are usually events. Many of these have already been collected and
registered, especially by Dr. H. Radau.(646) But there is even more to be
done, when further examples are published. Many tablets contain two dates
referring to loans contracted at different times. By this means the
sequence can gradually be determined. The seals are also of great interest
and often of value, as may be seen from Dr. Radau’s work.
(M603) Advances of all sorts were freely made both with and without
interest. For convenience we may separate money from corn loans and
advances of all kinds of commodities; but we must not forget that corn, at
any rate, was legal tender; and silver loans might be repaid in corn.
This, however, was early recognized as an inconvenience and it is quite
common to find a direct stipulation that what was lent shall be repaid in
kind. It soon became usual to state that if the loan was repaid otherwise,
it must be according to a fixed ratio between silver and corn.
(M604) A very large number of loans take the form of _Abstract
schuldscheine_, loans without statement of any cause for the debt. They
are merely promises to pay, that is, acknowledgments of indebtedness. Thus
we read: “Five shekels of silver which A has given to B. On such a date B
shall pay five shekels of silver to A.” A penalty may be added for not
paying on the fixed date. Usually this takes the form of interest. The
rate is one shekel _per mina_ each month, or twelve shekels _per mina
yearly_, that is, twenty per cent. There is no clear case of money lent as
an investment to bear interest. That was done in quite another way. The
lender entered into relationship with an agent, to whom he furnished
capital and who traded with the money and repaid it with interest.
(M605) Most of the loans were evidently contracted to meet temporary
embarrassment. Usually it was in connection with the need of cash to pay
the expenses at harvest-time. The loan was then repaid at harvest. It
might be repaid in corn.(647) The time was usually short—fifteen days is
named.(648) The lender had his reward in obtaining his money’s worth in
corn, when its price was cheapest. But he was evidently not expected to
charge interest. A similar kind of loan is half a mina of silver to pay
the price of a piece of land. Here the money was lent until the land was
bought, and was to be repaid with interest of three _GUR_ of corn.(649) So
half a mina for certain land to be paid, when the land was
cultivated.(650)
(M606) Another reason for borrowing was the need of money to pay taxes,
_ana ilkim suddanim_.(651) In one of these cases the stipulation is added
that the borrower shall bring the receipt of the tax-collector and then
may take back his bonds.(652) Here the “sealed tablet” is in one case the
receipt for the tax, in the other the receipt which the borrower gave for
his loan. But there is no mention of his repayment. Perhaps the lender
owed the tax, half a mina, and as it was a considerable sum, sent it by a
third party, but made him give a receipt for it. But such a receipt would
differ in no respect from the sort of bond mentioned above, and would
render the messenger liable to repay the money; so he was to have his
receipt back, on handing over the tax-collector’s receipt showing that he
had paid the tax.
(M607) In several cases the god is represented as lending the money. It is
obvious that such advances were made from the temple treasury.(653) It is
usual from such instances to expatiate on the temple, or the priests, as
the great moneylenders. This is a view easily misunderstood. It is quite
true that the temples were great landowners, and had steady incomes, and
possessed treasuries; but there is no evidence that they lent on usury. It
seems rather that these loans without interest (except as a fine for undue
retention of the loan) were a kindly accommodation. We know that under
certain circumstances a man might appeal to the temple treasury to ransom
him from the enemy. He might also borrow in case of necessity without
interest. Moneylending proper existed, but was kept in narrow bounds by
the temple itself.
(M608) In view of the many questions that arise as to the nature of the
money at this period, it should be noted that the silver is often said to
be _kanku;_ literally “sealed.” Whether this means that the silver bars,
or ingots, were sealed while the metal was soft enough to receive a mark
which would authenticate its weight and purity, or whether it means that
the money was enclosed in sealed sacks, is hard to say. Against the latter
may be urged that such a small sum as one and two-thirds shekels would not
be sealed up.(654) But it may be that _kanku_ means “sealed for,” that is,
acknowledged by the receipt.
(M609) Even more common than money loans are the corn loans. Here the
loans were generally for a short time just before harvest, when the
repayment was expected. The period is usually short, five days,(655) or a
month.(656) Interest is sometimes demanded, at the rate of _one hundred ḲA
per GUR_, or one-third, that is, _thirty-three and a third per cent_. This
was probably the rate _per mensem, four hundred per cent. per annum_. But
in one case the interest is _one hundred ḲA per GUR per annum_,(657) once
it is expressly said to be nothing,(658) usually it is not referred to at
all. Sometimes a loan was partly in money, partly in corn.(659)
(M610) Other things were lent, as sesame, skins, bricks, and the like, but
these loans exhibit no peculiarity. They are merely letting the borrower
have goods on credit, to be paid for, or returned, after a time.
