Mesopotamia. The best guess is that it came from sites in Afghanistan and
possibly Iran. Mesopotamia did produce the other Assyrian export, woolen
textiles, in the form of cloth and clothing. Much of this came from
Babylonia in southern Mesopotamia, which was renowned for its high-quality
products, but Assur also made and exported its own cheaper version. The
matter of quality is interesting since the people of Anatolia themselves also
produced textiles using essentially the same technology as the Mesopotamians.
However, Mesopotamian textiles were perceived asfiner and had much higher
prestige value. Since no examples of the cloth are available for comparison,
this has raised the question of whether the imported product had an inflated
value largely because of its exotic appeal. In any case, for the Assyrian
merchant, the net profit for textiles was higher than for tin.
The tin was packaged and placed on the sides of donkeys, over which the
textiles were piled. A donkey load constituted about 200 pounds; its com-
position depended on current market conditions, that is, on the cost of tin
and textiles in Assur and the prices paid for them in Anatolia. Goods were
sealed and accompanied by a manifest that was checked on arrival to prevent
pilferage. Usually the goods of several merchants, each with up to 20 don-
keys, were represented in a caravan. Caravans moved an estimated 12– 15
miles per day, and there were staging posts along the way where fresh don-
keys could be obtained. Merchants could accompany their goods, but in
general the caravans were in the hands of professional transporters who were
paid aflat rate and were entitled to interest-free loans, which they used to
engage in their own trading on the side.
On arrival at its destination in Anatolia, a caravanfirst headed for the
palace of the local ruler. The palace provided some protection on the roads,
helped to collect debts owed to the merchants, and could also store goods
and lend or borrow on credit from the merchants. In return it was owed
taxes and the right offirst refusal. Palace officials bargained for a special
price on a portion of the arriving cargo, after which the merchants were free
to sell the rest on the open market. Tin and textiles were exchanged directly
for silver or for copper, which was then re-traded for silver. If silver was
unavailable or too costly, gold could be substituted. The silver or gold was
then sent back to Assur, where it was used to buy more tin and textiles. The
trade was in the hands of certain families who constituted merchant houses
headquartered in Assur. Wives of merchants commonly supervised the tex-
tile production back home. Moneylenders, including temples, extended
credit, and individual houses sometimes pooled their capital to spread the
risk in particular ventures. Agents representing the Assyrian commercial
houses were permanently stationed in the trading enclaves located in close
proximity to the Anatolian palaces. Their relations with local merchants and
their participation in local trade were closely regulated by their hosts. They
remained to some extent insulated from the local population, using their
own system of weights and measures, calendar, and language, but they lived
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