THE LABORING CLASSES.
Both slave and free labor existed in Babylonia, but, as has been
previously said, there was no special prejudice felt towards the slave.
He was often of the same nationality as the owner, was trusted, and
often adopted into the family. Parents sold their children into slavery,
and in hard times men would even sell themselves to obtain food and
shelter. On the other hand, slaves might become free men and might rise
to positions of high importance in the state. Having been a slave left
no stigma to one who later became free. The slave might accumulate money
and so purchase his freedom; freedom might be secured to him because of
adoption into a family. While still in servitude he might appear as a
witness or party in a suit, and his testimony was valued as much as
though he were free. Nevertheless, while enjoying privileges unusual to
one in slavery, he was still but a chattel given as security for a debt,
offered as part of a dowry, or again, his services might be hired out
for a given period, his earnings to go to his owner.
Various measures were taken to protect the slave, as the Code of
Hammurabi shows. Fines were imposed for any abuses suffered during a
period when he was hired out. This served as a check upon those who
otherwise might have caused him to overwork.
Slaves made up quite a portion of the laborers, both in Babylonia and
Assyria, although in the latter country less friendly relations seem to
have existed between slave and owner, for the great mass of Assyrian
slaves had been taken captives in war, and were foreigners, unaccustomed
to the ways of the land, and less devoted, probably, to the interests of
those who owned them.
Few slaves were bought and sold with the land, and these generally
belonged to temple lands. Private farms were worked by slaves privately
owned.
Free labor was available, but as a consequence of slavery, wages were
low. The grazers were generally free men; they received large herds of
cattle and flocks of sheep from several owners, and these they pastured
for months together on the west slope of the Euphrates. Because the
herds required constant protection from nomadic tribes of the desert,
the grazers had to be men of responsibility.
The oldest occupation of the Euphrates valley was agriculture. The soil
yielded heavily and early won tribes away from their roving state. Taxes
were always paid in kind, and grain was stored for times of scarcity in
royal granaries.
For the Babylonian, the year opened in the fall--in Tisri (September),
the month of harvest. When his crops were harvested, the farmer paid his
tax; if the land was farmed out, the owner paid the tax and the tenant
paid his rent. New contracts for land were made at this time of the
year.
The ordinary arrangement between landlord and tenant seems to have been
that he who rented should pay one-third of the year's produce for the
use of the farm, and that he should keep all buildings and ditches in
repair. This last stipulation was strongly enjoined, and a fine was
inflicted did he fail in this particular.
During the portion of the year when the usual round of sowing and
reaping ceased, the canals and ditches needed attention. The entire
prosperity of the soil depended upon the maintenance of the irrigation
system.
"Ploughing, harrowing, sowing, reaping, and threshing constituted the
chief events of the agricultural year. The winters were not cold, and
the Babylonian peasant was consequently not obliged to spend a part of
the year indoors shivering over a fire. In fact fuel was scarce in the
country; few trees were grown in it except the palm, and the fruit of
the palm was too valuable to allow it to be cut down. When the ordinary
occupations of the farmer had come to an end, he was expected to look
after his farm buildings and fences, to build walls and clean out the
ditches.
"The ditches, indeed, were more important in Babylonia than in most
other parts of the world. Irrigation was as necessary as in Egypt,
though for a different reason. The Chaldean plain had originally been a
marsh, and it required constant supervision to prevent it from being
once more inundated by the waters and made uninhabitable. The
embankments which hindered the overflow of the Euphrates and Tigris and
kept them within carefully regulated channels, the canals which carried
off the surplus water and distributed it over the country, needed
continual attention. Each year, after the rains of the winter, the banks
had to be strengthened or re-made and the beds of the canals cleared
out. The irrigator, moreover, was perpetually at work; the rainy season
did not last long, and during the rest of the year the land was
dependent on the water supplied by the rivers and canals. Irrigation,
therefore, formed a large and important part of the farmers' work, and
the bucket of the irrigator must have been constantly swinging."[1]
Large numbers of sheep were raised in these valleys, and the manufacture
of wool into dress-stuffs, carpets, and tapestries, made Babylonia
famous among the nations of her time. Her rugs and carpets were the
pride of her people and large sums were paid for them. Scenes sculptured
in bas-relief were seen in tapestries which lined the walls of wealthy
homes. Vegetable dyes were used, and gayly colored flowers, bright hues
and tints, made attractive decorations for interiors against dull
back-grounds of brick. A large proportion of the industrial population
was engaged in weaving, dyeing, and preparing these commodities for
shops and other places of sale.
Because of the constantly growing demand for wool, many were induced to
raise sheep and to trade in the raw wool. Records show that Belshazzar,
son of the king and heir to the Babylonian throne, was a wool-merchant
on a large scale, his commercial interests being, of course, managed by
others.
