MESOPOTAMIA—— LIFE IN THE CITY AROUND THE TIME OF ABRAHAM AND AFTER.
VERY FINE LECTURES BY PROFESSOR ALEXIS Q. CASTOR [FROM HER 36 LECTURES ON MESOPOTAMIA—- DONE FOR THE TEACHING COMPANY].
LECTURE 17— LIFE IN A MESOPOTAMIA CITY
WE SAW IN THE LAST LECTURE THAT THE UR 111 KINGSHIP WAS PROSPEROUS AND CULTURALLY VIBRANT. MOST OF OUR EVIDENCE CAME FROM THE PALACE. SPECIFICALLY FROM THE REIGN OF SHULGI.
IN THIS LECTURE I WOULKD LIKE TO RETURN TO ONE OF OUR THEMES IN THIS COURSE, URBANISM. TO SEE WHAT HAS HAPPENED FROM THE URUC ERA— 2 THOUSAND B. C. AND AFTER.
WE KNOW HOW IMPORTANT PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS WERE IN CITIES, WE ARE BEST INFORMED ABOUT THE TEMPLE, AND HAVE INCREASINGLY BETTER INFORMATION ABOUT THE PALACE, WHICH SUPPORTED, TOGETHER WITH THE TEMPLE, A LARGE WORK FORCE THAT COULD PROVIDE— WORK AND FOOD FOR THE POOREST MEMBERS OF THE CITY.
CAN WE RECONSTRUCT THE REST OF THE CITY? KEEP IN MIND THAT MOST OF OUR ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE IS RICHEST FOR TEMPLES AND PALACES. WHAT HAS SURVIVED, WHAT HAS BEEN EXCAVATED, IN THE REST OF THESE ENORMOUS TELLS, IS VERY SCATTERED.
SO AS I TALK ABOUT CITIES IN THE SOUTH OF MESOPOTAMIA, IN THE SECOND MILLENNIUM, I’M GOING TO EXTRAPOLATE, FROM SEVERAL CENTURIES, AND FROM MANY DIFFERENT SITES, TO CREATE A PICTURE.
TEXTS FILL IN SOME OF THE GAPS THAT ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDS LEAVES FOR US. BUT THERE ARE STILL MANY QUESTIONS THAT REMAIN.
WE WILL BEGIN ON A SMALL SCALE, BY LOOKING AT THE HOUSE AND ITS OCCUPANTS AND THEN MOVE TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT.
AND I HAVE TO WARM YOU THIS IS A SPECIALTY OF LIFE THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO BE BETTER INFORMED ABOUT.
THEN I WILL MOVE ON TO DISCUSS THE DIFFERENT PROFESSIONS THAT ARE ATTESTED FOR CITIES, AND FINALLY WITH TWO STUDIES OF SPECIFIC CITIES, SIPAR AND MUZI.
KEEP IN MIND THAT ONE OF THE REASONS WE CHOSE THE ASPECT OF URBANISM, TO EXPLORE IN THIS COURSE, IS TO UNDERSTAND THAT WHILE POLITICAL EVENTS ARE MOMENTOUS TO US, MOST PEOPLE IN MESOPOTAMIA CONTINUED LIVING THEIR LIVES RELATIVELY UNAFFECTED BY WHAT HAPPENED AMONG THE POLITICAL ELITE. SO IT’S IMPORTANT TO KEEP RETURNING TO THIS THEME TO KEEP IN MIND, WHAT THE AVERAGE CITIZEN WOULD HAVE BEEN DOING, WHILE SHULGI WAS TRAVELLING AROUND BUILDING TEMPLES.
CITIES CAN BE BEST UNDERSTOOD AS LARGE VERSIONS OF INDIVIDUAL HOUSEHOLDS. AND SO ANY STUDY OF AN INDIVIDUAL HOUSEHOLDS, BOTH THE OCCUPANTS AND THE STRUCTURE ITSELF IS IMPORTANT FOR OUR UNDERSTAND THE CITY AS A WHOLE.
FATHERS WERE THE UNDISPUTED HEAD OF THE HOUSEHOLD. AND THEY LIVED SURROUNDED BY THEIR FAMILY. PARENTS, SONS, THEIR SON’S WIVES, AND SOMETIMES THEIR CHILDREN, AND ANY UNMARRIED DAUGHTERS. THEY LIVED TOGETHER IN ONE HOUSEHOLD. SO IT’S AN EXTENDED FAMILY, BUT IT’S NOT A VAST EXTENDED FAMILY. NO MORE THAN 3 GENERATIONS AT MOST.
FATHERS ARRANGED THE MARRIAGE OF THEIR SONS AND THEIR DAUGHTERS. AND WOMEN WERE MARRIED IN THEIR LATE TEENS, MEN IN THEIR LATE TWENTIES. SO THERE WAS ABOUT A 10 YEAR AGE GAP IN THE AGE OF FIRST MARRIAGE.
