![FIG. 41.
ASSYRIAN KELEK ON THE TIGRIS.
(After Layard.)
From the royal letters of the period of the First Dynasty we know
that the canals were not only used for irrigation, but also as water-
ways for transport.—-The letters contain directions for the bringing
of corn, dates, sesame-seed, and wood to Babylon, and we also
know that wool and oil were carried in bulk by water. For transport
of heavy goods on the Tigris and Euphrates it is possible that rafts,
floated on inflated skins, were used from an early period, though the
earliest evidence we have of their employment is furnished by the
bas-reliefs from Nineveh. Such rafts have survived to the present
day,[23] and they are specially adapted for the transport of heavy
materials, for they are carried down by the current, and are kept in
the main stream by means of huge sweeps or oars. Being formed
only of logs of wood and skins, they are not costly, for wood was
plentiful in the upper course of the rivers. At the end of the journey,
after the goods were landed, they were broken up, the logs being
sold at a profit, and the skins, after being deflated, were packed on
donkeys to return up stream by caravan.[24]](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/7788-250402071515-384d01cb/85/Processes-Systems-and-Information-An-Introduction-to-MIS-3rd-Edition-Mckinney-Test-Bank-31-320.jpg)
![FIG. 42.
THE ASSYRIAN PROTOTYPE OF THE
GUFA.
(From a bas-relief in the British
Museum.)
The use of such keleks can only have been general when through-
river communication was general, but, since we know that
Hammurabi included Assyria within his dominions, it is not
impossible that they may date from at least as early a period as the
First Dynasty. For purely local traffic in small bulk the gufa, or light
coracle, may have been used in Babylonia at this time, for its
representation on the Assyrian monuments corresponds exactly with
its structure at the present time as used; on the lower Tigris and
Euphrates. The gufa is formed of wicker-work coated with bitumen,
but some of those represented on the sculptures from Nineveh
appear to have been covered with skins as in the description of
Herodotus.[25]
In the texts and inscriptions of the early period ships are referred to,
and these were undoubtedly the only class of vessels employed on
the canals for conveying supplies in bulk by water. The size of such
ships, or barges, was reckoned by the amount of grain they were
capable of carrying, measured by the gur, the largest measure of
capacity. We find vessels of very different size referred to, varying
from five to seventy-five gur and over. The larger class probably
resembled the sailing barges and ferry-boats in use to-day,[26] which](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/7788-250402071515-384d01cb/85/Processes-Systems-and-Information-An-Introduction-to-MIS-3rd-Edition-Mckinney-Test-Bank-32-320.jpg)
![Hammurabi's letters deals with the blocking of a canal at Erech,
about which he had received such reports. The dredging already
undertaken had not been thoroughly done, so that the canal had
soon silted up again and boats were prevented from reaching the
city; in his letter Hammurabi sent pressing orders that the canal was
to be rendered navigable within three days.[27] Special regulations
were also in force with regard to the respective responsibilities of
boat-owners, boatmen and their clients. If a boatman hired a boat
from its owner, he was held responsible for it, and had to replace it
should it be lost or sunk; but if he refloated it, he had only to pay
the owner half its value for the damage it had sustained. Boatmen
were also responsible for the safety of goods, such as corn, wool, oil
or dates, which they had undertaken to carry for hire, and they had
to make good any total loss due to their own carelessness. Collisions
between two vessels were also provided for, and should one of the
boats have been moored at the time, the boatman of the other
vessel had to pay compensation for the boat that was sunk as well
as for the lost cargo, the owner of the latter estimating its value
upon oath. Many cases in the courts probably arose out of loss or
damage to goods in course of transport by water.
The commercial activities of Babylon at the time of the First Dynasty
led to a considerable growth in the size of the larger cities, which
ceased to be merely local centres of distribution and began to
engage in commerce farther afield. Between Babylonia and Elam
close commercial relations had long been maintained, but
Hammurabi's western conquests opened up new markets to the
merchants of his capital. The great trade-route up the Euphrates and
into Syria was no longer blocked by military outposts and
fortifications, placed there in the vain attempt to keep back the
invasion of Amorite tribes; and the trade in pottery with Carchemish,
of which we have evidence under the later kings of the First
Dynasty,[28] is significant of the new relations established between
Babylonia and the West. The great merchants were, as a body,
members of the upper class, and while they themselves continued to](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/7788-250402071515-384d01cb/85/Processes-Systems-and-Information-An-Introduction-to-MIS-3rd-Edition-Mckinney-Test-Bank-34-320.jpg)
![reside in Babylon, they employed traders who carried their goods
abroad for them by caravan.
Even Hammurabi could not entirely guarantee the safety of such
traders, for attacks by brigands were then as common in the Nearer
East as at the present day; and there was always the additional risk
that a caravan might be captured by the enemy, if it ventured too
near a hostile frontier. In such circumstances the king saw to it that
the loss of the goods was not borne by the agent, who had already
risked his life and liberty in undertaking their transport. For, if such
an agent had been forced in the course of his journey to give up
some of the goods he was carrying, he had to specify the exact
amount on oath on his return, and he was then acquitted of all
responsibility. But if it could be proved before the elders of the city
that he had attempted to cheat his employer by misappropriating
money or goods to his own use, he was obliged to pay the merchant
three times the value of the goods he had taken. The law was not
one-sided and afforded the agent equal protection in relation to his
more powerful employer; for should the latter be convicted of an
attempt to defraud his agent, by denying that the due amount had
been returned to him, he had to pay his agent as compensation six
times the amount in dispute. The merchant always advanced the
goods or money with which to trade, and the fact that he could, if
he wished to do so, fix his own profit at double the value of the
capital, is an indication of the very satisfactory returns obtained at
this period from foreign commerce. But the more usual practice was
for merchant and trader to share the profits between them, and, in
the event of the latter making such bad bargains that there was a
loss on his journey, he had to refund to the merchant the full value
of the goods he had received. At the time of the First Dynasty asses
and donkeys were the beasts of burden employed for carrying
merchandise, for the horse was as yet a great rarity and was not in
general use in Babylonia until after the Kassite conquest.[29]
A large number of the First Dynasty contracts relate to commercial
journeys of this sort, and record the terms of the bargains entered](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/7788-250402071515-384d01cb/85/Processes-Systems-and-Information-An-Introduction-to-MIS-3rd-Edition-Mckinney-Test-Bank-35-320.jpg)
![into between the interested parties. Such partnerships were
sometimes concluded for a single journey, but more often for longer
periods of time. The merchant always demanded a properly
executed receipt for the money or goods he advanced to the trader,
and the latter received one for any deposit or pledge he might have
made in token of his good faith. In reckoning their accounts on the
conclusion of a journey, only such amounts as were specified in the
receipts were regarded as legal obligations, and, if either party had
omitted to obtain his proper documents, he did so at his own risk.
The market-places of the capital and the larger towns must have
been the centres where such business arrangements were
transacted, and official scribes were probably always in attendance
to draw up the terms of any bargain in the presence of other
merchants and traders, who acted as witnesses. These had their
names enumerated at the close of the document, and since they
were chosen from local residents, some were always at hand to
testify in case of any subsequent dispute.
The town-life in Babylonia at this time must have had many features
in common with that of any provincial town in Mesopotamia to-day,
except that the paternal government of the First Dynasty
undoubtedly saw to it that the streets were kept clean, and made
strenuous efforts to ensure that private houses should be soundly
built and maintained in proper repair. We have already followed out
the lines of some of the streets in ancient Babylon,[30] and noted
that, while the foundations of the houses were usually of burnt brick,
crude brick was invariably employed for their upper structure. They
were probably all buildings of a single story, their flat mud roofs,
supported on a layer of brush-wood with poles for rafters, serving as
a sleeping-place for their inmates during the hot season.
Contemporary evidence goes to show that, before the period of
Hammurabi, private houses had not been very solidly built, for his
legislation contemplates the possibility of their falling and injuring
the inmates. In the case of new houses the law fixed the
responsibility upon the builder, and we may infer that the very heavy
penalties exacted for bad work led to a marked improvement in](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/7788-250402071515-384d01cb/85/Processes-Systems-and-Information-An-Introduction-to-MIS-3rd-Edition-Mckinney-Test-Bank-36-320.jpg)
![construction. For, when such a newly built house fell and crushed the
owner so that he died, the builder himself was liable to be put to
death. Should the fall of the house kill the owner's son, the builder's
own son was slain; and, if one or more of the owner's slaves were
killed, the builder had to restore him slave for slave. Any damage to
the owner's possessions was also made good by the builder, who
had in addition to rebuild the house at his own cost, or repair any
portion of it that had fallen. On the other hand, payment for sound
work was guaranteed, and the fact that the scale of payment was
fixed by the area of ground covered by the building, is direct
evidence that the houses of the period consisted of no more than
one story. The beginning of town-planning on systematic lines, with
streets running through and crossing each other at right angles, of
which we have noted evidence at Babylon, may perhaps date from
the Hammurabi period; but no confident opinion on the point can be
expressed until further excavation has been undertaken in the earlier
strata of the city.[31]](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/7788-250402071515-384d01cb/85/Processes-Systems-and-Information-An-Introduction-to-MIS-3rd-Edition-Mckinney-Test-Bank-37-320.jpg)
![members of a family to one another were regulated by law, and any
change in relationship was duly attested and recorded in legal form
before witnesses. Minute regulations were in force with regard to
marriage, divorce and the adoption and maintenance of children,
while the provision and disposal of marriage-portions, the rights of
widows and the laws of inheritance were all controlled by the state
upon traditional lines. Perhaps the most striking feature in the social
system was the recognized status of the wife in the Babylonian
household, and the extremely independent position enjoyed by
women in general. Any marriage to be legally binding had to be
accompanied by a duly executed and attested marriage-contract,
and without this necessary preliminary a woman was not regarded
as a wife in the legal sense. On the other hand, when once such a
marriage-contract had been drawn up and attested, its inviolability
was stringently secured. Chastity on the wife's part was enforced
under severe penalty;[32] but on the other hand the husband's
responsibility to maintain his wife in a position suitable to their
circumstances was also recognized.
The law gave the wife ample protection, and in the case of the
husband's desertion allowed her, under certain conditions, to
become the legal wife of another man. If the husband wilfully
deserted her and left his city under no compulsion, she might
remarry and he could not reclaim her on his return. But if his
desertion was involuntary, as in the case of a man taken in battle
and carried off as a prisoner, this rule did not apply; and the wife
was allowed to shape her action during his absence in accordance
with the condition of her husband's affairs. The regulations in such a
case were extraordinarily in favour of the woman. If the husband
was possessed of property sufficient to maintain the wife during the
period of his captivity, she had no excuse for remarriage; and,
should she become the wife of another man, the marriage was not
regarded as legal and she was liable to the extreme penalty for
adultery. But if the husband had not sufficient means for his wife's
maintenance, it was recognized that she would be thrown on her
own resources, and she was permitted to remarry. The returning](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/7788-250402071515-384d01cb/85/Processes-Systems-and-Information-An-Introduction-to-MIS-3rd-Edition-Mckinney-Test-Bank-39-320.jpg)
![captive could claim his wife, but the children of the second marriage
remained with their own father. The laws of divorce, too,
safeguarded the woman's interests, and only dealt with her severely
if it could be proved that she had wasted her household and failed in
her duty as a wife; in such a case she could be divorced without
compensation, and even reduced to the condition of a slave in her
husband's house. But, in the absence of such proof, her
maintenance was fully secured; for the husband had to return her
marriage-portion, and, if there had been none, he must make her an
allowance. She also had the custody of her children, for whose
maintenance and education the husband had to provide; and, at his
death, the divorced wife and her children could inherit a share of his
estate.[33] The contraction of a permanent disease by the wife was
also held to constitute no grounds for a divorce.