The price of wool varied greatly, being sometimes high, sometimes low.
It cost little in addition to the wages of the shepherd to pasture
flocks west of the river during the greater part of the year, for
pasturage there was free to all. For some months, to be sure, sheep had
to be sheltered and fed inside enclosures, within or near the city. This
was the costly part of sheep-raising.
When the flocks were driven into town, toll per head was exacted at the
city gate. Lists of the various tolls collected and turned into the
general treasury show them altogether to have been considerable; not
only were they collected of all who passed through the gates but a
bridge toll was paid by whoever passed over the bridge connecting
Babylon and Borsippa, across the river; all ships and sailing crafts,
moreover, paid a toll to pass under the bridge.
Enumerations of the trades of Babylonia have been found; these mention
the trades of carpenter, smith, metal-worker, weaver, leather-worker,
dyer, potter, brick-maker and vintner. The carpenter not only raised the
beams and scaffolding of houses, but as well made whatever articles of
furniture the times afforded. The brick-maker made tablets for
inscriptions as well as bricks for building purposes. The brickyards
were always on low land, near the river, where reeds, so useful in
brick-making, were abundant. Building bricks were made in different
sizes--some nearly a foot square by 2-1/2 inches thick; others about 15
by 15 and three inches in thickness. Chopped reeds were frequently mixed
in the bricks themselves, and since the demand for them was constant,
they were cultivated and grown in large areas. In a secluded corner of
the brickyard, the fine tablets for literary purposes were produced; and
here too, dishes and vases of pottery were molded and baked. Thus we see
that great activity and divers interests attached to these yards given
over to the manufacture of clay articles.
The leather worker found material in abundance, owing to the extensive
cattle raising. Harnesses, saddles, and shoes, beautifully decorated,
were chief among leather commodities.
The smith excelled in fashioning articles from gold, silver, copper and
bronze. Ordinarily the metal was melted and run into molds of clay or
stone. The customer usually furnished the ore and paid for the work upon
it. Metal workers were held accountable for the excellence of their
work, as is shown by guaranties found, whereby they promised to pay
heavy fines if during a given term of years, their work should be found
imperfect.
The people of Babylonia never succeeded in mastering the bas-relief
work, so effectively used in Assyrian palaces. Enamelled tiles took the
place of these, and they were either painted in some design and glazed,
or simply tinted. "Quite as old as the trade of the carver in ivory was
that of the porcelain-maker. The walls of the palaces and temples of
Babylonia and Assyria were adorned with glazed and enamelled tiles on
which figures and other designs were drawn in brilliant colors; they
were then covered with a metallic glaze and fired. Babylonia, in fact,
seems to have been the original home of the enamelled tile and therefore
with the manufacture of porcelain. It was a land of clay and not of
stone, and while it thus became necessary to ornament the plain mud wall
of the house, the clay brick itself, when painted and protected by a
glaze, was made into the very best and most enduring of ornaments. The
enamelled bricks of Chaldea and Assyria are among the most beautiful
relics of Babylonian civilization that have survived to us, and those
which are now in the Museum of the Louvre are unsurpassed by the most
elaborate productions of modern skill."
The trade of the vintner was lucrative. Wines were made from dates and
grapes; beer was doubtless made from grain. It seems to have been the
custom to supply laborers with beer with their daily rations.
Organizations among workmen corresponded to the guilds of later years.
Those who would learn a trade, whether freemen or slaves, had to serve
as apprentices a certain time and learn the work thoroughly.
Wages were always so low that they amounted to little. It has been
estimated that the average wages of a workman was about 12s., or $3.00 a
year; unskilled laborers were contented if merely supplied with food. In
the reign of Cambyses a butcher is recorded to have been paid 75 cents
for a month's work--freemen had always to compete with slave labor, and
if only the employer furnished food and clothing, he could command any
amount of labor.
Babylonia early exchanged her grain and dates for the products of other
lands. For example, teak-wood and cotton were brought from Arabia, cedar
from Lebanon, marble from the east, gold from the peninsula of Sinai.
Sometimes the raw materials were made up in Babylonia and returned to
the lands from whence they came together with grain, rugs and cloth of
wool. Because of her geographical position, Babylonia was able to
command an important commercial position, importing and exporting
constantly.
"The mass of the people in Babylonia were employed in the two pursuits
of commerce and agriculture. The commerce was both foreign and domestic.