THE GROOM’S FAMILY WOULD GIVE A GIFT TO THE FAMILY OF THE BRIDE. IN THE EARLY DYNASTIC ERA, COULD CONSIST OF LARGE QUANTITIES OF FOOD, MEANT TO PROVIDE FOR THE WEDDING FEAST. BUT LATER BY THE 18 CENTURY, THIS WAS SILVER IN THE AMOUNT EQUAL TO THE DOWRY GIVEN TO THE GROOM, BY THE BRIDE’S FATHER AND THE DOWRY WAS A GIFT GIVEN BY THE FATHER OF THE BRIDE, TO SUPPORT HER, TO MAKE SURE SHE DIDN’T GET MARRIED AND….HER HUSBAND LOST HIS JOB, LOST HIS LIVELIHOOD, AND SHE AND CHILDREN WOULD BE LEFT TO STARVE.
INSTEAD THE DOWRY WAS MEANT TO PROVIDE THE NECESSITIES FOR HER. IT WAS OVERSEEN BY THE GROOM, BY THE HUSBAND, BUT IN THE EVENT OF DIVORCE, THE DOWRY WOULD HAVE TO BE RETURNED TO THE BRIDE’S FAMILY.
WE WILL COME BACK TO THIS IDEA WHEN WE DISCUSS LAWS, AS THE DOWRIES ARE OFTEN INVOLVED IN LEGAL DISPUTES.
IT WAS CUSTOMARY TO TAKE ONLY ONE WIFE, UNLESS SHE WAS UNABLE TO HAVE CHILDREN, IN WHICH CASE A SECOND WIFE COULD BE TAKEN BY THE HUSBAND. ALTHOUGH HE COULD ALSO USE ANOTHER WAY, OF RESOLVING THE PROBLEM— ADOPTION!
WE KNOW THERE ARE MANY RECORDS OF ADOPTIONS, OFTEN A FAMILY MEMBER, A NEPHEW OR A CUSIN, OR SOME FRIEND’S CHILD, WOULD BE ADOPTED.
SLAVES WERE A PART OF MESOPOTAMIA LIFE. AND THEY WERE ACQUIRED IN MANY WAY— AS PRISONERS OF WAR, INFANTS BOUGHT FROM PARENTS IN TIMES OF FINANCIAL SITUATIONS. BUT MOST OF THE SLAVES THAT ARE RECORDED WERE ENSLAVED BECAUSE THEY WERE PAYING OFF A DEBT. SO SOMEONE WHO NEEDED A LOAN, WOULD OFFER THEMSELVES OR FAMILY AS SURITY FOR THE LOAN, SO WHEN THEY FELL BEHIND THEY WOULD BE ENSLAVED TO PAY OFF WITH THE LABOR TO COMPLETE THE LOAN.
THIS DEBT SLAVERY COULD BE TEMPORALLY, BUT WE KNOW FOR THOSE WORKING THE DEBT OFF, WORKING THEIR WAY OUT WITHOUT SOME LEGAL RECOURSE, WAS OFTEN VERY LONG.
FAMILIES OF SLAVES WERE KNOWN AND THEY WERE SOLD AND SEPARATED, CHILDREN OF A SLAVE WOMAN WOULD BE SOLD AT VERY YOUNG AGES.
THIS MULTI-GENERATION HOUSEHOLD RESULTED IN VARIOUS HOUSE PLANS; WITH ROOMS ADDED WHEN NECESSARY, OR AFFORDABLE. AND ARCHAEOLOGY CAN STRACE THE HISTORY OF A HOUSE BY ALTERATIONS TO THE PLAN. SO WHEN A FAMILY EXPANDS, OR ACQUIRED MORE LAND, THE HOUSE GETS BIGGER. NOW WHAT WE CAN’T KNOW, DID THE FAMILY STAY IN THE HOUSE OR WHETHER SOME OTHER FAMILY CAME IN, BOUGHT THE HOUSE, THEN EXPANDED IT TO FIT THEIR OWN NEEDS.
A TYPICAL HOUSE PLAN IS ARRANGED AROUND AN OPEN COURT- YEARD, IN THE CENTER OF THE HOUSE. WHICH THEN WOULD PROVIDE LIGHT AND AIR. THE PURPOSE OF THE ROOMS OFF THIS COURT-YARD, USUALLY CAN’T BE IDENTIFIED FROM THE PLANS OF THE HOUSE OR THE REMAINS, BECAUSE HOUSES WOULD BE CLEARED OUT WHEN THEY WERE SOLD OR RE-BUILY, AS LIKE TODAY. SO THERE ARE VERY FEW OBJECTS THAT HELP US UNDERSTAND WHAT WENT ON IN THE ROOMS. THERE ARE TWO EXCEPTIONS TO THIS RULE.
