The Formation of a Primitive Organizational (Yet Religious) System

Ritik Malhotra

Near Eastern Studies R1B Lecture 4

Response Paper: The Age of Empires (Ch7)

The Formation of a Primitive Organizational (Yet Religious) System

Francis Joannes continues his tale of ancient Babylon in chapter seven of his book The Age of Empires, talking about the religion and culture in Babylonia during the first millennium BC (174). Joannes details multiple aspects of religion and culture that shape the Babylonian empire into what it was in the past and gives the empire a touch of personality through religious activities. Throughout the chapter, Joannes talks about religion, but something that captures my mind the most is the description of the temple clergy and the different designations that each of them receive and the tasks they must perform. I contend that this system of designations is arguably one of the first, albeit primitive, forms of organizational management, similar to that seen in a full-fledged corporation in modern times.

The first designation, the erib biti, was “applied to several categories of people,” primarily those “who had the right to enter the sacred part of the temple” (185). These people were the ones that had some of the most power in terms of what they could do as they controlled the access to the sacred part of the temple. This designation is highly comparable to that seen in the executive staff of a corporation as this designation implies that these people have a form of higher power that gives them special privileges.

The second designation, the specialists, was given to people for the purpose of specializing in a certain field that would benefit some deities or the temple as a whole. For example, some people had specialiszations “depending on the type of prayer” (187) which allowed for a variety of different technical skills to percolate the religious system and enhance it. This designation is most closely related to the workforce that exists in the present day, as each person in the regular workforce is known to be specialized in some trait and is expected to use that trait to advance and benefit the world in some shape, way, or form.

The last group of designated people was the prebendaries, who were responsible for operating “the divine service” and for preparing “the various items of the meals served to gods” (187). These people seemed to be the lowest ones in the chain of “command” back in ancient Babylon as they were the ones that seemed to be doing most of the grunt work. This category can be correlated to assistants in corporations, who are responsible for fixing things, doing random errands, reporting to their boss to do tasks for them. These people are not necessarily low in status, but are low in terms of the religious (or in the modern sense, corporate) level present.

As seen through the organizational designations made for the ancient religious system, the erib biti, the specialists, and the prebendaries can all be correlated to modern-day workers in corporations from highest to lowest. This correlation indicates a very primitive understanding of how the system should be organized, and is very interesting to see it materialize at such an early stage.