Administration and Economy in Early Babylonian Society
The Cuneiform Texts from the Ur III Period in the University of Notre Dame Theodore M. Hesburgh Library
Seiten
2026
Oxford University Press (Verlag)
9780198988991 (ISBN)
Oxford University Press (Verlag)
9780198988991 (ISBN)
- Noch nicht erschienen (ca. Mai 2026)
- Versandkostenfrei
- Auch auf Rechnung
- Artikel merken
Administration and Economy in Early Babylonian Society unlocks 4,000-year-old business records from Mesopotamia, revealing daily life in one of humanity's first organized societies. It features 65 never-before-published clay tablets--the paperwork of temple officials, farmers and merchants from the final century of the third millennium BC.
Administration and Economy in Early Babylonian Society presents an analytical edition of 65 previously unpublished cuneiform tablets and bullae from the Ur III period (2112-2004 BC), currently held in the Theodore M. Hesburgh Library at the University of Notre Dame. Carefully transliterated, translated, and annotated, these texts are made available for the first time, offering fresh material for research not only in Ur III studies and Assyriology but also in economic history, social anthropology, and the study of early bureaucratic systems.
The tablets provide detailed records of Ur III administrative practices, economic organization, and daily operations. They cover agricultural management, including field maintenance, irrigation systems, and the production of crops from orchards and date groves. Additional documents shed light on livestock administration, craft production, labour allocation (including lists of workers and their supervisors), food preparation, and the transportation of goods. Collectively, they reveal the intricate mechanisms that sustained one of Mesopotamia's earliest centralized states.
Beyond institutional structures, these texts illuminate the lives of individuals--scribes recording transactions, overseers managing workforces, and labourers fulfilling their duties--offering a human dimension to our understanding of Ur III society. The volume combines rigorous philological analysis with historical interpretation, ensuring reliability for specialists while remaining accessible to non-specialists interested in comparative studies of early complex societies.
Administration and Economy in Early Babylonian Society presents an analytical edition of 65 previously unpublished cuneiform tablets and bullae from the Ur III period (2112-2004 BC), currently held in the Theodore M. Hesburgh Library at the University of Notre Dame. Carefully transliterated, translated, and annotated, these texts are made available for the first time, offering fresh material for research not only in Ur III studies and Assyriology but also in economic history, social anthropology, and the study of early bureaucratic systems.
The tablets provide detailed records of Ur III administrative practices, economic organization, and daily operations. They cover agricultural management, including field maintenance, irrigation systems, and the production of crops from orchards and date groves. Additional documents shed light on livestock administration, craft production, labour allocation (including lists of workers and their supervisors), food preparation, and the transportation of goods. Collectively, they reveal the intricate mechanisms that sustained one of Mesopotamia's earliest centralized states.
Beyond institutional structures, these texts illuminate the lives of individuals--scribes recording transactions, overseers managing workforces, and labourers fulfilling their duties--offering a human dimension to our understanding of Ur III society. The volume combines rigorous philological analysis with historical interpretation, ensuring reliability for specialists while remaining accessible to non-specialists interested in comparative studies of early complex societies.
Magnus Widell is a Reader in Assyriology at the University of Liverpool. His research explores the history, languages, and texts of ancient Mesopotamia, with a focus on Sumerian culture and the socio-economic, environmental, and agricultural dynamics of the third millennium BC. He has published widely on early Mesopotamian archival practices, administrative systems, and cuneiform texts. His work bridges philology and social history, offering insights into one of the world's earliest civilizations.
| Erscheint lt. Verlag | 29.5.2026 |
|---|---|
| Reihe/Serie | Oxford Editions of Cuneiform Texts |
| Verlagsort | Oxford |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 156 x 234 mm |
| Themenwelt | Geisteswissenschaften ► Archäologie |
| Geschichte ► Allgemeine Geschichte ► Altertum / Antike | |
| Geisteswissenschaften ► Sprach- / Literaturwissenschaft ► Anglistik / Amerikanistik | |
| Geisteswissenschaften ► Sprach- / Literaturwissenschaft ► Literaturwissenschaft | |
| ISBN-13 | 9780198988991 / 9780198988991 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
| Informationen gemäß Produktsicherheitsverordnung (GPSR) | |
| Haben Sie eine Frage zum Produkt? |
Mehr entdecken
aus dem Bereich
aus dem Bereich
ohne den ganzen langweiligen Kram
Buch | Hardcover (2025)
C.H.Beck (Verlag)
CHF 36,40
von den Anfängen bis zum Untergang
Buch | Hardcover (2025)
Alfred Kröner Verlag
CHF 48,95
von den Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart
Buch | Softcover (2025)
C.H.Beck (Verlag)
CHF 16,80