THE FIRST IS WEAVING, WHICH USUALLY OCCURRED IN THE COURT-YARD OF THE HOUSE, SO THE WEAVER WOULD HAVE ACCESS TO LIGHT AND AIR. WE FIND WEAVING IMPLEMENTS IN THE CORNERS OF COURT-YARDS, SO FOR EXAMPLE, LOOM WEIGHTS, WHICH WOULD BE USED TO KEEP THE WOOL TIGHT AT THE BACK OF THE LOOM, WHILE THE CREATOR WAS WEAVING A TEXTILE. LOOM WEIGHTS ARE A COMMON FIND FOR ARCHAEOLOGISTS, SO THAT HELPS US IDENTIFY WHERE WEAVING TOOK PLACE.
THE SECOND EXCEPTION, TO ROOM IDENTIFICATION, IS THAT WE CAN USUALLY FIGURE OUT WHERE THE KITCHEN WAS, BECAUSE THE GROUND IS BLACKENED BY FIRE.
HOUSES COULD BE EITHER OWNED OR RENTED. AND WE HAVE A RENTAL AGREEMENT FROM THE 5TH CENTURY B. C. THAT NOTES THAT THE TENANT WAS ALSO A BUILDER. HE RECEIVED A REDUCED RENT IN EXCHANGE FOR REPAIRS CONTRACTED TO MAKE ON THE BUILDING DURING HIS TENANCY. IF THE TENANT DID NOT COMPLETE THE REPAIRS, HE WOULD HAVE TO PAY THE FULL RATE. SO A LANDLORD MUST HAVE BEEN VERY EXCITED HE COULD GET THOSE PROFESSIONALS TO SPRUCE UP THE PLACE DURING THE YEAR HE WAS ALSO RECEIVING RENT.
THE TITLES OF MANY LOCAL OFFICIALS ARE PRESERVED, BUT IT CAN BE QUITE CHALLENGING TO UNDERSTAND THEIR SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES.
THE MAYOR WAS THE LEADER OF THE COURT. AND OFTEN APPEARED AS A WITNESS IN LAW-SUITES. THE MAYOR IS ONE OF THOSE POSITIONS ARCHAEOLOGISTS WISH WE KNEW MORE ABOUT, AND WHAT A MAYOR ACTUALLY DID. SEEMS TO BE QUITE DIFFERENT THAN WHAT MAYORS DO TODAY. BUT THE TERM IS BEST TRANSLATED AS MAYOR.
THE MAYOR IS FREQUENTLY LISTED AS RESPONSIBLE SPECIFICALLY FOR PROSECUTING THEFT. THE TEXT STATES THAT A MAYOR WAS A MIDDLE MAN, COLLECTING TAXES FROM HIS PEOPLE AND THEN SENDING THEM ON TO ANOTHER AUTHORITY, USUALLY THE PALACE OR PERHAPS A REGIONAL GOVERNOR. AND THIS TEXT THAT RECORDS THIS DUTY OF A MAYOR WAS ACTUALLY FROM A LAWSUIT, WHICH THE MAYOR WAS ACCUSED OF EMBEZZLING FUNDS…THE GOVERNOR OF THE PROVINCE WAS THREATENING TO BRING HIS ARMY TO ATTACK THE PEOPLE IN ORDER FOR THEM TO PAY THE TAXES THAT HAD BEEN EMBEZZLED BY THE MAYOR.
ANOTHER IMPORTANT RESOURCE THAT A MAYOR WOULD PROVIDE, WOULD BE TO DELIVER THE MANPOWER NECESSARY FOR BUILDING PROJECTS AND OTHER WORK REQUIRED BY THE KING, PERHAPS EVEN SERVING IN THE ARMY.
THE STORY OF A POOR MAN FROM NIPUR, RECORDS A POOR MAN’S INTERACTION WITH A MAYOR, AND ONE OF HIS LESS PROSPEROUS CITIZENS. THE MAYOR COMES OFF POORLY AS OFTEN POLITICIANS DO IN SATIRICAL LITERATURE. THE POOR MAN GAVE A FINE GOAT TO THE MAYOR, HOPING THAT THEN THE MAYOR IN RETURN FOR THIS, WOULD INVITE THE ENTIRE FAMILY OF THE POOR MAN TO DINNER. THE MOTIVATION BEHIND THIS IS THAT THE POOR MAN COULD NOT FEED THE ENTIRE OF HIS FAMILY WITH JUST ONE GOAT, HE NEEDED A LARGER MEAL, SO HE THOUGHT IF HE CURRIED FAVOR WITH THE MAYOR, AND WAS INVITED TO DINNER, MORE OF HIS FAMILY COULD EAT. THE MAYOR DOES NOT BEHAVE QUITE AS THE POOR MAN HOPED, AND REWARDED HIM WITH A SMALL CUP OF CHEAP BEER, AND SOME GRIZZLY MEAT, WHICH WAS LARGELY BONE. THE POOR MAN SPENDS QUITE A BIT OF TIME PLOTTING HIS REVENGE, WHICH WAS ELABORATE AND INVOLVED NUMEROUS DISGUISES. FIRST DISGUISES HIMSELF AS A RICH MAN, THEN LATER AS A PHYSICIAN. ONCE HE REVEALS HIS TRUE IDENTITY TO THE MAYOR AND EXPLAINS WHY HE HAS PUBLICLY HUMILIATED THE MAYOR, THE POINT OF THE WHOLE STORY IS THAT THERE IS RESOLUTION BETWEEN THE WEALTHY MAYOR AND THE POOR MAN.
