Ea-nāṣir
 | You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in German. (April 2025) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
 | This article is missing information about Ea-nāṣir apart from the complaint tablet. (April 2025) |
Ea-nāṣir | |
|---|---|
| Akkadian: 𒂍𒀀𒈾𒍢𒅕 | |
| Born | 18th century BCE |
| Occupation | Mesopotamian merchant |
| Known for | Selling bad copper |
Ea-nāṣir (Akkadian: 𒂍𒀀𒈾𒍢𒅕, lit. ''Ea is (his) warden", reconstructed pronunciation: /ˈe.a ˈnaːt͡sʼiʁ/') was a copper merchant who lived in Ur during the mid-18th century BCE.[1][2] He was a member of the Alik Tilmun, a guild of merchants based in Dilmun, and was active during the 11th and 19th regnal years of the Larsa ruler Rim-Sîn I.[2][3] He is most well-known for a customer complaint written against him by Nanni in 1750 BCE.[1][2][4]
Complaint tablet to Ea-nāṣir
[edit]Ea-nāṣir is most well-known for a customer complaint written by Nanni in 1750 BCE.[1][2][4] According to the complaint, Ea-nāṣir had agreed to sell some copper ingots to Nanni, after which he presented Nanni's servant with poor-quality ingots while mistreating and undermining him, and stated the Old-Babylonian equivalent of "take it or leave it". Enraged, Nanni wrote:[5]
"Who am I that you are treating in this manner and offend me (ia-a-ti a-na ki(!)-ma ma-an-ni-im tu-ši-im-ma-ni-[i]-ma ki-a-am tu-me-i[š-an]ni lines 16-18); (that this could happen between) gentlemen as we (both) are! (ma-a-ri a-we-li ki-ma ne-ti, elliptic in line 19)" and he continues, "Who is there amongst the Telmun traders who has (ever) acted against me in this way (i-na a-li-ik Te-el(!)-mu-un ma-an-nu-um ša kci-a-am i-pu-ša-an-ni-i-ma lines 26-27)?"
— A. L. Oppenheim, The Seafaring Merchants of Ur
In response, Ea-nāṣir wrote:[5]
"I myself gave on account of you 19 talents of copper to the palace and Sumi-abum gave (likewise) 18 talents of copper, apart from the sealed document which we both handed over to the temple of Shamash."
— A. L. Oppenheim, The Seafaring Merchants of Ur
Other tablets
[edit]Other tablets have been found in the ruins believed to be Ea-nāṣir's dwelling. These include a letter from a man named Arbituram who complained he had not received his copper yet, while another tablet said that he was tired of receiving bad copper.[6][7]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Metoyer, Eli (2021-03-09). "Ea-Nasir: A Babylonian Conman". Smoke Signals. Retrieved 2025-02-18.
- ^ a b c d Killgrove, Kristina (2018-05-11). "Meet The Worst Businessman Of The 18th Century BC". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2025-02-04. Retrieved 2025-02-18.
- ^ Konstantopoulos, Gina (2021-09-08), Konstantopoulos, Gina; Zaia, Shana (eds.), "Chapter 1. Gods in the Margins: Religion, Kingship, and the Fictionalized Frontier", As Above, So Below: Religion and Geography, Penn State University Press, pp. 3–27, doi:10.1515/9781646021536-003, ISBN 978-1-64602-153-6, retrieved 2025-02-18
- ^ a b "Oldest written customer complaint". Guinness World Records. Archived from the original on 2025-02-10. Retrieved 2025-02-18.
- ^ a b Oppenheim, A. L. (1954). "The Seafaring Merchants of Ur". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 74 (1): 6–17. doi:10.2307/595475. ISSN 0003-0279. JSTOR 595475.
- ^ Killgrove, Kristina (11 May 2018). "Meet the worst businessman of the 18th century BCE". Forbes. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
- ^ Leemans, W. F. (1960). "Ur: Time of Rim-Sin". Foreign Trade in the Old Babylonian Period as Revealed by Texts from Southern Mesopotamia. Studia et Documenta ad Iura Orientis Antiqui Pertinentia. Vol. 6. Leiden: Brill. pp. 36–55. LCCN a61001806.