Babylonian Society Research Articles

Ezekiel, Ethnicity, and Identity

The written sources from the ancient Near East are for the most part authored from the perspective of the dominant group and yield a very limited view on people’s identities from an emic point of view that would correspond to their own self-identification. Self-defined minority groups in Mesopotamia have not left behind written evidence about themselves and their identity strategies. A notable exception to this rule is the book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible. This book documents an intense and enduring attempt at reconstructing the identity of a dislocated group of people. The book of Ezekiel is produced by a group that constructed a diaspora identity from the early sixth century onwards, whether in Babylonia or in Jerusalem; in any case, it is written in an environment where the adaptation of a wide array of Mesopotamian linguistic, iconographic, literary, and theological motifs was possible. Wherever and whenever the book of Ezekiel was produced, it presents itself as a document of an explicit identity strategy of a minority group, unique among written sources from any part of Mesopotamia. It can be read as an example of the survival strategy of a group that distinguishes itself from others by way of self-reidentification. The book does not reflect a stable and universally shared identity of the Judeans. On the contrary, it creates and constructs an inner-Judean antagonism between Ezekiel’s in-group and the delegitimized out-group. The book of Ezekiel, therefore, does not convey much about the integration of the Judean minority into Babylonian society but all the more about conflicts among Judeans themselves.

Other than Mother

In Old Babylonian society, nadītu and other women who held religious offices were not allowed to bear children. Traditionally, this taboo on childbearing has been explained as a taboo on sex (chastity) or a taboo on blood (cultic impurity). I believe these traditional explanations to be faulty and inadequate, and suggest an alternative approach based on the concepts of alterity and constructed social identity. By not fitting the norm of their social group, viz. women, by definition birth giving beings, they are ‘othered’ as non-birth-giving-beings, which indeed is the literal meaning of nadītu: ‘the fallow (woman).’ However, their ‘otherness’ is not conceived as negative or problematic, on the contrary, it added greatly to their social status as a privileged group within society. As such, their childlessness was an important part of their social identity.

A Comparative Study of Word Orders in the Law Code of Hammurabi and the Book of Covenant

The article examines how words are arranged in twenty-nine laws of the law code of Hammurabi and Exodus 21:2-22:16 through a comparative study to argue that these words are arranged to reflect Babylonian and Israelite theologies. The words are arranged in the Law Code of Hammurabi to reflect the distinction of social classes in Babylonian society. The awῑlum is rated highest, followed by muškênum and followed by wardum-amtum. As for the Book of the Covenant, the words are arranged to reflect the high value placed on human life in Israelite society. The laws do not discriminate in terms of social class. They express a great concern for the rights of the less privileged and encourage human good treatment. Thus, the conclusion is that there exists a relationship between the Book of the Covenant and the law code of Hammurabi and this relationship can be said to be moderate. The Book of the Covenant can be said to be a translation and adaptation of the law code of Hammurabi or any other ancient law code. Therefore, syntax is of great significance in the study of the ancient law codes because it helps to understand the content of these law codes. This article contributes to the study of the ancient law codes. Key Words: The Book of the Covenant, The Law Code of Hammurabi, Word Order, Exodus 21:2-22:16

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A Community Ten Miles Away

A connection and a yearning towards a communal and primarily agrarian existence connects the Rastafari the world over. Many Rastafari yearn for a life in direct communication with the earth through agricultural labor in a space created for and by the community, a space “up in the hills” away from the pollutants of a contaminated, corrupting Babylonian society. This was no less the case amongst those in Saint Lucia with whom I conducted recent fieldwork. Different from previous conversations on this topic however, was a new context defined by a global pandemic and a subsequent widely mandated social withdrawal. This engendered a dual response of envisioning rural flight as now more urgent and, in some cases, as a necessary response to COVID-19.

