band of men; instead, he starts attacking such groups!” -- From the Mari Archives by Jack Sasson (2015): 130n24.