What have you learned about the economy of ancient Babylonia? Development of agriculture

2.2. Economy of Ancient Sumer and Babylon

Mesopotamia was one of the first regions of the world to experience civilization. The southern part of Mesopotamia - Sumer, located on the territory of modern Iraq, receives the greatest development.

Around the middle of the 4th millennium, the first state formations arose in Mesopotamia: the Sumerian states (XXVI-XXIV centuries BC), the Akkadian kingdom (XXIV-XXIII centuries BC), a state centered in Ur (late XXII - beginning of the 20th centuries BC), Ancient Babylon (XIX-XVI centuries BC).

Until mid-3240 BC. e. There were two large states in this region - Sumer and Akkad. The unification of these states into the Sumerian-Akkadian kingdom had a positive impact on the economic development of the region.

At the beginning of the 4th millennium BC. e. The main occupations in Ancient Sumer were agriculture, cattle breeding, hunting, fishing, and crafts developed. The basis of the economy was agriculture. The development of agriculture was facilitated by fertile soils, and the steppe expanses contributed to cattle breeding and sheep breeding. The main agricultural crops were barley, millet, peas, beans, lentils, flax, and vegetables. Horticulture and viticulture were also important branches of agriculture.

Various types of crafts developed rapidly: pottery, brick, leather, textile production was born. The development of metallurgy led to the production of copper, bronze and iron products, and the art of jewelry was improved. In the early period, the Sumerians knew how to forge products from a single piece of copper, discovered a method of casting copper, silver and gold, and learned how to make bronze.

Along with stone and bone ones, metal tools were used. During this period, the construction of buildings made of adobe, as well as canals, dams and reservoirs, was actively carried out.

In the region, cuneiform writing appeared and developed greatly, when wedge-shaped lines were squeezed out on damp soft clay. Initially, these signs denoted objects, concepts, and then sound combinations and syllabic meanings. From the 3rd millennium BC e. cuneiform tablets began to be produced in huge quantities.

In the first half of the 3rd millennium BC. e. In connection with the development of agriculture and crafts, the decomposition of the primitive community begins, and slavery gradually develops at the expense of prisoners of war, debtors, and criminals. Slavery was predominantly state-owned, but private slavery gradually developed. In the agriculture of Ancient Sumer, slave labor was not widely used. The main producers were small farmers.

In the Sumerian kingdom, land ownership existed in three forms:

One part of the land was owned by territorial communities and, within its framework, was transferred for individual use and ownership to large families, and could be bought and sold;

A significant part of the lands was in royal possession. Part of the royal lands was given to government officials for “feeding”;

The third part of the land served as the basis for the temple economy (Fig. 3).

Temple farms, in which communal and slaveholding relations were intertwined, played a major role in the country's economy. A stable administrative system for managing temple farms has emerged. Temple lands were divided into three parts: one was used directly for the needs of the temple, the second was given for “feeding” to the temple staff for hereditary use for performing certain duties, the third was divided into plots and distributed to community members for rent for a certain share of the harvest.

Almost all types of economic activity were present in the temple economy - agriculture, cattle breeding, crafts. Along with the active use of the labor of slaves and community members who cultivated the plots of temple land distributed to them for a certain share of the harvest,

specific categories of workers. These included special trading agents who also received land plots, and groups of people who “received separate tablets” and performed a wide variety of work - servants, maids, porters, hairdressers, shepherds, etc. Usually in the temple farming system there was 30-40% of the population of a city or region is employed, but the rest of the population was periodically forcibly involved in public works: the construction of temples, palaces, city walls, etc.

In the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. e. The Akkadian kingdom was formed, uniting the city-states of Mesopotamia. This made it possible to comprehensively regulate the entire irrigation system; a unified system of weights and measures was introduced. The royal land fund was expanded through the purchase of communal lands and the confiscation of various lands. Temple farms also became the property of the kings, with their subsequent transfer to the use of temples. The royal land consisted of several parts (Fig. 4). All this laid the foundation for the development of large royal farms. Rich government officials and nobility also had large land holdings.

The first economic reforms known to us were the reforms of King Urukagin (second half of the 24th century BC). They were aimed at increasing the number of full-fledged citizen-soldiers, reducing taxes, improving public administration and limiting the abuses of royal officials, reducing taxes and duties from temple personnel, a more equitable distribution of wealth, and abolishing the remnants of matriarchy (in particular, a woman’s right to divorce, her husband’s property and bigamy).

The rise of Ur (late 3rd millennium BC) led to the unification of the entire Mesopotamia under his rule. Subsequently, the economic role of the state increased. Private property was practically abolished, centralized planning of the economy was carried out up to the collection of all grain in the royal storehouses, with its subsequent distribution. Planning even invaded the sphere of family relations - tsarist officials decided who could have a family and who could not.

Slavery continues to develop. The overwhelming majority of the population was actually, and a significant part was formally, converted into state slaves. They were constantly transferred from one area to another for construction work. State slavery is preserved mainly in the sphere of the royal economy. The expansion of trade favored the development of private slavery.

In the 2nd millennium BC. e. The Babylonian kingdom was formed, which reached its greatest prosperity during the reign of King Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC).

The code of King Hammurabi gives a clear idea of the socio-economic structure of society and economic life.

This set of laws was based on two principles: “guilt and ill will” (in modern conditions, this approach means an intentional or unintentional unlawful act) and “an eye for an eye.”

Of great interest from the point of view of the emergence of market relations are such sections of the code as “Rules on transactions with movable property”, “Rule for the protection of the property of the king, temples, communities”, “On the protection of property received from the king for service”, “Transactions with real estate and protecting it from unlawful attacks by outsiders.”

Unlike earlier states, the country's economy during this period was largely decentralized, and the development of the community-private sector was encouraged. The royal land, craft workshops, and trading establishments were distributed as conditional holdings to officials and soldiers as payment for service. The holders of such plots formed a layer of so-called muskenums, associated with the royal economy and standing outside the community. The land was leased to the rest of the population. At the same time, a fee was charged for renting arable land in the amount of 1/3 of the harvest, for garden lands - 2/3. To protect the interests of landowners, the Code of Hammurabi established that when crop yields declined, rents were levied on the basis of the average yield in the area, and to encourage the cultivation of new lands, the tenant could pay rent for them in the second year of the lease.

