Babylon (Old Babylonian period)..

The Mesopotamian city of Babylon began to gain strength when rulers from a dynasty of Amorite origin reigned in it. Favorably located in the heart of Mesopotamia, where the Tigris and Euphrates converge and the most important river and caravan trade routes cross, Babylon, whose name means the gates of God, has acquired great political and cultural significance. The greatness of Babylon lasted one and a half thousand years. During this time, it was the center of a vast kingdom and fell under the rule of foreigners, but invariably remained the largest and richest city not only in Mesopotamia, the miracle city of the East, but also the main city of the entire inhabited world.

It took Babylon a little over a century to unite all of Mesopotamia and create a great power, which was called Babylonia. It's mighty centralized state with the capital Babylon rightfully ranked among those regions that can be called the cradle of civilization. After visiting Babylon, Herodotus wrote: Babylon was not only a large city, but also the most beautiful of all that I know. Indeed, this city could amaze with its size. Its fortress wall with copper gates stretched for many kilometers. On its top several horse-drawn carts could ride in a row. It was possible to enter the city only through the northern gate lined with blue glaze, named after the goddess of love Ishtar. The city had 2 boulevards, 24 large avenues, 53 temples. The largest temple dedicated to the god Marduk, the seven-tiered 90-meter stepped tower of the Etemenanka ziggurat, known as tower of babel. In Babylon there was one of the wonders of the world - the famous hanging gardens, which were many terraces planted with flowers, trees, shrubs.

Three periods of the history of Babylon reflect the main development trends and the main achievements of the Babylonian civilization. The first period of Old Babylonian covers time from the end reign III dynasty of Ur until 1595 BC, when the Kassites conquered Babylonia. The second period, the Middle Babylonian (Kassite) occupied more than 400 years of Kassite domination (1595-1158 BC). The third Neo-Babylonian period is associated with the reign of the Chaldean dynasty, which ended with the conquest of Babylon by the Persians (626-538 BC).

At first, the Babylonian kingdom did not play a special role. In 1792 BC Hammurabi became the sixth king of Babylon. The purposeful and clever policy of Hammurabi contributed to the transformation of Babylon into the capital of a huge state that subjugated almost all of Mesopotamia. In the face of endless internecine wars the wise ruler and diplomat Hammurabi concluded and terminated military alliances more than once, building his far-reaching plans. He conquered the southern cities of Uruk and Issin, captured the kingdom of Eshnunnu and the city-state of Larsu, subjugated the state of Mari, conquered Ashur. Hammurabi was undoubtedly one of the most prominent rulers in the history of Mesopotamia. His personal qualities played a significant role in the rise of Babylon and the preservation of her power over a significant part of Mesopotamia for a long time. In Mesopotamia, which was united for the third time, he established a totalitarian system, reminiscent of the orders of the III dynasty of Ur.

What was government Babylonia? She was one of the classic examples of ancient Eastern despotism. The administration of the country is strictly centralized. The supreme power (executive, legislative, judicial and even religious) is concentrated in the hands of the ruler-king. In governing the country, the king relied on a complex bureaucratic apparatus. Some officials were in charge of the branches of the central government, while others, on behalf of the king, ruled cities or regions. IN big cities affairs were in charge of special governors of the king. The population was obliged to pay various taxes: from the grain harvest, from date orchards, from the offspring of livestock, from fishing industries, etc. Special taxes in silver and special royal taxes in kind were also levied. They entered the royal treasury and formed the palace property. Special officials supervised the delivery of taxes in kind to the central warehouses. The royal chamber was in charge of precious metals. This whole system of bureaucratic government of the country was headed by the Babylonian king, who, according to the teachings of the priests, received the supreme power, as it were, directly from the hands of the gods. So, about himself, King Hammurabi said: I, Hammurabi, the eternal royal offspring, a strong king, the sun of Babylon, who lit up the country of Marduk, sent me to rule over people and bestow prosperity on the country...

