A History of Ancient Near Eastern Law

462 

mentioned in a litigation record (kt 91/k 410), where in connection

with the sale of a slave girl it is stated that “he cut the ¢àmum(¢àmam

ibtuq) in our presence.”^150

7.1.2 Contracts could be drafted in a variety of ways, as a sale

transaction (buyer bought object from seller for x silver) or a quit-

tance (buyer paid x silver, the price, for object to seller; seller is

satisfied [“abbù] with x silver, the price of object). Both can be for-

mulated from the point of view of the buyer (verb “a"àmum, “to buy”),

the seller (ana kaspim tadànum, “to sell”), or as a combination of both

(seller sold object and buyer bought it for x silver). Assyrian sales

regularly also state the result of the transaction: the slave/house (now)

belongs to the buyer.^151 Only Assyrian contracts drafted as quittances

state that the seller is satisfied,^152 but Anatolian contracts may use

“to satisfy” (“abbu"um) as the only verb in the operative section.^153

7.1.3 Contingency Clauses

Their purpose is to protect the buyer against attempts to deprive

him of his newly acquired property, except by way of redemption

and/or at a stipulated price. Such attempts might be undertaken by

a third party, who claims to have a title to the item sold or a claim

on the seller, or by the seller (and his relatives or the social group

to which he belongs), who tries to recover what he sold. For both

actions, the verb “to come back” (tu"àrum) is most frequent; “to claim”

(baqàrum) is not used in Old Assyrian contracts.^154 There is more ter-

minological variation in slave sales, where “to come back” may even

imply redemption (see 4.2.2 above), a meaning not (yet) attested with

houses. A measure of the City, called “the mercy of the god Assur,”

which allows indebted Assyrians to redeem their houses at favorable

conditions,^155 is not reflected in the extant house sale contracts.

(^150) See Veenhof, “Three Unusual Contracts.. .,” no. 3, with comments.
(^151) With a house kt 87/k 282; kt 91/k 522; slave: Kienast no. 27; kt a/k 933
and 1277.
(^152) A good example of the full Assyrian formulary is kt 91/k 522: “The house
which A and B sold for 2 1/2 minas of silver to C, A and B are satisfied with the
price of their house; the house now belongs to C. If anybody claims the house
from C, A and B will clear her.”
(^153) E.g., Bayram-Veenhof, “Real Estate.. .,” 97, no. 4, and kt 80/k 25.
(^154) Kienast’s reading ibaqqar in no. 13B:7' is a mistake for ipa††ar, and read nip†ur
in BIN 4 65:42 (cited in his note 78).
(^155) TPK 1 46; see Veenhof, “Redemption...”
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