MAYOR SHOULD BE PROBABLY THOUGHT OF AS BEST, THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE PEOPLE TO THE PALACE, AND VICE-VERSER. SO THEY WOULD SERVE AS INTERMEDIATORS BETWEEN THESE TWO GROUPS.
WE KNOW THAT IN ADDITION TO A MAYOR, THERE WAS AN ASSEMBLY, PERHAPS EVEN MORE THAN ONE IN A LARGE CITY. A LARGE CITY MIGHT BE DIVIDED INTO DIFFERENT DISTRICTS, AND EACH ONE WOULD HAVE AN ASSEMBLY. THE ASSEMBLY HAD A LEADER, WHOSE MAIN PURPOSE WAS TO IMPRISON PEOPLE, SO THEY FORMED A LEGAL OVERSIGHT OF THE CITY OR THEIR DISTRICT.
THERE IS NO INDICATION WHO COULD BELONG TO AN ASSEMBLY. IT IS ASSUMED THAT ONLY MEN WOULD PARTICIPATE IN THIS ASSEMBLY, A POLITICAL ROLE, BECAUSE NO WOMEN ARE MENTIONED. BUT THAT’S AN ARGUMENT FROM SILENCE, SO I DON’T THINK WE SHOULD ASSUME THAT IN EVERY CASE.
SCATTERED SOURCES INDICATE THAT CITIES WERE DIVIDED INTO QUARTERS OF NEIGHBORHOODS. AND THERE WERE PROBABLY LEADERS AT THIS LEVEL WHO OVERSAW THE MUNDANE NEEDS OF THE CITY, LIKE KEEPING STREETS CLEAR OF LITTER, POLICING PETY CRIME, ISSUES LIKE THAT. AND AGAIN WHEN WE DISCUSS LAWS, SOME OF THE PROBLEMS THAT AFFECTED URBAN LIFE. WHICH WOULD BE RESOLVED THROUGH THE ASSEMBLIES OR THROUGH ADJUDICATION AT THE LOCAL LEVEL.
THERE ARE MANY TITLES OF OFFICIALS RECORDED IN TEXTS, SO WE KNOW THERE WAS A THRIVING BUREAUCRACY, BUT THE TERMS OF HOW THIS BUREAUCRACY WORKED, OR WHAT THE SOCIAL HIERARCHY WAS WE DON’T KNOW IN DETAIL.
LET’S MOVE NOW TO LOOK AT WHAT THE REST OF THE PEOPLE ARE DOING IN THE CITY, IF THEY ARE NOT MEMBERS OF THE ASSEMBLY; WHAT ARE THEIR PROFESSIONS?
WE’VE SPOKEN MOST ABOUT AGRICULTURAL WORKERS, WEAVERS, AND PRIESTS. BUT TEXT RECORD MANY WAYS OF MAKING A LIVING. SOME OF THESE PROFESSIONS WERE SEASONAL, SO THINK IMMEDIATELY OF AGRICULTURAL WORKERS, BUT THERE WAS MONTHS WHEN THEIR SERVICE WAS NOT NECESSARY, AND THEY MIGHT HAVE HAD SOME OTHER WAY OF GETTING INCOME DURING THE DOWN TIME. THE FOOD INDUSTRY REQUIRED BAKERS, BUTCHERS, GARDENERS, BREWERS, TAVEN KEEPERS AND SERVERS, AND THESE LAST TWO WERE USUALLY WOMEN. ARCHITECTS, CRAFTSMEN, MASONS, CARPENTERS, ALL CREATED HOMES AND OTHER BUILDINGS, AND WRECKERS WOULD TEAR DOWN OLD STRUCTURES, TO MAKE WAY FOR NEW ONES. BOAT-MAKERS CREATED RIVER CRAFT AND SAILORS HELP MERCHANTS PLY THEIR TRADE. FORESTERS AND TIMBER WORKERS WOULD SUPPLY THE WOOD FOR THE VESSELS. GATE-KEEPERS CONTROLLED THE ACCESS TO A CITY, A TEMPLE, OR A PALACE. ARTISANS SUCH AS BASKET MAKERS, LEATHER WORKERS, FURNITURE MAKERS OR SEAL CUTTERS, WOULD PRODUCE THE CRAFT FOR PRIVATE CITIZENS OR THE PALACE. THERE WOULD BE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF LUXURIOUSNESS BASED ON WHO THE CUSTOMER WAS.