Such regulations throw an interesting light on the position of the
married woman in the Babylonian community, which was not only
unexampled in antiquity but compares favourably, in point of
freedom and independence, with her status in many countries of
modern Europe. Still more remarkable were the privileges capable of
attainment by unmarried women of the upper class, who in certain
circumstances were entitled to hold property in their own names and
engage in commercial undertakings. To secure such a position a
woman took vows, by which she became a member of a class of
votaries attached to one of the chief temples in Babylon, Sippar, or
another of the great cities.[34] The duties of such women were not
sacerdotal, and, though they generally lived together, in a special
building, or convent, attached to the temple, they enjoyed a position
of great influence and independence in the community. A votary
could possess property in her own name, and on taking her vows
was provided with a portion by her father, exactly as though she
were being given in marriage. This was vested in herself, and did not
become the property of her order, nor of the temple to which she
was attached; it was devoted entirely to her maintenance, and after
her father's death, her brothers looked after her interest, and she
could farm the property out. Upon her death her portion returned to](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/7788-250402071515-384d01cb/85/Processes-Systems-and-Information-An-Introduction-to-MIS-3rd-Edition-Mckinney-Test-Bank-40-320.jpg)
![the demand arose, on the part of women of the upper class, to take
part in activities in which they considered themselves capable of
joining.[35] The success of the experiment was doubtless due in part
to the high standard of morality exacted, and in part to the prestige
conferred by association with the religious cult.
The administration of justice at the period of the First Dynasty was
carried out by duly appointed courts of law under the supervision of
the king. The judges were appointed by the crown, and a check was
put upon any arbitrary administration of the law by the fact that the
elders of the city sat with them and assisted them in hearing and
sifting evidence. When once a judgment had been given and
recorded, it was irrevocable, and if any judge attempted to alter
such a decision, he was expelled from his judgment-seat and
debarred from exercising judicial functions in the future. The
regulation was probably intended to prevent the possibility of
subsequent bribery; and, if a litigant considered that justice had not
been done, it was always open to him to appeal to the king.
Hammurabi's letters prove that he exercised strict supervision, not
only over the cases decided in the capital, but also over those which
were tried in the other great cities of Babylonia, and it is clear that
he attempted to stamp out corruption on the part of all those
invested with authority. On one occasion he had been informed of a
case of bribery in the town of Dûr-gurgurri, and he at once ordered
the governor of the district to investigate the charge and send the
guilty parties to Babylon for punishment. The bribe, too, was to be
confiscated and despatched to Babylon under seal, a wise provision
that would have tended to discourage those inclined to tamper with
the course of justice, while at the same time it enriched the state.
[36] The king probably tried all cases of appeal in person, when it
was possible; but in distant cities he deputed this duty to local
officials. Many of the cases that came before him arose from the
extortions of money-lenders,[37] and the king had no mercy when
fraud on their part was proved.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/7788-250402071515-384d01cb/85/Processes-Systems-and-Information-An-Introduction-to-MIS-3rd-Edition-Mckinney-Test-Bank-42-320.jpg)
![The relations maintained by the king with the numerous classes of
the priesthood was also very close, and the control he exercised over
the chief priests and their subordinates appears to have been as
effective as that he maintained over the judicial authorities
throughout the country. Under the Sumerians there had always been
a tendency on the part of the more powerful members of the
hierarchy to usurp the prerogatives of the crown,[38] but this danger
appears to have been fully discounted under the rule of the Western
Semites. One important section of the priestly body were the
astrologers, whose duty it probably was to make periodical reports
to the king on the conjunctions and movements of the heavenly
bodies, with the object of ascertaining whether they portended good
or evil to the state. The later Assyrian practice may well have had its
origin at this period, and we may conclude that the regulation of the
calendar was carried out in accordance with such advice. One of
Hammurabi's letters has come down to us in which he writes to
inform Sin-idinnam, his local governor of Larsa, that it had been
decided to insert an intercalary month in the calendar. He writes
that, as the year, that is the calendar, had a deficiency, the month
that was beginning was to be registered as the second Elul; and he
adds the very practical reminder, that the insertion of the extra
month would not justify any postponement in the payment of the
regular tribute due from the city of Larsa.[39] The lunar calendar of
the Babylonians rendered the periodical intercalation of months
necessary, in order that it should be made to correspond to the solar
year; and the duty of watching for the earliest appearance of the
new moon and fixing the first day of each month, was among the
most important of the functions performed by the official
astrologers.
In the naming of the year the priesthood must also have played an
important part, since the majority of the events from which the
years were named were of a religious character. The system, which
was inherited from the Sumerians, cannot have been a very
convenient one,[40] and no doubt it owed its retention to the](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/7788-250402071515-384d01cb/85/Processes-Systems-and-Information-An-Introduction-to-MIS-3rd-Edition-Mckinney-Test-Bank-43-320.jpg)
![sanctity of the religious rites and associations attaching to it. There
can be little doubt that, normally, the naming of the year took place
at the New Year's Feast, and, when the event commemorated in the
formula was the installation of a chief priest or the dedication of
temple-furniture, the royal act, we may assume, was performed on
the day the year was named.[41] Often merely a provisional title was
adopted from the preceding formula, and then perhaps no ceremony
of naming was held, unless in the course of it a great victory, or
other important occurrence, was commemorated by the renaming of
the year. The king must have consulted with his priestly advisers
before the close of the old year, and have settled on the new
formula in good time to allow of its announcement in the outlying
districts of the kingdom.
Another important religious class at this period was the guild of
soothsayers, and they also appear to have been directly under the
royal control. This we gather from a letter of Ammi-ditana, one of
the later kings of the First Dynasty, written to three high officials of
Sippar, which illustrates the nature of their duties and the sort of
occasion on which they were called upon to perform them.[42] It had
come to the king's knowledge that there was a scarcity of corn in
Shagga, and since that town was in the administrative district of
Sippar, he wrote to the officials concerned ordering them to send a
supply thither. But, before the corn was brought into the city, they
were to consult the soothsayers, in order to ascertain whether the
omens were favourable. The method of inquiry is not specified, but it
was probably liver-divination, which was in common use during all
periods.[43] Only if the omens proved favourable, was the corn to be
brought into the town, and Ave may conclude that the king took this
precaution as he feared that the scarcity of corn in Shagga was due
to the anger of some local deity. The astrologers would be able to
ascertain the facts, and, in the event of their reporting unfavourably,
no doubt the services of the local priesthood would have been called
in.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/7788-250402071515-384d01cb/85/Processes-Systems-and-Information-An-Introduction-to-MIS-3rd-Edition-Mckinney-Test-Bank-44-320.jpg)
![We have already seen that flocks and herds which were owned by
the great temples were sometimes pastured with those of the king,
and there is abundant evidence that the king also superintended the
collection of temple-revenues along with his own. Collectors of both
secular and ecclesiastical tribute sent reports directly to the king,
and, if there was any deficit in the supply expected from a collector,
he had to make it up himself. From one of Hammurabi's letters, for
example, we gather that two landowners, or money-lenders, had
lent money or advanced seed-corn to certain farmers near the towns
of Dûr-gurgurri and Rakhabu and along the Tigris, and in settlement
of their claims had seized the crops, refusing to pay the proportion
due to Bît-il-kittim, the great temple of the Sun-god at Larsa. The
governor of Larsa, the principal city in the district, had rightly, as the
representative of the palace, caused the tax-collector to make up the
deficiency, but Hammurabi, on receiving the subordinate officer's
complaint, referred the matter back to the governor, and we may
infer from similar cases that the defaulting parties had to make good
the loss and submit to fines or punishment.[44] The document
throws an interesting light on the methods of government
administration, and the manner in which the king gave personal
supervision to the smallest details.
It will be obvious that for the administration of the country a large
body of officials were required, and of their number two classes, of a
semi-military character, enjoyed the king's special favour and
protection. They were placed in charge of public works and looked
after and controlled the public slaves, and they probably also had a
good deal to do with the collection of the revenue. As payment for
their duties, they were each granted land with a house and garden;
they were assigned sheep and cattle to stock their land, and in
addition they Received a regular salary. They were, in a sense,
personal retainers of the king, and were liable to be sent at any
moment on a special mission. Disobedience was severely punished,
for if such an officer, when detailed for special service, hired a
substitute, he was liable to be put to death and the substitute could
take his office. Sometimes an officer was sent to take charge of a](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/7788-250402071515-384d01cb/85/Processes-Systems-and-Information-An-Introduction-to-MIS-3rd-Edition-Mckinney-Test-Bank-45-320.jpg)
![personal retainers and followers of Sumu-abum, the founder of the
dynasty. Originally soldiers, they were probably assigned lands
throughout the country in return for their services to the king, and
they continued to serve him by maintaining order and upholding his
authority. In the course of time specified duties were assigned to
them, but they retained their privileges, and they must have
remained a very valuable body of officers, on whose personal loyalty
the king could always rely. In the case of war, they may have
assisted in mobilization for the army was probably raised on a
territorial basis, much on the lines of the corvée for public works
which was under their control.
By contemporary documents of the period much light is thrown on
other classes of the population, but, as they were all connected with
various departments in the commercial or agricultural life of the
community, it will be unnecessary to describe them in further detail.
One class perhaps deserves mention, the surgeons, since lack of
professional skill was rather heavily penalized. For if a surgeon,
when called in by a noble, carried out an operation so unskilfully as
to cause his death or inflict a permanent injury upon him, such as
the loss of an eye, the punishment was amputation of both hands.
