| NaBuCCo ID | 446 |
|---|---|
| Museum No. | BM 32188+ |
| CDLI P-Identifier | |
| Place of issue | |
| Type and content | Purchase |
| Archive | |
| Period | Each |
| Year BCE | 535 | Editio princeps | Wunsch 2000 125 A |
| Paraphrase | Purchase of plots of land and of slaves, with redistribution of incomes among creditors. Composite tablet, known from five copies. A purchases eight plots of land from four members of the same family: B1, his uncle B2, his grandmother fB3 and his mother fB4; these fields belonged to B1 as a consequence of a previous purchases made by his father (C) and his mother. The text begins providing details for these preceding deals, starting with six plots of land situated in Šuppatu, in the district (pīhatu) of Babylon: 1) C bought 1;4.3.3 Kor (25875 m2) of agricultural land (zēru) in the open country (eqel ṣēri) for 2 minas and 3 shekels of silver, inclusive of the additional payment (adi atri), from D (C ina qātē D … mahīra epešu). It consists parly of a cultivated date garden (kirû gišimmarē zaqpi) bearing fruit (iṣṣi bilti) and partly of cultivated as well as newly cleared land (mērešu u taptû). Within this total area, 0;2.0.3 Kor (5625 m2) corresponds to the surface of the land cultivated with dates, whose value (šuqultu) corresponds to 1 mina and 15 shekels of silver; 1;2.3 Kor (20250 m2) is the surface of the cultivated as well as newly cleared land (mērešu u taptû), whose value (šuqultu) corresponds to 45 shekels of silver. 2) C also bought 1;1.4 Kor (18000 m2) of cultivated land (zēru mērešu), of which 1 Kor (13500 m2) is of lower quality (kalû u gabību), for 37 1/4 shekels of silver from E (A ina qātē C … mahīra epešu). 3) fB4 bought a plot of land, whose surface details are lost in a lacuna, for 43 1/3 shekels of silver from [E?] (fD ina qātē [PN] … mahīra epešu). This plot is located in the open country (eqel ṣēri) and it is a cultivated date garden (kirû gišimmarē zaqpi). 4) The same woman bought for the same amount of silver another plot of land whose area is unknown, from a seller whose name is also lost. The land is located in the open country (eqel ṣēri): it is a cultivated date garden (kirû gišimmarē zaqpi) bearing fruit (iṣṣi bilti). 5) C also bought 0;3.2 Kor (6300 m2) of agricultural land (zēru) in the open country (eqel ṣēri) for 1 mina of silver, from F (A ina qātē E … mahīra epešu). This area includes a cultivated date garden (kirû gišimmarē zaqpi) bearing fruit (iṣṣi bilti) as well as cultivated land (mērešu). 6) The description of the last plot of agricultural land is lost in a lacuna, only the term wasteland (kišubbû) can be read with certainty. Then, the text records the purchase of 2 more areas (erṣetu): 7) Details for the first one cannot be read because of a gap in the tablet: from what is left, we know that fB4 bought this land from someone (whose name is lost) for [x]+2/3 minas of silver. 8) G bought an area of 6 sq. r (73,50 m2) in Tē, inside the city of Babylon, for 2 minas and 4 shekels of silver from H1 and his wife fH2 (G ina qātē H1 u fH2 … mahīra epešu). Finally, the purchase of the three slaves I1, I2 and fI3 is mentioned: their price (mahīrātišunu) amounts to 5 minas of silver. Then, the tablet provides the totals: 4;3.5.3 kor (64575 m2) of cultivated land sold for 5 minas and 49 shekels of silver – inclusive of the additional payment (adi atri); 27;5.6 sq. r (371,85 m2) of land sold for 13 minas and 48 1/2 shekels of silver – inclusive of the additional payment and of the clothing (adi atri u lubāri); three slaves I1, I2 and fI3, sold for 5 minas of silver. Now, A purchases all these properties for 24 minas and 37 shekels of silver, i.e. their full price (šīmīšu! gamrūtu), from B1, B2 (uncle of B1), fB3 (grandmother of B1) and fB4 (mother of B1 and wife of C). The sellers confirm that they have received (mahāru) the whole amount of silver which was due for their fields, houses and slaves, and they are satisfied (aplū) All the parties agree that in future times there will be no claims or suits against each other, not even between members of their families – otherwise, any future claimant (pāqirānu) will have to repay twelvefold the silver he received. The income of these business deals are then transferred to L1 and fL2, the creditors (rāšû) of C (B1’s father), B2, fB3 and fB4: they take out 20 minas and 17 shekels from the total amount of silver, as payment for their credit (ina rašûtišunu). M1 and M2, who previously took a house as pledge (maškanu ṣabātu) and have lived inside it since then, take the remaining silver: 4 minas and 20 shekels. Finally, the text states that the fingernails (ṣupru) of the sellers B1, B2, fB3 and fB4 are impressed on the tablet instead of their seal impressions (kunukku). Names of 7 witnesses and 4 scribes. A = Itti-Marduk-balāṭu/Nabû-ahhē-iddin//Egibi; B1 = Nādin-ahi/Kidin-Marduk//Šangû-Gula; B2 = Nabû-mušētiq-uddê/Zēria//Šangû-Gula, uncle of B1; fB3 = fQudašu/Bēl-iddin//Rē'i-sīsê, grandmother of B1; fB4 = fBu'itu/Nabû-bān-ahi//Šangû-Gula, mother of B1 and wife of C; C = Kidin-Marduk/Zēria//Šangû-Gula, father of B1; D = Marduk-šumu-ibni/Nabû-bān-ahi//Šangû-Gula; E = Iddin-Marduk/Nabû-mukīn-zēri//Asû; F = Nā'id-Marduk; G = Ṣillāya/Arad-Nabû//Nūr-Sîn; H1 = Lâbāši-Marduk/Bēl-nādin-apli//Ša-ṭābtišu; fH2 = fAmat-Ninlil, wife of H1; I1 = Sillu-Bēl, slave; I2 = Nabû-kuṣranni, slave; fI3 = fKaššāya, slave; L1 = Iddin-Marduk/Iqīšāya//Nūr-Sîn; fL2 = fIna-Esagila-rāmat, wife of L1; M1 = Ahhea; M2 = Arad-Bēl |
|---|---|
| Transliteration | None |
| Babylonian Date (year-month-day): | Cyr. yy-III-dd |