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Nawal Nasrallah

Bribery in Ancient Mesopotamia

Appears in
Delights from the Garden of Eden
Delights from the Garden of Eden

By Nawal Nasrallah

Published 2019

  • About
Clarified butter must have been a desirable commodity in ancient Mesopotamia. Here is a letter written about 3500 years ago in which the writer is trying to bribe his brother with clarified butter and a ram:

A letter from Nabu-ahhu-iddina:

To my brother Nabu-usallim:

May the gods Bel and Nabu, the Lady of Uruk, and the goddess Nana ordain well-being and good health for my brother.

See, I am sending you … one container with clarified butter, and at the same time, I have sent you a beautiful ram. But you too must do something to help me; go into the office of the scribe of the palace and investigate those complaints that are being made there (against me), and report to me. Do not be negligent. What is this that I keep hearing every day about the gold? (Oppenheim, Letters from Mesopotamia)

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