Redemption in the Old Babylonian Period: texts, archives, practice

This thesis is a philological study of redemption as it was practiced in Mesopotamia in the Old Babylonian period (c. 2000-1600 BC). It reconstructs, edits, and analyses texts and private archives showing the working of this traditional right in a number of local traditions in the Old Babylonian period. It contributes to the study of redemption of persons a philological treatment of key technical terms. The traditional right of redemption also had a royal analogue, and chapter 4 of the thesis provides a critical treatment of a putative royal edict from the kingdom of Larsa mandating redemption based on a new classification of the text.