CERTAIN QUARTERS OF THE CITY WAS DEVOTED TO CRAFT PRODUCTIONS, CAN BE IDENTIFIED IN THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD. IF THEY WERE ESPECIALLY DISRUPTIVE SUCH AS TANNING, WHICH CAN BE PROCESSED TO MAKE LEATHER, OR IF THEY HAD SPECIAL TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS, SUCH AS LARGE KILNS TO MAKE POTTERY, THEN THEY WOULD BE PLACED EITHER OUTSIDE THE CITY WALL OR IN SPECIFIC SECTIONS OF THE CITY, FAR FROM THE MAJORITY OF THE URBAN POPULATION.
ONE PROFESSION THAT WE COULD EXPECT TO LEAVE PHYSICAL EVIDENCE, IS A SCRIBE OR A SCRIBAL SCHOOL. AT NIPUR A HOME WAS DISCOVERED THAT SEEMS TO BE THE SITE OF A VERY SMALL SCRIBAL SCHOOL. NOT A LARGE SCHOOL THAT WAS OVERSEEN BY THE PALACE, BUT THIS IS THE NEXT STEP UP FROM HOME-SCHOOLING.
HOW DO WE KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A REGULAR HOME AND A HOME OF A SCRIBE?
THERE ARE A COUPLE OF HINTS.
FIRST THERE ARE A WIDE VARIETY OF TOPICS WRITTEN ON THE TABLETS, THAT WERE FOUND IN THIS PARTICULAR HOME, AND EVEN MORE COMPELLING ARE THE NUMEROUS EXAMPLE OF MIS-SPELLING AND AWKWARD SIGNS THAT SUGEST THEY WERE PRACTICE TABLETS OF STUDENTS NOT YET COMFORTABLE WITH THE MASTERY OF CUNAIA FORM, THEY WOULD NEED TO CARRY ON WITH THEIR PROFESSION.
CENTRALIZED CRAFT PRODUCTION IS BEST KNOWN FROM THE UR 111 PERIOD. AS THE ADMINISTRATED DOCUMENTS ARE SO PLENTIFUL. AT THIS TIME, 13,200 WEAVERS WERE EMPLOYED BY THE PALACE AT UR. MOST OF THEM WERE WOMEN WHO WOULD BRING THEIR CHILDREN TO THE PALACE WHILE THEY WORKED. AND WE CAN IMAGINE THESE WERE SOME OF THE POOREST WOMEN, WIDOWS, WHO HAD NO OTHER MEANS OF SUPPORT. THEY WOULD BE PAYED IN RATIONS. RATIONS WOULD BE GIVEN TO THEM AND ALSO TO THEIR CHILDREN.
ONE REASON WHY SO MAMNY WORKERS WERE NEEDED WAS THAT WEAVING WAS A VERY TIME CONSUMING PROCESS. IT TOOK A TOTAL OF 400 DAYS TO CREATE A GARMENT WEIGHING APPROXIMATELY SEVEN POUNDS. SO IF WE HAVE THOUSANDS OF WEAVERS WORKING TOGETHER AT THE SAME TIME AT THE PALACE, THE OUTPUT WOULD BE STEADY AND PRODUCTIVE. BUT IT WOULD REQUIRE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF LABOR.
LET’S MOVE NOW TO LOOK AT A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES OF SECOND MILLENNIUM CITIES. AT SIPPAR AND NUZI.
THESE ARE QUITE DIFFERENT EXAMPLES OF CITIES, AND THEY GIVE AN IDEA OF THE RANGE OF URBAN CENTERS THAT WERE PRESENT IN MESOPOTAMIA.
AT SIPPAR IN CENTRAL MESOPOTAMIA, THE DISCOVERY OF DIFFERENT GROUPS OF TABLETS CAN YEID VALUABLE INFORMATION, ABOUT FAMILY HISTORY AND PROFESSIONS. SO HERE THERE HAS BEEN A STUDY AS WHAT SURVIVED IN THE HOUSES. ONE HOME BELONGING TO A CERTAIN BUR-HOTO, WHO WAS THE CHEIF SINGER OF LAMENTATIONS, FOR THE GODESS LAMETUM, CONTAINED OVER TWO THOUSAND TABLETS. SO REMEMBER I HAVE SPOKEN ALONG THE WAY ABOUT HOW DIFFICULT IT IS TO STUDY TABLETS WHEN THEY ARE NOT IN CONTEXT. SO HERE WE GET A SENCE OF AN IMPORTANT MEMBER OF THE CITY OF SIPPAR, BUT IN HIS HOUSE HE LEFT BEHIND 2,000 TABLETS. SO THIS IS AN IMPORTANT ACHIVE FROM ONE INDIVIDUAL AND WHAT HIS FAMILY CONTROLLED AND THE AREA HE WAS ACTIVE IN, WHAT WAS REQUIRED— RECEIPTS AND OTHER OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS.