In the period from 4 to 3 thousand, the country of Mesopotamia was born on the territory of Mesopotamia. One of the earliest civilized countries. Later, the Mesopotamia region was part of the Sumerian state, which lasted about 1000 years until it was destroyed by the Amorite Semites around 2000 BC. Following this, the Babylonian kingdom arose with its center in the city of Babylon, which was previously called Kandigirra according to Sumerian sources. This city was founded on the banks of the Euphrates River around the 24th century BC.

Babylonian kingdom

When the Amorites defeated the Sumerian state, a new one was founded on the ruins of the old one with its capital in Babylon. Over time, the Amorites assimilated with the Sumerians and Acadians, thus the Babylonians arose. True, in the period 1894 to 1595 the newly created state was drawn into protracted wars and could not resist stronger enemies - the Khets. From this period of time, one can single out the reign of the Babylonian king Hammurabi, who issued his famous code "Hammurabi" in 1750 BC.

After the power of the Hittites captured the Babylonian kingdom, Babylon is going through a period of decline. The second period of development of the city of Babylon falls on the 7th century BC, when the Neo-Babylonian kingdom was created. This period is characterized as the time of the greatest prosperity of Babylon. At that time Nebuchadnezzar II was king. It was during his reign that Babylon became a prosperous and powerful city in the East. It was a kind of metropolis, which was:

• trade center;
• the center of economic life;
• cultural center;
• scientific center of the Neo-Babylonian kingdom;

Such "Wonders of the World" as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, which the king erected for his wife, were also created. Gate of the goddess Ishtar. These buildings were truly a great creation. And the most grandiose creation of this ancient city, of course, was the Tower of Babel (Etemenanki ziggurat), the beginning of construction 4 thousand years ago. As the Bible says, one day people decided to build a tower that could reach the heavens. The gods were angered by such arrogance and they decided to introduce discord between the builders by changing their language. As a result, construction stopped due to the fact that people no longer understood each other. This phenomenon is otherwise called the "Babylonian pandemonium".

The death of Babylon

In 331, when Alexander the Great captured Babylon, he recognized the city as the most majestic and beautiful in the whole world. After that, he proclaimed Babylon the capital of his empire. Later, starting from the 1st century BC. until the middle of the 6th century AD The city is in decline. Frequent wars and repressions lead to the fact that the city has virtually disappeared. The last mention of Babylon dates back to the 10-12th century.

A city that arose no later than the 3rd millennium BC. e. and disappeared at the beginning of the 1st millennium AD. e., the capital Ancient Mesopotamia, the largest center of civilization in the ancient world. The most famous source of information about Babylon is the Old Testament, the most accurate is the results of excavations by archaeologists. They began only in the 19th century, and many features of the Babylonian civilization still leave a wide field for hypotheses about it.

"GATE OF GOD"

Babylon ceased to exist in the III century. n. e., and its ruins were covered with sand. But information about it could not but be preserved - after all, this city was the capital of the first powerful empire in history.

This power was called by the city - Babylonia ( II-I thousand. BC e.), or also - Babylon. The beginning of the construction of a settlement on the banks of the Euphrates in the valley of Shinar (as it is called in the Old Testament), or Sumer, archaeologists and historians associate with the second half of the 3rd millennium BC. e. The Book of Genesis tells that after the Flood, people who spoke the same language settled in Shinar, where the construction of the Tower of Babel began at the behest of "the wicked king Nimrod, who did not honor Jehovah." The deserted valley was not before. Farmers lived here, growing two crops of wheat and barley a year on the fertile alluvial soils of the Tigris and Euphrates, planting date palms and raising livestock: bulls and sheep. They also became the first builders of Babylon. In cuneiform Sumero-Akkadian texts, Babylon was first mentioned in the 22nd century BC. e., although some archaeologists tend to date these same clay tablets rather to the 24th-23rd centuries. BC e.

