A History of Ancient Near Eastern Law

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could come directly before the City, if an appeal was made in Assur,

or one appealed to it from a colonial court (“Bring my case to the

City and my Lord!” see 2.1.6.1). Cases triggered by the death of a

trader were invariably tried in the City, since they required settle-

ment, with all parties and evidence “assembled” there. Most trials

were started and finished before a kàrumcourt, but at some point,

a “(strong) tablet of the City” (the result of an appeal) might inter-

vene, without necessitating a transfer of the trial to Assur.^48

3.2.2.2 Self-help and “Attorneys”

Parties, at least at the beginning, had to rely on self-help. The plaintiff

applied (ma¢àrum, ka“àdum) to the court and tried to “bring his oppo-

nent before the judges,” “to the kàrum.”^49 According to the Statutes,

the “big” members of the kàrumhad to evaluate a case to decide

whether it warranted the convening of the plenary kàrum. Once the

case had been accepted, the plaintiffcould receive help in two ways.

A verdict of the City Assembly could authorize him, in order to

“win his case,” to hire an “attorney,”^50 who could be empowered to

inspect tablets or to summon and interrogate people, and could rep-

resent him in court. The kàrumcould assist him by ordering a per-

son to appear in court, either by a verdict or simply at the request

of the plaintiff, if he accepted responsibility for the measure (and its

cost).^51

3.2.2.3 Many trials were conducted in stages, marked by provi-

sional verdicts (both in Kanish and in Assur) and separated by sev-

eral months—the time needed for travel to collect evidence.^52

3.3 Evidence

3.3.1 Witnesses

Witnesses (“ìbù; rarely mudèawàtim, “those who know the facts,” or“a

pà"è, lit., “those of the mouth”)^53 were as important in the judicial

(^48) But see EL 325–26 (add OIP 27, 60, as EL 325b).
(^49) ana dajjànè/kàrim radà"um, EL 325:43, 325a:11, CCT 5 7a:19f., 8b:18; BIN 6
69:21f. uses warà"um.
(^50) For the “attorney,” see Larsen, City-State...,175ff., Veenhof, “Miete...,” 182f.,
and 7.4 below.
(^51) See Larsen, City State.. ., 257ff.
(^52) Traveling to Kanish: EL 316, 2 months, ICK 1 86, 6 months.
(^53) “PN, mùdèawàtimis present here... let him inspect the tablets” (I 441), and
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