No penalty appears to have been enacted if the patient were a
member of the middle class, but should the slave of such a man die
as the result of an operation, the surgeon had to give the owner
another slave; and, in the event of the slave losing his eye, he had
to pay the owner half the slave's value. There was, of course, no
secular class in the population which corresponded to the modern
doctor, for the medicinal use of herbs and drugs was not separated
from their employment in magic. Disease was looked upon as due to
the agency of evil spirits, or of those that controlled them, and
though many potions were doubtless drunk of a curative nature,
they were taken at the instance of the magician, not of the doctor,
and to the accompaniment of magical rites and incantations.[45]
In the religious sphere, the rise of Babylon to the position of capital
led to a number of important changes, and to a revision of the](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/7788-250402071515-384d01cb/85/Processes-Systems-and-Information-An-Introduction-to-MIS-3rd-Edition-Mckinney-Test-Bank-48-320.jpg)
![Babylonian pantheon. Marduk, the god of Babylon, from being a
comparatively obscure city-god, underwent a transformation in
proportion to the increase in his city's importance. The achievements
and attributes of Enlil, the chief Sumerian deity, were ascribed to
him, and the old Sumerian sagas and legends, particularly those of
the creation of the world, were rewritten in this new spirit by the
Babylonian priesthood. The beginning of the process may be
accurately dated to the year of Hammurabi's conquest of Rîm-Sin
and his subsequent control of Nippur, the ancient centre of the old
Sumerian faith. It does not appear that the earlier Semites, when
they conquered that city, had ever attempted to modify the old
traditions they found there, or to appropriate them for their local
gods. But a new spirit was introduced with the triumph of the
Western Semites. The Sumerians were then a dying race, and the
gradual disappearance of their language as a living tongue was
accompanied by a systematic translation, and a partial
transformation, of their sacred literature. Enlil could not be entirely
ousted from the position he had so long enjoyed, but Marduk
became his greater son. The younger god is represented as winning
his position by his own valour, in coming to the help of the older
gods when their very existence was threatened by the dragons of
chaos; and, having slain the monster of the deep, he is portrayed as
creating the universe from her severed body.[46] The older legends,
no doubt, continued to be treasured in the ancient cult-centres of
the land, but the Babylonian versions, under royal sanction and
encouragement, tended to gain wide recognition and popularity.
Under the later kings of the First Dynasty a great impetus was also
given to all branches of literary activity. The old Sumerian language
still bulked largely in the phraseology of legal and commercial
documents, as well as in the purely religious literature of the
country. And, to aid them in their study of the ancient texts, the
Semitic scribes undertook a systematic compilation of explanatory
lists of words and ideograms—the earliest form of dictionary,—which
continued in use into the Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian periods. The
Sumerian texts, too, were copied out and furnished with inter-linear](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/7788-250402071515-384d01cb/85/Processes-Systems-and-Information-An-Introduction-to-MIS-3rd-Edition-Mckinney-Test-Bank-49-320.jpg)
![blends into the racial mixture, the Semitic element triumphed, and
continued to receive reinforcements from the parent stock. The
Sumerian race and language appear to have survived longest in the
extreme south of the country, and we shall see that the rise of the
Sea-Country kings may perhaps be regarded as their last effective
effort in the political sphere.
[1] The Code was first published and translated by Scheil, in the
"Mémoires de la Délégation en Perse," Vol. IV. (1902), and the
accompanying photographie facsimile remains the best authority
for the text. For the fullest and best bibliography to the immense
mass of literature which has grown up around it, see Johns,
"Schweich Lectures," 1912, pp. 65 ff.; the most accessible
versions in English are those by Johns in "Babylonian and Assyrian
Laws, Contracts and Letters" (1904), pp. 44 ff., and in Hastings'
"Dictionary of the Bible," Vol. V. For the linguistic study of the text
Ungnad's transliteration and glossary in Kohler and Ungnad's
"Hammurabi's Gesetz," Bd. II. (1909), may be specially
mentioned.
[2] For the latest bibliography to the early contract-literature see
Schorr, "Urkunden des altbabylonischen Zivil- und Prozessrechts"
(published in the "Vorderasiatische Bibliothek," 1913), pp. xlix. ff.
The great bulk of the royal letters are in the British Museum and
are translated in "Letters and Inscriptions of Hammurabi, etc."
(1898-1900); and for publications of private letters of the period,
see Schorr, op cit., p. lvi.
[3] See Clay, "Orient. Lit.-Zeit," 1914 (January), "A Sumerian
Prototype of the Hammurabi Code." The text, of which Prof. Clay
has sent me a photograph, is of the greatest importance for the
study of Babylonian law; he is at present preparing it for
publication.
[4] The Babylonian name for a member of the upper class was
awîlum, "man," and, when employed in this special sense, it is
best translated by some such expression as "patrician" or "noble."
But for legislative purposes, as well as in common parlance,
awîlum could be employed in its more general meaning to include
members of the middle class.
[5] They were known as mushkênum, derived from the Shafel-Piel
stem of the root (kânu), with the meaning "to humble oneself, to](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/7788-250402071515-384d01cb/85/Processes-Systems-and-Information-An-Introduction-to-MIS-3rd-Edition-Mckinney-Test-Bank-51-320.jpg)
![be humble." Combe has compared the similar use of miskîn in
Arabic for a man of humble station who is not a descendant of the
prophet (cf. "Babyloniaca," III., p. 73 f.). The word passed into
Hebrew as miskên, and, with modifications of meaning, into more
than one European language (cf. Ital. meschino, meschinello,
Portug. mesquinho, French mesquin); see Johns, "Schweich
Lectures (1912), pp. 8, 74.
[6] Herodotus (I., 193) bears witness to the great fertility of
Babylonia, stating that of all countries of the ancient world it was
the most fruitful in grain.
[7] On the early system of tribal ownership, which survived even
the Kassite conquest and requisitions, see below, pp. 249 ff.
[8] In fact, the métayer system was in force, the landlord finding
the cattle, agricultural implements, and seed for the culture of the
fields; cf. Johns, "Schweich Lectures," p. 5.
[9] See the five letters of Ammi-zaduga, in "Letters of Ham." III.,
pp. 162 ff.
[10] For the loss of an eye the hirer paid half the beast's value,
and a quarter for a broken horn, the loss of the tail, or a torn
muzzle.
[11] See § 256 of the Code.
[12] Cf. "Letters of Hammurabi," III., pp. 130 ff.
[13] They are also referred to by Herodotus (I., 193), but not
described.
[14] At Hit on the Euphrates are some of the largest water-wheels
in Mesopotamia, a line of them being built across one portion of
the river.
[15] Cf. "Cun. Texts in the Brit. Mus.," XXVI., p. 26.
[16] See Fig. 40, and cf. Clay, "Documents from the Temple
Archives of Nippur," in the "Museum Publications of the Univ. of
Pennsylvania," Vol. II., No. 2 (1912), p. 65, from which the
drawing has been taken.
[17] See Plate XXI., opposite p. 248.
[18] Cf. Frank, "Das Symbol der Göttin Gestinna," in the "Hilprecht
Anniversary Volume" (1909), pp. 104 ff.
[19] Cf. Place, "Ninive et l'Assyrie," III., pl. 31; the plough is there
depicted in yellow enamel on a blue ground.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/7788-250402071515-384d01cb/85/Processes-Systems-and-Information-An-Introduction-to-MIS-3rd-Edition-Mckinney-Test-Bank-52-320.jpg)
Processes Systems and Information An Introduction to MIS 3rd Edition Mckinney Test Bank
- 1. Processes Systems and Information An Introduction to MIS 3rd Edition Mckinney Test Bank pdf download https://testbankfan.com/product/processes-systems-and- information-an-introduction-to-mis-3rd-edition-mckinney-test- bank/
- 2. We believe these products will be a great fit for you. Click the link to download now, or visit testbankfan.com to discover even more! Processes Systems and Information An Introduction to MIS 3rd Edition Mckinney Solutions Manual https://testbankfan.com/product/processes-systems-and- information-an-introduction-to-mis-3rd-edition-mckinney- solutions-manual/ Processes Systems and Information An Introduction to MIS 2nd Edition McKinney Test Bank https://testbankfan.com/product/processes-systems-and- information-an-introduction-to-mis-2nd-edition-mckinney-test- bank/ Processes Systems and Information An Introduction to MIS 2nd Edition McKinney Solutions Manual https://testbankfan.com/product/processes-systems-and- information-an-introduction-to-mis-2nd-edition-mckinney- solutions-manual/ Principles Of Microeconomics Canadian 6th Edition Mankiw Test Bank https://testbankfan.com/product/principles-of-microeconomics- canadian-6th-edition-mankiw-test-bank/
- 3. Elementary Statistics Picturing The World 7th Edition Larson Test Bank https://testbankfan.com/product/elementary-statistics-picturing- the-world-7th-edition-larson-test-bank/ Concepts in Enterprise Resource Planning 4th Edition Monk Test Bank https://testbankfan.com/product/concepts-in-enterprise-resource- planning-4th-edition-monk-test-bank/ Financial Managerial Accounting 3rd Edition Horngren Solutions Manual https://testbankfan.com/product/financial-managerial- accounting-3rd-edition-horngren-solutions-manual/ Managing Human Resources 16th Edition Snell Test Bank https://testbankfan.com/product/managing-human-resources-16th- edition-snell-test-bank/ Comprehensive Medical Assisting Administrative and Clinical Competencies 6th Edition Lindh Test Bank https://testbankfan.com/product/comprehensive-medical-assisting- administrative-and-clinical-competencies-6th-edition-lindh-test- bank/
- 4. Financial Reporting 2nd Edition Loftus Solutions Manual https://testbankfan.com/product/financial-reporting-2nd-edition- loftus-solutions-manual/
- 5. 1 Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. Processes, Systems, and Information, 3e (McKinney/Kroenke) Chapter 7 Supporting Processes with ERP Systems 1) With information silos, the data needed by one process are stored in an information system designed and used in another process. Answer: TRUE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 1: What problem does an ERP system solve? Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes 2) Information silos create islands of automation that increase the performance of processes and make process integration easy. Answer: FALSE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 1: What problem does an ERP system solve? Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes 3) An ERP system tackles the silo problem by bringing data together in a big database to help a company improve its processes. Answer: TRUE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 1: What problem does an ERP system solve? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 4) An ERP system use a centralized database. Answer: TRUE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 1: What problem does an ERP system solve? Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes 5) By consolidating data, a company can avoid the problem of having multiple versions of the same thing. Answer: TRUE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 1: What problem does an ERP system solve? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 6) The challenges now involve updates and expansions, not the initial implementation. Answer: TRUE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 1: What problem does an ERP system solve?
- 6. 2 Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 7) ERP system can improve a single process, but it interferes with the processes in an entire organization. Answer: FALSE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 1: What problem does an ERP system solve? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 8) Businesses have been using information systems to support their processes well before the Internet was invented. Answer: TRUE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system? Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes 9) Material requirements planning provided financial tracking capabilities and the opportunity to schedule equipment and facilities. Answer: FALSE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system? Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes 10) To execute a just in time delivery, unimpeded flows of data are essential between the supplier and manufacturer. Answer: TRUE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system? Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes 11) The progress of information systems and business processes impact one another. Answer: TRUE Difficulty: Moderate AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system? Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes 12) For a product to be considered a true enterprise resource planning product, it must include applications that integrate processes in supply chain management, manufacturing, customer relationship management, human resources, and accounting. Answer: TRUE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology
- 7. 3 Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 13) An enterprise resource planning solution cannot be partially implemented. Answer: FALSE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 14) Writing new code to supplement an enterprise resource planning system is called customization. Answer: TRUE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 15) If a new enterprise resource planning customer has requirements that cannot be met via configuration, then the customer must stay with its current systems. Answer: FALSE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 16) Application code can be added to any enterprise resource planning implementation using specific application languages such as Java. Answer: TRUE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 17) An enterprise resource planning solution does not contain a company's actual operational data, but operational data can be entered during development and use. Answer: TRUE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 18) Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems rely on a DBMS to process and administer the ERP database. Answer: TRUE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology
- 8. 4 Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system? Course LO: Discuss best practices for using and managing databases 19) Transactional data are data related to events such as a purchase or a student enrollment. Answer: TRUE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system? Course LO: Discuss best practices for using and managing databases 20) Master data, used in an enterprise resource planning system, changes with every transaction. Answer: FALSE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 21) Transactional data, also called reference data, includes supplier names and addresses, item names and units of measure, and employee data. Answer: FALSE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 22) A procedure is a set of instructions for a person to follow when operating an information system. Answer: TRUE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 23) In the context of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, a systems analyst works for the ERP vendor or a third party, and helps budget, plan, train, configure, and implement the system. Answer: FALSE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 24) Users are the employees of the firm implementing the system. Answer: TRUE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system?
