Economy of Sumer

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The

Indus River Valley, and the Iranian Plateau. Sumerians also bought and sold property, but land tied to the temples could not be traded. There were three types of land—Nigenna, Kurra, and Urulal—and only Urulal land could be traded; Nigenna land belonged to the temple, while Kurra land belonged to the people working in the temple. Within Sumer, the Sumerians could use silver, barley, or cattle as currency

Trade and resources

Trade was important in Sumerian society as Mesopotamia lacked essential materials such as

Meluḫḫa could have supplied gold to Mesopotamia. Agriculture was another very important part of the Mesopotamian economy. The agricultural trade extended to Anatolia and Iran.[19] Sheep, pig, cattle herding as well as cereal were important parts of Sumerian agriculture. It also depended on maintenance of irrigation canals. A centralized organization was established to manage agriculture.[19]

Property

Most tablets from Sumer dating back to before

houses. Most of the land was owned by the nobility. Nobles owned large estates where most of the land was purchased from poorer citizens. It is possible the temple dominated the land and the economy.[20]
The temples did own land that could not be bought, sold, or alienated. There were three types of temple property. Nigenna property was property reserved for the maintenance of the temple. Kurra land was land dedicated to the people working for the temple. Urulal land was land given to others in exchange for other land.

Currency and debt

Barley and silver were the materials used by institutions to keep track of their goods. Usually, they did this with a fixed rate between them. Silver was also used as a means of payment.[5] Silver would be imported from silver mines in Keban, Dilmun, Aratta, Marḫashi, Meluḫḫa, Azerbaijan, and Kerman. Anatolia was likely the largest supplier of silver for Sumer. Cattle may have also been the standard currency in Sumeria. If cattle were the standard currency interest would be paid through the cattle giving birth. Debt was also an important aspect of Sumerian trade. Many transactions involved debt, such as the goods consigned to temples. Debt could be paid back in barley or silver. Loans also existed in the Sumerian economy. Rural loans would emerge as a result of unpaid obligations to an institution.[21] Occasionally leaders would cancel all rural debt in order to ensure peasants never became so poor, they would take up arms against the government.[21] The word for interest in the Sumerian language is mash, which also is the word calves. Implying that interest rates were derived from cattle reproduction. It also might mean that the cattle giving birth is what paid off interest.[22]

References

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  7. ^ "Land of Frankincense". UNESCO World Heritage Convention. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
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  9. ^ Marian H. Feldman, Diplomacy by design: Luxury arts and an "international style" in the ancient Near East, 1400–1200 BC, (Chicago: University Press, 2006), pp. 120–121
  10. ^ a b Whitehouse, D. (1975). "Carnelian in the Persian Gulf". Antiquity 49. 129-130.
  11. ^ a b Arkell, A.J. (1936). "Cambay and the Bead Trade". Antiquity 10. 292-305.
  12. ^ Bhaarati, Vijaya. "Linquistic Evidences Of Textile Trade Of Indus Valley Civilisation With Sumeria And Egypt". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
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  15. ^ Foundation, Encyclopaedia Iranica. "Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica". iranicaonline.org. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
  16. ^ Limet, H. (1960). Le Travail du metal au pays de Sumer au temps de la IIIe dynastie d'Ur. Paris.
  17. ^ Wyart, J. et al. (1981). "Lapis Lazuli from Sar-e-Sang, Badakhshan, Afghanistan", Gems and Gemology. 184-190.
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