(M525) In later times the rights to income are very prominent, perhaps
solely in virtue of the class of documents which has reached us.
Occasionally we are able to learn exactly what they were. For example, the
surveyor for the temple of Anu had a right to two _GUR_ of corn, two _GUR_
of dates, fifty _ḲA_ of wheat, six _ḲA_ of sesame, on every eighteen _ḲA_
of land. When the corn and dates were harvested, on one _GUR_, six _ḲA_
were levied.
(M526) It is not clear that a temple had any direct duties to the state.
Peiser thinks that they collected dues for the state. Certainly they had
attached to them the king’s storehouses. Certain amounts were paid in for
certain state officials. In the Code of Ḥammurabi we see that a temple
might be called upon to ransom a member of the town who had been taken
captive.
(M527) In certain circumstances the king’s officials might borrow of the
temples.(554) Thus Nikkal-iddina borrowed of the temple of Bêlit of Akkad
a vessel of silver, weight fifteen minas, when the Elamites invaded the
land.
(M528) Some kings laid hands on the treasures of the temple for their own
use. Doubtless this was done under bond to repay. The cases in which we
read of such practices are always represented as a wrong. When
Shamash-shûm-ukîn sent the bribes to the King of Elam, Ummanigash, he
spoiled the treasuries of Merodach at Babylon, of Nabû at Borsippa, and of
Nêrgal at Cutha, and this was reckoned one of his evil deeds, which led to
his downfall. But if he had been successful and had repaid his forced
loans, doubtless it would have been excused, and his memory would have
been blessed.
(M529) Much confusion is introduced by the fact that we do not know when a
temple official acts in his own private capacity and when on behalf of the
temple. The deeds, which do not expressly state that the money or property
belongs to the god, or the temple, may often be only concerned with
private transactions, but were preserved in the temple archives on account
of the official position of the parties. But there are plenty of cases,
where no doubt exists, to justify us in regarding the temple as acting in
all the capacities of a private individual, or a firm of traders.
XXI. Donations And Bequests
(M530) Alienation of property might be complete or partial. Of complete
alienation we may instance donation, sale, exchange, dedication,
testament. The latter was rarely complete in Babylonia. Examples of
partial alienation are loan, lease, pledge, deposit.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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