- 9. 5 Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 25) Training an organization's users to become in-house trainers for enterprise resource planning systems reduces the total expenses. Answer: TRUE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 26) Organizations implementing an enterprise resource planning system are restricted from designing new business processes. Answer: FALSE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 27) A gap analysis highlights the differences between the business requirements that emerge from strategic planning and the capabilities of the enterprise resource planning system. Answer: TRUE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 28) One of the shortcomings of using an enterprise resource planning product is that data sharing does not occur in real time. Answer: FALSE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 3: What are the benefits of an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 29) A benefit of an ERP system for the organization is converting its processes to the well-integrated, inherent, best-practice processes of the ERP vendor. Answer: TRUE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 3: What are the benefits of an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 30) Customers and suppliers want to do business with an organization that does not use an ERP system. Answer: FALSE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology
- 10. 6 Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter LO: 3: What are the benefits of an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 31) To help managers spot trends and changes, enterprise resource planning systems can provide managers with dashboards. Answer: TRUE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 3: What are the benefits of an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 32) Selecting the right ERP vendor is one of them most challenging decisions for an organization. Answer: TRUE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 4: What are the challenges of implementing an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 33) A long list of “likes” will lead to a long list of gaps and a difficult implementation. Answer: TRUE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 4: What are the challenges of implementing an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 34) The configuration decisions that implementation teams must make include decisions about item identifiers, order size, and bill of material. Answer: TRUE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 4: What are the challenges of implementing an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 35) Data issues are rarely a decision implementation challenge. Answer: FALSE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 4: What are the challenges of implementing an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 36) The actions and attitudes of the people in the client organization can make implementation even more challenging. Answer: TRUE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 4: What are the challenges of implementing an ERP system?
- 11. 7 Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 37) Management’s failure to anticipate cultural resistance may negatively impact self-efficacy. Answer: TRUE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 4: What are the challenges of implementing an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 38) Most companies have not survived an initial implementation and have not learned how to cope with many of the problems of an ERP implementation. Answer: FALSE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 4: What are the challenges of implementing an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 39) When a firm customizes the ERP software, it is always compatible with new ERP software versions. Answer: FALSE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 4: What are the challenges of implementing an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 40) Among companies of varied sizes, the availability of skilled business and IT analysts is an important difference that has a major impact on enterprise resource planning. Answer: TRUE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 5: What types of organizations use ERP? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 41) Small organizations expand IT from one person to a small staff, but frequently this staff is isolated from senior-level management. Answer: FALSE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 5: What types of organizations use ERP? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 42) Midsize organizations have a full IT staff that is headed by the chief information officer. Answer: FALSE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 5: What types of organizations use ERP? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning
- 12. 8 Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. 43) International enterprise resource planning solutions are designed to work with multiple currencies. Answer: TRUE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 5: What types of organizations use ERP? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 44) International organizations can maintain multiple instances of enterprise resource planning implementation for each country, business unit, or region. Answer: TRUE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 5: What types of organizations use ERP? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 45) Intel has the largest market share in the enterprise resource planning industry. Answer: FALSE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 6: Who are the major ERP vendors? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 46) A Microsoft Dynamics implementation is larger in scale and functionality compared to Oracle and SAP. Answer: FALSE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 6: Who are the major ERP vendors? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 47) All the enterprise resource planning products of Microsoft Dynamics are well integrated with Microsoft Office and Microsoft's development languages. Answer: FALSE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 6: Who are the major ERP vendors? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 48) Oracle is the gold standard of enterprise resource planning (ERP) products and offers the most extensive line of ERP products. Answer: FALSE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 6: Who are the major ERP vendors? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning
- 13. 9 Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. 49) SAP produces and sells cost-specific platforms to speed up the configuration process. Answer: FALSE Difficulty: Moderate AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 7: What makes SAP different from other ERP products? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 50) A configuration is a distinct and logical grouping of processes. Answer: FALSE Difficulty: Moderate AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 7: What makes SAP different from other ERP products? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 51) The SAP Business Suite runs on an application platform called NetSuite. Answer: FALSE Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 7: What makes SAP different from other ERP products? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 52) With ________, the data needed by one process are stored in an information system designed and used in another process. A) information silos B) automation C) encapsulation D) data warehousing Answer: A Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 1: What problem does an ERP system solve? Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes 53) Which of the following statements is true about ERP systems? A) It utilizes a centralized database. B) It provides users with access to metadata files that describe the location of an organization's data. C) It appears to be an integrated database to the user. D) It prohibits information silos from communicating with each other and sharing data. Answer: A Difficulty: Moderate AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 1: What problem does an ERP system solve? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning
- 14. 10 Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. 54) In an organization, data from a new sale is immediately sent to the database and that new data updates the pace of production and the procurement of supplies. This is an example of enterprise resource planning process ________. A) customization B) duplication C) integration D) decentralization Answer: C Difficulty: Moderate AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 1: What problem does an ERP system solve? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 55) By the 1970s, manufacturing companies began to use software called ________ to efficiently manage inventory, production, and labor. A) enterprise application integration B) enterprise resource planning C) business performance management D) material requirements planning Answer: D Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system? Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes 56) ________ integrates manufacturing and supply where manufacturing occurs just as raw materials arrive. A) Just in case manufacturing B) Just in time delivery C) Material requirements planning D) Economic order quantity Answer: B Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system? Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes 57) Which of the following federal laws required companies to exercise greater control over their financial processes? A) the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act B) the Volstead Act C) the Tower Amendment D) the Sarbanes-Oxley Act Answer: D Difficulty: Easy Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system?
- 15. 11 Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes 58) Which of the following activities is included in supply chain management? A) sales prospecting B) bill of materials C) inventory management D) customer management Answer: C Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system? Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supply chain management and performance 59) Which of the following activities is included in customer relationship management? A) procurement B) marketing C) bill of materials D) payroll Answer: B Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the functions of customer relationship management (CRM) systems 60) Which of the following activities is included in human resources? A) capacity planning B) call center support C) benefits administration D) cash management Answer: C Difficulty: Easy Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system? Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes 61) The customization of enterprise resource planning software to meet different customer requirements without changing the program code is called ________. A) modularity B) configuration C) automation D) process blueprinting Answer: B Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning
- 16. 12 Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. 62) Writing new code to supplement an enterprise resource planning system is called ________. A) automation B) customization C) integration D) centralization Answer: B Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 63) Which of the following technological advances has enabled the use of off-premises enterprise resource planning systems? A) cloud computing B) computer card reader C) punch card D) legacy system Answer: A Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 64) A ________ is a set of instructions for a person to follow when operating an information system. A) procedure B) metadata C) process D) database Answer: A Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 65) A ________ works for an enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendor or a third party and helps budget, plan, train, configure, and implement an ERP system. A) developer B) consultant C) systems analyst D) business analyst Answer: B Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning
- 17. 13 Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. 66) A ________ understands the technical aspects of enterprise resource planning (ERP) and helps plan, configure, and implement an ERP system for company use. A) trainer B) project manager C) business analyst D) developer Answer: C Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 67) ________ write additional code where necessary for implementing enterprise resource planning systems. A) Consultants B) Business analysts C) Architects D) Developers Answer: D Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 68) The inherent processes defined in an enterprise resource planning system are also known as ________. A) inbound processes B) stored procedures C) transaction logs D) process blueprints Answer: D Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 69) Which of the following is an organizational benefit of using an enterprise resource planning system? A) It maintains individual databases for each department. B) It facilitates data sharing in real time. C) It minimizes the use of dashboards. D) It promotes the duplication of data. Answer: B Difficulty: Moderate AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 3: What are the benefits of an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning
- 18. 14 Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. 70) Organizations conduct ________ to identify the differences between the business requirements that emerge from strategic planning and the capabilities of the chosen enterprise resource planning system. A) access controls B) inherent processes C) gap analysis D) dashboards Answer: C Difficulty: Moderate AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 4: What are the challenges of implementing an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 71) The ________ is used to specify the raw materials, quantities, and subassemblies needed to create a final product. A) bill of material B) bill of lading C) item identifier D) dashboard Answer: A Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 4: What are the challenges of implementing an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 72) Which of the following challenges of implementing an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is people-related? A) the structure of the bill of material B) the order size C) the data in the ERP system D) the inability to collaborate Answer: D Difficulty: Moderate AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 4: What are the challenges of implementing an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 73) When organizations upgrade existing enterprise resource planning systems, they can be challenged by the version lock problem because of ________. A) employee self-efficacy B) heavy customization C) organizational culture D) minimal configuration Answer: B Difficulty: Moderate AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 4: What are the challenges of implementing an ERP system?
- 19. 15 Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 74) Which of the following statements is true of small organizations? A) They expand IT from one person to a small staff, but frequently this staff is isolated from senior-level management. B) They employ only one or two IT analysts who not only manage the enterprise resource planning system, but also the entire IS department. C) They employ several IT analysts to manage the enterprise resource planning system. D) They have a full IT staff that is headed by the chief information officer. Answer: B Difficulty: Moderate AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 5: What types of organizations use ERP? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 75) When international firms consolidate all their operations within a large enterprise resource planning implementation, it is referred to as a(n) ________. A) single instance B) multiple instance C) inherent process D) configuration decision Answer: A Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 5: What types of organizations use ERP? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 76) The ________ is a business and IT professional who heads the IT staff in large organizations, sits on the executive board, and is an active participant in organizational strategic planning. A) chief executive officer B) chief information officer C) chief operating officer D) chief financial officer Answer: B Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 5: What types of organizations use ERP? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 77) Which of the following companies has the largest market share in the enterprise resource planning industry? A) Epicor B) SAP C) Oracle D) Microsoft Answer: B
- 20. 16 Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 6: Who are the major ERP vendors? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 78) Oracle's high-quality HR products are branded as ________. A) PeopleSoft B) NetWeaver C) Siebel D) Epicor 10 Answer: A Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 6: Who are the major ERP vendors? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 79) Oracle's high-quality CRM products are branded as ________. A) PeopleSoft B) Siebel C) Epicor 10 D) NetWeaver Answer: B Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 6: Who are the major ERP vendors? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 80) Which of the following statements is true about Oracle and its enterprise resource planning (ERP) products? A) It is known primarily for its retail-oriented ERP software. B) It is known to create easy-to-use products. C) It is known to produce fully-featured products with superior performance. D) It is known for its cost-effective solutions. Answer: C Difficulty: Moderate AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 6: Who are the major ERP vendors? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 81) Which of the following is the gold standard of enterprise resource planning products? A) Oracle B) Microsoft C) Epicor D) SAP Answer: D Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology
- 21. 17 Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter LO: 6: Who are the major ERP vendors? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 82) Tier 1 enterprise resource planning vendors such as SAP and Oracle are more appealing to large firms due to ________. A) opportunities for corporate-wide standardization B) industry-specific systems C) solutions for specific business functions D) pay-as-you-go cloud services Answer: A Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 6: Who are the major ERP vendors? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 83) Enterprise resource planning vendors outside of Tier 1 are establishing a strong niche in the industry by focusing on ________. A) preconfigured platforms B) industry-specific systems C) standardized processes D) fully-featured products Answer: B Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 6: Who are the major ERP vendors? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 84) The core business of SAP AG is ________. A) providing consulting and training services in enterprise resource planning software B) offering pay-as-you-go cloud services C) developing personal computers, laptops, and smartphones D) selling licenses for software solutions and related services Answer: D Difficulty: Moderate AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 7: What makes SAP different from other ERP products? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 85) All SAP implementations start with an SAP ________. A) user training program B) industry-specific platform C) gap analysis D) requirement analysis Answer: B Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 7: What makes SAP different from other ERP products?