The Russian version of the name Babylon is associated with the Byzantine tradition, which passed into the Church Slavonic language. In Western European languages, a Latinized version of the name is adopted - Babylon. Historians-linguists consider this name to be a semantic copy of the Sumerian name "Kadigirra", where "ka" is a gate, "digir" is "god". Assyriologists, experts in the history of Western Asia, believe that the toponym Babili (m) that appeared later is the result of the mutual influence of the languages ​​\u200b\u200bof the peoples living in Mesopotamia. And in the Akkadian language, it clearly means the same thing as in the so-called proto-Euphratic language - "Gate of God" ("Bab or"). At the same time, in the Old Testament, this name is associated with the Hebrew concept of “babel” - “mixing”. Despite the disputes of scientists, there is essentially no contradiction here: on the one hand, Babylon was a city dedicated to the supreme god of the Sumerian and Akkadian pantheon Marduk, and on the other hand, carriers of a large number languages ​​of the Middle East: the figurative expression "Babylonian mixing" [languages] exists in the culture and literature of many peoples of both the Middle East and Europe.

At kings III Sumerian dynasty of Ur (about 2112 - 2003 BC) Babylon becomes the center of the nome (province) and the residence of the royal governor. IN late XXI V. BC e. The Sumero-Akkadian kingdom collapsed. Babylon was first taken over by the Elamites, and then, in the 19th century. BC e., - Amorite Semites. They create city-states in Mesopotamia, one of which is Babylon.

Under the sixth ruler of the Amorite dynasty, Hammurabi (reigned approximately 1792-1750 BC), the rise of Babylon begins in Mesopotamia. Hammurabi created the Code of Laws from 282 articles. They clearly regulated the legal, economic and family relationships. In economic articles, the priority of the state in any economic sphere was fixed.

Hammurabi waged wars, and under him, the lands of Sumer, Assyria, some areas of the left bank of the Tigris and Euphrates in its middle reaches passed under the rule of Babylon. Intensive construction begins in the city: straight streets are being laid, new temples are being erected. The reign of the Amorites in Babylon is usually called the Old Babylonian era.

In the XVI century. BC e. The city was captured by the Hittites, who partially destroyed it. The Hittites were replaced by Kassites, people from the mountainous regions of Western Iran. Period 1595 - circa 1004 BC BC, when the Kassites ruled Babylon, is considered the Middle Babylonian era, in which Babylon was returned to its role in Mesopotamia, thanks primarily to the seizure of new lands. The city was rebuilt. The Kassite kings, counting on the support of large landowners and heads of tribes, freed them from taxes.

The ruins of historical Babylon are located in the southern part of the Mesopotamian lowland, or Mesopotamia. In categories modern geography- in the central part of the territory of Iraq, 10 km north of the city of Hilla (El-Hilla), founded in 1101, now - administrative center governorate (province) of Babil. The river Arakhtu (Euphrates, Akkadian name - Purattu) divided Babylon into two parts.

LOST GREAT

The historical material underlying our knowledge of Babylon refers mainly to the Neo-Babylonian era, and more specifically to the reign of the king.
Nebuchadnezzar II (634-562 BC).

He ruled from 605 to October 7, 562 BC. e. Nebuchadnezzar II was a talented military leader. He conquered the District (the lands lying beyond the Euphrates towards the Mediterranean Sea) - Syria, Phenicia and the Kingdom of Judea, fought with Egypt, subjugated Jerusalem and Tire, taking possession of untold riches and many slaves. Economic upsurge and cultural renaissance - this is how briefly you can characterize the life of Babylon under this king. "Babylonian confusion" was expressed even more characteristically than before. To the Babylonians, originating from different tribes, Medes, Egyptians, Jews, Arabs and others were added. Babylon was changing before our eyes, turning into the most beautiful city in the Middle East.

The ziggurat of Eteme-nanki, the “Tower of Babel”, was recreated, which had been destroyed several times before, restored and considered one of the seven wonders of the world. The grandiose seven-tiered structure with a temple on top reached a height of more than 90 m, the length of each side of the square base of the ziggurat was also more than 90 m.