Great numbers of the Babylonians were engaged in the manufacture of
those fabrics, particularly carpets and muslins, which Babylonia
produced not only for her own use but also for the consumption of
foreign lands. The ordinary trades and handicrafts practised in the East
no doubt flourished in the country. A brisk import and export trade was
constantly kept up, and promoted a healthful activity throughout the
entire body politic. Babylonia is called 'a land of traffic' by Ezekiel,
and Babylon 'a city of merchants.' The monuments show that from the very
earliest times the people of the low country on the borders of the
Persian Gulf were addicted to maritime pursuits and navigated the gulf
freely, if they did not even venture on the open ocean....
"The products of the various countries of Western Asia flowed into
Babylonia down the courses of the rivers. From Armenia came wine, gems,
emery, and perhaps stone; from Phoenicia, tin, copper, musical
instruments; from Media, silk, gold and ivory."[2]
THE PROFESSIONS: THE BANKER.
In ancient times, the money-lender was the banker, and lending money was
foremost in Babylonian professions. Even members of the royal families
were themselves heavy loaners and drew high rates of interest, although,
to be sure, their business transactions were carried on by agents.
The rate of interest varied greatly, being generally higher in Assyria.
In Babylonia it might be 20%, or again 16%, and was rarely as low as
10%. Cases are on record in Assyria where 25% and 33-1/3% were exacted.
As is still customary in the East, interest was computed monthly, and
unless the borrower was well known and trusted, it was paid monthly.
Security for the full amount was always required.
A great firm of Babylon held a position in that country corresponding to
that held by the Rothschilds in England, loaning to the state as well as
to private individuals. Personal deeds and documents belonging to
citizens were stored in the well-protected chambers of this firm as
they are today kept in safety boxes in bank vaults. Banking firms
continued for generations, and immense numbers of wills, deeds of sale,
business contracts, leases, tax certificates, loans and marriage
agreements accumulated within their chambers.
SCRIBES.
While each one pleaded his own case ordinarily, in the courts of
Babylonia, pleas were frequently thrown into form beforehand by a
scribe. These scribes performed duties discharged in later times by
attorneys at law, as well as those which would of necessity fall to
their share. In Babylonia they acted as librarians, authors and
publishers, multiplying copies of books and selling them. In Assyria,
where the art of reading and writing was not so generally known, they
acted as private clerks and secretaries to a wide extent.
MEDICINE.
We have noted early in our study that medicine had but a small part in
Babylonian life. Charms, magic and incantations in a large measure took
its place. However, with acquaintance with Egypt, came an impulse to
learn of a science which occupied a more important position in the
valley of the Nile. While physicians came into prominence in later
years, they were never wholly depended upon. The doctor was called to
act in unison with the magician and conjurer unless, as was often the
case, he himself united the two arts of healing. Herodotus and other
travellers have testified to cases similar to the following: "Pressing
forward and peeping over the heads of the people, we see a man stretched
upon a mattress, and apparently just about to die. A few weeping friends
kneel at his side, and we learn that he has been brought from his home,
and laid down in the public market place, in the vain hope that some one
may propose a remedy which will save his life. This custom, so strange
to us, is common in Babylon, they say. When all else has failed, when
doctors and sorcerers have done their best, the sick person is
transported to the open square, and advice is asked from the crowd which
is sure to gather.
"Today, as ever, each has a different remedy to propose, though all are
agreed as to the cause of illness. A demon possesses the man, of that
there is no question. 'Come away, little one!' cries an old woman,
drawing back her grandson. 'Go not too near, lest the evil spirit leave
the man, and seize upon thee. Often have I seen it. Bel be praised that
I have his image!' And she draws forth a little clay image of Bel, and
hangs it carefully on the neck of her grandson. 'Hast thou tried the
wool of a young sheep?' asks a woman of the sick man's wife. 'Let a
sorcerer tie seven knots in it, on seven moonlight nights. Tie the
strands around thy husband's neck, around his limbs, around his head. So
shall his soul not leave his body.'
"'Try the recipe of Asshurbanipal the Assyrian,' cries another. 'It is
well known and never fails. Six different kinds of wood, a bit of snake
skin, some wine, and a piece of ox flesh. Make a paste, and cause the
sick man to swallow it.'[3]
"A man hurries up with a handful of clay, and molds a little figure
which he displays as the image of the sick man. We cannot see the
resemblance, but the crowd presses forward and watches his motions with
eager curiosity. He calls for a cup of wine, pours part of it over the
image, and after drinking the rest, mutters an incantation. All in vain,
while he is yet speaking, the family of the sick man raises a chorus of
wails, in which the crowd joins. The man is dead; no charm can avail him
more."[4]
THE SOLDIER.
We cannot speak of the vocation of the soldier as we speak of the
regular professions of men, but any account of Assyria which failed to
give some idea of the army, the very support and strength of that great
empire, would be incomplete.
At first, as in Babylonia, the soldiers when needed were recruited from
peasants in the field. When the war was over, they would return to their
usual tasks. However, Assyria with her many conquests felt the need of
trained soldiers, proficient in military tactics. To the standing army
which grew into a strong body, warriors taken captive in other lands
were added. In course of a few generations a formidable army was thus
brought into being, and the calling of a soldier became a regular
profession. Men were required to give evidences of skill before they
could take commands of regiments and even before they could command a
company of ten. Maspero has made an extended study of military affairs
in Assyria and we can do no better than follow the results he has
reached in his investigation:
"The Assyrian army is the best organized war machine that the world has
yet seen.[5] It is superiority of weapons, not any superiority in
courage and discipline, that has secured to the Ninevite kings since
Sargon the priority over the Pharaohs of the Delta, of Thebes and Meroe.
Whilst the Egyptians, as a rule, still fight without any protection,
except the shield, the Assyrians are, so to speak, clothed in iron from
head to foot. Their heavy infantry is composed of spearmen and archers,
wearing a conical cap ornamented with two side pieces which protect the
ears, a leather shirt covered with overlapping metal scales which
protects the chest and the upper part of the arms, close fitting
breeches, and boots laced in front. The spearmen carry spears six feet
long, with an iron or bronze head, a short sword passed through their
belt, and an immense metal shield, sometimes round and convex, sometimes
rounded at the top and square at the bottom. The archers have no
shields; they replace the spear by a bow and quiver, which hang over
their back. Their light infantry also includes some spearmen, but they
wear a helmet with a curved crest, and are provided with a small round
wicker-work shield. The archers have no breastplate, and are associated
either with slingers or with soldiers armed with clubs and double-edged
axes.
"The spearmen and archers of the line are usually of Assyrian origin or
levied in the territories that have been subject to Assyria for a long
time; the other troops are often recruited amongst tributary nations,
and they wear their national costumes. They are arranged in companies,
and manoeuvre with a regularity which foreigners themselves admire....
They march with extraordinary rapidity, leaving no stragglers or lame
men behind them as they go, and their generals are not afraid to impose
fatigues upon them to which the soldiers of other lands would quickly
succumb. They either ford the rivers or swim across them upon inflated
skins. In wooded countries, each company sends forward a certain number
of pioneers, who fell the trees and clear a path.
"The cavalry are divided into two corps, the chariot soldiers and the
regular cavalry. The Assyrian war-chariot is much heavier and more
massive than the Egyptian.... Like the Egyptian chariots, the Assyrians
always charge in a regular line, and there are few troops in the world
that can resist their first shock. When a battalion of the enemy sees
them coming, rapid and light, their darts pointed, their bows strung,
they usually disband immediately after the first volley of arrows, and
run away. The line is then broken, and the chariots disperse over the
plain, crushing the fugitives beneath their wheels, and trampling them
under their horses' feet....
"Formerly the chariots were very numerous in the Assyrian armies. They
are less used at the present day, but tradition gives them the post of
honour and the king or the chief general always reserves for himself the
privilege of leading them into the fight. It is the distinguished branch
of the service, the one in which the princes and great nobles prefer to
serve, and its weight often decides the fate of the battle.
"Yet now the cavalry commences to rival it, if not in numbers, at least
in importance.... The horse was at first ridden bareback; now it is
covered with one cloth, or with a complete caparison similar to that of
the chariot horses. All the cavalry wear helmets and cuirasses like the
infantry of the line, but they have no shields; they replace the
floating petticoat by cotton drawers. One-half of them carries the sword
and lance, the other half is armed with a bow and sword.
"The lance is eight or nine feet long, the bow is shorter than the bow
used by the infantry, and the arrows are scarcely three feet long.
Formerly each mounted archer was accompanied by a servant, mounted like
himself, who led his horse during the battle so as to leave both his
hands free. The art of riding has made such progress during the last few
years that the servant has become useless, and has disappeared from the
armies. Now lancers and bowmen are all trained to guide their steed by
the pressure of the knees, and they may be seen galloping with flying
reins, shooting their arrows as they go, or else halting suddenly, they
quietly discharge the arrow, then turn and gallop off again....
"The proportion of the different services is always about the same.
There are, on an average, one hundred foot soldiers to every ten cavalry
and every single chariot; the infantry is really the queen of the
Assyrian battles."[6]
[Illustration: THRESHOLD--SLAB IN ASSHURBANIPAL'S PALACE.]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Sayce: Baby. and Assy., 88.
[2] Rawlinson: Babylonia.
[3] This reminds one of the snails, etc., that were crushed and brewed
in small beer for rickets in New England. See Alice Morse Earle,
"Customs and Fashions in Old New England."
[4] Arnold: Stories of Ancient Peoples, 123.
[5] The narrative is set back in the days of Assyrian Empire.
[6] Maspero: Ancient Egypt and Assyria, 320.