For this week’s article, we will be going farther back than we have in a while, which also means we will be working with less information and primary sources than we usually have access to. Information about this man only became available in 1933 when the ancient city of Mari was discovered in Syria. There they discovered 20,000 tablets filled with writings. More than 3000 of these tablets are letters, one of which reveals that the King of Mari, Zimri-Lim, had male lovers. And that is who we will be looking at this week: a man who ruled Mari from 1775 B.C. until 1761 B.C. and led Mari through what is regarded as it’s most prosperous and peaceful years.
Making Queer History has a vague title because it has a rather vague purpose. We are not alone in our aim to tell the queer community’s history. What defines us is our focus not only on the past, but toward the future.