Majestic palaces were built, roads were paved with baked bricks and stone slabs. The palace of Nebuchadnezzar II was decorated with hanging gardens - according to legend, the gardens of Babylon, the wife of the king, who was actually called Amitis (or Amanis). To the triple ring of walls, Nebuchadnezzar added two castle fortresses at the beautiful and majestic Ishtar Gate (579 BC), lined with blue glazed tiles and decorated with images of sirrus and bulls. The walls of the "Procession Road" were decorated with images of lions and close ranks of warriors. around the perimeter Eastern city another one, the Outer Wall, has grown, almost 18 km long. But that's not all: on the outskirts of the city, a defensive Median wall almost 150 km long was built. It seemed that Babylon was completely impregnable.

But there was a force that surpassed this force. And her name is Persia. October 10, 539 BC e. Babylon fell under the onslaught of the soldiers of King Cyrus II. The Greek historians Herodotus and Xenofont, describing this event, tell that the Persians took Babylon by cunning, having diverted water from its moats in advance. This is most likely a myth, but the fact remains that the city was taken almost without a fight. The most likely reason for this drama is his unpreparedness for defense.

Having conquered Babylon, the Achaemenids, however, retained the status of the capital of Mesopotamia. While in 479 BC. e. (not for the first time) the Babylonians did not revolt. Having suppressed the uprising, the Persian king Xerxes deprived the city of all rights. Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) intended to make Babylon his capital, but here he was overtaken by a sudden death. In 312 BC. e. the former commander of Macedonian Seleucus I Nika-tor took possession of the city. He dismantled a significant part of the buildings and from this material built the new capital of Mesopotamia, Seleucia, on the Tigris River, resettling the inhabitants of Babylon in it. In the future, the owners of the city were the Parthians (140 BC), the Romans (115 AD), the Sisanids (227 AD), until finally, after the conquest of the country by the Arabs in 624, the small settlement that still existed near the dilapidated walls of Babylon also disappeared. The Old Testament contains seven prophecies about the destruction of Babylon. Scientific world is still trying to deduce the connection between the details of these prophecies and the facts. There are some similarities, but in general there is no convincing connection. The American archaeologist and Assyriologist Edward Chiera (1885-1933), who worked extensively on the excavations of Babylon, wrote: “... I would like to know the reason for all this desolation. Why did a flourishing city, the capital of an entire empire, have to perish? What turned a beautiful temple into a home for jackals? Prophet's curse? Did this city perish for the sins of its inhabitants? Or is it the fate of mankind that all civilizations must perish when they reach their peak?...

CURIOUS FACTS

■ Serious scientific study of Babylon began only in the 19th century. The greatest contribution to it was made by German archaeologists under the leadership of Robert Koldewey, who worked on the excavations of Babylon in 1898-1917.

■ Some legal scholars believe that the Code of Hammurabi contains the principle of the “presumption of innocence” applied in modern criminal law. According to this principle, it is considered that a person suspected of a crime is not considered guilty until proven otherwise, he is also not obliged to testify against himself, and his own oral confession cannot serve as evidence of his guilt.

ATTRACTIONS

Lost:
■ The so-called Southern Palace of Nebuchadnezzar (a complex of five huge courtyards surrounded by enfilades of rooms and separate buildings). The most important, third courtyard (60x55 m) adjoined the famous throne room with an area of ​​about 900 m2.
■ Northern palace-fortress of Nebuchadnezzar.
■ The main palace of Nebuchadnezzar at the Ishtar gate, where ancient inscriptions, reliefs, statues, a library, and trophies obtained by the Babylonian kings during campaigns, including those to Assyria, were kept.
■ Temples dedicated to Ishtar, Nanna, Adad, Ninurta, and other places of worship.
■ The Esagila cult complex with the Etemenanki ziggurat, the sanctuary of the god Marduk (“Tower of Babel”).
■ Hanging gardens ("Gardens of Babylon") - terraces with vaulted passages.