- 22. 18 Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 86) Which of the following best defines a module? A) It is a distinct and logical grouping of processes. B) It is a preconfiguration platform devised for a particular industry. C) It is a collection of interconnected and interdependent programs. D) It is an inherent process in an enterprise resource planning system. Answer: A Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 7: What makes SAP different from other ERP products? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 87) Which of the following statements is true about SAP and its enterprise resource planning products? A) SAP has made a rapid move to thin-client, cloud-based solutions. B) SAP addresses the needs of only small and mid-sized organizations. C) SAP provides industry-specific platforms that are configured to a particular company. D) SAP has overcome its dependence on client-server architecture. Answer: C Difficulty: Moderate AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 7: What makes SAP different from other ERP products? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 88) ________, one of the more well-known versions of SAP, was the first truly integrated system that was able to support most of an organization's major operational processes. A) R/3 B) NetWeaver C) ABAP D) NetSuite Answer: A Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 7: What makes SAP different from other ERP products? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 89) The SAP Business Suite runs on an application platform called ________. A) R/3 B) NetSuite C) NetWeaver D) Baan ERP Answer: A Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 7: What makes SAP different from other ERP products? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning
- 23. 19 Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. 90) What are information silos? What problems do they cause in a database? Answer: An information silo is isolated data stored in separated information systems. With information silos, the data needed by one process are stored in an information system designed and used in another process. Because information silos exist in isolation from one another, they create islands of automation that can reduce the performance of processes and make process integration difficult. Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 1: What problem does an ERP system solve? Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes 91) How can the problem of information silos be solved? Answer: In business, the silo problem is solved by ERP systems. ERP systems are very large enterprise IS that bring data together in a big database and help a company improve its processes. An ERP system is an IS designed to integrate processes by consolidating data. An ERP system creates a single database. By consolidating data, a company can avoid the problem of having multiple versions of the same thing—for example, storing data about a customer in two silos and not knowing which customer data is correct. ERP systems provide a set of industry-leading processes that are well integrated with each other. Difficulty: Moderate AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 1: What problem does an ERP system solve? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 92) Describe how businesses used computers for inventory purposes before the advent of the Internet. Answer: Although the term enterprise resource planning (ERP) is relatively new, businesses have been using IS to support their processes for 50 years, well before the Internet. In the 1960s, a business could use a dedicated phone line, a computer card reader, and punch cards to send inventory orders to a supplier. By the 1970s, businesses began to buy their own mainframe computers, and manufacturing companies began to use software called material requirements planning (MRP) to efficiently manage inventory, production, and labor. As computing power became cheaper, manufacturing resource planning (MRPII) was developed that added financial tracking capabilities as well as the opportunity to schedule equipment and facilities. The business environment continued to evolve with the advent of just in time (JIT) delivery, which integrated manufacturing and supply. Difficulty: Moderate AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 93) What are the different business functions integrated by enterprise resource planning (ERP) products? Answer: For a product to be considered a true ERP product, it must include applications that integrate the processes in the following business functions: - Supply chain management (procurement, sales order processing, inventory management,
- 24. 20 Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. supplier management, and related activities) - Manufacturing (manufacturing scheduling, capacity planning, quality control, bill of materials, and related activities) - Customer relationship management (sales prospecting, customer management, marketing, customer support, call center support) - Human resources (payroll, time and attendance, HR management, commission calculations, benefits administration, and related activities) - Accounting (general ledger, accounts receivable, accounts payable, cash management, fixed- asset accounting) Difficulty: Moderate AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 94) Explain configuration in enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. What are its limitations? Answer: The enterprise resource planning (ERP) software typically resides on servers and on client machines in the company. The software can be customized to meet customer requirements without changing program code. This customization is called configuration. There are limits to how much configuration can be done. If a new ERP customer has requirements that cannot be met via configuration, then the customer either needs to adapt its business to what the software can do or write application code to meet its requirements. Code can be added to any ERP implementation using specific application languages such as Java. The most common use of this application code is to create company-unique reports from ERP data. Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 95) What are the different types of data in an enterprise resource planning (ERP) database? Answer: In an ERP database, there are several different types of data. Transactional data are data related to events such as a purchase or a student enrollment. Examples of transactional data include purchases at the bookstore, student tuition payments, deliveries, and payroll expenditures. Master data, also called reference data, are data used in the organization that don't change with every transaction. Master data includes supplier names and addresses, item names and units of measure, and employee data. ERP systems also designate organizational data, data about a university such as the location of its warehouses, the mailing address of the buildings, and the names in its financial accounts. Difficulty: Moderate AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 96) Explain the different categories of people involved with enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. Answer: The people involved with an ERP system fall into three general categories. Users are the employees of the firm implementing the system. IT analysts, also called systems analysts, are
- 25. 21 Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. also employees. IT analysts have specialized training or education that enables them to support, maintain, and adapt the system after it has been implemented. Many analysts have a background or education in MIS or IT. A third role is consultant. A consultant works for the ERP vendor or a different company, called a third party, and helps budget, plan, train, configure, and implement the system. These consultants may work at the implementing firm for a period before, during, and after the implementation. Difficulty: Moderate AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 97) Explain the steps to create a functioning enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. Answer: First, the top managers of the company revisit their strategy so that the ERP system has clear goals. Next, they conduct a gap analysis, a study that highlights the differences between the business requirements that emerge from strategic planning and the capabilities of the ERP system. The implementation team then develops processes it will use and configures the software. In the final steps, the company's IT staff writes procedures, trains the users, and tests the system. Difficulty: Moderate AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 2: What are the elements of an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 98) What are the benefits of using an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system? Answer: The benefits of using an ERP system are: - It converts its processes to the best-practice processes of the ERP vendor. - Data sharing occurs in real time. - Management can be more insightful and provide better oversight. - It solves the information silo problem. Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 3: What are the benefits of an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 99) Explain the kinds of configuration decisions that enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation teams must make. Answer: One configuration decision is item identifiers. Another set of issues is order size—the organization must specify the number of items in a standard order. A third detailed decision is the structure of the bill of material (BOM). For each of these configuration decisions, the implementation teams must first decide if any of the configuration choices offered by the ERP vendor are suitable. If not, the team must then weigh the advantages and disadvantages of using customized software. Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 4: What are the challenges of implementing an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning
- 26. 22 Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. 100) What are the Management-related issues faced by enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation teams? Answer: One common problem occurs when top management believes the hard part of the implementation process is the decision to implement. Managers believe that once that decision is made, they can move on. Instead, they need to stay involved, ensure implementation is monitored, resources are committed, good procedures are written, and thorough training is conducted. A second top management problem is overselling the vision of what the system will do. Often management can be blinded by the benefits of the promised system and not look carefully at the assumptions behind the promises. This can lead top management to buy more features than it needs or than the organization can implement successfully. When an ERP system is implemented, the way work is done is changed and the culture typically bites back. Changing the culture can lead to employee resistance as the change in work habits may threaten self-efficacy, which is a person's belief that he or she can be successful at his or her job. ERP projects are very large, and many businesses struggle to find managers with the project management skills necessary to make these projects successful. Difficulty: Moderate AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 4: What are the challenges of implementing an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 101) How does team collaboration impact enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation teams? Answer: Implementing an ERP system requires extensive and effective collaboration; when collaboration breaks down, implementation suffers. Consultants from the vendor, IT analysts from the client firm, and end users all know things the others don’t know; these missing bits of knowledge can only be learned by collaborating Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 4: What are the challenges of implementing an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 102) What are the individual-related issues faced by enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation teams? Answer: As mentioned, implementation changes the work people do. However, the people whose work has changed often receive no benefit from the change; they get the pain but no gain. A final challenge is how to get the firm’s people to learn and use ERP software that is not particularly user-friendly. ERP screens are jargon filled, are difficult to correct, offer unhelpful help, and are hard to explain. Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 4: What are the challenges of implementing an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning
- 27. 23 Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. 103) Explain the challenges that companies face with and ERP upgrade: Answer: Resistance may be particularly strong if people believe the upgrade will be as disruptive as the original implementation. Resistance may be particularly strong if people believe the upgrade will be as disruptive as the original implementation. A third problem with upgrades is sometimes referred to as version lock. Version lock occurs when a client firm has so customized ERP software that it has locked itself out of upgrading to new ERP software. Finally, upgrades are challenging if the client firm has not developed a long-term strategy for ERP updates Difficulty: Easy AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 4: What are the challenges of implementing an ERP system? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 104) What enterprise resource planning (ERP) needs are unique to midsized and large organizations? Answer: Midsize organizations may expand IT from one person to a small staff, but frequently this staff is isolated from senior-level management. Such isolation can create misunderstandings and distrust. Because of the expense, organizational disruption, and length of ERP projects, senior management must be committed to the ERP solution. When IT management is isolated, such commitment is difficult to obtain and may not be strong. This issue is problematic enough that many ERP consultants say the first step for these firms in moving toward ERP is to obtain deep senior-level commitment to the project. Large organizations have a full IT staff that is headed by the chief information officer (CIO), a business and IT professional who sits on the executive board and is an active participant in organizational strategic planning. ERP implementation will be part of that strategic process and, when begun, will have the full backing of the entire executive group. Difficulty: Moderate AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 5: What types of organizations use ERP? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 105) Explain the benefits of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) application to multinational organizations. Answer: ERP brings huge benefits to multinational organizations. International ERP solutions are designed to work with multiple currencies, manage international transfers of goods in inventories, and work effectively with international supply chains. Even more important, ERP solutions provide a worldwide consolidation of financial statements on a timely basis. As a result, they can produce one set of financial reports, better analyze where costs could be saved, and identify where production can be optimized. While it is advantageous for these international firms to consolidate all their operations within one large ERP implementation, called a single instance, some firms maintain multiple instances, or an ERP for each country, business unit, or region. For these firms, the advantages of one set of data, a single financial system and worldwide process standards are outweighed by the cost of consolidating or the disparity among divisions. Difficulty: Moderate
