Notes concerning the Economic Activities of the Babylonian Temple in the First Millennium B.C.

Extract

In this report I shall deal mainly with the Eanna temple economy, and with the amount of income and payments made. The income of Eanna had several sources, the first being the tithes and compulsory payments on products, silver or manufactured goods made by craftsmen in the territory controlled by Eanna. Interest was due when the payment of tithes was postponed. In such cases citizens preferred to take loans from private money-lenders or large business houses. There are a number of documents in the Egibi and Murašu archives describing cases of loans of silver for the payment of tithes. These loans were made according to the usual terms, i.e. 20% interest with guarantees and pledges. We do not know why, if the rates were the same, citizens did not prefer to pay interest to the temple. Perhaps the answer can be found in the records of loans of silver and products given by the temple itself. In a number of cases these documents are formulated as exchanges. For example, in YBT VI, 90, Eanna exchanges barley for dates but the text nevertheless contains a clause according to which the debtor must return the required quantity of barley.