Wage labor has received a certain development. The Code of Hammurabi distinguished between farm laborers and hired artisans, and regulated their wages. During construction work, contractual relations were envisaged. Special articles regulated the labor relations between the merchant and the sales agent involved in the sale of his goods, and provided for agreements on the conditions of storage of goods.

In Babylon, the position of the community was quite strong. Fleeing from the community was condemned, and expulsion from the community was practiced as punishment for crimes. Plots of land that were outside the direct ownership of the community, the royal economy and official plots were privately owned and could be sold and passed on by inheritance. Failure to pay taxes for three years resulted in loss of title.

The Code of King Hammurabi legally sanctioned the slavery that actually existed in Babylon. The slave was recognized as the full property of his master, and his children were considered the property of the slave owner. Babylon was characterized by the widespread development of debt slavery, not only of the debtors themselves, but also of their children. At the same time, this set of laws protected not only the rights of slave owners, but limited debt slavery to three years. There were also foreign slaves. Slavery was patriarchal in nature; slaves could have property and marry free people.

The centralized tsarist government tried to control and regulate the entire economic life of the country. Mandatory tariffs were established for the remuneration of doctors, builders, shipbuilders, artisans, and farm laborers, and interest rates and trade transactions were regulated.

Economic development and increased production productivity led to the development of exchange. This is evidenced by the texts of contracts for the sale of agricultural products, crafts, as well as land and houses. The development of trade relations led to the creation of banks (2nd millennium BC) that carried out loan operations. If the borrower's property position was reliable, then the loan interest ranged from 20 to 30%; if not, then the bank took control of his property.

Along with cuneiform writing, mathematics (the decimal system, exponentiation, root extraction, arithmetic and geometric progressions, fractions, multiplication tables, etc.) and astronomy were developed in Mesopotamia. Observations of the stars were carried out by priests. The starry sky was divided into 15 parts, the stars were distributed among the constellations, and 12 zodiacs were identified.

The first schools appeared at the temples, and later - special state educational institutions. The first library was also created in Mesopotamia.

geum.ru

Economy of Ancient Babylon

Ministry of Higher Education of the Russian Federation

South Ural State UniversityDepartment: Economic theory and world economy. Course workOn the subject: History of economic teachingsOn the topic: Economic thought of ancient Eastern

society. Chelyabinsk 1999

Work plan. Introduction.

Main part.......................................……....... ...................................2

Ancient Egypt................................................ ...............................3

Ancient Babylon................................................... ...........................4

Ancient China................................................ ...............................6

Ancient India........................................................ ...............................8

Ancient Israel........................................................ ........................... 9

Conclusion................................................. ..................……….......................eleven

Bibliography................................................ ........…....................12

Introduction. In the context of socio-economic reforms being carried out in Russia, the study of the history of economic teachings in the process of training specialists in economics and the formation of their universal and professional culture becomes important.

The knowledge that a person gains by studying this subject helps him to comprehend the laws that govern economic theory and allows him to freely navigate its problems.

Any science begins to be studied from the moment of its origin, from its origins. Economic thought arose simultaneously with the advent of primitive settlements, but at that time it was of a rather primitive nature, consisting in the question: “How can one person or his family survive?” It acquires the form of teaching and laws simultaneously with the formation of human society. But, unfortunately, only those fragments that were reflected in written sources have reached us. Consequently, we can study the economic thought of antiquity only after the emergence of the first civilizations.

In my work I want to consider the monuments of economic thought left to us by philosophers and rulers of the Ancient East. But the economic thought of that time was inseparable from political, legal, and religious ideology. Therefore, actual economic treatises are almost impossible to find.

For this study, most likely, methods of description and analysis are suitable, since they allow us to most fully show the characteristics of ancient Eastern societies and, as a consequence, the reasons for the emergence of certain monuments of economic thought. The main part.

The philosophers of the Ancient East faced a problem, the relevance and importance of which remains to this day and is unlikely to ever be lost. This is the problem of interpreting the ideal model of the socio-economic structure of society. Each of the Eastern countries had its own way of solving this problem, depending on the established traditions and foundations. But despite these differences, three features of the development of the slave society of the Ancient East can be identified:

The first feature is the long-term preservation of remnants of the primitive communal system, the main one of which was a system of closed rural communities, economically isolated from each other. The basis of this isolation was subsistence farming: each community had farmers and artisans and its own administration. The vitality of the community (in India it survived until the end of the 18th century) was determined by the low level of productive forces.

The second feature of ancient Eastern societies is the weak development of private property. The community was the original owner of the land and slaves. Part of the land was distributed for individual use to community members, who paid a tax in kind (1/8-1/7 of the harvest) for this and cultivated the community fields. The community owned draft animals and equipment, as well as slaves employed in the construction of dams and canals. With the formation of the state, power in the person of the king became the supreme owner of all slaves and land. Later, private property arose, first in slaves, then in land.

The third feature was that slave labor did not become the basis of economic life. Free community members, farmers and artisans were the main producers. Slave labor was used mainly in the state economy - in construction work, the construction of canals, dams, temples, palaces.

Let us dwell on the most popular sources-monuments of economic thought of the civilization of the Ancient East. ANCIENT EGYPT. Using the example of this country, humanity has two of the earliest monuments of economic thought. One of them dates back to the 22nd century BC and is a certain message called “The Instruction of the King of Heracleopolis to his son. This “Instruction” contains the “rules” of government and economic management, the mastery of which is as important for the ruler as any other another sphere of art. Particular attention is paid to the effectiveness of the functioning of the administrative apparatus that stood between the pharaoh and the population. A reflection of the incompleteness of the class division in this law is that the king advises selecting people into the state apparatus “according to their affairs.”

Another monument dates back to the beginning of the 18th century BC. and is called “The Speech of Ipuser”, and its main idea is to prevent the uncontrolled growth of loan operations and debt slavery in order to avoid the enrichment of the “common people” and the outbreak of civil war in the country.

I would like to note the peculiarity of the Egyptian economy. It consisted in the absence of money as such. The Egyptians traded in markets, paid wages, made loans at interest, and collected taxes without using the money that changed hands. At the same time, a standard for the relative value of goods was established. During the New Kingdom, such a standard of value became a spiral made of copper wire, which was called uten. It became so widespread that the spiral became a hieroglyphic sign. In one of the images in the temple of Thoth, a minister is depicted holding a tax list, in which the value of each item is assessed in this way.