Kings of Chaldea and Sons of Nobodies: Assyrian Engagement with Chaldea and the Emergence of Chaldean Power in Babylonia

From the ninth century until the last quarter of the seventh century BCE, the Assyrian Empire first extended its power over Babylonia and then engaged in a prolonged effort to retain control. The patchwork nature of Babylonian society—divided as it was between the traditional urban centers, territories controlled by five distinct Chaldean tribes, and regions inhabited by Aramaean tribes—presented opportunities and challenges for Assyria as it sought to assert its dominance. Assyrian interactions with the Chaldean tribes of Babylonia redefined the Chaldeans’ place within power relationships in southern Mesopotamia. Starting in 878, Assyria first perceived Chaldean territory as distinct from what they defined as Karduniaš, the land ruled by the king of Babylon. Shalmaneser III exploited and accentuated this division by recognizing the Chaldean leaders as kings and accepting their tribute even as he concluded a treaty with the Babylonian king, Marduk-zakir-shumi I. By decentralizing power in Babylonia, Assyria was able to assert indirect control over Babylonia. However, periods of Assyrian weakness created opportunities for several Chaldeans—drawing upon the economic and military power they could muster—to claim the title of king of Babylon with all the accompanying ideological power. These new developments prompted Assyria under the Sargonids to create counter-narratives that questioned the legitimacy of Chaldeans as kings of Babylon by presenting them as strange and inimical to the Assyrian order even as Assyrian interactions with the Chaldeans improved Assyrian familiarity with them.

WOMEN IN MESOPOTAMIAN CIVILIZATION

The ancient Mesopotamia had ancient civilizations such as Babylonian and Sumerian, which provided many civilizational achievements, such as laws and legislation, which urged respect for women's rights and other legislations to protect such laws, such as the reforms of Prince Urkagina and the law of Hammurabi, which emphasis on some women's rights and dignity and curb violations of men's abuse. However, in most agricultural civilizations, especially the Mesopotamian, the status of women has declined in a patriarchal society. Men direct all aspects of life with their different diversities, make major decisions, and women have to obey this masculine authority. Father, or husband after marriage and family formation. Despite this, the status of women in Mesopotamia was much better than that of other ancient civilizations such as Greek and the Roman. Sumerian women had more rights than women had in the Akkadian, Babylonian and Assyrian cultures. A Sumerian woman can own real estate, run a business alongside her husband, and can be a priest, a writer, a doctor,or act as a judge. It is a tribute to the representatives of the earthly Gods, and it is a source of pride for them. Service of the girls in the temples is also a pride for their fathers. Babel was unique in the way she treated women's rights and status. Babylonian society retained the traditions of the motherly era, and women often took precedence over men. Women were also allowed to enjoy different levels of independense, but they were always subject to men. The laws of Hammurabi presented first model of the laws in the entire ancient world. The status of women in the old Babylonian law has reached an important amount of social, human and legislative progress. Legislation on marriage, its forms, divorce, cases, abuse and marital irregularities, incest and adultery. As for the status of women in the Assyrians, their social status has declined compared to their status in the Sumerian and Babylonian civilizations. They were considered to be the property of men, and they have the right to deprive them of everything they own. Assyrians were also among the oldest religious peoples who subjected women to hijab and included head and face jackets. Only free women were permitted to wear headscarves, while odalisque wore hijab when they went out with their master.

On Sippar’s Quay: Cuneiform Tablets with Aramaic Inscriptions from the Böhl Collection in Leiden

AbstractIn this article we publish and study three Neo-Babylonian cuneiform texts from the Böhl Collection that contain Aramaic inscriptions. Deriving from the same archival context, these tablets bring to life the complex social fabric of Sippar’s entrepreneurial harbour community and its multilinguistic landscape. We argue that the appearance of alphabetic inscriptions in this setting is not a coincidence and tells us more about the role of Aramaic in Babylonian society at the time.