Sights preserved in the museum environment:
■ The Ishtar Gate and part of the Processional Road (recreated from authentic fragments of the 6th century BC), as well as stone sculptures, bronze sculptures, vessels, weapons, jewelry from archaeological excavations - Pergamon Museum ancient culture Western Asia in Berlin.
■ Babylonian map of the world - a clay tablet (late VIII - early VII century BC) and other evidence of the Neo-Babylonian era - British Museum, London.
■ A stone stele with the Law Code of Hammurabi (a copy is available at the Museum of Casts named after IV Tsvetaev, a branch of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow) and other artefacts of Babylonian civilization - Louvre, Paris.
■ Collection of artifacts of Babylon - National Museum Iraq, Baghdad.
■ Reconstruction of city buildings from the era of King Nebuchadnezzar II at the excavation site (this work is ongoing).

Atlas. The whole world is in your hands №212

Read in this issue.

For many centuries, the city of Babylon - the "gate of God" - was considered the center of the first "world kingdom", the heirs of which were the great empires. The Bible connects the founding of the city with the name of Nimrod - great-grandson of Noah. He is also considered the builder of the famous Tower of Babel. The Assyrian kings, who cruelly dealt with recalcitrant peoples and wiped out cities and towns, not only maintained the special status of Babylon, but also restored ancient temples and built new ones. On the importance of the city in ancient world also testified that Alexander the Great, who captured Babylon in 331 BC. e., intended to make it the capital of his empire. The memory of Babylon survived the city itself for a long time. According to historical tradition, the signs of royal dignity of the Byzantine emperors and Russian tsars also come from Babylon. In the Russian "Tale of Babylon City" this is described as follows: "Prince Vladimir of Kiev heard that Tsar Vasily received such great royal things from the Babylonian kingdom, and sent his ambassador to him. Tsar Vasily, for the sake of his honor, sent Prince Vladimir to Kiev in gifts carnelian crab and Monomakhov's cap. And from that time I heard Grand Duke Vladimir Kyiv Monomakh. And now that hat in the Moscow state in the cathedral church. And as there is an appointment of power, then for the sake of rank it is placed on the head. What did this city look like, whose name has become a household name for many peoples?

Excavations carried out by English archaeologists at the beginning of the 20th century. n. e., allowed to restore the appearance of the ancient city and its history. Archaeologists have proved that the first stones in its foundation were laid by the Sumerians at the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC. e., but the city became the capital of the state around 1894 BC. e. when the Amorites invaded Mesopotamia. In the XVIII century. BC e. under King Hammurabi, Babylon became the largest political and cultural center of all of Asia Minor.

In the 7th century BC e. the famous king Nebuchadnezzar launched huge construction works that turned Babylon into a luxurious capital of the world. Ruins of grandiose and majestic buildings, erected by Nebuchadnezzar have survived to this day.

Map of the Babylonian Kingdom

When in the 5th century BC e. Greek geographer and historian Herodotus visited this city, he was shocked by its size and grandeur. At that time, Babylon was part of Persian state, but still retained the position of the greatest city in the world, and more than one million inhabitants lived in it. Residential quarters stretched on both sides of the Euphrates in a long strip. The city was surrounded by a deep moat filled with water and three belts of high brick walls topped with towers. Fortress walls reached a height of 20 m, and a width of 15 m, had 100 gates made of forged copper. The main entrance was the gate of the goddess Ishtar, lined with blue glazed tiles with alternating bas-relief images of animals (575 figures of bulls, lions and fantastic sirruh dragons). The streets of the ancient city did not at all resemble the chaotic layout of most cities in the East, but were arranged in accordance with a clear plan: some ran parallel to the river, others crossed them at right angles. The inhabitants of the Babylonian kingdom built up the streets with three and four-story houses. The main streets were paved with stone.

In the northern part of the city, on the left bank of the river, there was a large stone palace built by Nebuchadnezzar, and on the other side - the main temple of the capital, reaching the height of an eight-story building.

At the base, the temple was a rectangle with sides of 650 and 450 m. It contained a sanctuary with a statue of the god Marduk and pure gold weighing about 20 tons, as well as a bed and golden table. This could only include a special chosen one - a priestess. Herodotus was told, "as if God himself visits this temple and rests on a bed." Not far from the temple stood the legendary stepped seven-story Tower of Babel, 90 meters high. Archaeologists discovered its foundation and the remains of walls.

