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“Coming back” occurs in various constructions, “because of ” (reg-
ularly with slaves), “against/for (ana) the item sold,” or “against (ana)
the buyer”; in most cases, we can translate by “to claim” or “to vin-
dicate.” Claims by previous owners of houses are simply forbidden
in Assyrian contracts.^156 Anatolian contracts impose heavy fines (rang-
ing from one to ten pounds of silver) to be paid to the new owner,^157
once in combination with a death penalty.^158 “Coming back” by sell-
ers, usually parents or relatives, in order to redeem a person sold is
acceptable, if the buyer is indemnified by the purchase price or its
multiple (see 4.2.2 above). Claims by others are usually forbidden or
subject to a fine, but occasionally the claimant of a slave, presum-
ably a relative or former owner, can “take him along” (tar"àum) after
paying the sale price.^159 This shows that terms could vary, possibly
owing to the bargaining power of the parties, and that buyers, prob-
ably creditors, were ready to convert the slave into silver by selling
him for a fair price. The standard rule is that the seller has “to
clear” (ebbubum,“a¢¢utum) the buyer or the object bought when it is
vindicated by a third party, hence refute the claim by confirming
the legitimacy of the sale or satisfy those who have a justified claim.
In one instance (TPK 1 157), a guarantor has this duty, which sug-
gests a forced sale by a defaulting debtor.
Vindication could be based on postulated ownership^160 or on
financial claims on the seller and, hence, on his property. Most con-
tracts, in order to cover all possibilities, make the seller simply promise
protection against “anyone who might come back,” but some Anatolian
sales, both of slaves and houses, explicitly mention claims by the
seller’s creditors.^161
Anatolian sales occasionally specify that the buyer or the item sold
is also protected against claims or vindication by the tusinnum and
the ubadinnum, two Anatolian terms for groups of people or social
organizations (see 4.1.2 above). Lewy, followed by Kienast, took the
first as “redeemer,”^162 but the word is a collective.^163 The basis for(^156) Kienast no. 1.
(^157) Kienast nos. 7, 16, and 31; kt d/k 5, a rare field sale.
(^158) Kt n/k 31 (with “ratification” by the ruler).
(^159) E.g., Farber, “Hanum.. .,” where the tusinnum, a creditor, or her husband
may vindicate the woman sold.
(^160) E.g., kt 91/k 286: “that slave-girl is mine!”
(^161) See, e.g., Kienast nos. 5, 9, 29, and 32, and Farber, “Hanum.. .”
(^162) Lewy, “Old Assyrian Documents.. .,” 100ff.; Kienast, Kaufvertragsrecht.. ., §82.
(^163) Farber, “Hanum.. .,” 200f. In VAS 26 100:13f., 101:10', and kt 87/k 312
(courtesy K. Hecker).
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