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The Nimrud Tablets, 1956—Economic and Legal Texts from the Nabu Temple

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 August 2014

Barbara Parker
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Extract

The small group of tablets here published is the first collection of temple economic texts of the late Assyrian period to be discovered. Although therefore, the selection is limited, they are of particular interest. Except for two tablets recording gifts to the temple of land and slaves, they consist of heart-shaped dockets recording debts of grain owed to the temple. They are of the usual late Assyrian form for this kind of document, with holes for string by which they were suspended, or perhaps tied to sacks; remains of the string were still in the holes when they were excavated.

They were found together in a pit on top of a cut down wall between rooms N.T. 14 and 16, on the south side of the inner courtyard to the temple. They are dated between 668 and 652 B.C., except for an isolated tablet (ND. 5457) which is dated 699 B.C. Of the twenty-one dockets, eight are dated in the spring of 661 B.C., five of them on two succeeding days, 27th and 28th of Addaru (ND. 5447, 5452, 5454, 5459).

The god Nabu is named as creditor (lit. the amount of the debt “belongs to Nabu”), and the normal commercial rates of interest are charged, although there is a greater proportion of debts with low interest. There are some debts without interest, or so it appears; on others 20, 30, 40, and 50 per cent. is charged. The rate seems to depend on the security of the debtor in relation to the amount of the debt (we have no evidence from Calah of rates in bad years of scarcity), for of the debts with the highest interest, 5448 involves a large amount of grain, and a pledge is required as security, 5461 and 5465 are cases in which harvesting labour is required as a condition of credit and probably acts as security. In the five dockets of the 27th and 28th of Addaru, 661 B.C., the interest charged varies between 20 and 40 per cent., and in some cases there is no interest at all.

Type
Research Article
Information
IRAQ , Volume 19 , Issue 2 , Autumn 1957 , pp. 125 - 138
Copyright
Copyright © The British Institute for the Study of Iraq 1957

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References

page 125 note 1 Cf. Iraq XIX, Pt. I, pp. 14–15Google Scholar.

page 125 note 2 ND. 5449, 5456, 5453, 5450, 5464.

page 125 note 3 ND. 5447, 5459.

page 125 note 4 ND. 5469, 5452.

page 125 note 5 ND. 5465, 5448, 5461

page 126 note 1 Kohler, and Ungnad, , A.R.U., p. 459Google Scholar.

page 126 note 2 It would depend, of course, on whether the debtor had a crop with which to pay: i.e., he must be a cultivator, or a land owner, or a man of business. It is not suggested, for instance, that the gem cutters will pay at harvest time: they are probably borrowing on their wages, which is no doubt an age-old custom in this part of the world.

page 126 note 3 E.g., the tablets from Tell Billa, , J.C.S., VII, p. 123, no. 4Google Scholar.

page 126 note 4 E.g., Archives of the Sin Temple at Khafaje, J.C.S. IX, p. 30Google Scholar, where it alternates with UD.EBUR.ŠE. “the day of the harvest.”

page 126 note 5 Cross, , Movable Properly in Nuzi Documents, 36Google Scholar.

page 127 note 1 A.R.U., 297–8; p. 460.

page 127 note 2 Mallowan, , Iraq XIX, Pt. I, p. 14–15Google Scholar.

page 127 note 3 Not pur as in copy.

page 127 note 4 Ibid, p. 19.

page 133 note 1 There is a name Laziti-ia in H.A.B.L., 454, 10.

page 133 note 2 It has been suggested to me that the two women are sisters, and it is they who have brought up the boys. The objections to this are that the sign after aḫati is šú and not šá, and the verbs are in the third person masculine singular.

page 133 note 3 zīzi “teat” seems to fit the context, but the verb beginning in-ta is difficult to explain, II.2 of nadū is needed (see Bez., 191.b).

page 133 note 4 amēl ša (giš) gaşşatešu; a pedlar in firewood; cf. C.A.D., 5, 54Google Scholar.

page 133 note 5 Clearly written TUR.KAŠ LUL.

page 134 note 1 This design is identical with that stamped on the bricks made for die Nabu temple bearing die name of Aššur-eṭil-ilani. This debt is not taken in exchange, and is said to be capital of the temple; it may be a direct advance or obligation for offerings.

page 134 note 1 The scribe must mean that 10 homers of grain has been advanced on the promise of 10 harvesters, which (the grain) belongs to Nabu.

page 134 note 2 Is Ki-qi-la-nu a writing of Kikilanu = Kakkulānu.

page 135 note 1 Cf. ND. 5447.

page 135 note 2 Cf. Ana ittišu, Tf. 3, i, 33. ina suti ginie means the normal measure, but suti ša ginie would seem to mean the sutu measure of the regular offerings. What actual sutu measure is intended is doubtful, for the measure used seems to depend on die origin of die consignment, cf. ND. 5457.