532
crisis is over and replaced with a foreign slave (KAJ 167). Subsequently,
her redeemer marries the woman whom he freed in this way (KAJ
7).^52 This practice is illustrated by MAL A 39, where a young girl
has been “saved from a catastrophe” (ina lumne ballu†at), in other
words, sold by her father to keep her alive.^534.2.2.3 A special category of unfree persons is represented by the
“ilu¢li. Their status has been compared to that of the glebi adscripti
of Roman and medieval times, in that they were bound to the land
that they farmed and could accordingly be divided among the heirs
when they divided the deceased’s fields (MAL B 1; VAS 19 6).^544.2.2.4 A slave had sufficient legal capacity to marry (KAJ 7) or
to make a contract. He could doubtless make transactions with a
peculiumbut could not receive anything from a married woman (MAL
A 4) or from a woman of the harem (Edict 5), under penalty of
being deemed a receiver of stolen goods. A female servant was not
allowed to wear a veil (MAL A 40).4.2.3 Villagers(àlaiù)
A special category of the population is represented by “villagers”
(àlaiù), mentioned in MAL (A 45) and in two documents of practice
(KAJ 7 and Assur 3 no. 5).^55 They are apparently family commu-
nities consisting of free persons who owe the state (MAL A 45) or
an individual (KAJ 7; Assur 3 no. 5) ilku service. These àlaiùwere
perhaps originally small landowners who had been dispossessed by
the appearance of the latifundia but retained and resettled in vil-
lages by the new proprietor in order to work his estate.^56 Their rela-
tions with the landowner were on a client/patron basis. Their
obligations bound not only themselves but also their descendants,
who had to render the same service to the children of the patron
or to the new king. They could gain their liberty by redeeming them-(^52) David and Ebeling, ARU, nos. 1, 7; Westbrook, “Slavery.. .,” 1652–54.
(^53) Cf. Roth, Law Collections.. ., 167, rather than Driver and Miles, Assyrian Laws...,
407.
(^54) Brinkman, “Note.. .,” 88–89; Freydank, “Protokoll.. .,” 363; Fincke, “Noch
einmal.. .”; Brinkman and Donbaz, “Texts.. .,” 82–83.
(^55) Aynard and Durand, “Documents.. .,” no. 5.
(^56) Ibid., 26–29.
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