Blood Money in the Old Assyrian Colony Period and Two Unpublished Kültepe Texts Regarding Blood Money

Abstract

The Kültepe tablets primarily consist of the personal archives of Assyrian merchants and are predominantly commercial and economic in nature. However, these documents also serve as the principal written sources for understanding the social, cultural, legal, and political structures of Anatolia and Northern Mesopotamia during the first quarter of the second millennium BC. This study examines the legal concept of “blood money” (d mum), a compensation mechanism designed to address the financial or moral losses incurred by merchants in cases of homicide involving either an Assyrian or a local during commercial activities. The study explores the conditions under which this practice emerged, the procedural framework governing its implementation, and the variations in its application between Assyrians and the native population. Additionally, the research presents the transliteration, translation, and interpretation of two previously unpublished documents related to blood money.