Transcript RAIpresentation

Administration of the Judiciary:
Managing Local Courts in the
Neo-Babylonian Period
F. Rachel Magdalene
Augustana College (Illinois)
Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale
Saint Petersburg, Russia
2007
Looking across the Tigris
Photo courtesy of Ben Varlese
Part of the
Neo-Babylonian Trial Procedure Project
Co-Directors:
F. Rachel Magdalene
Bruce Wells
Consultants:
Cornelia Wunsch
Raymond Westbrook
Dean Snyder
© Biblical Archaeology Society, 2003.
Funded by the
National Endowment for the Humanities Collaborative Research Grant
Administration of Justice
vs.
Administration of the Court System
CT 22 231
Administration of Justice
The system of setting forth
substantive bodies of law
(such as contract law, inheritance law,
theft, murder, and blasphemy)
and
enforcing those bodies of law in particular cases
through legal procedure,
which regulates
how cases should be heard and decided
Nbn 13
Administration of the Court System
The management of the courts
as
functioning administrative bodies
in communication with
each other
and
other parts of government administration
In other words:
the courts’ “infrastructure”
CT 22 210
A Few of the Relevant Texts
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
AnOr 8 45
AnOr 8 46
BM 58584
BM 65784
BM 85223
JCS 29 43
PTS 3224
(courtesy of Grant Frame)
•
•
•
•
•
•
YOS 6 108
YOS 6 147
YOS 6 213
YOS 7 137
YOS 7 177
YOS 7 178
Archives of Tablets
Tablet
AnOr 8 45
AnOr 8 46
BM 58584
BM 65784
BM 85223
JCS 29 43
PTS 3224
YOS 6 108
YOS 6 147
YOS 6 213
YOS 7 137
YOS 7 177
YOS 7 178
Archive
Eanna Temple
Eanna Temple
Ebabbar of Sippar
Akkad satellite archive of Sippar
Uncertain, probably Borsippa
Eanna Temple
Eanna Temple
Eanna Temple
Eanna Temple
Eanna Temple
Eanna Temple
Eanna Temple
Eanna Temple
Place and Date of Tablets
Tablet
AnOr 8 45
AnOr 8 46
BM 58584
BM 65784
BM 85223
JCS 29 43
PTS 3224
YOS 6 108
YOS 6 147
YOS 6 213
YOS 7 137
YOS 7 177
YOS 7 178
Place
Uruk
Uruk
[Sippar]
[Akkad]
Bit-Dakkuri
Uruk
Uruk
Uruk
Uruk
Uruk
Uruk
Uruk
Uruk
Reign
Cyrus
Cyrus
[Nabonidus]
X
Darius
Cambyses
Nabonidus
Nabonidus
Nabonidus
Nabonidus
Cambyses
Cambyses
Cambyses
Yr
4
4
[between 5-15]
X
[28+]
1
6
15
8
14
3
5
5
Day
9
10
X
X
X
24
16
22
12
10
30
8
22
Month
12
12
X
X
X
8
2
9
7
5
12
4
6
What Do These Texts
Have in Common?
• They are clearly or most likely juridical texts
• They typically involve a responsibility that is owed by PN1
(an assignor) to PN2 (a third-party authority), which is
being delegated to PN3 (an assignee).
• They all contain the phrase
• They all address administrative concerns of the court
system
• They all indicate that a penalty will be imposed where PN3
(the assignee) violates his administrative duty.
• They all appear to recognize the court of jurisdiction in
case of a breach of the duty
They involve:
• a responsibility that is owed by PN1
(an assignor)
• to PN2
(a third-party authority)
• which is being delegated to PN3
(an assignee).
CHAIN OF COMMAND
HIERARCHY OF DUTIES
delegates assignor
task &
responsibility
assignee
assumes personal responsibility
“outside”
authority
CHAIN OF COMMAND
HIERARCHY OF DUTIES
“outside”
authority
administers
penalty in
case of failure
directly
has covered
his back
assignor
assignee
assumed personal responsibility
They all contain the phrase:
“he shall bear a penalty of ….”