We may take, as an example of this kind of transaction, a rather more
complicated case:(660)
(M611)
Two and seven-thirtieths of a _GUR_ of corn, Shamash standard
measure, which Ilu-kasha, son of Sharru-Shamash, gave to Belshunu,
Ilushu-abushu, and Ikash-Ninsaḫ. Ilu-kasha brought the corn and
returned one _GUR_ and one-tenth and took for himself two hundred
and twenty _ḲA_. Later he paid one-tenth of a _GUR_ to
Ilushu-bânî, Ikash-Ninsaḫ, and Shumma-Shamash, and they remitted
in all three _GUR_, the former and later debt.
In the second case only one of the former debtors is left. The loan was
partly repaid, a fresh loan contracted, and then partly repaid. It is not
clear whether the arrears were remitted or extracted by distraint. Nor is
it clear whether Ilukasha was debtor or creditor. As a rule such points
are clear. It is only the conciseness of the formula which here causes the
obscurity.
(M612) Another fairly common type of document contains a number of
sections, each containing the record of one sum. But it is not clear that
these were loans. They may be allowances for food or salary. Thus in B1
247 we have so much corn for the women weavers, so much more for the
votaries, so much for other officials, from the first of one month to the
thirtieth, so much for the Sutî who was watching the field, so much for a
boatman, and so on. These are perhaps a temple steward’s accounts. Their
interest lies only in the incidental notices. We also note that here a
month had thirty days. It is interesting to find that the celebrated Sutî
nomads who later gave so much trouble, were already in the country and
were employed to watch the fields. Was this watching done on the principle
of “setting a thief to catch a thief”? Perhaps it was necessary to employ
a Sutî as custodian, of course at a salary, if one was to preserve the
crop from the depredations of his fellow-tribesmen.
Some of these tablets expressly state the amount of corn loaned, giving
the date for repayment.(661) Hence we see what a narrow margin divides the
proper bond from the mere receipt, or even the memorandum of the loan.
(M613) A number of tablets deal with advances of wool or woollen yarn made
by temple officials to weavers and dyers to work up. As a rule they
contain a number of words connected doubtless with the weaver’s craft
which are not yet made out. The following is a fairly simple example:(662)
One talent of wool belonging to the palace, price ten shekels of
silver, property of Utul-Ishtar the _abi ṣâbê_, which Ishme-Sin,
son of Sin-bêl-aplim, Marduk-mushallim, son of Sin-idinnam,
Ilushu-ibni and Bêlshunu, sons of Sin-eribam have borrowed. The
day that the tax-collector of the palace demands it they shall pay
the money of the palace.
Elsewhere the time of loan may be stated, two months for example.(663) The
price is always reckoned at six minas of wool for a shekel. It seems that
the borrowers were not obliged to repay until a certain date, or until a
demand was made for certain taxes. They then must pay in silver.
(M614) In the Assyrian examples of money-loans the same general features
constantly recur. The most common are loans _ana pûḫi_, which may be taken
to mean “for consideration,” as the word _pûḫu_ means an “exchange.” But
there is never any statement of what the consideration was. Some have
thought, that as the bond was invariably given to the creditor to be
broken up on the repayment of the loan, the exchange referred to was a
restoration of the bond in return for the money. But the consideration,
which is a legal presumption, may have lain in the fact that the borrowers
were tenants on the metayer system and had a right to borrow of their
landlord, free of interest, at seed-time and harvest. On such loans
interest is only demanded when the debtor fails to repay at the fixed
date.
(M615) The rate of interest charged as a penalty for non-payment or late
payment was _twenty-five per cent. per mensem, three hundred per cent. per
annum_. This interest was intended to secure prompt payment, but was not
unfair in view of the increase of value obtained by investing it in corn
and then sowing that. Other rates were one-third and one-eighth, but there
is no fixed rate of interest for the loan of money, except when it was
_ana pûḫi._
(M616) The interest on corn was _thirty ḲA per homer_. Some think the
homer had sixty _ḲA_, which would make the interest fifty per cent. But no
case has yet been found which gives the number of _ḲA_ in a homer.
(M617) The money lent is often said to belong to a god. Ashur, Ishtar of
Arbela, or Ishtar of Nineveh, are the most common. Sometimes it is said to
be in “Ishtar heads,” which has been taken to mean ingots stamped with a
head of Ishtar. The frequent reference to the mina of Carchemish alongside
the king’s mina is eloquent as to the commercial eminence of the old
Hittite capital.
An example is the following:(664)
Sixteen shekels of silver, from A to B, _ana pûḫi_, he has taken.
On the first day of Tammuz he shall pay the money. If not, it
shall increase by a quarter. Dated the eleventh of Nisan, in the
Eponymy of Bêl-ludâri. Three witnesses.
(M618) Loans or advances were also made of various kinds of property. Thus
we have an advance of ten minas of silver, Carchemish standard,
seventy-five sheep, one cow, made by Ashurbânipal’s chief steward to four
men, _ana pûḫi_. The sheep and cow they are to return in Adar. If they do
not return the sheep, they must breed them. The interest on the money is
to be one-third. Dated the twenty-fifth of Tebet, B.C. 664. Thirteen
witnesses. Such a loan seems to be on the metayer system.(665)
(M619) Here again we have an exceptional case:(666)
L lends two dromedaries, “which they called double-humped,” to three men,
who shall return them on the first of the month, or pay six minas of
silver. If they do not pay the money, interest shall accrue at the rate of
five shekels per mina. Dated the fourteenth of Tishri, B.C. 674.
These animals were rare and evidently highly valued. What could the three
borrowers want with a pair of such animals? Were they for exhibition in a
menagerie? Perhaps they were for breeding. We may have here a case of
goods taken on approval, for a fortnight or so, perhaps for sale to
another party.
The same lender lent to the same three men, two hundred sheep, one hundred
and fifty goats, two hundred and thirty yearling lambs, in all five
hundred and eighty small cattle. They were to return the animals by a
fixed date, or pay. Dated the seventh of Iyyar, B.C. 673. The same lender
had lent seventy-two sheep to two other men, in Sivan, B.C. 680. They had
to return the sheep in Ab, or pay for them at the market-rate in Nineveh.
Bêl-êresh acted as agent for the borrowers.(667)
(M620) Other goods, such as wine, or oil, were advanced. Here we probably
have to do with the transactions of the royal chief steward and the king’s
agents. For example:(668)
L intrusts five homers of wine, according to the royal measure, to
D. On the first of Nisan he shall return the wine, otherwise he
shall pay for the wine according to the market-rate in Nineveh.
Dated fifth of Adar, B.C. 674. Five witnesses.
Again:(669)
(M621)
L advances six homers of pure oil, price ten _ḲA_ of bronze per
homer, to D, the major-domo at Carchemish. He shall repay the oil
in Sebat; if not, it shall be doubled. Dated twenty-first of Ab,
B.C. 681. Six witnesses.
We may deduce the interesting fact that Esarhaddon was at Carchemish in
Ab, B.C. 681. The advance was made for the use of the royal household
there.
(M622) Advances of corn were made exactly as in the earlier times.
Thus:(670)
L advances thirty homers of corn to D, the messenger from the city
of Maganiṣi, by the hands of E, a colonel in the army. He shall
pay the corn in Marchesvan, in the city of Maganiṣi, or pay the
full value of it in Nineveh. Dated the seventeenth of Sebat, B.C.
665. Eight witnesses.
(M623) One peculiarity of the corn loans is that they are chiefly recorded
upon what have been called heart-shaped tablets. These were lumps of clay
through which a string passed and came out at the upper shoulders. The
string was probably tied around the neck of a sack containing the corn.
They thus served both as labels, seals, and as bonds. Many of them have
Aramaic dockets, which have been collected and edited by Dr. J. H.
Stevenson, in his _Assyrian and Babylonian Contracts, with Aramaic
reference-notes_.
(M624) Thus the above example bears the words in Aramaic, “_barley,
assignment, which is from Nabû-dûri._” These Aramaic legends, in the case
of such labels, may have served as addresses. But the general purpose is
obscure. All the corn advances seem to have been made by officials of the
royal household to inferior officers, in charge of farms or otherwise
dependent for supplies.
