The Temple As An Intermediary

While reading Francis Joannes’ The Age of Empires, one of the most remarkable developments I noticed in the Neo-Babylonian society was the development of a powerful new social class – the urban notables. This social group was comprised of citizens who had skillfully managed to increase their power by setting themselves up as intermediaries between the working class and the ruling class. Simply put, they were the business tycoons of the ancient Near East.

The most interesting aspect of the urban notables was the method by which they rose to power in Babylonia. An example that Joannes provides illustrates the connection between an urban notable named Iddin-Marduk and the working class. In order to avoid paying river taxes on his own transport, Iddin-Marduk provided transportation of crops to Babylon for officials in charge of farming a certain plot of royal lands (Joannes 152). Thus, Iddin-Marduk gained numerous benefits, including the ability to monopolize transportation (and thus profits) for the farmers he was connected with.

In determining the changes in ancient Near Eastern society that led to the rise of the urban notables, it is interesting to note the relative increases and decreases in importance of Mann’s four sources of social power relative to each other in Babylonia, in comparison to older cities such as Uruk. The two biggest contributors throughout this time period were ideological and economic power. Depending on how one looks at the situation, a case can be made for either source becoming more important over time.

The rise to power of the urban notables through their manipulation of various markets makes a strong case for the relative increase in importance of economic power. At the most basic level, the urban notables rose to power because they successfully found ways to make money, and money was strongly linked to social status and power. On the other hand, it could be argued that the rise to power of the urban notables was nevertheless subject to the confines of ideological power. The temple had to exist to provide the royal lands for farmers to farm so that urban notables could establish ties with them. Similarly, the temple had to exist to provide urban notables with the incentive to embark on trading expeditions to hunt for rare or exotic goods. Ultimately, the urban notables could not have risen to power without stepping between the working class and the temple.