History of the State of Babylon

It should be noted that Babylon for the first time rose above other cities of Mesopotamia and became the capital of the state that united all of Lower and part of Upper Mesopotamia, back in the 20th century. BC e. Despite the fact that this association existed only for the life of one generation, it remained in the memory of people for a long time. Babylon remained the traditional center of the country until the end of the existence of the Akkadian language and cuneiform culture.

It was heyday urban culture, development of literature and legislation. It was during this period that the famous laws were unified and written down. King Hammurabi.

In 1595 BC. e., after the Hittites invaded Mesopotamia, nomadic Kassites seized power in Babylonia. Their reign lasted over 400 years.

Over the following centuries, the state of Babylon retained formal independence, but more and more came under political influence northern neighbor - . But her dominance came to an end. A new one has begun the rise of Babylon.

The empire reached its special power during the reign of the son of the conqueror of Assyria, Nabopolassar, Nebuchadnezzar. Syria and Palestine were finally subjugated. Babylon was rebuilt, and it became the largest center of international trade. This is a time of true revival, economic prosperity and cultural development of the entire Western Asia. After long wars, relative peace has finally been established here.

The entire Middle East was divided between the three great powers- Babylonia, Media and. They maintained wary, even hostile relations, but there were no major redistributions of spheres of influence.

Half a century passed, and a new threat to prosperity came from the east. In 553 BC. e. a war broke out between Media and its rebellious subjects - Persians.

Babylon in the era of the Neo-Babylonian kingdom of the VI century. BC. reconstruction

Babylon struck the imagination of foreigners with its architecture. One of the seven wonders of the world - the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were built on artificial terraces where palms, figs and other trees were planted. Queen Semiramis really had nothing to do with them. The gardens were built by Nebuchadnezzar for his wife Nitocris, who suffered from the stuffy climate of Mesopotamia, far from her native mountains and forests, where she was from. The Babylonian queen Nitocris earned her fame thanks to the construction of dams, irrigation canals and a large drawbridge connecting the two parts of the capital. The bridge was made of large unhewn stones, held together with a special mortar and lead. Its middle part, made of logs, was taken apart at night.

In 312 BC. e. one of the commanders of Alexander the Great - Seleucus, who became the ruler of a vast Middle Eastern empire, moved most of the inhabitants of the "eternal city" to his new capital Seleucia, located not far from Babylon. And the ancient world capital lost its former position and after a few centuries was finally buried under the dust of centuries.

Caused by serious economic processes, primarily privatization, the social crisis was accompanied by a noticeable weakening of political power and decentralization, under the sign of which two centuries passed. It was a time of fierce struggle between rival states and dynasties of various origins - Amorites, Elamites and Mesopotamians proper, among which turn of XIX- XVIII centuries. BC. Babylonia began to stand out. The new center of Mesopotamia Babylon, which eventually turned into the greatest city in the world, began to rise from the beginning of the reign of the sixth representative of the Babylonian dynasty, Hammurabi (1792 - 1750 BC). Over the long years of successful rule, Hammurabi managed to defeat rival neighbors one by one, uniting all of Mesopotamia under his rule.

Anew, on the ruins of the distant past, the ruler of Babylonia created a powerful and prosperous centralized state. And although it did not last too long, and already under the successors of Hammurabi, a tendency to some decline appeared, which resulted in the invasion of the Elamites, and then those who conquered Babylonia in the 16th century. Kassites, it is the Babylonia of King Hammurabi that can be considered the first developed state in Western Asia in the full sense of the word. This is not about a centralized effective administration over a large territory - this has been in Mesopotamia since the time of Sargon of Akkad. The essence is different: the Babylonian state already represented that complex structure that was later characteristic (in numerous variants) for all fairly developed societies of the traditional East, and not only the East.

