Business as Usual

The Sumerians were fortunate at times to have been ruled by truly great kings, who earned the reputation of being just, such as King Shulgi and King Ur-Nammu, who was credited with standardizing weights and measures in his own law code. It boasts that he ‘fashioned the bronze sila-measure [1 liter], standardized the one-mina weight [500 grams], and standardized the stone weight of a shekel of silver [about 1 gram]’. However, as we all know, no laws can prevent the devious ways and means of corrupt business people, as the following complaint by a Sumerian customer reveals: