The ancient Anatolian city of Kanesh (present-day Kültepe, Turkey) was a continuously inhabited site from the early Bronze Age through Roman times. The city flourished c.2000–1750 BCE as an Old Assyrian trade outpost and the earliest attested commercial society in world history. More than 23,000 elaborate clay tablets from private merchant houses provide a detailed description of a system of long-distance trade that reached from central Asia to the Black Sea region and the Aegean. The texts record common activities such as trade between Kanesh and the city state of Assur, and between Assyrian merchants and local people. The tablets tell us about the economy as well as the culture, language, religion, and private lives of individuals we can identify by name, occupation, and sometimes even personality. This book presents an in-depth account of this vibrant Bronze Age Anatolian society, revealing the daily lives of its inhabitants.
Author(s): Mogens Trolle Larsen
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Year: 2015
01.0_pp_i_i_Ancient_Kanesh
02.0_pp_ii_ii_Dedication
03.0_pp_iii_iii_Ancient_Kanesh
04.0_pp_iv_iv_Copyright_page
05.0_pp_v_vi_Contents
06.0_pp_vii_viii_Illustrations
07.0_pp_ix_x_Preface
08.0_pp_xi_xii_Chronology
09.0_pp_1_14_Introduction
10.0_pp_15_80_Beginnings
10.1_pp_17_28_The_Discovery
10.2_pp_29_38_The_Mound_at_Kueltepe
10.3_pp_39_53_The_Lower_Town
10.4_pp_54_64_Understanding_the_Texts
10.5_pp_65_80_Chronology_and_Change
11.0_pp_81_130_The_Home_Town
11.1_pp_83_100_Assur
11.2_pp_101_111_The_King_in_Assur
11.3_pp_112_121_The_Government_of_a_City
11.4_pp_122_130_The_Year_Eponym
12.0_pp_131_168_Anatolia
12.1_pp_133_145_The_Anatolians_and_Their_Land
12.2_pp_146_158_The_Colonial_System
12.3_pp_159_168_The_Government_of_a_Colony
13.0_pp_169_240_Economy_and_Society
13.1_pp_171_188_The_Caravan_Trade
13.2_pp_189_201_Quantities_and_Origins
13.3_pp_202_216_Families_and_Money
13.4_pp_217_227_Where_Did_the_Money_Come_from
13.5_pp_228_240_Law_and_Death
