Excerpt from The Babylonian Tablets of the Berens Collection Notwithstanding that a large number of the temple-records found at tel-loh has been published, and that they are mainly texts of but little importance, certain minor historical details, Sumerian linguistic data, and information bearing upon Babylonian manners, customs, and religious beliefs, require that as many of these seemingly worthless documents as is possible should be reproduced. On this account I need not ask the indulgence of the student for the present issue of a further instalment of these inscriptions from the old site of Lagas and elsewhere. Their contents, and the interesting cylinder-seals with which some of them are impressed, will be their justification for claiming his attention, as they have claimed mine and, in the first place, that of the owner. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Notwithstanding that a large number of the temple-records found at Tel-Loh has been published, and that they are mainly texts of but little importance, certain minor historical details, Sumerian linguistic data, and information bearing upon Babylonian manners, customs, and religious beliefs, require that as many of these seemingly worthless documents as is possible should be reproduced. On this account, I need not ask the indulgence of the student for the present issue of a further installment of these inscriptions from the old site of Lagas and elsewhere. Their contents, and the interesting cylinder-seals with which some of them are impressed, will be their justification for claiming his attention, as they have claimed mine and, in the first place, that of the owner. As these records have all been acquired from dealers, it is only by internal evidence that their provenance is known; but there is no doubt that Nos. 1-93 were inscribed at Lagas. The later Semitic documents (Nos. 94-9) possibly came from Sippar; Nos. 100-2 are of more doubtful origin, whilst the latest of all, Nos. 103-11, were apparently all excavated at Borsippa, the city whose great temple-tower has long passed as the traditional Tower of Babel, and which was known to the Babylonians as " the second Babylon ", though this name seems never to have been given to it officially. Something has still to be learned about the oblong bead-like clay records bearing the name of king Uru-ka-gina (Nos. 1-6), and also the small but carefully-written dateless inscriptions which follow (7-13). With regard to the tablets of the dynasty of Ur (reigns of Dungi to Ibe-Sin), it is to be noted that three (Nos. 19-21) have colophon -dates which are by no means common, and that the remainder of the dated texts are fairly representative. The rarity of the dates of the earlier portion of Dungi's reign implies that at that time the temples of Lagas had not attained the influence and renown which fell to their lot afterward and lasted until the reign of his great-grandson, Ibe-Sin. It would be well, if more tablets with this king's earlier colophon -dates could be published, and the same may be said with regard to those belonging to the time of his father, Sur-Engur, which are so rare as to be practically non-existent. Nothing can be done, however, until the war now raging in both East and West comes to an end, and excavations are resumed in the Tigris and Euphrates valley.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This book has been considered by academicians and scholars of great significance and value to literature. This forms a part of the knowledge base for future generations. So that the book is never forgotten we have represented this book in a print format as the same form as it was originally first published. Hence any marks or annotations seen are left intentionally to preserve its true nature.

In The Social World of the Babylonian Priest, Bastian Still presents a comprehensive study of the priestly community of Borsippa during the Neo-Babylonian and early Persian Empires (ca. 620-484 BCE). By examining patterns of marriage, landholding, moneylending, and friendship, he provides an intimate account of the daily life of the Babylonian priesthood beyond the temple walls and develops a more sophisticated understanding of the organisation of ancient Babylonian society as a whole. Combining the use of social network analysis, anthropological studies, and sociological concepts concerned with kinship, tie strength, social boundaries, and identity formation, Bastian Still’s interdisciplinary approach transcends the traditional boundary of cuneiform studies and enables the field of Assyriology to contribute to a more general socio-historical discourse. “S.’s book is a valuable contribution to our growing knowledge of the Mesopotamian priesthoods in the first millennium.” -Nathan MacDonald, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 44.5 (2020)