The members of the royal family played an important role in the
machinery of government, as is shown by the activities of the “Shulgi-
simtum Foundation” (named after Shulgi’s wife) at Drehem,^13 the
role of several queens such as Abi-simti,^14 the duties assigned to
prince Shu-Suen by his father Shulgi,^15 the office of high priest or
high priestess occupied by several princes and princesses in various
temples, and the prominent position that Babati, brother-in-law of
King Amar-Suen, held for some time and with some renown.^162.3 The Public Sector
The public sector was predominant in the empire, but the evidence
must be treated with caution, since it is practically the only sector
that is revealed by the extant documentation. During this period
there were probably a number of different socio-economic structures
coexisting within the same legal and political framework.^17
Members of the public sector supplied their services in return for
parcels of royal land allocated to them as prebends (“uku) or, in the
case of the lowest ranks of the social order, were maintained by a
system of regularly distributed rations.^18
The duties owed to the crown extended to all ranks, so that each
holder of an administrative position was personally responsible to the
state. He had to submit accounts with regard to his activities, pro-
duction, and so forth, under pain of having his property confiscated
by the administration if they were not satisfactory.^19 The lowest ranks
were unskilled manual workers who did not have their own means
of production and were organized into labor gangs, either male
(guru“) or female (geme 2 ), under various types of foremen (ugula) on
the great institutional estates.^20(^13) Sigrist, Drehem, 222–46.
(^14) Steinkeller, “More on the Ur III Royal Wives”; Michalowski, “Royal Women...”
(^15) Michalowski, “Durum and Uruk.. .”; Sallaberger, “Ur-III-Zeit.. .,” 167–68.
(^16) Whiting, “Ti“-atal.. .”; Michalowski, Letters.. ., 60–61; Sallaberger, “Ur-III-
Zeit.. .,” 167–68; Huber, “La Correspondance.. .,” 197–200.
(^17) See Neumann, “Zur privaten Geschäftstätigkeit...”
(^18) Food (“e-ba), clothing (tug 2 -ba), etc., see Gelb, “Ration System.. .”; Waetzoldt,
“Compensation...”
(^19) Waetzoldt and Sigrist, “Haftung.. .”; Maekawa, “Confiscation...”
(^20) Maekawa “The erin-people.. .,” and “Collective Labor.. .”; Englund, Fischerei...,
58–63.
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