The reason for this extensive purchase of landed property by Manishtusu may possibly have been given at the beginning of the text inscribed upon the obelisk, but unfortunately very little of the first column of the inscription has been preserved. The main body of the text affords little material on which to base a conjecture. One point, however, may be regarded as certain: the reason for the purchase appears to have had some close connection with the forty-nine new managers and overseers, to whom Manishtusu entrusted the administration of his newly acquired property. The mere fact that their names and descriptions should have been repeated on each side of the obelisk is probably significant. Moreover, they are all described in the text as citizens[30] of Akkad, and the prominence given to them in each section suggests that the king purchased the land with the express object of handing it over to their charge. It may also be noted that Manishtusu removed, not only the former managers, but also every labourer who had been employed on the estates, so that we may assume that the new managers brought their own labourers with them, who would continue the cultivation of the land under their direction. If the king's object in purchasing the land had been merely to make a profitable investment, he would not have removed the former labourers, for whose maintenance he undertook to provide elsewhere. Manishtusu's action can only be explained on the supposition that he was anxious to acquire land on which he might settle the men from Akkad and their adherents. The purchase appears therefore to have been dictated by the necessity of removing certain citizens from Akkad to other sites in Northern Babylonia. We do not know the cause which gave rise to this transference of population, but we shall presently see that, in view of the high social standing of several of the immigrants, Manishtusu's action may perhaps be connected with certain traditions concerning this period which were current in later times.[31]