A study of land tenure in the Old Babylonian period with special reference to the Diyala Region, based on published and unpublished texts

• Main Author: Suleiman, Amer
• Published: SOAS, University of London 1966
• Subjects: 935.5
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.242829

This thesis discusses the system of land tenure in the Diyala region, Babylonia, Mari and Alala. during the Old Babylonian period. It comprises two parts. The first part, divided into four chapters, gives a detailed account and discusses the references to the subject in the published cuneiform sources and modern literature. The second part, divided into three chapters, considers the evidence from unpublished texts. Part One: Chapter I is divided into three sections. The first section discusses the purpose of this study and considers the existing literature on the subject. Section two gives a survey of the excavations carried cut in the main cities of the Diyala region and their results. Section three reveiews the different theories proposed with regard to the system of land tenure in the pre-Sargonic period and their validity. Chapter II treats the status of crown-lands during the Old Babylonian period in the four regions. It shows the different categories of crown-lands and the ways of exploiting them, either directly by the palace, through rent-paying farmers or through people who rendered services to the palace. It discusses also the nature of the services rendered to the palace, the procedure for granting crownlands, succession to and alienation of lands granted as such. Chapter III deals with transactions of succession, sale and rent relating to privately-owned lands; the procedure for such transactions and the general scheme of contracts recording them are discussed. Chapter IV summarizes the conclusions reached in each of the previous chapters. Part Two: Chapter I contains an edition of twenty-nine unpublished texts from Tell Harmal and Tell al-Diba`i relating to the system of land tenure in the Diyala region. Chapter II consists of an index to the personal names occurring in the texts edited in the previous chapter. Chapter III provides cuneiform copies of the texts edited