459
sister (“she will take her first share”), and then fixed shares for the
other sons who have not received a house. Remaining assets with
be divided in equal shares (mutta mutta “half and half ”) among all
the heirs. In kt o/k 30:22f. a woman states that “on the basis of the
last will, a sister has sisterly(?) power of disposition” and intends to
open her sister’s last will.^141 Frequently the (eldest?) daughter, who had
become a priestess (ugbabtum) and thus was unmarried and had to
live independently, received additional items (e.g., ICK 1 12). The
widow’s share is also specified: e.g., in ICK 1 12 she inherits a house
and money in the form of a debt note, in BIN 6 222 also slave girls
and other items (broken). In kt o/k 196c:5f., the authority and life-
long ownership of the widow is expressed by the formula “she is
father and mother (abat u ummat) of her share of the silver,” but the
silver she leaves behind (warkassa) and her other possessions will go
to the eldest son. ICK 1 12, after carefully itemizing what the women
obtain, states: “the remainder of my tablets (debt notes), both in
Assur and in Anatolia, belong to all my sons,” and they are also
“responsible for my debts.” This seems to have been the rule and
the sons’ responsibility for their father’s debts is clear from various
judicial records.^1426.2.4 Implementation
Complications with the implementation of testaments were not rare.
In EL 287, a division is only possible after balancing debts and
claims; the parties agree, inter alia, that three heirs “each will take
one slave-girl with whom they have had intercourse (lamàdum), which
(whose value) will be deducted from their shares.” Problems could
arise when some heirs were present at their father’s deathbed or had
easy access to his testament and estate (usually in Assur) and others
not, and also by the wish or need not to freeze all assets but to
keep the commerce going and the capital flowing.^143 This meant that
some heirs had to take decisions and use the assets without formal
approval by the others, who also might not have a clear idea of the
state of the deceased’s finances. In addition, investors and creditors(^141) In Assyrian, a¢atum a¢at tabe’el, quoted by Albayrak, “Altassyrisches Testament.. .,”
19.
(^142) See also kt 91/k 389:9–11 (Veenhof, “Care of the Elderly.. .,” 141f.); kt o/k
196c: 11ff.; CCT 5 8b:24–27.
(^143) A fine example is the file published by Matou“, “Nachlass...”
WESTBROOK_f11–431-483 8/27/03 12:27 PM Page 459