¿¬†u ·a …
Tablet
AnOr 8 45
AnOr 8 46
BM 58584
BM 65784
BM 85223
JCS 29 43
PTS 3224
YOS 6 108
YOS 6 147
YOS 6 213
YOS 7 137
YOS 7 177
YOS 7 178
PN/DN/GN
Gubaru
Gubaru
City
King
According to the order of the King
Gubaru
Gods and King
King
Gods and King
King
King
Gubaru
Gubaru
Verb
šadādu
šadādu
[šadādu]
šadādu
šadādu
šadādu
šadādu
zabālu
šadādu
šadādu
šadādu
šadādu
šadādu
They all address administrative concerns
of the court system
Tablet
Subject Matter
AnOr 8 45
Guarantee that PN will appear before Gubaru
AnOr 8 46
Guarantee that PN will appear before Gubaru
BM 58584
Delivery of criminal to temple administrator of
Sippar
Delivery of 10 brewers to temple administrator
of Akkad
Witness must testify before royal judges that a
rent farmer has illegally consumed some of the
king’s crops
After two temple officials investigate the case of
a prisoner in shackles, they will bring the
prisoner back to the two top officials of the
Eanna temple
BM 65784
BM 85223
JCS 29 43
PTS 3224
Guarantee that PN will be brought and handed
over to the ones in charge of the Eanna
They all address administrative concerns
of the court system
Tablet
Subject Matter
YOS 6 108
Witness must testify in a theft case
YOS 6 147
Guarantee that PN will not leave a place until
the court summons him
YOS 6 213
Guarantee that PN will bring a defendant to
court when his case is investigated
YOS 7 137
Guarantee that two guards will transport four
prisoners to Babylon to testify against a fifth
prisoner on a charge of blasphemy against the
king
YOS 7 177
Three men guarantee that they will go to
Babylon to appear before Nabugu
YOS 7 178
Guarantee that PN will be kept in shackles and
brought to the temple administrator for
investigation of his case
Jurisdiction of Hearing on Administrative Breach
¿¬†u ·a X ·ad®du
X represents the outside
authority to whom the duty is
owed as well as the court that
will hear the case where a breach
of the administrative duty occurs
King =
Royal Court
Gubaru =
Royal Court
Gods and King = Temple & Royal Courts
City =
Local Assembly
Tablet
AnOr 8 45
AnOr 8 46
BM 58584
BM 65784
BM 85223
JCS 29 43
PTS 3224
YOS 6 108
YOS 6 147
YOS 6 213
YOS 7 137
YOS 7 177
YOS 7 178
PN/DN/GN
Gubaru
Gubaru
City
King
According to the
order of the King
Gubaru
Gods and King
King
Gods and King
King
King
Gubaru
Gubaru
AnOr 8 46
(VAT 8409)
AnOr 8 46 (VAT 8409)
1 i-na £BÁR MU 5.KAM ˘na-di-nu DUMU-·ú ·á ˘™±AG-mu-·e-tíq-UD.DA
2 [a-n]a* TIN.TIRˆ [i-n]a pa-ni ˘gu-ba-ru ßNAM TIN.TIRˆ
3 ù kure-bir «I7 it*»-ti* ˘ni-din-ti-™±EN ß∞À.TAM É.AN.NA
4 DUMU-·ú ·á ˘™±AG-GIN-NUMUN «DUMU ˘»da-bi-bi ù ˘™±AG-∞E∞-[MU]
·a11-SAG-LUGAL
5 ßEN pi-qit-ti É.AN.«NA il»-lak ˘™±AG-EN-·ú-nu DUMU-·ú ·á
6 ˘™±AG-MU-ib-ni [DU]MU* ß«∞U.KU6» ù ˘DÙ-™15 DUMU-·ú ·á ˘™±AG-NUMUNMU DUMU ßGAL TÙR*
7 u ˘™15-∞E∞-MU [DUMU]-·ú ·á ˘™±AG-DÙ-∞E∞ A ˘kur-i pu-ut ˘na-di-nu
DUMU-·ú ·á
8 ˘™±AG-mu-·e-tíq-UD.DA a-na a-la-ku a-na TIN.TIRˆ a-na IGI ˘gu*-ba-ru
9 ina ∞U$ ˘ni-din-ti-™±EN ß∞À.TAM É.AN.NA ù ˘™±AG-∞E∞-MU
10 ßEN pi-qit-ti É.AN.NA na-·u-ú ki-i ˘na-di-nu
11 ina £BÁR a-na TIN.TIRˆ la it-tal-ku
12 ˘™±AG-EN-·ú-nu ù ˘ib-ni-™15 u ˘™15-∞E∞-MU ¿i-†u ·á ˘gu-ba-ru
13 ßNAM TIN.TIRˆ ù kure-bir I7 i-·ad-da-du
[7 witnesses and 1 scribe]
22 UNUGˆ £∞E UD 10.KAM MU 4.KAM ˘ku-ra-á· LUGAL TIN.TIRˆ
23 LUGAL KUR.KUR
AnOr 8 46 (VAT 8409)
Translation