THE CONCEALED CRIME OF THE NADĪTU PRIESTESS IN §110 OF THE LAWS OF HAMMURABI

LH 110 is part of the ancient Near Eastern scholarly debate regarding the function and role of the nadiātu-priestess groups in Old Babylonian society. Seemingly, LH 110 forbids the uncloistered nadītu from opening up or entering a business place associated with the sābītu; the penalty for such a crime is public execution by burning. Mainstream scholars view the nadiātu through the lens of either (a) indulging in illicit behaviour or (b) that LH 110 reflects a prohibition for the nadītu to compromise her chastity. In contrast, Martha Roth (1999) opines that LH 110 is an economic regulation of the nadītu, prohibiting her from overshadowing the money-lending business of the sābītu. However, what poses a problem is the horrific penalty, which seems to suggest and be justification for a seemingly terrible crime committed in concealment. I propose that when this prohibition is transgressed, a horrific crime is committed – tax evasion – which is a furtive crime that endangers the continuous welfare of the king/state. LH 110 is a fiscal regulation protecting the state/king’s revenues. The intention is to prevent a specific group of the nadiātu – an uncloistered priestess – to enter or open an enterprise, which the OB state administration is unable to regulate. Consequently, the nadītu could effortlessly conceal her yielded profits and thus evade paying tax to the king/state.

Judean Merchants in Babylonia and Their Participation in Long-Distance Trade

Summary This article focuses on Judean merchants in Babylonia, their social networks, and their business activities in the sixth century BCE. I argue that these people were integrated into the commercial sphere of Babylonian society and that they had native Babylonian merchants as well as traders of foreign origin among their acquaintances. Judeans participated in Babylonian long-distance trade, and documented evidence shows that some of them travelled as far as Iran for the purpose of trading. Furthermore, because travelling and the transportation of goods are an integral part of commercial activity, merchants provide an example of people who could have maintained connections between Judeans living in Judah and Babylonia.

History & Geography

History & Geography Christopher T. Begg, William J. Urbrock, Frederick E. Greenspahn, Thomas Hieke, Victor H. Matthews, Paul R. Redditt, Alan J. Moss, CFC, and Joseph E. Jensen 1553. Tero Alstola, "Judean Merchants in Babylonia and Their Participation in Long-Distance Trade," WdO 47 (2017) 25-51. A.'s article focuses on Judean merchants resident in Babylonia, their social networks, and their business activities during the 6th cent. b.c.e. A. argues that these people were integrated into the commercial sphere of Babylonian society and had Babylonian merchants as well as traders of foreign origin among their acquaintances. Judeans thus participated in Babylon's long-distance trade, and documented evidence shows that some of them traveled as far as Iran for trading purposes. Furthermore, given that traveling and the transport of goods was an integral part of commercial activity at the time, the Judean merchants of Babylon provide an example of people who might have maintained connections between Judeans living in Judah and in Babylonia. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] 1554. Shawn Zelig Aster, "An Assyrian bīt mardīte near Tel Hadid?" JNES 74 (2015) 281-88. The Neo-Assyrian empire established administrative centers at several locations in the Land of Israel following the campaigns of the late 8th cent. b.c.e. In fact, it was the Assyrian policy of implementing an administrative presence after most Assyrian troops had withdrawn from a given area that ensured the empire's control over its vast territory in the period between the late 8th and mid-6th cents. Finds at Tel Hadid, situated west of the Samaritan hills, may, A. argues, be identified as the remains of an Assyrian bīt mardīte that functioned as a roadside provisioning center for Assyrian officials, messengers, and troops. The proposed identification is supported by the agricultural installations [End Page 510] found at the site, the texts found there, and the site's location on a major route. [Adapted from author's introduction, p. 281—C.T.B.] 1555. Francesco Bianchi, "Esilio e ritorno," RivB 64 (2016) 277-300. Many scholars have highlighted the importance of the exile in Babylon for the Jews who were exiled there in the period 596–539 b.c. Shaken by the destruction of the temple and facing an ongoing controversy with those who had remained in the land, the exiles had, not without difficulty, to adapt themselves to the new social, economic, and religious realities of their place of exile, as is well illustrated by the documents from Al Yahudu. Very soon, their reflections there on the catastrophe of the past gave rise to plans for a future rebirth, one centered on the temple and/or the Davidic dynasty. When they did return to their homeland—not in the guise of a new exodus, and under Persian oversight—the returnees' interactions with those who had remained in the land generated severe tensions. The stance adopted by the returnees vis-à-vis those they found in the land was to claim possession of a land they imagined as empty and desolate, even as they developed the ideal of a "jubilee" to address the ongoing controversies over ownership of the land and to secure exclusive possession of the temple. Against this background, it is curious that there emerged an increasingly negative judgment among Jews concerning Babylon, which came to be viewed as the epitome of all evil. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] 1556. Piero Capelli, "Diaspora perenne e richiamo della Terra," RivB 64 (2016) 301-35. Beginning in the exilic and postexilic periods, one of the most important paradigms in the conceptual evolution of Jewish literature has been the expectation of Israel's liberation and political and religious restoration. This has been more specifically envisaged in terms of a messianic kingdom established in the Land of Israel to which Jews would return from all over. After Rome defeated the rebel Jews and hopes for the rebuilding of the temple faded, early rabbinic literature depicted Jerusalem as a city in ruins, even though, historically, it flourished during the reign of Constantine and the Byzantine empire. Now a city without...