BUR-HOTO WAS QUITE THE REAL-ESTATE MAGNET. HE OWNED EXTENSIVE PROPERTY IN THE AREA OF SIPPAR. AND THE RECEIPTS THAT RECORD THE TRANSACTIONS BETWEEN BUR-HOYO AND INDIVIDUALS HE BOUGHT LAND FROM, USUALLY SUPPLY A HISTORY OF THE PLOT OF THE LAND. SO JUST LIKE MODERN DEEDS, WILL NOTE PAST SALES, ANY DIVISIONS OF THE PROPERTY. THIS GIVES US THE KNOWLEDGE OF WHEN LARGE PEICES OF PROPERTY WERE CUT UP INTO SMALLER PEICES. AND THEN THE FINAL CURRANT TRANSFER OF PROPERTY IS RECORDED. BUR-HOTO’S FATHER FROM WHOM HE HAD INHERITED THE HOUSE, WHICH WE KNOW FROM ONE OF THE TEXTS, KEPT COPIES OF NUMEROUS CONTRACTS OF AGRICULTURAL LABOR. SO IN THIS HOUSE WE NOT ONLY HAVE RECORDS OF BUT-HUTO BUT THE PREVIOUS GENERATIONS, THE KEEPING OF A LOT OF DOCUMENTATION.
WE SEE FROM THIS HOW THE RECORDS WERE STORED AND KEPT, AND IT WOULD BE VERY ILLUMINATING IF WE HAD MORE OF THESE PERSONAL ARCHIVES. THE WAY INDIVIDUALS STORED INFORMATION DOES GIVE US A SENCE OF WHAT THEY THOUGHT WAS IMPORTANT, AND WHAT WOULD BE ESSENTIAL, FOR LATER LEGAL TRANSACTIONS OR ANY OTHER DISRUPTION THEY MIGHT NEED TO GET INVOLVED IN.
THE REASON WE FOUND SO MANY TABLETS AT BUR-HOTO HOUSE IS THAT HE APPARENTLY LEFT IN A HURRY. SOME OF THE TABLETS WERE STREW BETWEEN SEVERAL ROOMS, SOME FELL DOWN A STAIR-CASE. SO THERE IS AN INDICATION OF A VERY QUICK DEPARTURE. AND THERE IS ALSO THE INDICATION THAT SOMEONE WAS IN THERE TOSSING THE TABLETS AROUND. SO RIFLING THROUGH THEM. AND WE CAN IMAGINE BUR-HOTO HAVING TO LEAVE TOWN IN A HURRY, WE DON’T KNOW WHY. BUT SOMEONE TRYING TO ABSTRACT FROM THIS LARGE ARCHIVE OF SAVING THE MOST IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS WHILE TOSSING THE REST ASIDE.
IF WE HAD JUST RECEIVED THESE TABLETS ON THE ART MARKET OR IN A MUSEUM, OUR INTERPRETATION WOULD BE SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT, THAN IF WE HAD THE EXCAVATION DATA, ASSOCIATED WITH IT. NOW WE KNOW THAT ALL THESE REAL-STATES RECORDS WERE KEPT BY ONE PERSON, AND WE KNOW THERE WAS A COUPLE OF GENERATIONS FROM ONE FAMILY, VERY IMPORTANT IN THE CITY OF SIPPAR.
THE LAST CITY WE WILL EXAMINE IS NUZI. REALLY NOT MUCH MORE THAN A LARGE VILLAGE. AND IT IS FOUND IN THE AREA OF KURKOOK, NORTH EASTERN IRAQ.
NUZI LIES IN THE FOOTHILLS OF THE ZAGROS MOUNTAINS, THEY ARE ONLY ABOUT TEN MILES AWAY. AND IF YOU THINK BACK TO OUR EARLY DISCUSSIONS OF THE GEOGRAPHY, YOU CAN IMAGINE THIS IS THE AREA THAT IS MUCH HILLIER, IT’S ALSO AN AREA WHERE AGRICULTURE CAN BE PRODUCED BY RAINFALL. SO IT IS MUCH DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE SEE IN SOUTHERN MESOPOTAMIA, WHICH IS DEPENDANT ON IRRIGATION FOR AGRICULTURAL HAVEST.
