The Material and Ideological Base of the Old Babylonian State

Lukáš Pecha

doi:10.5771/9781498559881

Summary

This book describes and analyzes the economic and administrative structure as well as the ideological background of the Old Babylonian state ruled by the First Dynasty of Babylon (1894–1595 BC).

The study of these issues is based on the analysis of written sources of various types, mainly of royal inscriptions, economic and administrative documents, legal records (contracts, court procedures as well as law codes and royal edicts), letters and year names.

The book focuses on the activities that the Old Babylonian state performed in the field of economy, administration, politics and ideology. Primarily, the book brings an analysis of the political and economic role of the Old Babylonian state and it pays attention to the various levels of activities of the king himself as well as of other persons who were part of the state administration. The author delimits the fields of competences of various state officials as well as reconstructs mutual relations among persons on various levels of the state administration. As the Old Babylonian state maintained close relations also to other economic and administrative subjects (such as temples and private persons), the book also reconstructs the relations between the state and those subjects.

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Bibliographic data

Copyright year: 2018
ISBN-Print: 978-1-4985-5987-4
ISBN-Online: 978-1-4985-5988-1
Publisher: Lexington, Lanham
Language: English
Pages: 362
Product type: Book Titles

1. Contents No access
2. Abbreviations No access
1. Main Types of Written Sources No access
2. Administrative Texts No access
3. Contracts No access
4. Letters No access
5. Royal Inscriptions No access
6. Legal Texts No access
7. Historiographical Texts No access
8. Year Names No access
9. Oaths No access
10. Legends on Seals No access
11. Judicial Protocols No access
12. Royal Hymns No access
13. The Appearance of Texts No access
14. Notes No access
1. Humble Inceptions (from Sumu-abum to Sîn-muballiṭ) No access
2. The Building of the State (Ḫammu-rabi) No access
3. Fighting the Enemies (Samsu-iluna) No access
4. The Decline of the State in the Late Old Babylonian Period (from Abī-ešuḫ to Samsu-ditāna) No access
5. Notes No access
1. Economic Sectors No access
2. Relationship between the State and the Temples No access
3. Private Sector No access
4. Plant Production No access
5. Grain Production No access
6. Direct Administration No access
7. Indirect Administration No access
8. Rent in Services No access
9. Rent Paid in Kind No access
10. Gardening and Orcharding No access
11. Animal Production No access
12. Fishing No access
13. Crafts No access
14. Trade No access
15. Sale and Purchase No access
16. Long-Distance Trade No access
17. Lease No access
18. Leasing Immovable Property No access
19. Hiring Manpower No access
20. Loan No access
21. Exchange Equivalent No access
22. Prices of Goods No access
23. Organization of Trade No access
24. Conclusion: The Old Babylonian Economy No access
25. Notes No access
1. Old Babylonian King No access
2. Royal Ideology No access
3. Royal Titulary No access
4. Legitimacy of the Royal Power No access
5. Legislative Activities of the King No access
6. State Administration No access
7. Administration of Urban Settlements No access
8. Obligations of Inhabitants toward the State No access
9. Service Obligations No access
10. Compulsory Payments No access
11. Army No access
12. Conclusion: Structure of the Old Babylonian state No access
13. Notes No access
1. Conclusion: The Fall of the Old Babylonian State No access
2. Notes No access
Conclusion No access Pages 313 - 316
Bibliography No access Pages 317 - 334
Index No access Pages 335 - 360
About the Author No access Pages 361 - 362