Preface; Part I. Introduction: 1. The Mari texts; 2. A survey of Mari history; 3. The Mari archives and political history; 4. A text-based study: comments on methodology; Part II. The Tribal World of Zimri-Lim: 5. Tribally organized pastoralists and the Amorrites; 6. The primary constituents of the confederacies: Sim'alite gayum and Yaminite li'mum; 7. The local leader of tribe and town: the Sugagum in service to the Mari kingdom; 8. The chief of pasture: the Merhum; 9. The 'Hana' tent-dwellers; 10. The other confederacy: the Yaminites; Part III. The Archaic State and the Matum 'Land': 11. Urbanism and archaic states; 12. The matum: the basic unit of regional politics in the early second millennium; 13. Subdividing the major matums: the halsum district; 14. Population terminology not tied to political entity; 15. Zimri-Lim and the land of the tent-dwellers (mat Hana); Part IV. The Collective and the Town: 16. The towns of the Mari archives; 17. The collective face of town or land; 18. Elders; 19. Heads; 20. Words for assembly; 21. Imar, Tuttul, and Urgis: old towns with strong collective traditions; 22. Mari in third-millenium towns; 23. On explaining corporate power; Part V. Conclusions: 24. The political world of the Mari archives; 25. Before democracy; Bibliography; Glossaries; Indices.