ASSYRIA LIES TO THE WEST OF NUZI AND BABYLONIA TO THE SOUTH.
THERE IS REALLY NOTHING NOTEWORTHY ABOUT NUZI’S ECONOMY, ITS AGRICULTURE AND TRADE, IT PLUGGED ALONG AS ONE MIGHT EXPECT. WHAT’S EXITING ABOUIT NUZI IS THAT WE DON’T KNOW WHAT VILLAGES THIS SIZE WERE LIKE. SO THIS ALMOST GIVES US UNIQUE INSIGHT TO WHAT A SMALL CITY WAS LIKE.
THE TEXTS DATE TO THE SECOND HALF OF THE SECOND MILLENNIUM B. C. AT THIS POINT IT IS IN THE HEART-LAND OF ASSYRIAN TERRITORY. BUT AT THIS TIME ASSYRIA WAS NOT A DOMINANT POLITICAL POWER. THE POPULATION OF NUZI IS ESTIMATED TO BE ABOUT 1,600 AND IF YOU COMPARE THIS TO URUK’S POPULATION OF AT LEAST 40,000 AROUND 3 THOUSAND B. C. YOU CAN SEE THIS IS JUST A SMALL CITY ON THE BORDER OF… NOWHERE.
THE CITY HAD 3 LARGE PUBLIC COMPLEXES AND 3 LARGE SUBURBAN VILLAS, BEYOND THE WALLS OF THE TOWN. A DRAINAGE SYSTEM OF PIPES, REMOVED RAIN WATER AND WASTE FROM THE BUILDINGS TO STREET OR TO LARGER DRAINS. AND MAN-HOLES COULD ALLOW THE SEWERS TO BE CLEANED, WASTE WENT OUT TO THE SIDE OF THE CITY TO THE TELL ON WHICH THE CITY WAS BUILT. THE LARGEST BUILDING WAS THE ADMINISTRATIVE BUILDING, WHICH WAS NOT A PALACE BUT PROBABLY WHERE THE ASSEMBLY MET AND THE MAYOR CONDUCTED BUSINESS.
THIS PUBLIC STRUCTURE WAS LARGE ABOUT 130 BY 85 YARDS, AND IT HAD OVER A HUNDRED ROOMS. IT HAD NUMEROUS STORAGE CHAMBERS.
THE BUSINESS SECTION OF THIS LARGE ADMINISTRATIVE CENTER HAD A LOT OF TEXTS THAT WERE EXCAVATED THERE. SO WE GET A LOT ABOUT THE ECONOMY OF NUZI FROM THESE STORAGE ROOMS.
THE COURT-YARDS OF THE PUBLIC BUILDINGS WERE HIGHLY DECORATED AND THEY WOULD BE PLACES WHERE MOST OF THE POPULATION OF NUZI COULD GATHER, IF THEY HAD TO DISCUSS A CERTAIN ISSUE.
LIVING SPACE HAS ALSO BEEN IDENTIFIED IN THIS PUBLIC BUILDING, AND IT INCLUDES A SMALL PRIVATE CHAPLE, AND PAINTED WALLS THAT ARE MUCH MORE DECORATED THAN OTHER AREAS OF THE BUILDING. AND ALSO THERE WERE A NUMBER OF TEXTS THAT ARE FOUND HERE. THESE ARE THE ONES ASSOCIATED WITH THE MAYOR’S ACTIVITIES. IT’S PROBABLY WHERE THE MAYOR LIVED.
AMONG THE PRIVATE BUILDINGS THERE’S A WIDE RANGE OF VARIETY OF HOUSE TYPES, AND SO THERE IS NO TYPICAL HOUSE PLAN. WE CAN IDENTIFY A WEALTHY AREA AT NUZI AND THAT’S IN THE NORTH AND NORTH-WEST OF THE TOWN. IT IS VERY RARE TO BE ABLE TO MAKE DISTINCTIONS LIKE THIS, BECAUSE MOST LARGE CITIES ARE NOT ANYWHERE COMPLETELY EXCAVATED, BUT WE CAN SEE THE HOUSES IN THE NORTHERN QUARTER ARE A LARGER AREA AND MORE DECORATED.
THE TEXTS FROM NUZI ARE ESPECIALLY INFORMATIVE ABOUT WOMEN’S ECONOMIC STATUS. AND WE SEE THAT WOMEN OWNED REAL-ESTATE IN THEIR OWN NAME. WE HAVE EXAMPLES OF WOMEN OWNING BOTH DOUBLE AND SINGLE LOTS, A HOUSE, OR PERHAPS SOME LAND, AND SOME LARGER URBAM COMPLEXES. SO SEVERAL HOUSES OR A NEIGHBORHOOD.
