Dabitum

Dabitum, also transliterated as Dabîtum or Dabītum, around the time of the Babylonian kings Hammurabi (c. 1792–1750 BC) and Samsu-iluna (1750–1712 BC). Her name means "she-bear"; a rare name for a slave since animal names were typically used only by free people.

Dabitum became pregnant as a young woman, By the time she had been pregnant for seven months, Dabitum had not felt the child move in a month and believed it to be dead.

Miscarriages were likely as emotionally devastating in ancient Mesopotamia as they are today. The language used in the letter indicates that Dabitum was devastated over the loss of her child and not just worried about her own fate; despite the child not having been born, she notably used the word šerrum ("child") rather than the otherwise common medical term kūbu ("fetus"). The phrase "What I have told you now has happened to me" is also startling in that it is a very rare example of a slave making herself into a knower and speaker. woman and almost certainly a former slave, in the fourth year of Hammurabi's reign (c. 1788 BC). Another document, written 24 years later (c. 1764 BC), establishes that the couple, still married, were childless and had adopted a daughter, to support them.

Legacy Dabitum's letter has been characterized by researchers as emotionally resonant and tragic. Dabitum's letter served as the basis for the novel Oannes (1980) by the Swedish author Tore Zetterholm, wherein she also appears as a character. Zetterholm was inspired to write the novel after having read the original letter on a visit to Baghdad.