- 28. 24 Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 5: What types of organizations use ERP? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 106) Name two vendors of enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions and explain how they are unique. Answer: Oracle is an intensely competitive company with a deep base of technology and high- quality technical staff. Oracle developed some of its ERP products in-house and has complemented those products with others obtained through its acquisition of PeopleSoft (high- quality HR products) and Siebel (high-quality CRM products). Beginning with its first DBMS product release, Oracle has never been known to create easy-to-use products. It is known, however, for producing fully-featured products with superior performance. They are also expensive. SAP is the gold standard of ERP products. SAP is used by midsized and large companies and offers the most extensive line of ERP products. It has recently introduced Business ByDesign and Business One as smaller, more lightweight options for small to midsized companies, and it is expanding its cloud offerings with Cloud for Financials and Cloud for Customers. Difficulty: Moderate AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 6: Who are the major ERP vendors? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 107) How does SAP speed up the configuration process? What is a module? Answer: To speed up the configuration process, SAP produces and sells industry-specific platforms. An industry-specific platform is a preconfiguration platform that is appropriate for a particular industry, such as retail, manufacturing, or health care. All SAP implementations start with an SAP industry-specific platform and are further configured to a particular company. A module is a distinct and logical grouping of processes. For example, SD, the Sales and Distribution module, is a collection of processes supervised by the marketing department. These processes record customer data, sales data, and pricing data. Not every module is implemented in every installation of SAP. Companies that install SAP choose modules for their implementation. Difficulty: Moderate AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 7: What makes SAP different from other ERP products? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning 108) Explain the important characteristics of SAP's enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. Answer: SAP was the first ERP software designed to work at different companies. One of the more well-known versions of SAP is called R/3. The R/3 program (where R means "real time") was the first truly integrated system that was able to support most of an organization's major operational processes. SAP R/3 uses classic, native client, client-server architecture, rather than a browser-based approach that would be easier to use on a wide range of devices, such as smartphones and other thin clients. SAP later rebranded its R/3 software as the SAP Business Suite. The SAP Business Suite runs on an application platform called NetWeaver. NetWeaver connects SAP to hardware, third-party software, and output devices. NetWeaver also has SOA capabilities that help it integrate SAP with non-SAP applications. These features enable the Business Suite/NetWeaver approach to be more adaptive to new IT developments compared to
- 29. 25 Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc. R/3. ABAP is SAP's high-level application language that is used to enhance the functionality of an SAP implementation. Difficulty: Moderate AACSB: Information Technology Chapter LO: 7: What makes SAP different from other ERP products? Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning
- 30. Random documents with unrelated content Scribd suggests to you:
- 31. FIG. 41. ASSYRIAN KELEK ON THE TIGRIS. (After Layard.) From the royal letters of the period of the First Dynasty we know that the canals were not only used for irrigation, but also as water- ways for transport.—-The letters contain directions for the bringing of corn, dates, sesame-seed, and wood to Babylon, and we also know that wool and oil were carried in bulk by water. For transport of heavy goods on the Tigris and Euphrates it is possible that rafts, floated on inflated skins, were used from an early period, though the earliest evidence we have of their employment is furnished by the bas-reliefs from Nineveh. Such rafts have survived to the present day,[23] and they are specially adapted for the transport of heavy materials, for they are carried down by the current, and are kept in the main stream by means of huge sweeps or oars. Being formed only of logs of wood and skins, they are not costly, for wood was plentiful in the upper course of the rivers. At the end of the journey, after the goods were landed, they were broken up, the logs being sold at a profit, and the skins, after being deflated, were packed on donkeys to return up stream by caravan.[24]
- 32. FIG. 42. THE ASSYRIAN PROTOTYPE OF THE GUFA. (From a bas-relief in the British Museum.) The use of such keleks can only have been general when through- river communication was general, but, since we know that Hammurabi included Assyria within his dominions, it is not impossible that they may date from at least as early a period as the First Dynasty. For purely local traffic in small bulk the gufa, or light coracle, may have been used in Babylonia at this time, for its representation on the Assyrian monuments corresponds exactly with its structure at the present time as used; on the lower Tigris and Euphrates. The gufa is formed of wicker-work coated with bitumen, but some of those represented on the sculptures from Nineveh appear to have been covered with skins as in the description of Herodotus.[25] In the texts and inscriptions of the early period ships are referred to, and these were undoubtedly the only class of vessels employed on the canals for conveying supplies in bulk by water. The size of such ships, or barges, was reckoned by the amount of grain they were capable of carrying, measured by the gur, the largest measure of capacity. We find vessels of very different size referred to, varying from five to seventy-five gur and over. The larger class probably resembled the sailing barges and ferry-boats in use to-day,[26] which
- 33. are built of heavy timbers and have flat bottoms when intended for the transport of beasts. In Babylon at the time of the First Dynasty a boat-builder's fee for constructing a vessel of sixty gur was fixed at two shekels of silver, and it was proportionately less for vessels of smaller capacity. A boat-builder was held responsible for unsound work, and should defects develop in a vessel within a year of its being launched, he was obliged to strengthen or rebuild it at his own expense. Boatmen and sailors formed a numerous class in the community, and the yearly wage of a man in such employment was fixed at sixty gur of corn. Larger vessels carried crews under the command of a captain, or chief boatman, and there is evidence that the vessels owned by the king included many of the larger type, which he employed for carrying grain, wool and dates, as well as wood and stone for building-operations. FIG. 43. ASSYRIAN RAFT OF LOGS ON THE TIGRIS. (From a bas-relief in the British Museum.) It is probable that there were regular officials, under the king's control, who collected dues and looked after the water-transport in the separate sections of the river, or canal, on which they were stationed. It would have been their duty to report any damage or defect in the channel to the king, who would send orders to the local governor that the necessary repairs should be put in hand. One of
- 34. Hammurabi's letters deals with the blocking of a canal at Erech, about which he had received such reports. The dredging already undertaken had not been thoroughly done, so that the canal had soon silted up again and boats were prevented from reaching the city; in his letter Hammurabi sent pressing orders that the canal was to be rendered navigable within three days.[27] Special regulations were also in force with regard to the respective responsibilities of boat-owners, boatmen and their clients. If a boatman hired a boat from its owner, he was held responsible for it, and had to replace it should it be lost or sunk; but if he refloated it, he had only to pay the owner half its value for the damage it had sustained. Boatmen were also responsible for the safety of goods, such as corn, wool, oil or dates, which they had undertaken to carry for hire, and they had to make good any total loss due to their own carelessness. Collisions between two vessels were also provided for, and should one of the boats have been moored at the time, the boatman of the other vessel had to pay compensation for the boat that was sunk as well as for the lost cargo, the owner of the latter estimating its value upon oath. Many cases in the courts probably arose out of loss or damage to goods in course of transport by water. The commercial activities of Babylon at the time of the First Dynasty led to a considerable growth in the size of the larger cities, which ceased to be merely local centres of distribution and began to engage in commerce farther afield. Between Babylonia and Elam close commercial relations had long been maintained, but Hammurabi's western conquests opened up new markets to the merchants of his capital. The great trade-route up the Euphrates and into Syria was no longer blocked by military outposts and fortifications, placed there in the vain attempt to keep back the invasion of Amorite tribes; and the trade in pottery with Carchemish, of which we have evidence under the later kings of the First Dynasty,[28] is significant of the new relations established between Babylonia and the West. The great merchants were, as a body, members of the upper class, and while they themselves continued to
- 35. reside in Babylon, they employed traders who carried their goods abroad for them by caravan. Even Hammurabi could not entirely guarantee the safety of such traders, for attacks by brigands were then as common in the Nearer East as at the present day; and there was always the additional risk that a caravan might be captured by the enemy, if it ventured too near a hostile frontier. In such circumstances the king saw to it that the loss of the goods was not borne by the agent, who had already risked his life and liberty in undertaking their transport. For, if such an agent had been forced in the course of his journey to give up some of the goods he was carrying, he had to specify the exact amount on oath on his return, and he was then acquitted of all responsibility. But if it could be proved before the elders of the city that he had attempted to cheat his employer by misappropriating money or goods to his own use, he was obliged to pay the merchant three times the value of the goods he had taken. The law was not one-sided and afforded the agent equal protection in relation to his more powerful employer; for should the latter be convicted of an attempt to defraud his agent, by denying that the due amount had been returned to him, he had to pay his agent as compensation six times the amount in dispute. The merchant always advanced the goods or money with which to trade, and the fact that he could, if he wished to do so, fix his own profit at double the value of the capital, is an indication of the very satisfactory returns obtained at this period from foreign commerce. But the more usual practice was for merchant and trader to share the profits between them, and, in the event of the latter making such bad bargains that there was a loss on his journey, he had to refund to the merchant the full value of the goods he had received. At the time of the First Dynasty asses and donkeys were the beasts of burden employed for carrying merchandise, for the horse was as yet a great rarity and was not in general use in Babylonia until after the Kassite conquest.[29] A large number of the First Dynasty contracts relate to commercial journeys of this sort, and record the terms of the bargains entered
- 36. into between the interested parties. Such partnerships were sometimes concluded for a single journey, but more often for longer periods of time. The merchant always demanded a properly executed receipt for the money or goods he advanced to the trader, and the latter received one for any deposit or pledge he might have made in token of his good faith. In reckoning their accounts on the conclusion of a journey, only such amounts as were specified in the receipts were regarded as legal obligations, and, if either party had omitted to obtain his proper documents, he did so at his own risk. The market-places of the capital and the larger towns must have been the centres where such business arrangements were transacted, and official scribes were probably always in attendance to draw up the terms of any bargain in the presence of other merchants and traders, who acted as witnesses. These had their names enumerated at the close of the document, and since they were chosen from local residents, some were always at hand to testify in case of any subsequent dispute. The town-life in Babylonia at this time must have had many features in common with that of any provincial town in Mesopotamia to-day, except that the paternal government of the First Dynasty undoubtedly saw to it that the streets were kept clean, and made strenuous efforts to ensure that private houses should be soundly built and maintained in proper repair. We have already followed out the lines of some of the streets in ancient Babylon,[30] and noted that, while the foundations of the houses were usually of burnt brick, crude brick was invariably employed for their upper structure. They were probably all buildings of a single story, their flat mud roofs, supported on a layer of brush-wood with poles for rafters, serving as a sleeping-place for their inmates during the hot season. Contemporary evidence goes to show that, before the period of Hammurabi, private houses had not been very solidly built, for his legislation contemplates the possibility of their falling and injuring the inmates. In the case of new houses the law fixed the responsibility upon the builder, and we may infer that the very heavy penalties exacted for bad work led to a marked improvement in
