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6.2.5 Land may be granted free of service. HL 47 shows that
exemption from luzzi required a formal act: the king gives the
beneficiary a piece of bread from the royal table. According to the
late version HL XXXVI, a simple exemption by the king may suffice
in lieu of giving bread, and in XXXIXa, exemption may be given
merely by “someone from the palace.”6.2.6 Total exemption from services is found in an edict of Queen
Asmunikal, the wife of Tuthaliya I (ca. 1400). It concerns a “stone
house” (mausoleum for a dead king). The exemption covers all places
and all the staff(craftsmen, farmers, shepherds, villagers, and door-
keepers) and animals. An eyatree is planted^69 as a symbol of their
exempt status (see HL 50).^706.3 Acquisition
6.3.1 No documents concerning the acquisition of movables have
been found to date.6.3.2 Land-grant documents are found from the Middle Kingdom
between 1480 and 1380. They record transfer by the ruler to a dig-
nitary of a landed estate together with its personnel and chattels.
The king thereby secures the loyalty of important dignitaries and
fulfills his obligation to provide them with an income.
The structure of these documents is schematic. The preamble des-
ignates the king and his seal. There follows a description of the prop-
erty granted. From the transfer formula used (Akk. NA”Û-NADÀNU),
it may be learned from whom the king has expropriated the estate
and to whom he has given it. A vindication clause protects the donee
and his descendants from claims. The king then reaffirms the efficacy
of the legal act: “The words of the king are of iron; they are not
to be discarded.. .” The document closes with the place of issue
and a list of the witnesses.^716.3.3 A document found at Inandik in 1966 records the grant of
a house by the steward (LÚAGRIG) of the town of Hanhana to his(^69) Otten, Totenrituale.. ., 107.
(^70) Haase, “Rechtsformalismus.. .,” 57.
(^71) Riemschneider, “Landschenkungsurkunden.. .,” 330.
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