BABYLON IN THE DAYS OF NEBUCHADREZZAR. 195 



however, is an exception to this rule — if we can call an exception 

 a tablet which does not deal with the matter at all. In 

 Nineveh, as many will recollect, there were extensive cultivated 

 tracts, and Babylon, judging from the inscriptions, had similar 

 advantages of open spaces. These included not only cornfields 

 and tracts where all kinds of grain were grown, but also datepalm 

 plantations and orchards in general. It is not, therefore, sur- 

 prising that No. 90 records the existence of a field large enough 

 to take 144 qa of grain, which, however, was seemingly not the 

 only thing cultivated there — it was a datepalm-plantation, 

 which had been taken for four years by Nabu-sum-lisir and 

 Nabu-sar-ilani for cultivation. Everything which grew on that 

 tract was to be theirs during that period, but in the 1st, 2nd, or 

 3rd year a third, and in the 4th year a fourth was taken, seemingly, 

 by Nabu-sum-lisir. After that Nabu-sar-ilani took all that 

 grew there. To him fell also the duty of digging water-courses, 

 protecting the orchards, replacing the decayed datepalms, and 

 the raising of water for irrigation. The contract has some 

 interesting names of witnesses and date. One of them was the 

 son of a sailor or pilot, a second the son of a Shuhite, and the 

 name of the place where it was drawn up was Suqain, " the 

 two markets," or the like. Date : the 26th day of Elul, 11th 

 year of Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon. 



Suqain was in all probability a suburb of Babylon, and clearly 

 this part, at least, had extensive open spaces. The datepalms 

 of the plantation are specially mentioned, but the wording leads 

 one to suppose that other crops were produced there. Though 

 there may not have been an excess of water, it was not wanting, 

 and had to be distributed among the plantations and fields, 

 probably by means of the shadouf. Here we have a picture 

 of one of the sights of " greater Babylon " when the city teemed 

 with life, for we may be sure that this was not the only oasis 

 which the city contained, when all went well, and there was no 

 " drought upon her waters." 



Many were the sales of slaves within the great city at all times 

 — ordinary slaves, high-placed slaves, both male and female 

 {galla and gallat), and slave-women with their children. One of 

 these unfortunates was Sahnaya, who, with her daughter Sa-Nanaa- 

 bani, 3 years old, was sold for 30 shekels of silver. Date : the 

 2nd of Tisri in the 13th year of Nebuchadrezzar. 



In the case of another slave-sale the sons of the king had 

 apparently something to do, but as the text is defective here, 