Another unit of value was the deben. Initially, this word meant “ring,” but over time it began to denote not the object itself, but its weight or value.

BABYLONIA. This ancient eastern state of Mesopotamia, located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, is characterized by the rapid development of private property and monetary relations. But in the absence of a guarantee of personal freedom, this led to the ruin of the mass of producers, the development of debt slavery and servitude. In 1901, French archaeologists discovered the code of laws of King Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC). These laws were engraved on a large black basalt pillar. At the top of the front side of the pillar there is a picture of the king standing before the sun god Sham - shem - the patron of justice. Below the relief is the text of the laws, filling both sides of the pillar (247 laws).

The text is divided into three parts. The first part is an extensive introduction in which Hammurabi declares that the gods gave him the kingdom so that "the strong would not oppress the weak." This is followed by a list of the benefits that Hammurabi provided to the cities of his state. After the introduction, articles of laws follow, which in turn end with a detailed conclusion. When drawing up the code, it was based on old customary law, Sumerian codes of law, and new legislation.

In accordance with this law, in order to avoid the destruction of natural-economic relations and a threat to the country's sovereignty due to the weakening of state structures and the army from reduced tax revenues to the treasury, extremely strict legal norms were introduced. Their violation entailed the most severe economic, administrative and criminal liability, including the death penalty. Here are some examples of legislative provisions in the Code of Hammurabi:

· anyone who encroaches on someone else's property, including a slave, is punishable by slavery or the death penalty;

· for late payment of debts, neither the royal soldiers nor other citizens are anymore deprived of their land taxes;

· the period of debt slavery of anyone should not exceed three years, and the debt itself is canceled upon completion of the sentence;

· the limit of a monetary loan cannot exceed 20%, in kind - 33% of its original amount. During the reign of Hammurabi, private property reached its full development. In Babylon there were different types of land ownership: there were royal, temple, communal, and private lands. Both the royal and temple households were managed by the king, and this was the most important source of income. During the time of Hammurabi, the royal land was distributed to sharecroppers for use. The importance of the royal economy was also great in the field of trade and exchange. The reign of Hammurabi was marked by the intensive development of private land ownership, which was greatly facilitated by the expansion of the canal network by King Hammurabi. Private land ownership varied in scope, large landowners used the labor of slaves and hired workers, small ones cultivated their land themselves. The development of private land ownership led to a reduction in communal lands and the decline of the community. Lands could be freely sold, rented, and inherited; the sources do not mention any restrictions on the part of the community.

A special legal regime existed in relation to the property of soldiers (ilku property), as discussed above.

The Laws of Hammurabi contain a number of articles regulating the lease of land, which obviously played a large role in land relations of that time. Payment for a rented field was usually equal to one third of the harvest. When renting on the terms of giving back half of the harvest, the leaseholder was obliged to participate in the costs or work of cultivating the field. The garden that gave the most income was rented out for two-thirds of the harvest. The lease was short-term (one or two years). Undeveloped land was leased for a longer period. Legislation defining the relationship between land owner and tenant contributed to the development of the economy. If the tenant did not cultivate the taken land, then he had to pay the owner of the field based on the volume of crops grown by his neighbors.

In addition to renting a field and garden, the Laws of Hammurabi mention various types of property rental: premises, domestic animals, ships, carts, slaves. Laws establish not only fees for renting things, but also liability in the event of damage or destruction of the rented property.

Personal employment contracts were widespread. In addition to agricultural workers, they hired doctors, veterinarians, and construction workers. Laws determine the procedure for remuneration of these persons, as well as responsibility for the results of work (for example, a doctor in the event of the death of a patient).

The Laws of Hammurabi regulated the loan agreement in quite detail. A characteristic feature of Hammurabi's legislation in this matter is the desire to limit the debtor from the creditor and prevent debt slavery. This is evidenced by the provisions on the maximum period for working off the debt (3 years), the limitation of interest charged by the moneylender on both cash and in-kind loans, and the liability of the creditor in the event of the death of the debtor as a result of mistreatment.

In the conditions of the existence of private ownership of both movable and immovable property, the purchase and sale agreement has received great development. The sale of the most valuable items (land, buildings, slaves, livestock) was carried out in writing (on clay tablets) with witnesses. The seller could only be the owner of the thing. The sale of property withdrawn from circulation (for example, ilku property) was considered invalid. In addition to those mentioned, the legislation of Hammurabi knows contracts of storage (deposits), partnerships, barter, orders,

From the Code of Hammurabi it is clear that the state tried to stop the erosion of the layer of independent producers. Laws, unlike other eastern economic works, do not have a religious or moral character. With his legislation, Hammurabi tried to consolidate the social system of the state as the dominant force in which small and medium-sized slave owners were supposed to be, where “the strong would not oppress the weak.” These laws are the first attempt to control the economic life of the country using legal norms. ANCIENT CHINA

The originality of ancient Chinese economic thought is associated, as a rule, with the name of Confucius (Kong Fuzi 551-479 BC) and his collection “Lun Yu” (Conversations and Judgments), as well as with the ideas of the popular in the 4th-3rd centuries. BC. collective treatise "Guanzi"

The main issues in Confucianism were ethics, morality and government. The basic principle of Confucian ethics is the concept of ren ("humanity") as the highest law of relationships between people in society and family. Ren is achieved through moral self-improvement based on compliance with li ("etiquette") - norms of behavior based on deference and respect for elders in age and position, honor for parents, devotion to the sovereign, politeness, etc. According to Confucianism, only a select few, the so-called jun zi (“noble men”), i.e., can comprehend ren. representatives of the upper classes of society; common people - xiae ren (literally - "small people") are not able to comprehend ren. This opposition of the “noble” to the commoners and the assertion of the superiority of the former over the latter, often found in Confucius and his followers, is a clear expression of the social orientation, class nature of Confucianism. Confucianism paid great attention to the issues of so-called humane governance, relying on the idea of deifying the power of the ruler, which existed before Confucianism , but developed and justified by him. The sovereign was declared the “son of heaven” (tianzi), who ruled at the command of heaven and carried out his will. The power of the ruler was recognized by Confucianism as sacred, bestowed from above, by heaven. Believing that “to govern is to correct,” Confucianism attached great importance to the teaching of zheng ming (about “correction of names”), which called for putting everyone in society in their place, strictly and accurately defining the duties of everyone, which was expressed in the words of Confucius: “Sovereign must be a sovereign, a subject must be a subject, a father must be a father, a son must be a son.” Confucianism called on sovereigns to rule the people not on the basis of laws and punishments, but with the help of virtue, an example of highly moral behavior, on the basis of customary law, and not burden the people with heavy taxes and duties.

