Economic Life at the Dawn of History in Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt

The book is a study of the emergence of market economy with modern economic institutions in the early civilizations of Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt from the third and early second millennium B.C.E. The study covers the Sumerian, Old Assyrian and Old Babylonian periods. The economic analysis is based on Institutional Economics theory, and the data on the Old Assyrian period is ...

(展开全部)

The book is a study of the emergence of market economy with modern economic institutions in the early civilizations of Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt from the third and early second millennium B.C.E. The study covers the Sumerian, Old Assyrian and Old Babylonian periods. The economic analysis is based on Institutional Economics theory, and the data on the Old Assyrian period is based on the work of many scholars that transliterated, translated and studied many of the 23,000 documents of the Old Assyrian traders found in old Kanesh in Central Turkey.

The book includes chapters on the institutions of: property rights; the markets and means of exchange; the organization and finance of trade; and enforcement institutions from the judicial, social and political systems.

***

In addition, it gives a detailed analysis of: the early means of exchange (money) like the use of volume measure of barely and weight measure of copper and silver in Sumer; various instruments establishing property rights such as Kuduru border stones, seals and inserted cones in walls; detailed analysis of the communication system and its components; and the description of the modern financial instruments used to include, for example, limited partnerships.

Contents
Sources 1
Introduction 6
Historical background 6
The Urban Revolution in the Fourth Millennium BCE Mesopotamia 7
Technological Changes 16
· · · · · · (更多)

Contents
Sources 1
Introduction 6
Historical background 6
The Urban Revolution in the Fourth Millennium BCE Mesopotamia 7
Technological Changes 16
Interregional Trade in the Third and Second Millennia BCE 19
The Background of the Old Assyrian Trade 22
Chapter 1 Property Rights 27
Property Rights in Mesopotamia 32
Property Rights in the Old Assyrian Period 40
Chapter 2 The Market and Means of Exchange (Money) 49
Weights and Measures 52
The Market in Mesopotamia 54
The Market in the Old Assyrian Period 56
Competition, Prices, and Market Power 60
The Markets in Assur and Anatolia 67
The Old Assyrian Trade Policy 72
Means of Exchange—Money 75
Means of Exchange—Money in Mesopotamia 78
Means of Exchange—Money in the Old Assyrian Trade 84
Chapter 3 Organization and Finance 87
Organization 89
The Old Assyrian Organization 92
Credit and Finance 104
The Assyrian Financial Institutions 110
Long-Term Financial Instruments 113
Commercial and Private Credit 120
Loans (Banking Credit) 124
Interest 124
Contracts and Bills 129
Collateral and Guarantors 134
Accounting and Settling Accounts 136
Chapter 4 Enforcement 141
Enforcement in Mesopotamia 143
Enforcement in the Old Assyrian Trade Era 146
Conclusion 161
Theory and Findings 165
Institutional Economics Theory 165
Economic Models that Explain the Era 167
Additional Regions and Eras 171
Economic Institutions in Ancient Egypt 171
Epilogue: The Hanseatic League in the Middle Ages and Later 176
List of Tables and Maps 181
Abbreviations 182
Maps 184
Bibliography 186
Index 197
· · · · · · (收起)