64 dagmar kühn
while scribes or artisans had an opportunity to achieve high social posi-
tions in Syria as well as in the assyrian heartland after their deportation,
for ordinary laborers it depended decisively on the size of the tribute that
they had to produce through hard work. when only moderate tributes
were required, in the case of a loyal vassal king, it was possible for the
people to live and work in peace and have enough surplus for a good life
(see above). a loyal vassal king and his élite were undoubtedly the big-
gest beneficiaries of the situation. they could increase their wealth at the
expense of the people, whom they could exploit without fear of a rebel-
lion because they enjoyed assyrian protection. King Bar-rakkab reports
that the assyrian king tiglath-pileser gave several cities to his father pana-
muwa ii to express thanks for his services (Kai 215: 14–15). Bar-rakkab
also boasts of having built the most splendid palace in Samʾal (Kai 216:
11–17).187 as the wealth of the loyal royal élite increased, therefore, so did
the poverty of the ordinary people.
Because we have only sparse information about the economic situation
in the aramaean kingdoms, references from other ages are often used to
create an overview of the economic situation in Syria, e.g., from condi-
tions before the breakdown of the great states in the ancient near east at
the end of the Bronze age, or from the situation under assyrian domina-
tion. this makes sense, for example, as far as the occurrences of mineral
resources or other raw materials are concerned. these did not change and
neither did the main trade routes.188 in general, the comparison, espe-
cially with the flourishing economy of the Late Bronze age, is problematic
because after the breakdown of the states in the ancient near east and
somewhat before this, enormous upheavals fundamentally changed eco-
nomic systems and trade relations.189
we are thus fortunate to have some information, which can cautiously
be used, about the economic situation of farmers and different professions
from the time after the assyrian annexation.190 the lists of the so-called
harran census provide a record of the economic conditions of a limited
region in a limited time. e. Lipiński notes that “[t]he range of sources has
to be expanded in order to include the Ḫarrān census, as well as neo-
assyrian and aramaic contracts from the 7th century B.c., which certainly
187 For example, King Bar-rakkab of Samʾal. See the explanation of kingship, above.
188 For an overview on the overland trade routes in the Levant, see astour 1995:
esp. 1414–1416.
189 For critical considerations, see Klengel 2000: 23f.
190 dion 1997: 328 hints at gardeners, shepherds, and metalworkers.