A supporter of regulated patriarchal relations and state protection of the economic well-being of the clan nobility and all “superiors,” Confucius insisted on the idea that only an educated ruler, being the “father of the people” and the guarantor of “correct action,” is able to really influence the equal distribution of wealth created by society. This philosopher, although he recognized the divine and natural beginning of the division of people into classes, nevertheless considered it the obligatory duty of every person to strive for moral perfection, comprehension of the natural rules of respect for elders, filial piety and friendship with brothers. In his opinion, then “the people will have prosperity” when management is skillful, and labor, increasing the wealth of the people and the sovereign, will become equally profitable both in the conditions of the “great community” (collective property of the peasant community), and the private ownership of the hereditary aristocracy and non-hereditary slave owners.

The authors of “Guanzi”, like Confucius, put forward the main task of “making the state rich and the people happy” and, like him, they advocated the inviolability of the class division of society, believing that without God’s chosen noble and upper classes the country would not have would be income and that it cannot be that “everyone would be noble,” since “there would be no one to work.” Among the measures to stabilize natural-economic relations, they considered the most important state regulation of bread prices (“so that peace reigned in the villages”), the creation of state grain reserves, the introduction of preferential loans to farmers, the replacement of direct taxes on iron and salt with indirect ones - shifting these taxes for goods produced with their use, etc. It is also interesting to note the fact that the main components of the concept of wealth in the treatise are named, along with gold and pearls, and other material goods, the commodity nature of which on the market is beyond doubt. At the same time, the role of gold as a commodity and a measure of calculating the resources of the state was explained primarily by its natural purpose to act as money and facilitate such an exchange, as a result of which some benefit more than others.

In the VI-III centuries. BC e. Confucianism had a serious opponent - legalists, who reflected new trends in the development of Ancient China (strengthening the role of the state and the formation of a bureaucratic management system). Their main ideologist was Shan Yana. In his concept, he assigned a huge role to agriculture, because he believed that the state achieves prosperity through two means: agriculture and war. He also opposes the transformation of free peasants into slaves, for which he proposes to prohibit poor peasants from leaving the community by introducing a system of mutual responsibility. ANCIENT INDIA In Ancient India, the concept of law as a set of independent norms regulating social relations was unknown. The daily life of Indians was subject to rules established in norms that were more ethical in nature than legal. Moreover, these norms bore a clear imprint of religion. The norms that determine the behavior of people in their daily lives (dharmas) were contained in collections - dharmashastras. The most famous dharmashastra in our literature is the Laws of Manu (they bear the name of the mythical god Manu). The Laws of Manu consist of 2685 articles written in the form of couplets (slokas). A special feature of the Laws of Manu is the religious overtones of all its provisions. At the time the Laws of Manu were created in India, the difference between property and possession was already well understood, and considerable attention was paid to the protection of private property.

The laws indicate seven possible ways in which property rights can arise: inheritance, receipt by gift or discovery, purchase, conquest, usury, performance of work, and receipt of alms. In Ancient India, such a method of acquiring property rights was known as prescription of possession (10 years). It was emphasized that only with legal confirmation did a person turn from an owner into an owner. It was possible to purchase an item only from the owner. It was prohibited to prove ownership by reference to bona fide possession. If a stolen item was found in possession of a bona fide purchaser, it was returned to the previous owner.

Among the main types of property, the Laws name land. The country's land fund consisted of royal, communal, and private lands.

For the illegal appropriation of someone else's property (someone else's plot of land), a large fine was imposed, and the one who appropriated someone else's land was declared a thief.

The law firmly establishes the inviolability and continuity of debt obligations. If the debtor could not pay the debt on time, he had to work it off. At the same time, a creditor belonging to a lower caste could not force a debtor belonging to a higher caste to work off the debt. A person of higher origin than the debtor repaid the debt gradually. It was allowed to obtain a debt through force, cunning, and coercion. After paying the debt with interest, the debtor became free. In the event of the death of the debtor, the debt could pass to the son and other relatives of the deceased.

The land lease agreement was also known in Ancient India. This agreement gains significance and spreads in connection with the penetration of the process of property differentiation into the community. Ruined community members who lost their land were forced to rent it.

Sale and purchase is one of the contracts mentioned in the Laws of Manu. The contract was considered valid if it was made in the presence of witnesses and the owner of the thing had to act as the seller. The law establishes certain requirements for the subject of the contract and prohibits the sale of goods of poor quality and insufficient weight. Within 10 days after the sale and purchase, the transaction could be terminated without any valid reasons. The peculiarity of this treaty for India was that there was a restriction on human trafficking and trade was not considered as an occupation for the upper castes.

In addition to the laws of Manu during the 4th-3rd centuries. BC e. Evidence of ancient Indian economic thought is a treatise called “Arthashastra”, which means the doctrine (“artha”) about income (“shastra”). Its author is a certain Kautilya (adviser to King Chandragupta I at the end of the 4th century BC) , who proclaimed to his people the provisions on the labor origin of wealth and the need to regulate the processes of distribution of trade profits between merchants and the state. It is the state, in his opinion, that ensures the protection of structures, preferential land use, development of ore sources, construction of roads, development of industries, fight against speculating traders, etc. According to the treatise, “accumulation of wealth” naturally presupposes the division of society into slaves and freemen citizens. And everyone who does not repay the debts due for the use of the land is obliged to share the fate of the lower class for a time or forever. Advocating for a state-regulated economic mechanism, Kautilya put forward a purely empirical version of differentiation in the price of goods between the costs of producers and merchants; they were offered pre-established standards of 5 and 10%, respectively, of the price of goods of local and foreign origin.

ANCIENT ISRAEL

A characteristic feature of the Mosaic Law is its comprehensiveness. All areas of human activity and all human actions, even those most distant from purely spiritual matters, are correlated with norms and rules that are considered to be received from Heaven. This also applies to the area that we call the area of economic activity and economic relations.

