Old Babylonian Dowries
1980; Cambridge University Press; Volume: 42; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.2307/4200115
ISSN2053-4744
Autores Tópico(s)Historical and Linguistic Studies
ResumoHammurapi's Code of Laws says that a woman who lived in the Old Babylonian period brought a dowry with her from her father's house when she married. The laws specify that if the marriage failed, and she was not to blame, she kept her dowry for any subsequent marriage. If she died, her sons or (if she had none) her father's family, not her husband, inherited it. Some texts that list dowries of the Old Babylonian period, and texts of related or similar content, are edited and discussed here.The range of possessions that belonged to women in those times can now be illustrated from these texts, and they also indicate some activities and interests of the women, who generally came from well-to-do families. Some hints of their personalities too emerge from their possessions: Bēlessunu daughter of Ibni-Amurru, and Ṭāb-Esagila the nadītum-priestess daughter of Marduk-muballiṭ both had plans for some comfortable upholstery or mattresses, and took with them a box of palm fibre; Bēlessunu was also a business woman with her own seal and her own set of weights. Bēletum the nadītum daughter of Riš-Nabium liked to entertain in style, and so took fifteen eating-bowls with her. Narūbtum the daughter of Ikūn-pî-Sin had an enormous wardrobe, consisting of no less than 24 garments and 42 headdresses, all carefully looked after in individual clothes-chests; she also had burial shrouds ready for her death, to keep up appearances even in the grave. Not all of them were fortunate enough to possess their own slaves or slavegirls. A letter from Sippar in the time of Hammurapi tells that it was difficult even for a nadītum priestess to acquire slaves. Narūbtum daughter of Ikūn-pî-Sin was fortunate in having nine slavegirls; most of the dowries list two or one or none.
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