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A rational god : rationality and religion in an Old Babylonian temple’s business management

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  • Thibaud Nicolas

    (ANHIMA - Anthropologie et Histoire des Mondes Antiques - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - EPHE - École Pratique des Hautes Études - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UPCité - Université Paris Cité)

Abstract

Could a god act as a rational economic actor? In this paper, we shall try to answer this seemingly odd question. In Ancient Mesopotamia, gods and goddesses were acting as individuals: that is the reason why this paper will try to explain how Šamaš, the Mesopotamian Sungod, was acting in the economic and financial fields. We will focus on the Ebabbar temple, built in Sippar in the first half of the second millennium BCE, in order to answer a simple and yet complex question: how rational could religion-based decisions be? There is evidence that ancient Mesopotamians had their own economic fictions, as we have ours. If they probably did not believe in a rational homo oeconomicus, this paper intends to show that the Sungod and his paredra Aya were often acting in a logical and rational way as they were lending silver, bargaining, and supplying the needy. This paper will also try to demonstrate that behind this economically active god we can find a social network of priests, notables and other individuals interacting in order to uphold the wealth and power of the Sungod. We will try to understand how rational their choices were. Finally, we will sketch the portray of a debt-based economy with its own coherence and rationality.

Suggested Citation

  • Thibaud Nicolas, 2023. "A rational god : rationality and religion in an Old Babylonian temple’s business management," Post-Print hal-04816677, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04816677
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-04816677v1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Bromberg, Benjamin, 1942. "The Origin of Banking: Religious Finance in Babylonia," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 2(1), pages 77-88, May.
    2. Silver, Morris, 1983. "Karl Polanyi and Markets in the Ancient Near East: The Challenge of the Evidence," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 43(4), pages 795-829, December.
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