Two principles underlie the Mosaic Law - justice and righteousness. In both ways, man is obliged to imitate God. Justice in this case means the recognition of six basic human rights: life, property, clothing, housing, work and rest. Righteousness presupposes that a person fulfills his duties. In relation to one's neighbor, this is, first of all, helping the poor and sick. It was forbidden to use the needs of one's neighbor for one's own enrichment. It was impossible to demand payment of the debt with interest. You cannot delay payment for an employee's work. You cannot measure or weigh. All these commandments stemmed from the general one: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Leviticus 19:18). This rule applied not only to free people, but also to slaves. It was impossible to return a runaway slave to his original place. The Sabbath was a mandatory day of rest for everyone, including slaves and domestic animals. These laws were extremely important. We can say that they prevented the formation of a class of hereditary proletarians and hereditary slaves, prevented the accumulation of mass discontent and the emergence of revolutionary situations

Special rules for judges prescribed that they judge only fairly, not favor the rich and not make discounts for the poor or orphan. Before the law, both free and slave were equal.

If, while observing all such commandments, a person became rich, this was the reward for fear of God. .Wealth was a sign of God's blessing.

The difference between the laws of Moses and the law of Hammurabi is the emphasis on human rights, rather than on the protection of property, and labor activity was considered a low occupation, the lot of slaves.

Conclusion.

Having analyzed the above material, we can conclude that, unlike the states of Ancient Greece, the economy of the civilizations of the Ancient East did not rely on the labor of slaves. The basis of the economy were free artisans and small landowners, whom the state supported. You can read about this in the Laws of Hammurabi, and in the Laws of Manu, as well as in other works of ancient philosophers.

Economic thought has the character of a law, imposed by an individual ruler in his state. That is, neither Indian, nor Chinese, nor Arab-Muslim civilizations (although each of them created a rich culture) did not give birth to economic science. Economic thought was everywhere, but in the cultures mentioned it was and remained an element of religious and ethical thought.

References.1. "Economic History" Moscow, ed. "Economics" 1967.

2. “History of economic doctrines” Y.S. Yadgarov Moscow, ed. "Infra-M" 1998

3. Introduction to the history of economic thought. From prophets to professors."

EAT. Mayburd Moscow, ed. “Business”, “Vita-Press” 1996

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Ancient Babylon

At the beginning of the 19th century. BC e. Amorite tribes entered Mesopotamia - the valley between the Tigris and Euphrates - and founded their state here with its capital in Babylon. Situated at the crossroads of ancient caravan routes, it quickly became rich. Babylon especially rose in power in the 18th century. BC e. under King Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC).

Hammurabi took advantage of the decline of a number of city-states (Issen, Larsa) and voluntarily agreed to be a vassal of the Amorite state. With her support, Hammurabi conquered neighboring city-states. He built a canal for local peasants, which significantly expanded the area of cultivated land and strengthened the authority of the king. He strengthened the northern borders of the country, and when the powerful Assyrian king Shamshi-Adad died, he expelled the Assyrian garrison from the neighboring state of Mari and installed his governor there.

Gradually, Hammurabi conquered neighboring principalities and controlled a vast territory with important trade routes.

Thus arose the first centralized state in the history of Mesopotamia.

Hammurabi's successors had to wage a stubborn struggle with the Kasit tribes, the Sumerians, who sought to revive their statehood, as well as with the Hittites. Babylon was conquered by the Kasites, who founded the Second Babylonian Dynasty. The Kassite tribes led a semi-nomadic lifestyle and were significantly inferior to the Babylonians in terms of development. The top of these tribes eventually merged with the Babylonian nobility.

In the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. e. Military conflicts between Babylon and Assyria became more frequent. Babylon used the help of the Hittites, but in the 12th century. BC e. their state was destroyed. At the same time, the Elamites made a devastating raid from the East. The Kasitsya dynasty fell.

The founder of a new dynasty in the 12th century. BC e. became Nebuchadnezzar, who overcame and drove out Kasit, inflicted a military defeat on Assyria, but could not revive the former power of Babylon. The decline of Babylon continued until the 7th century. BC e., until a new kingdom arose on its ruins.

In the economy of Ancient Babylon, an irrigation system existed and was effectively used, which was the “economic nerve” of the country, which was taken care of not only by special officials, but by every citizen. The high level of agriculture contributed to the successful development of livestock farming.

Craft production has developed significantly: construction and pottery, brick production, blacksmithing, shipbuilding. Babylon conducted active foreign trade, buying metals and wood, instead of selling wool, dates and grain. Usury developed significantly, with temples being the largest creditors. The loan was provided on the security of property or a future harvest, so creditors were deprived of the opportunity to turn debtors into slavery.

Social relations in the country are evidenced by the so-called “Laws of Hammurabi,” which is an ordered collection of customary law. The “laws” protected private property and legally formalized the use of hired labor. These laws were grouped into appropriate blocks: protection of state and private property, property received from the king, real estate transactions, trade relations, family and civil law.

Reading the "Laws", we learn that the community played an important role in public life, on which even landowners were somewhat dependent. The lease of land, estates, and livestock gained significant development in the state, and was also reflected in the “Laws.”

The "Laws of Hammurabi" divided Babylonian society into husbands, submissives and slaves, although the social structure of society was complex. Only men were considered full members of a rural or urban community, owners of a certain share of communal land. Pokorny - pauperized peasants and representatives of other social groups who, if they had money, could buy land.

Much attention in the Laws was paid to the relationship between the slave and his owner. The use of slave labor was considered the private matter of slave owners; slaves could also be freed.

The state took care of the army, therefore it provided privileges to the soldiers. The “Laws” contain articles prohibiting taking away property from soldiers for debts and selling them into slavery. The warrior's property could be inherited by the eldest son or part by the widow. The state ransomed its soldiers from captivity, but when a warrior did not appear in the army on time or sent an unprofessional mercenary in his place, he was severely punished.

Babylon was a strong monarchy with a developed public sector of the economy. The tsar controlled all aspects of society, and the bureaucrats helped him in this. During the reign of Kasit, the royal administration allocated land to the king's entourage. Temporary grants eventually became hereditary property. Along with communal land ownership, private ownership arose; the centralized state economy gradually collapsed, which did not contribute to political monolithicity.

The state mechanism of Babylon was not ideal. The state, in which there were slaves and slave owners, rich and poor, nobles and commoners, also knew social problems. The powerful ancient state of Babylon perished long ago, but the property of the peoples of Ancient Mesopotamia became a significant contribution to the treasury of world civilization.

