Old Assyrian Metal Trade, its Volume and Interactions
Hakan Erol
Ankara University, Faculty of Languages and History-Geography, Department of
Ancient Languages and Cultures
Keywords: Old Assyrian, Ancient Anatolia, Colony Period, Commerce, Metals
Abstract
The subject of this study consists of some consequences of a research project which was supported by The Scientifi c and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK). In the scope of this project, all metals that attested in Kultepe texts have been evaluated. The main target of this research is to fi nd answers to some questions related to the metals and metal trade, which are recorded in a wide range of Kultepe texts. The attestations of gold, silver, tin, iron, copper, lead, antimony and bronze alloy have been searched in a database which includes more than 12 thousand Kultepe texts most of which are unpublished. Each of the information related to these metals, such as their volumes, origins, fi nal destinations, kinds, qualities, and prices against mostly silver has been gathered and evaluated. For example, the following results about the gold have been gained by the research in Kultepe text: The total weight of gold in all available texts is about 480 kg. Out of this sum, only about 92 kg of gold was shipped from Anatolia to Assur. Assyrian traders gained the gold mainly from the Anatolian cities of Wahšušana, Purušhattum and Šalatuwar respectively. The price of gold against silver ranges from 1:3 1/3 to 1:15. The most precious kind of gold attested in the texts is liqtum and the cheapest one is HU.SÁ (red) gold. On the other hand, the most demanded or common kinds of gold were pašallum and kupuršinnum.