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redeem them. They could occupy them again after paying back half
the sale price; the rest could follow in three annual installments.^2157.4 Hire^216
Letters and administrative records use the same terminology (agàrum)
for the lease of houses and the hire of wagons, boats, donkeys, and
persons. Contractual details are known only for lease and some cat-
egories of persons. Some house-sale contracts deal with the present
occupant’s right to continue to live in it.^217 Kt a/k 1255 and Donbaz,
Sadberk Hanim no. 28, grant a female tenant (wa““àbum) the right
during her lifetime and forbid/punish her expulsion; the latter con-
tract forbids her “to sell or remove the house, its six beams and its
contents.”
An “attorney” (ràbißum) could be hired (agàrum/a¢àzum) in Assur
by a plaintiff, after authorization by the ruler and the City Assembly
(see 2.1.1.1 above). He was hired “to assist” the plaintiff and “to
win his case” (awatam ka“àdum). He was promised a wage plus
compensation for travel expenses and food. He received half in
advance, to be returned if he abandoned the case before his mis-
sion was completed.^218
Carriers, charged with the transport of merchandise and money
by caravan between Assur and Anatolia,^219 were hired and employed
for at least one complete caravan journey, frequently also for longer
periods, so that they became employees of the firm. In exchange for
his services, the carrier received an interest-free silver loan, called
be"ùlàtum, “(capital) at free disposal.”^220 The loan was regularly used
to buy a few textiles in Assur, to be sold in Anatolia with profit.
Nearly all contracts state that the carrier “is held by the silver” (i“ti
kaspim uktâl), hence is obliged to perform his service as long as he
keeps the loan. The penalty for breach of contract is interest on the(^215) See Veenhof, “Redemption...,” 604f.
(^216) See Veenhof, “Miete...”
(^217) See Kienast ATHE 39 (the seller becomes tenant) kt a/k 1255 (Bayram-
Veenhof, “Real Estate.. .,” 98, and Wilcke, “Drei Kültepe Texte.. .,” no. 1).
(^218) TC 1 24 and BIN 6 219. See also Larsen, City-State.. ., 175ff., and I 554:13ff.
(^219) See Kienast, “be"ulàtum.. .,” also for the variety of clauses, with the modifications
proposed in Veenhof, “Miete.. .,” 183.
(^220) ana be"àlim; AKT 1 9 and kt 91/k 473 write: “he (the carrier) will have power
over it” (ibe"el).
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