(M625) (M626) They show by their dates that the corn was usually advanced
just before harvest, when corn was dearest. Some of them name the reapers;
others give the number of them. We conclude that these advances were made
as food for the harvesters, or as wages for their labor. Occasionally,
however, the loan was made at seed-time. Most of the loans are _ana
pûḫi_,(671) which supports the view that the meaning of this phrase is
really “for management expenses” and presupposes the metayer system.
(M627) Closely connected with money or other loans are receipts for
payment. These are somewhat rare. The more usual practice was to break the
tablet, or promise to pay, which was returned to the debtor. But we have
two good examples, thus:(672)
The four minas of silver, interest, belonging to C, which were due
from D, D has paid and given to C. One with the other, neither
shall litigate. Dated seventh of Sivan, B.C. 683. Three witnesses.
Here we are not aware of the circumstances which lead to the loan. But, in
one case, we have records both of the loan and its repayment, thus:(673)
(M628)
Baḫiânu advanced two homers of corn, for food, to Nabû-nûr-nammir;
and one homer each to Latubashâni-ilu and Ṣabutânu, _ana pûḫi_.
Dated the twenty-ninth of Elul, B.C. 686.
And we find also:(674)
Ṣabutânu and Latubashâni-ilu repay each one homer. Nabû-nûr-nammir
does not repay. Dated Iyyar, B.C. 685.
Whether or not the defaulter paid later is not known; but we probably owe
our knowledge of the repayment to the fact that all three did not pay
together. We note that each paid exactly what he borrowed. No interest was
charged.
(M629) In one case we have a receipt for a fine, or damages, imposed by a
law-court. Thus:(675)
Forty minas of bronze, without rebate, which the _sukallu_ imposed
as a fine. Paid to the _šakintu_. Dated the tenth of Adar, B.C.
693. Four witnesses.
There is no statement who owed, or paid, the fine. But the lady governor
who received the money gave this receipt for it.
(M630) The Code makes very clear the legal aspect of this transaction. A
minor or a slave could only deposit under power of attorney.(676) A
deposit was not recoverable unless made by a deed, or delivered in
presence of witnesses and duly acknowledged by a receipt.(677) The
receiver was liable for all loss occurring to the goods in his possession
on deposit, even when the loss was such as involved the loss of his own
goods as well.(678) For corn, the Code fixed a yearly fee for warehousing
of one-sixtieth the amount deposited.(679)
(M631) As we learn from the few actual cases which occur, the receipt
given for the goods was returned to the recipient on the return of the
goods and the tablet broken as cancelling the responsibility. One form
which it might take is illustrated by the following:(680)
Ten shekels of silver, which according to a sealed receipt was
deposited for the share of Ṣili-Shamash, he has taken from
Ṣili-Ishtar and Amêl-ili, his brothers. His heart is contented; he
will not dispute. Oath by Ḥammurabi, the king. Seven witnesses.
Fourth year of Ḥammurabi.
Here apparently three brothers share, but one being absent the two hold
their brother’s share for him, giving a sealed receipt for it. This the
judge delivered to him and he claimed and received his share.
(M632) Actual examples of deposit are rare; probably because our
collections refer to temple transactions, rather than to private family
deeds. We have a deposit of lead,(681) from which we learn that silver was
worth twice as much as lead. It was to be sent from Ashnunna, on demand.
Here is another:(682)
(M633)
“Concerning the silver which Zikrum and Ṣabitum gave to
Ṣili-Ishtar on deposit. They have received it; their hearts are
content. They gave up their bond and it was broken.”
Instead of a receipt by the recipient there is often found a list
concluding with the word _apkida_, “I have intrusted.” Then comes the date
and the names of witnesses. It is not clear, however, that these things
were meant to be returned. They may only be memoranda of allowances given
out. They chiefly occur in Scheil’s _Saison de fouilles à Sippar_.(683)
(M634) In Assyrian documents no examples of this kind of transaction are
found. Nor are any very clear examples producible from later Babylonian
times. But it must not be overlooked that some cases, where a receipt is
given for a sum or quantity of goods, without mention of interest to be
paid, may very well be acknowledgments of a deposit; they have usually
been taken to be loans.
