Bēl-eṭēri-Šamaš/Aplāya (6 Nbn­-1 Cam) is the chief protagonist of this single-generation business archive of forty two texts in the Yale Babylonian collection, the Free Library of Philadelphia, the British Museum, and private possession. Three texts in which an Ahūšunu/Līšir (10 Nbn-­3 Cyr) is the main protagonist may form a ‘satellite’ dossier. It is one of the few Nippur archives that have not come into western museums as a direct result of (more or less) controlled excavations. The archive consists almost entirely of promissory notes and a few receipts; there are no property documents.

Harrānu partnerships formed the backbone of Bēl-eṭēri-Šamaš’s economic activities. His partners were Nabû-aplu-iddin/Šumu-ukīn/Itinnu and Nabû-ahu-uṣur/Nabû-utēr. Their objective was the sale of agricultural products, dates and barley, and beer brewing, maybe also the running of a tavern. Institutional connections are apparent in his agricultural activities, such as the dates for the Enlil temple Ekur.  Bēl-eṭēri-Šamaš was also active as a manager of royal and possibly also of private land in the vicinity of Nippur at the beginning of his career.