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The economy of the Babylonian state during the time of Hammurabi was based on the development of irrigation agriculture, horticulture, cattle breeding, various crafts, foreign and domestic trade.

The main industry in Babylonia was agriculture. During the time of Hammurabi, there was an expansion of sown areas (development of fallow and virgin lands), the flourishing of such an intensive branch of the economy as horticulture (date palm cultivation), and large yields of cereals (barley) and oilseeds. A significant part of the cultivated land belonged to temples, members of the royal family, large merchants, and officials of the royal and temple administration. Smallholders typically owned small plots of land ranging from 1/3 to small hectares. Agriculture was based on artificial irrigation.

The basis of agriculture was the work of free farmers and tenants; the craft was also dominated by the work of free artisans, whose occupation was usually inherited in the family.

The main food product of city dwellers, as well as rural residents, was bread. The fields, according to an expression used in one of the letters of that time, were “the soul of the country.” The supply of grain to cities, and, ultimately, the well-being of all citizens depended on their productivity. The life of cities was largely subordinated to the rhythm of agricultural work.

Agriculture was the basis of life in Mesopotamia, so it is not surprising that the Laws of Hammurabi pay great attention to it.

The presence of rich pastures, for which mountain slopes, steppes, and meadows were used, contributed to the further development of cattle breeding. Among domestic animals, along with donkeys, donkeys, and mules, the horse begins to appear. The Laws of Hammurabi repeatedly mention herds of large and small cattle, donkeys, for which shepherds were hired to graze. Livestock was often hired out for hard work in the fields, threshing floors, and transportation of heavy loads.

The picture of the economic life of Babylon will not be complete unless

remember about forestry, which was led by the chief forester. Separate “forest areas” were under the jurisdiction of his subordinates, who were responsible for the preservation of forests - a source of very valuable building materials.

Surviving documents indicate the development of agriculture, entirely based on artificial irrigation. New canals were built, and the irrigation system was unified on a national scale. The entire economy as a whole was based on the widespread exploitation of the labor of slaves and free community members.

babylonia hamurabi slavery

The economy, social and political system of the Babylonian state under the reign of Hamurabi are known thanks to the surviving code of laws of this king.

The economy of the Babylonian state of Hamurabi's time was based on the development of irrigation agriculture, horticulture, cattle breeding, various crafts, foreign and domestic trade.

During the time of Hamurabi, there was an expansion of sown areas (development of fallow and virgin lands), the flourishing of such an intensive branch of agriculture as horticulture (breeding date palms), and large yields of cereals (barley) and oilseed crops. This was largely achieved through the expansion of the irrigation network throughout the country. Special officials were required to monitor the condition of large and small canals. The state power in the person of the king not only takes care of expanding the irrigation system, but also of maintaining it in order. The king constantly gives orders to local officials regarding the clearing of canals and various works related to irrigation. If maintaining the entire irrigation network in order was the function of the state, then maintaining each individual plot in order was primarily a matter for the community. This is indicated by articles 53-56 of the Code of Hammurabi. These articles establish the responsibility of each community member for maintaining a given irrigation site in order, and if, due to someone’s fault, a break occurred in the dam and a neighboring site was flooded, then the culprit had to compensate for the destroyed grain. If he is not able to compensate for the grain, then, according to Article 54, he and his property should be sold, using the proceeds to compensate for the losses incurred. From the documents of Marie’s archive it is clear that the entire population capable of working was involved in performing irrigation duties - from freemen to slaves; for evading it, those guilty were punished up to the death penalty. A number of other documents from this time indicate increased control carried out by the central government over the maintenance of the irrigation system. If the royal palace received information that there was not enough water for irrigation in a particular area, then the palace immediately sent a corresponding order to the local official to take measures to provide the fields with water. Tenants renting plots of royal land had to be provided with water to irrigate the land. In the event that there was not enough water to irrigate these leased fields, local officials had to take measures to irrigate these fields, or replace the unirrigated field with an irrigated one. This is indicated by numerous royal letters that place financial responsibility on local officials for the normal irrigation of all leased lands. In case of crop failure due to poor irrigation, the local official had to pay the tenant's arrears of his rent. The Babylonian king considered his important act to be the construction of a grandiose canal called “Nar-Khamurapi” (“the Hamurabi River”), which was said to be “the wealth of the people”, bringing water to “Sumer and Akkad”.

Constantly feeling the need for building material, the king took a number of measures to protect the forests, which were divided into separate “forest areas” and were under the jurisdiction of special “foresters” subordinate to the chief forester. A document has been preserved in which the king orders an investigation into the case of cutting down trees in forest areas entrusted to the responsibility of the chief foresters Ablyanum and Sinmagir, and also to find out who cut down the trees: the foresters or a “foreign hand” (i.e. an intruder). Foresters were responsible for the preservation of forests. For official crimes they were punishable by death.

Cattle breeding also developed on a large scale. The laws repeatedly mention herds of large and small livestock, if shepherds are hired to herd them. Livestock are often hired out to work in the fields and transport heavy loads. A number of articles of the code define liability for hired livestock and compensation for losses in the event of damage.

The craft is represented by a wide variety of professions: house builders, ship builders, carpenters, carpenters, stone cutters, tailors, weavers, blacksmiths, tanners. At that time, doctors, veterinarians, barbers, and innkeepers were also considered craft professions. To pay artisans, the laws of Hamurabi establish a fixed fee, as well as severe liability for the work done. “If a builder built a house for a man and did his work poorly, and the house he built collapsed and killed the homeowner, that builder must be executed,” says Article 229. The doctor’s salary depended on the patient’s belonging to a particular class of society and increased or decreased accordingly.

