Journal Editor by Steven Garfinkle
Books by Steven Garfinkle
Articles and Chapters by Steven Garfinkle
Ancient Taxation: The Mechanics of Extraction in Comparative Perspective, 2021
I S AW M o n o g r a p h s ISAW Monographs publishes authoritative studies of new evidence and re... more I S AW M o n o g r a p h s ISAW Monographs publishes authoritative studies of new evidence and research into the texts, archaeology, art history, material culture, and history of the cultures and periods representing the core areas of study at NYU's Institute for the Study of the Ancient World. The topics and approaches of the volumes in this series reflect the intellectual mission of ISAW as a center for advanced scholarly research and graduate education whose aim is to encourage the study of the economic, religious, political, and cultural connections between ancient civilizations, from the Western Mediterranean across the Near East and Central Asia, to China.
Law and (Dis)Order in the Ancient Near East, 2021
Ur in the Twenty-First Century: Proceedings of the 62nd Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale at Philadelphia, July 11-15,2016, 2021
Working at Home in the Ancient Near Eas, 2020
The activities of merchants were especially significant as managers of exchange on behalf of the ... more The activities of merchants were especially significant as managers of exchange on behalf of the large institutions of southern Mesopotamia. Some debate continues as to whether the merchants were under the direct control of the institutions or whether they were engaged in entrepreneurial activities on behalf of their own households. This paper focuses on the evidence for one very active family of merchants at Ĝirsu/ Lagaš in order to reinforce my conclusion that the merchants worked independently of institutional authority. Using comparative evidence from other late 3rd and early 2nd millennia sites, I will establish the ways in which the families of merchants often served the interests of the crown while benefiting their own households. I will also highlight the ways in which this work was centered on families and on the homes in which they lived.
The Cambridge World History of Violence, Volume I: Prehistoric and Ancient Worlds , 2020
Tradition and Innovation in the Ancient Near East, Proceedings of the 57e Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale, 2015
Krieg und Frieden im Alten Vorderasian, 52e Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale, International Congress of Assyriology and Archaeology, Münster, 17.-21. Juli 2006, 2014
From the 21st Century BC to the 21st Century AD, Proceedings of the International Conference on Neo-Sumerian Studies Held in Madrid, 22-24 July, 2010, 2013
The Oxford Handbook of the Ancient State: Near East and Mediterranean, 2012
Why Should Someone Who Knows Something Conceal It? Cuneiform Studies in Honor of David I. Owen on his 70th birthday, 2010
Opening the Tablet Box: Near Eastern Studies in Honor of Benjamin R. Foster, 2010
City Administration in the Ancient Near East: Proceedings of the 53e Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale, Volume 2, 2010
History: Reviews of New Books, 2010
On Ur III Times: Studies in Honor of Marcel Sigrist, 2008
The study of merchants and silver has been at the heart of examinations of the economy of the Ur ... more The study of merchants and silver has been at the heart of examinations of the economy of the Ur III period at least since John Curtis and W. W. Hallo published their article on money and merchants in 1959. 1 The available evidence has increased tremendously over the past ˜fty years, and we are now certain that there was no special relationship between merchants, d a m -g a r 3 in Sumerian, and silver as a means of exchange. Silver was routinely used as a measure of value in the accounts of both institutions and individuals in the twenty-˜rst century BC. Numerous transactions involving silver values, notably loans and sales, were undertaken by individuals from a broad range of professions. 2 Silver as a means of exchange was ubiquitous at this time, but the precise role of the merchants in the economy of the Ur III state is still a matter for discussion. This is a prominent topic because the position of the merchants will say a great deal about the nature of the Ur III economy, and this remains a subject of heated debate. This brief examination of the issue does not aim to settle these broad questions of merchants and their activity, but the publication of NBC 6641 allows us to examine anew the relationship between merchants and silver, as well as that between merchants and the state. Neither the merchants of the Ur III period nor the state on whose behalf they often worked can easily be categorized based on their economic activities. The merchants worked to facilitate state business while also forwarding the interests of their own households. The crown, in spite the growth in its central authority, was highly dependent upon local elites and professional organizations.
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Journal Editor by Steven Garfinkle
Books by Steven Garfinkle
Articles and Chapters by Steven Garfinkle