XXIV. Pledges And Guarantees
(M635) Very little is known about pledges in early times, though Meissner
had argued for their existence from certain passages of the series _ana
ittišu_, such as “on account of the interest of his money he shall cause
house, field, garden, man-servant, or maid-servant, to stand on deposit”;
followed later by, “if he bring back the money he can re-enter his house;
if he bring back the money, he can plant his garden again; if he bring
back the money, he can stand in his field; if he bring back the money, he
can take away his maid; if he bring back the money, one shall return his
slave.”(684) Consequently the creditor held the pledge in his possession
until the loan was returned, when he had to give it back. The pledges here
mentioned are antichretic, that is, such that they produce an income or
return to the holder, which is a set-off against the interest of his
money.
(M636) The Code recognizes the taking of property in satisfaction of a
debt.(685) But this is rather a process of distraint upon the goods of the
debtor, in case of non-payment, than a case of pledge. Since it was
usually expected that the property so taken would be returned on payment
of the debt, we can hardly distinguish it from pledge. Indeed, where a
debtor gave up his wife, child, or slave to work off a debt, we have a
case of antichretic pledge for the debt and interest.
(M637) In times subsequent to the First Babylonian Dynasty, the pledge is
common. As a rule, it is antichretic, such that income or profit derived
from the pledge is a fair equivalent for the interest of the loan. The
lender acquires the right of enjoying the pledge. As a rule this is
assigned him absolutely, so that no account is needed to be kept of
interest on one side and profit on the other. If the profit exceeds the
interest due, the excess may be returned, or it may be credited towards
the discharge of the debt. If the interest exceeds the profit on the
pledge, then the amount by which the loan exceeds the capitalized profit
must pay interest.
(M638) In Assyrian times loans on security are fairly common. Here also we
have antichretic loans, where the profit on the pledge was a set-off
against the interest of the money. The pledge is expressly stated to be
“in lieu of interest.” But it seems that the property was often expected
also to extinguish the debt. Or it was merely pledged, as a security,
which the creditor would keep in case he could not get his money back. We
may illustrate these by examples:(686)
(M639)
The lady Addati, the _šakintu_, lends two minas of silver,
Carchemish standard, exact sum, to D, the deputy of the chief of
the city. In lieu of the two minas of silver, a plot of twelve
homers of land in the outskirts of Nineveh, Kurdi-Adadi, his wife
and three sons, Kandilânu and his wife, in all seven people, and
twelve homers of land, are pledged. On the day that one returns
the money, the other shall release the land and people. Dated the
first of Marchesvan, B.C. 694. Ten witnesses.
The point about the phrase, “exact sum,” seems to be that the advance was
made without any rebate. Here the security is worth little more than the
loan. Its profits would, however, be a good security for the interest of
the loan. No time is given for repayment, but the creditor undertakes to
accept repayment and release the pledge at any time.
Again:(687)
(M640)
The lady Indibî lends sixteen minas of silver, royal standard, to
D. In the month of Tishri, he shall pay the money in full; if not,
interest shall be two shekels per mina monthly. A vineyard in the
village of Bêl-aḫê, next to that of Ḥabašu, next to that of
Si’banik, next to that of the chief scribe; also these slaves,
Dâri-Bêl, his wife, three sons, and two daughters, along with his
household, four fat cows (?); Ḥudi-sharrûtu and his daughter; all
are pledged as security. If they die or run away, the loss shall
be D’s. The day that D shall refund the money, with the interest,
his slaves and vineyard shall be released. Dated the ninth of Ab,
B.C. 688. Six witnesses.
Or again:(688)
(M641)
Five homers of land belong to D, in the city Kâr-Au. The lender L
gives D two-thirds of a mina of silver. This two-thirds of a mina
of silver L shall acquire from the field and when D thus has given
L his money back, he shall release the field. Dated the sixteenth
of Iyyar, B.C. 680.
In the following case a maid is assigned outright for a loan. It is
doubtful whether this is a sale, or a pledge:(689)
(M642)
In lieu of money, Bêlit-ittîa, the maid of the _šakintu_, is
assigned to the lady Sinki-Ishtar. As long as she lives, she shall
serve her. Dated the fourteenth of Iyyar, B.C. 652.
(M643) A very similar case occurs in the loan of corn and a cow by the
_bêl paḫâti_ of the Crown Prince, to a certain Nargî of the city of
Bamatu. Nargî was to serve the lender for the corn and cow. When his
service had become equivalent to the value of the advance, he could go
free.(690)