{"product_id":"the-social-world-of-the-babylonian-priest-9789004399952","title":"The Social World of the Babylonian Priest","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn The Social World of the Babylonian Priest, Bastian Still presents a comprehensive study of the priestly community of Borsippa during the Neo-Babylonian and early Persian Empires (ca. 620-484 BCE). By examining patterns of marriage, landholding, moneylending, and friendship, he provides an intimate account of the daily life of the Babylonian priesthood beyond the temple walls and develops a more sophisticated understanding of the organisation of ancient Babylonian society as a whole. Combining the use of social network analysis, anthropological studies, and sociological concepts concerned with kinship, tie strength, social boundaries, and identity formation, Bastian Still’s interdisciplinary approach transcends the traditional boundary of cuneiform studies and enables the field of Assyriology to contribute to a more general socio-historical discourse.    “S.’s book is a valuable contribution to our growing knowledge of the Mesopotamian priesthoods in the first millennium.”  -Nathan MacDonald, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 44.5 (2020)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“S.’s book is a valuable contribution to our growing knowledge of the Mesopotamian priesthoods in the first millennium.”   - Nathan Macdonald, in Society for Old Testament Study Book List 2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAcknowledgments  Figures and Tables  Abbreviations  Introduction   0.1 State of the Art   0.2 Research Questions   0.3 Methodology   0.4 Case Study: The Priestly Community of Borsippa   0.5 The Babylonian Priest   0.6 The Temple Hierarchy   0.7 Main Protagonists of this Study    0.7.1 Temple-Enterers    0.7.2 Brewers    0.7.3 Bakers    0.7.4 Oxherds    0.7.5 Reed-Workers   0.8 Book Structure    Part 1: Social Interactions among Priests in Borsippa  1 The Hypergamous Marriage System   Introduction   1.1 Marriage in Borsippa: Sacerdotal Endogamy   1.2 The Concept of Wife-Giver and Wife-Taker   1.3 Visualising the Marriage Network   1.4 Wife-Givers and Wife-Takers in Borsippa   1.5 Hypergamy in Historical Context   1.6 Wife-Givers and Wife-Takers in the Cult   Conclusion  2 Landholding   Introduction   2.1 Hanšû Estates and the Ancestral Family    2.1.1 The Nature of Hanšû Land    2.1.2 The Historical Origins of Hanšû Land in Borsippa    2.1.3 The Motivations behind the Land Allotment Schemes    2.1.4 The Identity of the Beneficiaries    2.1.5 The Value of Hanšû Land in the Sixth Century BCE   2.2 Land Sales and the Circulation of Property    2.2.1 Marriage Alliances    2.2.2 Professional Solidarity   2.3 Tenancy and Agricultural Collaboration    2.3.1 Unfree Tenants    2.3.2 Tenants without Family Names    2.3.3 Tenants with Family Names   Conclusion  3 Silver Lending   Introduction   3.1 Temple-Enterers   3.2 Brewers   3.3 Bakers   3.4 Oxherds   3.5 Reed-Workers   Conclusion  4 Circles of Trust and Intimacy   Introduction   4.1 Formal Quantification of Personal Networks   4.2 Qualitative Analysis of Tie Strength and Friendship    4.2.1 Ea-ilūtu-bani    4.2.2 Ilia (A)    4.2.3 Bēliya’u    4.2.4 Rē’i-alpi    4.2.5 Atkuppu   Conclusion    Part 2: Priests in Neo-Babylonian Society  5 Homophily and Interaction   Introduction   5.1 Spatial Distribution   5.2 Homophily   5.3 Understanding Rentiers and Entrepreneurs   Conclusion  6 Social Boundary and Collective Identity   6.1 Affiliation to the Temple    6.1.1 Prebend Ownership    6.1.2 Purity and Initiation    6.1.3 Sacrifices and Festivals    6.1.4 Representation    6.1.5 Priestly Families vs. the Individual Priest   6.2 Ownership of Property    6.2.1 Residential Property    6.2.2 Landed Property   6.3 Literacy and Scribal Education   6.4 Language   Conclusion  7 Conclusion   7.1 Summaries of Individual Chapters    Chapter 1: The Hypergamous Marriage System    Chapter 2: Landholding    Chapter 3: Silver Lending    Chapter 4: Circles of Trust and Intimacy    Chapter 5: Homophily and Interaction    Chapter 6: Social Boundary and Collective Identity   7.2 Research Questions Revisited   7.3 Outcomes    The Impact of Temple-Based Regulations    Priests as a Distinct Social Group   7.4 Outlook   Appendix 1: Quantitative Analysis of Priestly Marriages in Borsippa    Introduction    Temple-Enterers    Brewers    Bakers    Butchers    Oxherds    Reed-Workers   Appendix 2: Annotated List of Hanšû Land in Borsippa   Appendix 3: Property Sales in the Borsippa Corpus    Sales of Hanšû Land   Sales of Non-hanšû Land   Sales of Housing Plots   Bibliography","brand":"Brill","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53210775650647,"sku":"9789004399952","price":196.8,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-social-world-of-the-babylonian-priest-9789004399952","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}