Abstract
This paper considers detention for the Middle Babylonian period (ca. 1595–1155 BC). Detention was utilized as part of the judicial process and to control labor. The idea that detention can be viewed as liminal space is established by using literary texts. The concept of liminality is then applied to various legal and administrative documents to demonstrate that detention did not entail the creation of a new status. Instead, persons of a variety of statuses could be detained temporarily. During this time, the normal social and legal rights of a person could be suspended until resolution occurred.
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© 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Introduction
- Beyond Slavery and Freedom in Ancient Mesopotamia
- Articles
- Muškēnum in Third-Millennium BC Mesopotamia
- Humans as Donations and the Question of Temple Slavery in Early Mesopotamia
- un-il2 (“Menials”) as a Serflike Social Stratum during the Ur III Period
- The Precarious Inheritance Rights of Adopted Slaves During the Old Babylonian Period
- The Status of War Prisoners at Uruk in the Old Babylonian Period
- Detention as Liminal Space During the Middle Babylonian Period
- The Hoax of Semi-Freedom in Babylonia
- Beyond Slavery and Freedom in Ancient Mesopotamia: A Response
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Introduction
- Beyond Slavery and Freedom in Ancient Mesopotamia
- Articles
- Muškēnum in Third-Millennium BC Mesopotamia
- Humans as Donations and the Question of Temple Slavery in Early Mesopotamia
- un-il2 (“Menials”) as a Serflike Social Stratum during the Ur III Period
- The Precarious Inheritance Rights of Adopted Slaves During the Old Babylonian Period
- The Status of War Prisoners at Uruk in the Old Babylonian Period
- Detention as Liminal Space During the Middle Babylonian Period
- The Hoax of Semi-Freedom in Babylonia
- Beyond Slavery and Freedom in Ancient Mesopotamia: A Response