WOMEN SUID AND WERE SUID, IN CIVIL CASES OVER LAND AND IN CRIMINAL CASES CONCERNING PROPERTY. THEY WON AND LOST THESE LEGAL SUITS.
IT’S IMPORTANT THAT WOMEN WERE OWNERS OF PROPERTY,
BECAUSE THAT ACCORDING TO ALL OF OUR WRITTEN SOURCES, AND ALL OF OUR UNDERSTANDING OF MESOPOTAMIA AT THIS TIME, WE KNOW THAT LAND WAS A KEY SOURCE TO WEALTH. SO IF WOMEN OWNED PROPERTY THEY TO HAD ACCESS TO WEALTH AND PROSPERITY.
WE ALSO SEE THE WOMEN OF NUZI ALSO ARRANGING MARRIAGES OF THEIR CHILDREN, REMEMBER I SAID THAT, OFTEN IT IS THE FATHER WHO ARRANGES THESE MARRIAGES, BUT AT NUZI WE SEE WOMEN DOING IT AS WELL.
ALL IN ALL AT NUZI, WOMEN HAD EQUAL LEGAL STATUS AS MEN. THEY WERE WITNESSES, THEY WERE TREATED IN THE SAME WAY BEING CALLED AS WITNESSES. THE ONLY EXCEPTION WAS THAT WOMEN WERE NOT ALLOWED TO BE JUDGES. THAT WAS EXPLICITLY STATED ON ONE OF THE TEXT.
WE ALSO SEE A PARITY OF MEN AND WOMEN WHEN IT COMES TO INHERITANCE. DAUGHTERS COULD INHERIT THE SAME AMOUNT OF LAND THAT SONS COULD.
ALL OF THIS SEEMS LIKE A LITTLE WONDERFUL HAVEN, IN NORTH-EASTERN IRAQ, FOR A WOMAN. SO LET’S BALANCE THE PICTURE A LITTLE BIT.
EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE A LOT OF TEXT THAT DESCRIBE WOMEN’S ECONOMIC ACTIVITY, LEGAL ACTIVITIES, ON THE WHOLE THERE WERE FAR FEWER WOMEN THAN MEN ENGAGED IN BUSINESS. EVEN AT NUZI. AND THOSE WOMEN WHO WERE INVOLVED IN BUSINESS, WERE ALMOST USUALLY IN SOME DIFFERENT MARRIAGE SITUATION WHERE THERE WAS NO MALE REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE FAMILY. THE MOST COMMON EXAMPLE IS THAT OF A WIDOW. WHOSE SON WAS BELOW THE AGE OF MAJORITY. SO A YOUNG SON, SMALL, AND A WOMAN TRYING TO KEEP THE PROPERTY TOGETHER FOR HER SON, TO EVENTUALLY TURN IT OVER TO HIM.
BY ABOUT 1,3000 B. C. TEXT INFORM US OF AN INCREASING POLARIZATION AT NUZI, AND THERE IS A NOTABLE SUB-DIVISION OF AGRICULTURE INTO SMALLER AND SMALLER PLOTS. OWNED BY A FEW INDIVIDUALS WHO BOUGHT UP THE MAJORITY OF THE LAND. SO THE RICH ARE GETTING RICHER AND THE POOR GETTING POORER.
EVEN THOUGH WE CAN TRACE THIS DEVELOPMENT, WE DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY THE CITY WAS DECLINING AT THIS TIME, OR WHY IT WAS NOT SOMEWHERE ELSE. BUT SHORTLY AFTER 1,300 NUZI WAS ABANDONED.
CITY LIFE IN THE SECOND MILLENNIUM B. C. IN MESOPOTAMIA WAS A GATHERING OF MANY PEOPLE OF MANY PROFESSIONS, AND INCOMES. WE SEE A WIDE RANGE OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND WRITTEN EVIDENCE, THAT INFORMS US ABOUT URBANISM.
IN THE NEXT LECTURE WE SHALL MOVE TO A MORE MUNDANE TOPIC— FOOD AND DRINK!
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VERY INTERESTING TO SEE WHAT LIFE WAS LIKE AT AND AFTER THE TIME OF ABRAHAM.
ABRAHAM AND HIS FATHER WERE IN THE CATTLE BUSINESS.
IT SHOULD BE EASY TO SEE THAT SOME OF THE LIFE FOR PEOPLE BACK THEN HAD COME DOWN, BEEN HANDED DOWN, FROM THE GENERATIONS AFTER NOAH. YES THE PEOPLE WERE INTO FALSE GODS, AND FALSE WORSHIP TO THESE GODS, BUT WE CAN ALSO SEE THEY HAD BEEN HANDED DOWN SOME GOOD LAWS, THAT MOST CERTAINLY WENT BACK TO THE BEGINNING OF CREATED HUMAN LIFE.
Keith Hunt
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