The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1900-12-20
WHEN ARRAnAM LIVED.
Letter. written in babylon 22O0 n.
C.-The BibIe Truer Than ITS Crif-
fe9

\ wider circle Of readers than the rcgu-
lar students Of orleo az archaeology will
ind interesting matter in Tho Letters
and Inscriptions OF HammurahL King q
Babylon. about b. c. 2so." These dosu-
ments. OF which We give some account be-
low. have been edited by Mr. Leonard
King. chief Assistant in the Assyrian De
partment Of the British Museum. and just
published by Messrs. Luzac 4 Co. as part
Of the Semitic Text and Translation Sc
rles
The famous iconoclasttc school Of criti-
cism. OF which Niebuhr was the head aud
Sir George Cornwell Lewis the chief rep
resentative IN this country has received
many q crushing defeatc A. the hands of
the explorer and decipherer. ~ f. doubt
ful. however. II any has beeu more as
tonishing and unexpected than that given
by the small clay tablets now exhibited iu
tho new Bahyionian Room OF the British
Museum. With a steady persistenoy tho
skeptics denied the early knowledge of
writing. and even when invented they de-
clared IL 10 have been the sole property
Of an initiated hierarchy To speak Of
credible Oriental literature OF any autiqui-
~ was but 60 cause "a smile ~ contempt
The mention Of letters passing between
Solomon and Hiram regarding the cree
ton Of the Temple was a manifest proof
Of the late origin of the Book Of Chron-
icles. and even the existence OF royal
mail service Ia the time 90 Hesekiat Sec
and Chronicles. Xxx. g. was considered
very doubtful. The whole 81 this theory
has. however been demolished ny these
small fragments Of inscribed clay which.
four thousand years ago, each tn a care
fully addressed envelope were dispatched
from the City OF Babylon by the hand OF
a royal postman. The tablets are series
Of letters from the Kings or the first, or
Arabian. Dynasty ~ Babylon. about y.
G. Zoo which dealt with public affairs
and were addsessed 20 officials in the
cities Of Iarsa and Sippara- The tablets
are about three inches square and rather
thick and are inscribed on both sides.
After being written the tablets was In
closed in q clay envelope. (some OF these
are exhibited. on which the name OF tho
addressed was Inscribed There are about
eighty OF these precious documents The
epoch OF the First Dynasty ~ Babylon
was one OF the most important iu the his
tory o. that country. Tor 81 was az this
time that the small city Kingdoms we're
abolished and rule centralized IN Baby
Iona state OF affairs which continued
until the Greek conquest.
IL was a period OF vast activity both In
the state and among tho people them
selves AZ Is shown by che thousands or
letters legal deeds. and memoranda that
have come down TO us, and was unsur-
passed hv any subsequent age, except
perhaps. the reign Of Nehuchadnezzcr the
Great The new rulers centralized All
Government in tho capital and In the per
son Of the King; hence we ind him writ
ing In regard 90 the most trivial matters,
such as the dispatch of baker 10 BABY 2
Ion. This was the period when most OF
the ereat public works Of Babyionia were
undertaken, and the country was covered
with a network OF nayiEable trunk ca
mails and smaller irrigation works. liam
murabi. who may be the Amrape OF me
Rible (Geuesls. XIV was most active ~
constructing these works. and built
great canal called The River OF Ham
murabi. the Givcr Of Abundance to Men.
probahly the shat-el-Nn The letters show
that the system OF public works diheten
little from that OF Egypt or India OF To-
dav. The operation OF the corFee Is IT.
lustrated by the following passage.
.erhus saith Hammurabi U<ing) Behold.
am dispatchlng unto thee three hun
arad ana sixty bborers (carriers) see
chat one hundred and eighty OF these ia
borers serve with the men Of the city OF
far~a and one hundred ana eighty with
,ho men OF Rahabu." Each district had
10 send It's men 90 work on the public
works in tho vicinity. Thus We read
.srbou shalt call out the men who hold
lard on che banks Of the Damanum ca
nal that they may clear II out There j.
al@o a curious parallel 10 the corVee AZ
h r,ight have been seen Ia Egypt not
MANY years ago. ION seeing this letter
,he basket men, who are under you who
are al work. take them and yoke them
,oeethsr and send them IN ship" 70 new
task This public labor under the YOKE
ga the Babylonian hard labor. and the
king In one letter orders Il 81 punishment
for a fraudulent money lender
Another series OF letters OF especial
value are those relating TO the collection
OF revenue The Semitic Kings OF th's
dynastv had found a fully developed fiscal
s,ste,n AZ hand, the invention Of their
cur,effan predecessors. and the museum
noeserees many fine specimens OF cher
aeoount books and revenue returns. But,
| u,t,h the new policy Of centralized rulo,
| tbo +axes when collected. had 20 be sent
/ ~ pabvIon. In regard 70 them We have
many letters The tax collector had a
hard task and. moreover, was not more
honset 10 his master than toward the TAX
/ naver Thus we read. "Enubi Marduk
| 80 Ala hands on the money for the Tenn
~ ~ the God OF Justice from the city Of
| me vorkmen. and has not paid the full
sum But the writer says. The PAL
40 has exacted the fun amount from
me In another case, two officials, who
! fear to present their accounts az the
rapitai. say. since now u is seed time,
| sh,u We come 20 Babylon during seed
tlue9" Defaultlng officials had short
| shrift FOR the King says, regarding two
lnspectors: Thou shalt send them unto
| babylon. that they may render their ac-
! counts See that they travel night and
aav. and reach Habylou In two days"
| IL meet cases the taxes on corn. wool,
dates. etc. were raid In kind. but IN
srme cases they were commuted. Ihe
loree trading guilds. such a. merchants.
/ bostmen. etc. paid IN money through
an agent. Thus we have the merchants
Who arc IN the district see 20 Il that they
paok the silver. which Is due a. revenue
/ frorn thoee merchants, ana let them take
A 10 YOU. But n those merchants bring
no. the money which - due from them as
/ revenue. 20 my presence send them"
system of taxation such as Is here shown.
~ gemb.lng that Of an Eastern lands. nat
uraly implies the existence CT the money
| lender: ard = large proportion relate 70
those cases where the clients have ap-
4 m..g.a 20 eha KING for prO-