The development of trade was facilitated by the unification within the framework of a single Babylonian state of the entire territory of Mesopotamia and the concentration of all internal and external trade routes going through the Tigris and Euphrates valleys in one hand. The items exported from Babylonia were grain, dates, sesame oil, wool, and handicrafts (vv. 104, 237). Imports consisted of metals, building stone and wood, slaves, and luxury goods. Trade was a subject of special concern to the state and was dealt with by special special trading agents - tamkars, who conducted large-scale state and private trade, often carrying it out through smaller intermediary traders. For their service, tamkars received land and garden plots, houses. They acted as tenants of the royal land and land plots of the community members, and were also often large moneylenders. Tamkars conducted trade under the leadership of special officials called “vakil tamkars”. Along with large wholesale trade, there was also small retail trade. Small traders, receiving loans or goods from large rich people or the temple, conducted trading operations at their own peril and risk. The legislator, who protected the interests of wealthy owners, and in this case took a number of measures to guarantee a large wholesale dealer a high profit established by law. According to Article 101, someone who took a loan from a large merchant was obliged to return the money taken in double the amount, even if he did not make a profit. The only reason that exempted the person who took the loan from returning it was military action (Article 103)

Trade transactions for agricultural products were carried out in special markets, where prices for goods and the cost of borrowed grain were set at the exchange rate of the day, since the cost of various products often fluctuated depending on general economic conditions, as well as the time of year. The most important trading centers were Babylon, Nippur, Sippar, Larsa, Ur.

But the economic system of Babylonia basically remains natural. Grain plays the same role in calculations as silver. Grain is used to pay remuneration for agricultural workers, ox drivers, shepherds, for hiring carts, oxen and donkeys, as well as salaries for royal officials and judges.

Socio-political structure of the Babylonian kingdom according to the Laws of Hammurabi

In the state of Hammurabi, the clan and family ties characteristic of earlier structures were already noticeably pushed aside by administrative-territorial ties, and the vassal-hierarchical pyramid of power turned into a centralized bureaucratic apparatus that effectively operated through its officials. Accordingly, an influential and fairly numerous layer of professional specialists engaged in the field of management and related service sectors became stronger and institutionalized - administrators, warriors, artisans, traders, servants, etc. A very large layer of disenfranchised immigrants from among captive foreigners or descendants of bankrupt full-fledged community members. And although there was a significant difference between the first and second layers noted here in social status, property qualifications and way of life (this difference was reflected in documents and terminology - non-full-fledged workers were designated by a special summary term muskenum), the common thing between them was that they were all considered and were called royal people, i.e. people directly involved in the administration system or involved in it, serving it. It was in this regard that all royal people of both strata-categories were contrasted with the rest of the population, i.e. communal farmers, whose rights and status were the object of attention and concern from the ruling elite.

Hammurabi's state enjoyed a monopoly of force, firmly based on fixed law and associated forms of coercion. The promotion of codified legislation with a fairly strict system of punishments was due to the fact that the development of private property relations, commodity-money relations and especially usury with its impressive interest rates (20 - 30% per annum) led to the rapid ruin of community members and the enrichment of private individuals at their expense. owners. Hammurabi criminal law

By studying the laws of Hammurabi we can see that Babylonian society consisted of three layers of the population. A free person was called avelum - “man”, or mar avelim - “son of man”. It could be a large merchant, a small artisan, or a peasant. This was a layer of free citizens. A dependent person was called muskenum - “bending prostrate.” These were people working on royal land and had limited civil rights. Although they could own slaves, personal property, and their rights were protected in court. The lowest stratum of Babylonian society were slaves - vardum. These were prisoners of war, people who fell into debt slavery, enslaved for some crimes. However, slaves could have some property. A slave owner who had children from a slave could include them among his heirs. The head of the state was the king, who had unlimited power. About 30-50 percent of all lands were in his hands. He sometimes rented out these lands. The will of the king and the execution of royal laws were carried out by the royal court. The financial and tax department was responsible for collecting taxes, which were collected in silver and in kind from crops, livestock, and handicraft products. The tsarist power relied on an army formed from detachments of heavily and lightly armed warriors - redum and bairum. Warriors received land plots for their service, sometimes with a garden, house, and livestock. For this, the warrior had to perform his service regularly. The huge bureaucratic apparatus, which was controlled by the tsar, carried out the will of the tsar on the ground. At the same time, royal officials - shakkanakku came into close contact with representatives of the local administration: community councils and community elders - rabianum. The main god of the Babylonian kingdom became when the local god of the city of Babylon - Marduk, who began to be considered the supreme god, the creator of people and animals.

Thus, we can say that Babylonian society, according to the laws of Hammurabi, consisted of full citizens who were called “sons of the husband”, muskenums, who were legally free, but not full-fledged people, since they were not members of the community, but worked in the royal household , and slaves. If someone inflicted self-mutilation on the “husband’s son,” then the punishment was imposed on the perpetrator according to the principle of talion, that is, “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,” and the corresponding self-mutilation inflicted on the muskenum was punishable only by a monetary fine. If the doctor was guilty of an unsuccessful operation on the “husband’s son,” then he was punished by cutting off his hand; if a slave suffered from the same operation, it was only necessary to pay the owner the cost of this slave. If, through the fault of the builder, a house collapsed and the son of the owner of the house died in its ruins, the builder was punished by the death of his son. If someone stole the property of the muskenum, then the damage had to be restored tenfold, while for the theft of royal or temple property, compensation was provided for thirtyfold.

In order not to decrease the number of soldiers and taxpayers, Hammurabi sought to alleviate the plight of those layers of the free population who were in a difficult economic situation. In particular, one of the articles of the law limited debt slavery to three years of work for the creditor, after which the loan, regardless of its amount, was considered fully repaid. If, due to a natural disaster, the debtor's crop was destroyed, then the repayment period of the loan and interest was automatically postponed to the next year. Some articles of the law are devoted to rental law. Payment for a rented field was usually equal to 1/3 of the harvest, and for a garden - 2/3.

Warriors received land plots from the state and were obliged to go on a campaign at the first request of the king. These plots were inherited through the male line and were inalienable. The creditor could take for debts only that property of the warrior that he himself acquired, but did not put on, which was granted to him by the king.

According to Article 129 of the Code of Hammurabi, the husband was the “master” (bel ashshatim), i.e., the sovereign owner of his wife, whom he acquired as a slave from his father-in-law, paying him a certain ransom for her. The legal status of a married woman in ancient Babylon “was weakened in comparison with full-fledged people, which made it possible in some cases, from the point of view of law, to treat her as an object.” According to the Code of Hammurabi, the wife and husband suffered various punishments for violation of marital fidelity. If the husband was unfaithful, the wife could take her dowry and return to her father, but if the wife was unfaithful, she should be “thrown into the water.” Marriage contracts stipulate that if the wife rejects her husband, the husband has the right to brand her as a slave and sell her. Women had limited property rights. The widow could not fully dispose of her property freely. The legislator tried in every possible way to keep property in the hands of one family as much as possible. A number of articles of the Code of Hammurabi indicate that the widow did not have the right to alienate her property after the death of her husband, because this property was considered the inheritance of the children, among whom the eldest son had the right to receive a predominant share of the inheritance.

