Social, Economic and Legal History of the Ancient Near East

In diesem Aufsatz werden neue Erkenntnisse zur Rolle der babylonischen Tempel in der Mitte des ersten Jahrtausends v. Chr. zusammengefasst. Der fehlerlose Ablauf des Kultgeschehens war nach babylonischer Vorstellung eine Voraussetzung für die Prosperität des Landes, aber die Tempel waren weitaus mehr als nur kultische Institutionen; sie waren Teil der staatlichen Verwaltung. Die Krone nutzte die Struktur der Tempel zur lokalen Verwaltung und zur Durchführung von Dienstleistungen. Die Tempel verfügten über umfangreiche Produktionsmittel, aber waren im ersten Jahrtausend keine dominanten Akteure im Wirtschaftsraum. In einigen Bereichen war die Tempelwirtschaft sogar unprofitabel. In den Bereichen jedoch, auf die sich ihre Produktion spezialisierte, waren sie erfolgreich, nämlich in der Viehwirtschaft im Falle des Eanna-Tempels und im Dattelanbau im Falle des sipparäischen Ebabbar. Die Tempel bildeten Kristallisationspunkte lokalen Stolzes für die Bevölkerung. Der König versuchte, durch die Einsetzung von königlichen Beamten im Tempel eine Destabilisierung des Landes aufgrund einer möglichen Akkumulation von Macht in den Händen lokaler Eliten zu vermeiden.

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.

The study addresses the legal rules that allowed in Rome and in some Eastern provinces of the Roman Empire, especially Egypt, women to serve as guardians or to assist the guardian of their prepubescent children. In Rome, mothers as guardians are attested during the second century by individual imperial concession, and the mother as manager in aid to the guardian is amply attested in the classical age. In Egypt, mothers could serve as guardians, appointed by a private act of the husband (since the beginning of the province until 212 AD), while in connection to the guardian (with the name ἐπακολουθήτρια) they appear only from the first half of the second century ad. the author questions the mutual influences between the two sets of rules.

Nel presente articolo si esaminano le norme giuridiche in base alle quali a Roma e in alcune province orientali dell'impero romano, soprattutto l'Egitto, la madre poteva essere tutrice o poteva svolgere fuzioni di ausilio al tutore dei propri figli impuberi. A Roma la madre tutrice appare attestata già dal secondo secolo per concessione imperiale individuale, e la madre amministratrice in ausilio al tutore è ampiamente attestata in età classica. In Egitto la madre tutrice, nominata con atto privato del marito, compare dalle origini della provincia e fino al 212 d.C., mentre, affiancata al tutore, con il nome di ἐπακολουθήτρια, è documentata solo dalla prima metà del secondo secolo d.C. In dottrina ci si è interrogati circa le influenze reciproche tra i due sistemi di norme. L'autore conclude che è legittimo ipotizzare che la scomparsa della madre tutrice egizia dopo il 212 sia stata causata dalla diffusione del diritto romano nelle province a seguito della Constitutio Antoniniana, mentre non sembra possibile rinvenire altre reciproche influenze. In particolare, si nega che la madre amministratrice romana sia derivata dall'ἐπακολουθήτρια egizia.

Pers krallarının ikamet ettikleri en önemli merkezlerden biriydi. 1930'larda yapılan kazı çalışmalarıyla bu bölgede 30.000 civarında tablet bulunmuştur. Bu tabletler, Persepolis ve çevresindeki bölgelerde yaşayan çeşitli sosyal tabakalara mensup insanlara gıda ürünleri, hayvanlar ve gümüş üzerinden yapılan günlük ve aylık tayınların ya da ödemelerin kaydıdır. İmparatorluğun değişik bölgelerinden gelmiş ve kurtaš olarak bilinen binlerce bağımlı işçinin de tablet metinlerinde tayın alanlar arasında olduğu görülür. Farklı yaş, cinsiyet ve yetenekte olan bu bağımlı işçilerin önemli bir bölümü Anadolu'nun farklı bölgelerinden Persepolis'e gelmektedir. Sardeisli, Ionialı, Karialı, Lykialı ve Kappadokialılardan oluşan bu işçilerin yaklaşık yarısı kadın ve çocuklardan meydana gelir. Persepolis'e gelen "Anadolulu" kadın ve çocuk bağımlı işçiler, Persepolis ve çevresindeki diğer kadın ve çocuk işçiler ile aynı tayın oranları alır.

In this article the author continues her studies of the relations which connected the state and numerousrural settlements in the Old Babylonian period. The work is based on the analysis of two fiscal cadastral lists fromLarsa - one from the time of Rim-Sin (TCL X 133) and the other from the time of Hammurapi (TCL XI 171) - and some documents connected with them (TCL X 112, XI 155, VS 22 17, СВД 118)