In the 1st month of the 5th year, N®din, son of Nabû-muš∂tiq-uddê, will come with
Nidinti-B∂l, the administrator of the Eanna, son of Nabû-muk¬n-z∂ri, descendant of D®bib¬,
and Nabu-a¿¿∂-iddin, representative of the king and overseer of the Eanna, to Babylon to
the presence of Gubaru, the satrap of Babylon and Across-the-River.
Nabû-b∂lšunu, son of Nabû-šum-ibni from the B®ºiru family, and Ibni-Ištar, son of Nabûz∂r-iddin from the Rab-tarb®◊i family, and Ištar-a¿¿∂-iddin, son of Nabû-b®n-a¿i from the
Kurî family, guarantee concerning N®din, son of Nabû-muš∂tiq-uddê, to Nidinti-B∂l, the
administrator of the Eanna, and Nabû-a¿¿∂-iddin, overseer of the Eanna, for (N®din’s)
going to Babylon to the presence of Gubaru.
If N®din in the 1st month does not come to Babylon, Nabû-b∂lšunu and Ibni-Ištar and
Ištar-a¿¿∂-iddin will bear a penalty of Gubaru, satrap of Babylon and Across-the-River.
7 Witnesses and Scribe
Uruk, 10th day, 12th month, year 4 of Cyrus
Points of Interest I
• These texts are not about who did what crime—the
determination or administration of justice
• Usually a suspect has been identified in the matter
• The documents typically assign to a citizen or official a duty
related to the custody, transfer, and/or appearance of a party
or witness to a lawsuit in the appropriate jurisdiction in a
timely manner for an investigation or trial.
• Letters also reflect this administrative need, e.g., YOS 3 47
Points of Interest II
• These texts reflect that a breach of the administrative duty
will result in the imposition of a penalty
• This is in the nature of contempt of court –an administrative
breach
• Once the breach occurs, its exact nature can be determined
and the precise penalty assessed
• We see this on numerous texts, many of which are discussed
by Raymond Dougherty in his article, “The Babylonian
Principle of Suretyship as Administered by Temple Law”
Assessment
• These texts have a hybrid nature, being both administrative
in subject matter and legal in consequence
• These texts comprise one class of several types of texts all
involving the language
that
demonstrate this hybridism
• Thus, these texts reflect the development of an organized
system of substantive administrative law in the NeoBabylonian period
Administrative Law
• Compare substantive bodies of law involving economic
rights, duties, and harms to individuals, such as contract law,
commercial transactions, property, and inheritance
• Compare substantive bodies of law involving personal rights,
duties and harms to individuals, such as theft, personal injury,
adultery, and murder
• These texts reflect a substantive body of law involving rights,
duties, and harms to administrative systems
• Thus, these texts reflect the development of an organized
system of substantive administrative law in the NeoBabylonian period
Conclusions
• These texts reveal a concern for, and a system of
governance over, the administration of the court
system
• They represent a systematization of the
organization and functioning of the infrastructure of
the court system
• They represent a clearly defined administrative
system involving the founding of rights and duties
with related punishments in the case of breach
They represent a rational system
of
administrative law
Thank you!
Looking across the Tigris
Photo courtesy of Ben Varlese