Men, Women, Eunuchs, Etc.: Visualities of Gendered Identities in Kassite Babylonian Seals (ca. 1470–1155 B.C.)

Scholars have extensively investigated ancient Mesopotamian cylinder seals in terms of their iconographic and stylistic qualities. This article concentrates on the question of whether and how gender, as an important component of personal identity, found expression in the material, visual, and textual aspects of Babylonian cylinder seals of the Kassite period, a relatively understudied era of Mesopotamian history. Like any other society, ancient Mesopotamia had various complex gender categories, which included, in addition to normative male and female groups, other genders, such as eunuchs and homosexuals. It is argued here that the gender of a seal owner and the nature of the relations between different genders in Kassite-era Babylonian society were communicated through the seal image and labels, as well as through the use of cylinder stones.

Judeans in Sippar and Susa during the First Century of the Babylonian Exile: Assimilation and Perseverance under Neo-Babylonian and Achaemenid Rule

Abstract The present study discusses the attestations of persons of Judean origin in Neo-Babylonian cuneiform tablets (of the period between 550 and 490 bce) as possible evidence of some aspects of the social history of the community of Judeans exiled to Babylonia by Nebuchadnezzar II. Although the number of such attestations is very small, it is nonetheless possible to single out two groups which display different patterns of personal name giving across generations. In one instance, a group of merchants in the city of Sippar (belonging mostly to a single family) uses, in part, distinctly Judean personal names in the first generation of the exile, but abandons them completely in favor of Babylonian theophoric names in the next generation. In another instance, a group of individuals active mostly in Susa and probably belonging to the families of royal officials (as suggested by names and patronymics of the type of Beamtennamen – names expressing a pious wish for the well-being of the king) displays the use of Yahwistic personal names even though the fathers of those individuals bore Babylonian theophoric names. It is suggested that the persistence of Yahwistic – hence distinctly Judean – names among royal officials or their direct offspring, even after the previous generation bore Babylonian names, reflects a considerable measure of tolerance toward ethnically foreign elements in the royal administration (the relevant examples date from the period after the establishment of the Achaemenid empire). In contrast, the progressing adoption of Babylonian names among the Judean merchants in Sippar in the first half of the sixth century bce seems likely to reflect assimilation into the native Babylonian society, fostered by the necessity to pursue commercial dealings with the Ebabbar temple of Šamaš and the social circles centered around the temple, which consisted of conservatively minded upper strata of the native Babylonian society. Editions of the cuneiform tablets discussed in the present study are provided in the Appendix.

THE BABYLONIAN PRIESTHOOD IN THE LONG SIXTH CENTURY BC

Abstract Babylonia experienced a remarkable upsurge in prosperity in the long sixth century BC (c. 620–480 BC). Tens of thousands of cuneiform texts bear witness to its vibrant economy, dynamic society, and creativity in art, literature, and science. In this fast-moving world, temples were bulwarks of traditional Babylonian beliefs and values. Everywhere in Mesopotamia, priests have left archives that tell us about their cultic tasks, daily concerns, and intellectual universe. These texts are a goldmine for the study of Babylonian religion and society, and the aim of this article is to introduce some of the new insights that are emerging from this material.

