A “letter” written by a student in Ancient Babylon to his mother is currently being shared heavily on TikTok, largely because it was deemed entertaining. The letter written by the student İddin-Sin to his mother Zinu, B.C. It offers a slice of life in 18th century Mesopotamia. At the time the letter was written, Iddin-Sin was away from his mother. Instead of writing her a letter telling her how things were going, perhaps even telling her that she was missed, Iddin-Sin was scolding her mother for the state of her clothes.
The letter written on the clay tablet has gone viral, especially on TikTok.According to translations, the letter reads, “Tell Ms. Zinu: Iddin-Sin sends this message,” and continues: “May the gods Šamaš, Marduk and Ilabrat keep you healthy forever in my name.” After this prelude and enquiry, he gets straight to the point: “The young gentlemen’s clothes here are getting better from year to year, but you allow my clothes to get worse and worse from year to year. In fact, you insisted on making my clothes poorer and more ragged. You made me have bad clothes made at a time when wool was consumed like bread in our house. Adad-iddinam’s son, whose father is only my father’s assistant, has two new clothes, and you are complaining about even a single suit for me.”
After making his point, Iddin-Sin continues with one last big emotional move: “Even though you gave birth to me and his mother adopted him, his mother loves him, but you don’t love me!”
Of course, the letter was not written on paper, but was found on a clay tablet. So be careful, if you are going to write on a clay tablet, be careful what you write. You never know who will read this article thousands of years from now.
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