INSIGHTS INTO 350 YEARS OF OLD BABYLON

Old Babylonian Texts in the Schøyen Collection, Part Four: Documents from Selected Archives, the latest volume in the Manuscripts in the Schøyen Collection Series, offers many insights into life in Old Babylon over more than 300 years BCE.

From 22 cuneiform tablets, the life of women textile workers can be better understood. More than 50 tablets archiving the comings and goings of a ‘fattening shed’ illustrates this aspect of Babylonian animal husbandry. Twenty-eight further tablets found at Dur-Abiesu add materially to the knowledge about life in this garrison town at the end of the dominion of the kingdom of Babylon founded by Hammurabi’s ancestors.

Altogether, the 110 tablets published in this volume shed light on administrative practices in Babylonian economic institutions across three hundred and fifty years of history, while political power resided first in Isin, then in Larsa, and finally in Babylon itself.

Dr Martin Schøyen said: “This volume not only adds to our understanding of ancient Babylon, it also exemplifies the Schøyen Collection’s commitment to collaborative research. Not only were scholars from a number of countries and academic institutions involved, manuscripts from other collectors and collections have also been included in this volume.”