Preservar e resistir: padrões de alienação de imóveis no período babilônico antigo

As análises das atividades econômicas dos grupos domésticos da antiga Mesopotâmia concentraram-se, em grande parte, nos arquivos formados pelos compradores de imóveis. Por decorrência, no que diz respeito à circulação de bens imobiliários, foram privilegiadas as estratégias de aquisição dos terrenos. Neste artigo, buscamos estabelecer algumas tendências do comportamento de alienação por parte dos vendedores a partir de um estudo serial da documentação contratual da cidade-reino de Larsa durante os séculos XIX e XVIII a.C.

The Carians of Borsippa

The state channelled the influx of foreign groups into Babylonian society in various ways during the Chaldean and Persian periods (mid-first millennium BC). The military land-grant system placed incoming groups in the Babylonian countryside and tied them to the king through the principle of “land-for-service”. This scheme is known mainly by its results, for instance in the numerous fiefs occupied by ethnic groups in the area of Nippur in the late fifth century BC (Stolper,Entrepreneurs and Empire). Other foreigners were brought to Babylonia as war captives and were sold into slavery or donated to the country 's many temples (e.g. Bongenaar/Haring,JCS46).Unpublished records from Borsippa point towards the existence of another system through which the state regulated the income of foreign ethnic groups. This system relied on the resources of private Babylonian citizens to provide rations and perhaps also shelter to individually assigned foreigners. The dossier that sheds light on this scheme does not answer all the questions that it raises, but it does show the basic workings of the system and herein it is unique, even though the system itself is perhaps not without historical precedent. The importance of this dossier is enhanced by the fact that it deals with an ethnic group that is otherwise badly attested in Babylonia: the Carians.

The Dutiful Son and The Undutiful Son

This research was an attempt to highlight a clear picture of the duties of the righteous son and the disabled son and the look of socity and the ancient. Babylonian laws towards him. This research has brought us to the fundamental issues concerning the old Iraqi family in the right of parents to sell and mortgage their children in the hands of ceremonies and funerary retinal after their death, and respect for parents and obeying one of the most important duties of not consider the respect of the children and their parents as a legal duty imposed not only on the family and the houses old, but also on the other thdividuals as being based on the traditions and laws of the old Babylonian society. The parents of the great sins and sins committed by the son punishment towards his parents and yaid that a lot of go vided for the punishment of the son the successor in the society of the Babylonian old

Prelude to Empire: Babylonian Society and Politics, 747-626 B. C.

Prelude to Empire: Babylonian Society and Politics, 747-626 B. C.

Economics and Administration in the Old Babylonian Period: Reflections on N. Yoffee, the Economic Role of the Crown in the Old Babylonian Period

Assyriology, especially the study of the Old Babylonian period, has reached a stage in its development in which we are approaching the ability to answer a number of most important questions concerning the socioeconomic development of ancient society. One such question, concerning the role the state sector played in Old Babylonian society, has thus far been very little studied in Assyriological literature. N. Yoffee's recent monograph, actually a revision of his doctoral dissertation,2 is an important new contribution to this problem. Everyone who has delved into Old Babylonian socio-economic history sooner or later faces the necessity of understanding the structure and internal organization of the state sector, as well as its connections to other socio-economic institutions. This is due to the very character of the material in question. All our investigations are based mainly on the study of written documents. Although in comparison with the preceding Ur III period the subject matter of the textual data of the Old Babylonian period had changed significantly, this change provided the material with a greater depth, rather than widening its nature. In the earlier period the archives cover almost exclusively the activities of the great households (the state and temple estates); so too in the Old Babylonian period they give no direct information about the communal sector. We do learn about the existence of the rural community in both periods, but mostly from indirect references to it in documents of the state sector. In the Old Babylonian period the royal officials seem to have acquired more independence and initiative, since the number of documents which reflects various aspects of their activities increased greatly. These documents have traditionally been referred to as private legal documents; having the appearance of recording private actions. They in fact represent either new methods of carrying out official duties or refer to intermediate private manipulations with official