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7.10 Contracts regarding marriage and adoption are discussed under
the appropriate status.- C D
Private and archival documents, including dispute settlements, con-
tracts, and letters, provide scattered information about homicide,
adultery, theft, and personal and property damage. The word
sartu^153 has a wide range of uses and can be translated “crime,” “mis-
deed,” “theft” (as in “the crime he committed,” sarta ippu“u), or
“falsely/falsehood” (as in “my four donkeys that K. fraudulently led
away,” 4 immerìya “a PN sarti ìbuku).^154 Additionally, sartucan be used
to signify reparation for an offense. The word ¢ibiltu conveys a gen-
eral meaning of “(criminal) damage,” for example, “the damage that
PN caused” (¢ibiltu “a PN u¢abbilu).^1558.1 H
The same verb, dâku, is used to signify “murder,” “kill” (presumably
also accidentally), and “execute.” Responses to homicide vary. Causing
the death of a slave was penalized with a payment far greater than
the replacement of the slave, and the penalty for causing other deaths
seems to have been death of the perpetrator.
A tenth-century narûreports that a man struck with an arrow and
killed a female slave of another man.^156 The victim also is identified
as the wife of a third man. The king heard the case, as expected
in cases concerning loss of life (see 2.1.4.1 above) and ordered the
killer to pay the owner of the victim seven persons.
In a damaged text listing persons and their condition,^157 a restored
line reads: “As they have sworn [by the king], he has been killed;
his killer lives” ([nì““arri] kî ù“èlû dìk dà"ik“u bali†).^158 The juxtaposi-
tion of the statements “he has been killed” and “his killer lives”
implies that death was the expected penalty for murder.(^153) Also ßartu, sa“tu,ßa“tu; see CAD S 186–89.
(^154) CT 43 60: 5–6.
(^155) UET 7 6 and 21.
(^156) BBSt. 9.
(^157) D-K 8.
(^158) Restoration after CAD D 39.
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