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5.3.4.2.6 Normally, it is the adoptee who leaves on dissolution,
whether he was responsible or not. He may “go where he pleases.”
Sometimes, however, where the adopter forfeits all his property, it
is he who must leave (Emar 30; TBR 41, 74, 78). Where the party
leaving is to take nothing with him, that fact is often underlined by
the phrase “he shall place his garment on a stool and go where he
pleases.”- P I
6.1 Tenure
6.1.1 There is evidence of landholding in the vicinity of Emar
directly from the Hittite king, to which Hittite feudal dues (sa¢¢an
and luzzi) applied (see 2.3.4 above). A decision from the court of
Carchemish transferring land from an uncle to a nephew may refer
to a feudal holding. The nephew has to “carry the weapon of ” the
uncle—meaning perhaps take over his feudal obligations.^38 In ASJ
12:7 the king of Emar granted land to a citizen in return for loyal
services in war; this may have been a simple gift for past services
rather than a tenure involving ongoing obligations to the crown. In
Westenholz 2, ilkuservice seems to be an onerous burden inflicted
on a free son.6.1.2 In the extant documentation, at least, the bulk of land was
privately owned and freely alienable. A shadowy group called the
“brothers” are present at land sales (in “Syrian” tablets) and receive
a nominal payment from the buyer. They appear to be representa-
tives of an extended family or clan.^39 Some scholars see in their func-
tion the vestiges of an earlier system of communal clan-based
landholding.^40 There is no other evidence, however, for communal
ownership at Emar. It is more probable that the “brothers” represent(^38) ASJ 6, pp.65–75; cf. ASJ 14:46 and Emar 17. Discussed by Adamthwaite, Late
Hittite Emar, 99–114. Adamthwaite’s discussion of ilkuservice at Emar (ibid., 87–114)
should now be read in the light of Westenholz 2.
(^39) Written with a pseudo-logogram LÚ.ME”A›.›I.A. See Wilcke, “A›.. .”;
Bellotto “LÚ.ME”.a¢-¢i-a...”
(^40) Arnaud, TBR p. 16; Leemans, “Droit d’Emar.. .,” 19; Van der Toorn, “Domestic
Cult.. .,” 45–46.
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