In Babylon, during the time of Hammurabi, despotism, typical of the ancient East, took shape. The administration of the country was strictly centralized, and all supreme power, legislative, executive, judicial and religious, was ultimately concentrated in the hands of the king. As can be seen from the correspondence of Hammurabi with his officials, the king himself managed various branches of government, in particular the organization of artificial irrigation. The king personally considers various controversial cases and complaints received in his name. On these matters, the king himself makes decisions and gives appropriate instructions to his officials. Finally, the necessary corrections are made to the calendar by special decrees of the king.

Thus, we can come to the following conclusions: the laws of Hammurabi reveal the social structure of Babylonian society - three main categories of the population are distinguished: full-fledged free people - members of communities; legally free, but not full rights people who are not members of communities and work in royal households; slaves When determining punishment, the social status of the perpetrator was often taken into account - slaves were punished more severely. The laws recorded the special position of soldiers: they were obliged to go on a campaign at the first request of the tsar, and for their service they received land plots from the state, which were inherited and not alienated even for debts.

Economy of Babylon according to the Laws of Hammurabi

The collection of laws of Hammurabi contains a number of articles regulating the lease of land or garden, which, judging by numerous private law documents, played a large role in land relations of that time. The payment for a rented field was usually equal to one third of the harvest, which was due to the fertility of the Mesopotamian valley. not too high a fee. When renting on the terms of giving back half of the harvest, the leaseholder was obliged to participate in the costs or work of cultivating the field. The garden that gave the most income was rented out for two-thirds of the harvest. The rent limited all obligations of the tenant towards the owner of the field. The lease was short term, no more than one or two years. Undeveloped land was leased for a longer period. In this case, the land was leased for 3 years with the condition of paying rent only in the third year, and the field provided for planting a garden was leased for 5 years, and only in the fifth year the tenant gave half of the harvest to the owner of the land.

Lenders most often were trading agents (tamkars), who were government officials, but at the same time conducted various types of commercial affairs also at their own expense. In every major city there was an association of such merchants (karum - “pier”), which exercised administrative supervision over the tamkars and was in charge of their mutual settlements and settlements with the state. Tamkars conducted international trade both personally and through assistants-shamallu, i.e. traveling traders who did not have their own funds. Another important type of activity of trading agents was, as already noted, usury (And also, although this is not mentioned in 3H, tax collection.). Loans in kind were provided subject to an increase of one-third, and loans in silver - at one-fifth of the principal amount, usually for a short period - until the harvest. From business documents it is clear that there were other types of growth (even compound interest). ZH try to a certain extent to protect debtors from abuses on the part of creditors: in some cases deferment of debt payment is allowed (§ 48); it is allowed to replace silver with other material assets (§ 51 and 96); it is prohibited to take the harvest of a field or garden to cover a debt (§ 49 and 66); penalties are established for measuring and weighing when issuing and repaying a loan (§ 94).

Judging by the contracts and other documents that have reached us, not all of Hammurabi’s measures aimed at alleviating the situation of the economically weak free people were carried out. Therefore, even during his reign, the attempt to strengthen the economic position of ordinary free people did not have much success. The contradiction between the poor and the rich continued to exist and develop along with the contradiction between slaves and slave owners. Royal economy and private land ownership.

The importance of the royal economy was also great in the field of trade and exchange, which developed within a vast territory united into one state by the conquests of Hammurabi. Monetary relations continued to develop, and thereby strengthened private property relations.

Private ownership of land also continued to develop and essentially differed little from private property. The growth of private land ownership was also facilitated by the further expansion of the canal network by King Hammurabi. His activity in this direction became especially intense after the victory over Rimsin. By digging new canals, the king sought to restore agriculture in the south, which had suffered greatly from the fierce wars of previous years. The deepening and expansion of the irrigation network created conditions due to which the area suitable for agriculture increased. Hammurabi sought to expand garden plantations - apparently date palm plantations, which created one of the foundations of the country's prosperity. The law allowed the expansion of garden land even at the expense of arable land.

Agriculture was the basis of all life in Mesopotamia, so it is not surprising that the ZH pay great attention to it. The main type of farming was small-scale, large landowners cultivated their lands either through the lower categories of royal people placed at their disposal, or by renting them out in small plots from a share of the harvest (1/3 or 1/2 of the harvest - § 46) or for a fixed payment in advance (§ 45). The tenant had the obligation to run the household in good faith, providing adequate income (§ 42-44). The lease period could be extended if the tenant suffered a loss due to natural disasters (§ 47). The farmer is obliged to maintain irrigation structures in good repair, and is responsible for the loss that his negligence causes to his neighbors (§ 53--56). Large and small livestock were handed over for grazing to special shepherds (hired or royal people), who were responsible for poisoning (§ 57--58), as well as for any damage to the herd that occurred through the fault of the shepherd (§ 263--267). Hired work was apparently quite widespread; both free people and slaves could be mercenaries. ZH regulate in detail wage rates for many types of labor, from the most qualified (doctor, veterinarian, builder, shipbuilder) to the labor of artisans (brickmaker, blacksmith, carpenter, shoemaker, weaver, etc.), as well as unskilled types of labor (§ 215--224, 253--274). Workers were hired, as a rule, for a short period of time - during sowing or especially harvesting - or by the day for the time necessary to perform a specific job. Therefore, rental rates are mainly daily. The mercenary bears financial and “criminal” liability for causing losses to the owner. The payment to the hired worker was calculated on the possibility of feeding his family during the period of employment.

To summarize the above, the following should be noted:

The laws of Hammurabi are an important historical source for the study of the socio-political and economic life of Babylon.

ZH give us an idea that Babylonian society was not homogeneous in its composition; the legal status of different segments of the population varied.

The form of political government was a despotic monarchy

Babylonian society was patriarchal.

Agriculture played an important role in the economy.

The irrigation system was of national importance.

During the reign of Hammurabi, trade and the activities of moneylenders developed.

Wars occupied a special position in the ancient Babylonian state.