The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1901-05-29

Farming IN Cll2ldea lie year LtuU, b. I.
In the wonderful resurrection of the
longburicd past which has resulted
from the explorations in Egypt and
Chaldea, especially, in the latter,
&c phase Of life seems likely to
remain untouched. Trade and com
merce are represented by thousands of
contract tablets extending back to a
period of more than thirty centuries
before our era. Law may be studied
from the contemporary records of all
ages; and the new collection now on
exhibition in the Babylonian room Of
the British museum deals with a most
important and interesting section Of
national life.
Ilcrodotus Strabo and other classi
cal writer's have testified to the i'm
meDse fertility Of the Mcsopotamian
Valley, where cereals yielded a hun
dred fold increase it was, We know,
the granary Of the Persian empire, but
it was little imagined that there would
be rescued from ruins OF Chaldcan
city the complete records and stats
tics of board Of inland revenue and
agriculture, which organized the affairs
of the State at as remote an age as
24O0 B. G.
A few years ago the trustees Of the
British museum obtained collection
of several thousand tablets, III won
derful preservation. which related to
the fiscal affairs of southern Chaldea,
under the rule Of the second dynasty
of Ur, and the perfectly organized
system which they reveal is indeed
astonishing. The tablets come from
Sirpurra-thc modern Telo, on the
Shat-e. Hie-which seems to have
been the center of local government.
At the period to which those docu-
ments belong Babylonia MAS covered
by vast network of main and irriga-
tion canals, bordcred by rich and fer.
tile fields. The revenue to support
the State and the temples was collect
ed in kind and neccssitatcd an organ
lied bureau of officials. This We know
to have existed from far earlier times,
anu the inscription Of Manishtisu,
dating from at least 1000 B. c., which
was found at Susa, and the contract
tablets Of Sargon 1, $500 b. c., now in
the Imperial museum at Constantino-
pie, mention both surveyors and
tax collectors"
The first essential Of system of
taxation was an accurate survey and
valuation Of the land, and this we see
had been completed.
From the inscription Of Manishtisu,
the Oldest known commercial record,
we have an illustration of this value
Of land by corn value. A field of
of 1884 feddan has corn value Of
1878 quarters; the money value is
obtained by estimating The corn at one
shekel quarter and the price Of the
land is, therefore, "3 talents 33
mana" The most interesting feature
Of the large account tablets dealing
with the corn revenue here exhibited
ia the wonderful accuracy Of the book.
keeping. S"me Of the large tablets
contain summations Of hundreds of
thousands Of quarters and calculations
of minute fractions, yet the errors are
very few indeed.
The large account tablets are care
fully dated and attested with the
names of the collectors. Thus we
read: "The account and return of the
Ur Lamassu, of the Temple of MIN
girsu, overseer. # From the
month of Airu to the month Nissan,
for 13 months in tho year, when
kharsi and Khumurti were spoiled. :"
A word must be said as to the calen-
dar in use. 1t was essentially farm
er's calendar, having the months
named, ''Month of corn raising"
Corn cutting" ''The month when
the fields are bright" "The month
when the cattle are in the open,
"The month of sowing
Next to the tablets relating to the
corn crop of the land the most import