- 37. construction. For, when such a newly built house fell and crushed the owner so that he died, the builder himself was liable to be put to death. Should the fall of the house kill the owner's son, the builder's own son was slain; and, if one or more of the owner's slaves were killed, the builder had to restore him slave for slave. Any damage to the owner's possessions was also made good by the builder, who had in addition to rebuild the house at his own cost, or repair any portion of it that had fallen. On the other hand, payment for sound work was guaranteed, and the fact that the scale of payment was fixed by the area of ground covered by the building, is direct evidence that the houses of the period consisted of no more than one story. The beginning of town-planning on systematic lines, with streets running through and crossing each other at right angles, of which we have noted evidence at Babylon, may perhaps date from the Hammurabi period; but no confident opinion on the point can be expressed until further excavation has been undertaken in the earlier strata of the city.[31]
- 38. I. A SMALL KELEK ON THE TIGRIS AT BAGHDAD. II. FERRY-BOATS ON THE EUPHRATES AT BIREJIK. We have recovered from contemporary documents a very full picture of family life in early Babylonia, for the duties of the separate
- 39. members of a family to one another were regulated by law, and any change in relationship was duly attested and recorded in legal form before witnesses. Minute regulations were in force with regard to marriage, divorce and the adoption and maintenance of children, while the provision and disposal of marriage-portions, the rights of widows and the laws of inheritance were all controlled by the state upon traditional lines. Perhaps the most striking feature in the social system was the recognized status of the wife in the Babylonian household, and the extremely independent position enjoyed by women in general. Any marriage to be legally binding had to be accompanied by a duly executed and attested marriage-contract, and without this necessary preliminary a woman was not regarded as a wife in the legal sense. On the other hand, when once such a marriage-contract had been drawn up and attested, its inviolability was stringently secured. Chastity on the wife's part was enforced under severe penalty;[32] but on the other hand the husband's responsibility to maintain his wife in a position suitable to their circumstances was also recognized. The law gave the wife ample protection, and in the case of the husband's desertion allowed her, under certain conditions, to become the legal wife of another man. If the husband wilfully deserted her and left his city under no compulsion, she might remarry and he could not reclaim her on his return. But if his desertion was involuntary, as in the case of a man taken in battle and carried off as a prisoner, this rule did not apply; and the wife was allowed to shape her action during his absence in accordance with the condition of her husband's affairs. The regulations in such a case were extraordinarily in favour of the woman. If the husband was possessed of property sufficient to maintain the wife during the period of his captivity, she had no excuse for remarriage; and, should she become the wife of another man, the marriage was not regarded as legal and she was liable to the extreme penalty for adultery. But if the husband had not sufficient means for his wife's maintenance, it was recognized that she would be thrown on her own resources, and she was permitted to remarry. The returning
- 40. captive could claim his wife, but the children of the second marriage remained with their own father. The laws of divorce, too, safeguarded the woman's interests, and only dealt with her severely if it could be proved that she had wasted her household and failed in her duty as a wife; in such a case she could be divorced without compensation, and even reduced to the condition of a slave in her husband's house. But, in the absence of such proof, her maintenance was fully secured; for the husband had to return her marriage-portion, and, if there had been none, he must make her an allowance. She also had the custody of her children, for whose maintenance and education the husband had to provide; and, at his death, the divorced wife and her children could inherit a share of his estate.[33] The contraction of a permanent disease by the wife was also held to constitute no grounds for a divorce. Such regulations throw an interesting light on the position of the married woman in the Babylonian community, which was not only unexampled in antiquity but compares favourably, in point of freedom and independence, with her status in many countries of modern Europe. Still more remarkable were the privileges capable of attainment by unmarried women of the upper class, who in certain circumstances were entitled to hold property in their own names and engage in commercial undertakings. To secure such a position a woman took vows, by which she became a member of a class of votaries attached to one of the chief temples in Babylon, Sippar, or another of the great cities.[34] The duties of such women were not sacerdotal, and, though they generally lived together, in a special building, or convent, attached to the temple, they enjoyed a position of great influence and independence in the community. A votary could possess property in her own name, and on taking her vows was provided with a portion by her father, exactly as though she were being given in marriage. This was vested in herself, and did not become the property of her order, nor of the temple to which she was attached; it was devoted entirely to her maintenance, and after her father's death, her brothers looked after her interest, and she could farm the property out. Upon her death her portion returned to
- 41. her own family, unless her father assigned her the privilege of bequeathing it; but any property she inherited she could bequeath, and she had not to pay taxes on it. She had considerable freedom, could engage in commerce on her own account, and, should she desire to do so, could leave, the convent and contract a form of marriage. While securing her these privileges, the vows she took entailed corresponding responsibilities. Even when married, a votary was still obliged to remain a virgin, and, should her husband desire children, she could not bear them herself, but must provide him with a maid or concubine. But, in spite of this disability, she was secured in her position as the permanent head of the household. The concubine, though she might bear the husband children, was always the wife's inferior, and should she attempt to put herself on a level with the votary, the latter could brand her and put her with the female slaves; while in the event of the concubine proving barren, she could be sold. Unmarried votaries, too, could live in houses of their own and dispose of their time and money in their own way. But a high standard of commercial and social morality was expected from them, and severe penalties were imposed for its infringement. No votary, for example, was permitted to open a beer-shop, and should she even enter one, she ran the risk of being put to death. An unmarried votary also enjoyed the status of a married woman, and the penalty for slandering one was branding in the forehead. That the social position enjoyed by a votary was considerable is proved by the fact that many women of good family, and even members of the royal house, took vows. It is a striking fact that women of an Eastern race should have achieved such a position of independence at the beginning of the second millennium. The explanation is perhaps to be sought in the great part already played by commerce in Babylonian life. Among contemporary races, occupied mainly by agriculture and war, woman's activity was necessarily restricted to the rearing of children and to the internal economy of the household. But with the growth of Babylonian trade and commercial enterprise, it would seem that
- 42. the demand arose, on the part of women of the upper class, to take part in activities in which they considered themselves capable of joining.[35] The success of the experiment was doubtless due in part to the high standard of morality exacted, and in part to the prestige conferred by association with the religious cult. The administration of justice at the period of the First Dynasty was carried out by duly appointed courts of law under the supervision of the king. The judges were appointed by the crown, and a check was put upon any arbitrary administration of the law by the fact that the elders of the city sat with them and assisted them in hearing and sifting evidence. When once a judgment had been given and recorded, it was irrevocable, and if any judge attempted to alter such a decision, he was expelled from his judgment-seat and debarred from exercising judicial functions in the future. The regulation was probably intended to prevent the possibility of subsequent bribery; and, if a litigant considered that justice had not been done, it was always open to him to appeal to the king. Hammurabi's letters prove that he exercised strict supervision, not only over the cases decided in the capital, but also over those which were tried in the other great cities of Babylonia, and it is clear that he attempted to stamp out corruption on the part of all those invested with authority. On one occasion he had been informed of a case of bribery in the town of Dûr-gurgurri, and he at once ordered the governor of the district to investigate the charge and send the guilty parties to Babylon for punishment. The bribe, too, was to be confiscated and despatched to Babylon under seal, a wise provision that would have tended to discourage those inclined to tamper with the course of justice, while at the same time it enriched the state. [36] The king probably tried all cases of appeal in person, when it was possible; but in distant cities he deputed this duty to local officials. Many of the cases that came before him arose from the extortions of money-lenders,[37] and the king had no mercy when fraud on their part was proved.
- 43. The relations maintained by the king with the numerous classes of the priesthood was also very close, and the control he exercised over the chief priests and their subordinates appears to have been as effective as that he maintained over the judicial authorities throughout the country. Under the Sumerians there had always been a tendency on the part of the more powerful members of the hierarchy to usurp the prerogatives of the crown,[38] but this danger appears to have been fully discounted under the rule of the Western Semites. One important section of the priestly body were the astrologers, whose duty it probably was to make periodical reports to the king on the conjunctions and movements of the heavenly bodies, with the object of ascertaining whether they portended good or evil to the state. The later Assyrian practice may well have had its origin at this period, and we may conclude that the regulation of the calendar was carried out in accordance with such advice. One of Hammurabi's letters has come down to us in which he writes to inform Sin-idinnam, his local governor of Larsa, that it had been decided to insert an intercalary month in the calendar. He writes that, as the year, that is the calendar, had a deficiency, the month that was beginning was to be registered as the second Elul; and he adds the very practical reminder, that the insertion of the extra month would not justify any postponement in the payment of the regular tribute due from the city of Larsa.[39] The lunar calendar of the Babylonians rendered the periodical intercalation of months necessary, in order that it should be made to correspond to the solar year; and the duty of watching for the earliest appearance of the new moon and fixing the first day of each month, was among the most important of the functions performed by the official astrologers. In the naming of the year the priesthood must also have played an important part, since the majority of the events from which the years were named were of a religious character. The system, which was inherited from the Sumerians, cannot have been a very convenient one,[40] and no doubt it owed its retention to the
- 44. sanctity of the religious rites and associations attaching to it. There can be little doubt that, normally, the naming of the year took place at the New Year's Feast, and, when the event commemorated in the formula was the installation of a chief priest or the dedication of temple-furniture, the royal act, we may assume, was performed on the day the year was named.[41] Often merely a provisional title was adopted from the preceding formula, and then perhaps no ceremony of naming was held, unless in the course of it a great victory, or other important occurrence, was commemorated by the renaming of the year. The king must have consulted with his priestly advisers before the close of the old year, and have settled on the new formula in good time to allow of its announcement in the outlying districts of the kingdom. Another important religious class at this period was the guild of soothsayers, and they also appear to have been directly under the royal control. This we gather from a letter of Ammi-ditana, one of the later kings of the First Dynasty, written to three high officials of Sippar, which illustrates the nature of their duties and the sort of occasion on which they were called upon to perform them.[42] It had come to the king's knowledge that there was a scarcity of corn in Shagga, and since that town was in the administrative district of Sippar, he wrote to the officials concerned ordering them to send a supply thither. But, before the corn was brought into the city, they were to consult the soothsayers, in order to ascertain whether the omens were favourable. The method of inquiry is not specified, but it was probably liver-divination, which was in common use during all periods.[43] Only if the omens proved favourable, was the corn to be brought into the town, and Ave may conclude that the king took this precaution as he feared that the scarcity of corn in Shagga was due to the anger of some local deity. The astrologers would be able to ascertain the facts, and, in the event of their reporting unfavourably, no doubt the services of the local priesthood would have been called in.
