古巴比伦时期外国奴隶买卖契约研究

A Study of the Foreign Slave Purchases in the Old Babylonian Period

古巴比伦时期,奴隶是两河流域地区文明持续发展繁荣的重要因素,王室和公民们对奴隶的需求导致奴隶市场的产生,从国外购入奴隶是当时奴隶的主要来源之一。本文通过释读8件楔形文字奴隶买卖契约,对时间和地域背景、合同格式和内容、奴隶的来源地、运送方式、背景调查期、身体状况、价格和使用等不同方面加以解析,并由此对古巴比伦时期两河流域地区的奴隶制经济模式和有关社会和历史问题进行了阐释。

In the Old Babylonian Period,the slave class took an important part in the development and the flourish of Mesopotamian civilization.One of the ways of getting slaves for household and palace was to purchase the foreign slaves.Focusing on eight cuneiform tablets,this article analyses the times,places,contract formula,contents and probation,origin and transportation,condition of health,price and usages of these slaves.Furthermore,the economic pattern and issues related to the social history of the Old Babylonian Period are also discussed in this article.