In the state of Hammurabi, clan and kinship ties characteristic of early 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 acted through its officials. Accordingly, an influential and rather numerous layer of professional specialists employed in the field of administration and adjacent service sectors, such as administrators, warriors, artisans, merchants, servants, etc., has strengthened and institutionalized. ruined full-fledged community members. And although there was a significant difference in social status, property qualification and lifestyle between the first and second layers noted here (this difference was reflected in documents, terminology - part-time workers were designated by a special summary term mushkenum), the common thing between them was that they were all considered and were called royal people, i.e. people directly employed in the administration system or involved in it, serving it. It was in this regard that all the royal people of both strata-categories were opposed to the rest of the population, i.e. communal farmers, whose rights and status were the object of attention and concern on the part of the ruling elites.

Hammurabi's state had a monopoly of power, relying firmly on fixed law and its associated forms of coercion. The advancement 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 percentages (20-30% per annum), led to the rapid ruin of community members and enrichment at their expense. private owners.

As is known, private enterprise has enormous potential in itself; his inner strength - if it does not put obstacles - is capable of radically changing the face of social relations, the entire structure of society in a short time, as was clearly demonstrated a little later ancient Greece. In Hammurabi's Babylonia, the potential of the private sector was already making itself felt with sufficient obviousness. Against the background of these opportunities for centralized administration, it became clear that the former pseudo-Latifundist methods of economy on the royal temple lands were economically inefficient, that they had become obsolete. These methods were replaced by the practice of distributing royal temple lands (according to some estimates, they accounted for up to 30-40% of arable land) in the form of official allotments to the royal people of the first category - this was a form of their salary - and in the form of inalienable mandatory allotments to the royal people of the second category. category, paying for the use of this allotment a share of the harvest to the treasury. At the same time, the allotments of the royal people of the first category, as well as the allotments of well-born dignitaries and priests, including the ruler’s fields, were usually cultivated on approximately the same principles of compulsory lease as the rest of the lands of temples (compulsory allotments), although in this case, both dependent royal people of the second category, and full-fledged community members.

Special mention should be made of full-fledged community members. This layer in Mesopotamia has always prevailed. And although the community members were not always in the same legal and socio-economic position, it is important to emphasize that the differences usually concerned potential opportunities, but not their real status, which just determined the place of this layer in society. In particular, with regard to the Babylonia of Hammurabi, it should be noted that although formally the privatization process covered all lands and all people, except for the royal temple lands and the royal people associated with them, in fact the situation was much more complicated. It should not be presented in such a way that, as soon as commodity-money relations invaded the bowels peasant community, it was thereby already obviously doomed to a rapid transformation into a collective of private owners, building its relationships on the basis of a commodity economy and market relations, which could not but lead to the rapid disintegration of the community.

In contrast to antiquity, in the East there were no conditions for such a development. On the contrary, there were powerful forces acting in a different direction. Centralized power, which was the norm here, dictated its own conditions for development. In relation to the communal village, this meant that the state took energetic measures to prevent the destructive process of the destruction of the traditional community. That is why, although a certain number of the poorest community members, despite all the tricks of the authorities that opposed this, nevertheless went bankrupt and sold their lands to their neighbors, this process was usually limited to only a small part of the community and was also reversible. As a result, the vast majority of community members, albeit with difficulty making ends meet, continued to lead their predominantly subsistence economy, and this was the norm, passing from generation to generation. Hence the result: the scope of the new private property sector within the socio-economic structure as a whole was not so significant as to shake and even more so transform the entire structure in its own image and likeness.

Failing to achieve this, the private sector quite harmoniously and consistently fit into the system of relations that existed for a long time, leading it to some modification. The essence of the modification boiled down to the fact that the state, relying on an ancient basis - inalienable collective communal and royal-temple lands, allowed the existence of a private sector in the form of a small wedge of land included in the trade turnover, wage labor, private rent, usury, debt slavery, and the system in general. commodity-money relations. All this was necessary for the normal functioning of a large developed social organism. But for all that, the state rather severely limited and controlled real opportunities, the sphere of influence and, in general, the potential of the private sector.