- 45. We have already seen that flocks and herds which were owned by the great temples were sometimes pastured with those of the king, and there is abundant evidence that the king also superintended the collection of temple-revenues along with his own. Collectors of both secular and ecclesiastical tribute sent reports directly to the king, and, if there was any deficit in the supply expected from a collector, he had to make it up himself. From one of Hammurabi's letters, for example, we gather that two landowners, or money-lenders, had lent money or advanced seed-corn to certain farmers near the towns of Dûr-gurgurri and Rakhabu and along the Tigris, and in settlement of their claims had seized the crops, refusing to pay the proportion due to Bît-il-kittim, the great temple of the Sun-god at Larsa. The governor of Larsa, the principal city in the district, had rightly, as the representative of the palace, caused the tax-collector to make up the deficiency, but Hammurabi, on receiving the subordinate officer's complaint, referred the matter back to the governor, and we may infer from similar cases that the defaulting parties had to make good the loss and submit to fines or punishment.[44] The document throws an interesting light on the methods of government administration, and the manner in which the king gave personal supervision to the smallest details. It will be obvious that for the administration of the country a large body of officials were required, and of their number two classes, of a semi-military character, enjoyed the king's special favour and protection. They were placed in charge of public works and looked after and controlled the public slaves, and they probably also had a good deal to do with the collection of the revenue. As payment for their duties, they were each granted land with a house and garden; they were assigned sheep and cattle to stock their land, and in addition they Received a regular salary. They were, in a sense, personal retainers of the king, and were liable to be sent at any moment on a special mission. Disobedience was severely punished, for if such an officer, when detailed for special service, hired a substitute, he was liable to be put to death and the substitute could take his office. Sometimes an officer was sent to take charge of a
- 46. distant garrison for a long period, and when this was done his home duties were performed by another man, who temporarily occupied his house and land, and gave it back to the officer on his return. If the officer had a son old enough to perform the duty in his father's absence, he war allowed to do so; and, if he was too young, his maintenance was paid for out of the estate. Should the officer fail to arrange, before his departure, for the proper cultivation of his land and the discharge of his local duties, another could take his place after the lapse of a year, and on his return he could not reclaim his land or office. When on garrison duty, or on special service, he ran the risk of capture by the enemy, and in that event his ransom was assured. For if his own means did not suffice, the sum had to be paid from the treasury of the local temple, and in the last resort by the state. It was specially enacted that his land, garden, and house were in no case to be sold to pay for his ransom. They were inalienably attached to the office he held, which appears to have been entailed in the male line, since he was precluded from bequeathing any of the property to his wife or daughter. They could only pass from him and his male issue through neglect or disobedience.
- 47. IMPRESSIONS OF BABYLONIAN CILINDER SEALS. Brit. Mus., Nos. 89771, 89388, 89110, 89367. It is not improbable that the existence of this specially favoured class of officer dates back to the earliest settlement of the Western Semites in Babylonia. The first of their number may well have been
- 48. personal retainers and followers of Sumu-abum, the founder of the dynasty. Originally soldiers, they were probably assigned lands throughout the country in return for their services to the king, and they continued to serve him by maintaining order and upholding his authority. In the course of time specified duties were assigned to them, but they retained their privileges, and they must have remained a very valuable body of officers, on whose personal loyalty the king could always rely. In the case of war, they may have assisted in mobilization for the army was probably raised on a territorial basis, much on the lines of the corvée for public works which was under their control. By contemporary documents of the period much light is thrown on other classes of the population, but, as they were all connected with various departments in the commercial or agricultural life of the community, it will be unnecessary to describe them in further detail. One class perhaps deserves mention, the surgeons, since lack of professional skill was rather heavily penalized. For if a surgeon, when called in by a noble, carried out an operation so unskilfully as to cause his death or inflict a permanent injury upon him, such as the loss of an eye, the punishment was amputation of both hands. No penalty appears to have been enacted if the patient were a member of the middle class, but should the slave of such a man die as the result of an operation, the surgeon had to give the owner another slave; and, in the event of the slave losing his eye, he had to pay the owner half the slave's value. There was, of course, no secular class in the population which corresponded to the modern doctor, for the medicinal use of herbs and drugs was not separated from their employment in magic. Disease was looked upon as due to the agency of evil spirits, or of those that controlled them, and though many potions were doubtless drunk of a curative nature, they were taken at the instance of the magician, not of the doctor, and to the accompaniment of magical rites and incantations.[45] In the religious sphere, the rise of Babylon to the position of capital led to a number of important changes, and to a revision of the
- 49. Babylonian pantheon. Marduk, the god of Babylon, from being a comparatively obscure city-god, underwent a transformation in proportion to the increase in his city's importance. The achievements and attributes of Enlil, the chief Sumerian deity, were ascribed to him, and the old Sumerian sagas and legends, particularly those of the creation of the world, were rewritten in this new spirit by the Babylonian priesthood. The beginning of the process may be accurately dated to the year of Hammurabi's conquest of Rîm-Sin and his subsequent control of Nippur, the ancient centre of the old Sumerian faith. It does not appear that the earlier Semites, when they conquered that city, had ever attempted to modify the old traditions they found there, or to appropriate them for their local gods. But a new spirit was introduced with the triumph of the Western Semites. The Sumerians were then a dying race, and the gradual disappearance of their language as a living tongue was accompanied by a systematic translation, and a partial transformation, of their sacred literature. Enlil could not be entirely ousted from the position he had so long enjoyed, but Marduk became his greater son. The younger god is represented as winning his position by his own valour, in coming to the help of the older gods when their very existence was threatened by the dragons of chaos; and, having slain the monster of the deep, he is portrayed as creating the universe from her severed body.[46] The older legends, no doubt, continued to be treasured in the ancient cult-centres of the land, but the Babylonian versions, under royal sanction and encouragement, tended to gain wide recognition and popularity. Under the later kings of the First Dynasty a great impetus was also given to all branches of literary activity. The old Sumerian language still bulked largely in the phraseology of legal and commercial documents, as well as in the purely religious literature of the country. And, to aid them in their study of the ancient texts, the Semitic scribes undertook a systematic compilation of explanatory lists of words and ideograms—the earliest form of dictionary,—which continued in use into the Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian periods. The Sumerian texts, too, were copied out and furnished with inter-linear
- 50. Semitic translations. The astronomical and astrological studies and records of the Sumerian priests were taken over, and great collections were compiled in combination with the early Akkadian records that had come down to them. A study of the Babylonian literature affords striking proof that the semitizing of the country led to no break, nor set-back, in Babylonian culture. The older texts and traditions were taken over in bulk, and, except where the rank or position of Marduk was affected, little change or modification was made. The Semitic scribes no doubt developed their inheritance, but expansion took place on the old lines. In commercial life, too, Sumerian customs remained to a great extent unaltered. Taxes, rent, and prices continued to be paid in kind, and though the talent, maneh, and shekel were in use as metal weights, and; silver was in partial circulation, no true currency was developed. In the sale of land, for example, even during the period of the Kassite kings, the purchase-price was settled in shekel- weights of silver, but very little metal actually changed hands. Various items were exchanged against the land, and these, in addition I to corn, the principal medium of exchange, included slaves, animals, weapons, garments, etc., the value of each item being reckoned on the same silver basis, until the agreed purchase- price was made up. The early Semitic Babylonian, despite his commercial activity, did not advance beyond the transition stage between pure barter and a regular currency. One important advantage conferred by the Western Semite on the country of his adoption was an increase in the area of its commercial relations and a political expansion to the north and west. He systematized its laws, and placed its internal administration on a wider—and more uniform basis. But the greatest and most far- reaching change of the Hammurabi period was that the common speech of the whole of Babylonia became Semitic, as did the dominant racial element in the population. And it was thanks to this fact that all subsequent invasions of the country failed to alter the main features in her civilization. Such alien strains were absorbed in process of time, and, though they undoubtedly introduced fresh
- 51. blends into the racial mixture, the Semitic element triumphed, and continued to receive reinforcements from the parent stock. The Sumerian race and language appear to have survived longest in the extreme south of the country, and we shall see that the rise of the Sea-Country kings may perhaps be regarded as their last effective effort in the political sphere. [1] The Code was first published and translated by Scheil, in the "Mémoires de la Délégation en Perse," Vol. IV. (1902), and the accompanying photographie facsimile remains the best authority for the text. For the fullest and best bibliography to the immense mass of literature which has grown up around it, see Johns, "Schweich Lectures," 1912, pp. 65 ff.; the most accessible versions in English are those by Johns in "Babylonian and Assyrian Laws, Contracts and Letters" (1904), pp. 44 ff., and in Hastings' "Dictionary of the Bible," Vol. V. For the linguistic study of the text Ungnad's transliteration and glossary in Kohler and Ungnad's "Hammurabi's Gesetz," Bd. II. (1909), may be specially mentioned. [2] For the latest bibliography to the early contract-literature see Schorr, "Urkunden des altbabylonischen Zivil- und Prozessrechts" (published in the "Vorderasiatische Bibliothek," 1913), pp. xlix. ff. The great bulk of the royal letters are in the British Museum and are translated in "Letters and Inscriptions of Hammurabi, etc." (1898-1900); and for publications of private letters of the period, see Schorr, op cit., p. lvi. [3] See Clay, "Orient. Lit.-Zeit," 1914 (January), "A Sumerian Prototype of the Hammurabi Code." The text, of which Prof. Clay has sent me a photograph, is of the greatest importance for the study of Babylonian law; he is at present preparing it for publication. [4] The Babylonian name for a member of the upper class was awîlum, "man," and, when employed in this special sense, it is best translated by some such expression as "patrician" or "noble." But for legislative purposes, as well as in common parlance, awîlum could be employed in its more general meaning to include members of the middle class. [5] They were known as mushkênum, derived from the Shafel-Piel stem of the root (kânu), with the meaning "to humble oneself, to
- 52. be humble." Combe has compared the similar use of miskîn in Arabic for a man of humble station who is not a descendant of the prophet (cf. "Babyloniaca," III., p. 73 f.). The word passed into Hebrew as miskên, and, with modifications of meaning, into more than one European language (cf. Ital. meschino, meschinello, Portug. mesquinho, French mesquin); see Johns, "Schweich Lectures (1912), pp. 8, 74. [6] Herodotus (I., 193) bears witness to the great fertility of Babylonia, stating that of all countries of the ancient world it was the most fruitful in grain. [7] On the early system of tribal ownership, which survived even the Kassite conquest and requisitions, see below, pp. 249 ff. [8] In fact, the métayer system was in force, the landlord finding the cattle, agricultural implements, and seed for the culture of the fields; cf. Johns, "Schweich Lectures," p. 5. [9] See the five letters of Ammi-zaduga, in "Letters of Ham." III., pp. 162 ff. [10] For the loss of an eye the hirer paid half the beast's value, and a quarter for a broken horn, the loss of the tail, or a torn muzzle. [11] See § 256 of the Code. [12] Cf. "Letters of Hammurabi," III., pp. 130 ff. [13] They are also referred to by Herodotus (I., 193), but not described. [14] At Hit on the Euphrates are some of the largest water-wheels in Mesopotamia, a line of them being built across one portion of the river. [15] Cf. "Cun. Texts in the Brit. Mus.," XXVI., p. 26. [16] See Fig. 40, and cf. Clay, "Documents from the Temple Archives of Nippur," in the "Museum Publications of the Univ. of Pennsylvania," Vol. II., No. 2 (1912), p. 65, from which the drawing has been taken. [17] See Plate XXI., opposite p. 248. [18] Cf. Frank, "Das Symbol der Göttin Gestinna," in the "Hilprecht Anniversary Volume" (1909), pp. 104 ff. [19] Cf. Place, "Ninive et l'Assyrie," III., pl. 31; the plough is there depicted in yellow enamel on a blue ground.