Nadītum

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The old Babylonian term Nadītum (also Nadītu ) describes a group of women with a special legal status in ancient oriental society of the early 2nd millennium BC. According to the current state of research, these are women who live in seclusion and are bound to chastity , who probably had a cultic function in the vicinity of Šamaš ( Sippar ) and Marduk ( Babylon ), but who are particularly known for their legal relations .

Sources and Etymology

The term appears prominently in the Codex Hammurapi , which primarily defines a type of trousseau and obligations of family members of a nadītum to care for them. In addition, however, there are also a number of old Babylonian private legal documents in which these women appear as contractual partners in transactions and very often as creditors .

The common Sumerogram for Nadītum is lukur , a ligature of the characters SAL and ME , which can be roughly translated as "chaste woman". The Akkadian word qadištum emerges from word lists as a further translation option . Nadītum can be traced back to a root nadû , which comes from the context of agriculture and describes the “ leaving fallow ” of a field. For a long time it was assumed in research that the nadītum should be seen in the context of (temple) prostitution, which was mainly based on late Babylonian lists of words , where the terms šamuktum and uppuštum were given for nadītum , which were clearly associated with prostitution are bring. In view of the etymology of the term, however, this late equation should not correspond to the actual status of a nadītum, but rather be based on the ignorance of these scribes who lived over 1,000 years later.

The term gagû is regularly used as the place of residence for the nadītum , denoting a type of demarcated residential area and thus in opposition to the so-called kīdu , the rest of the world.

Social background

Regarding the family origin of the Nadītum, it is documented that among them were princesses and daughters of high officials and high military officials. Since there are generally no written sources from the lower social classes, it cannot be ruled out that members of other classes could also become nadītum. Many of the well-known women of this status became very old, which can be seen in a causal connection with their childlessness, but also with living in seclusion - protected from epidemics.

Rich families probably gave their daughters to the gagû mainly out of economic interests. This included, in particular, safeguarding the integrity of family property. The Nadītum received a dowry at her initiation , as she remained childless and therefore had no (male) heirs, but after her death her possessions fell back to the family. However, it is not clear from the sources whether there were also religious motivations for entering the gagû.

Social status

The Nadītum was officially an adopted daughter of the Šamaš, but was probably closer to his wife Aja . It was adopted by the gagû as a representative of the sun god and then officially initiated in a celebration called tarû . This term is also used in marriage certificates, which also show that in ancient Babylonian times it was customary to first adopt the future daughter-in-law and let them live with their own family for a year before the formal marriage with the son took place. It is not clear whether admission to the gagû was preceded by a novitiate . This is supported, however, by the fact that many nadītums have a theophoric element in their names, which suggests that a young woman changed her name on entering the gagû; However, women are also known to have such theophoric elements in private households who, as novices, may not yet live in the gagû. The inclusion in the gagû then took place for life. Since a nadītum could not expect their own offspring, but the gagû for old nadītum did not come up either, these women had to provide for their old age independently. A great many legal documents on which today's knowledge is based come from this context. Accordingly, the Nadītum had their own house within the gagû and very often a slave who, in return for the obligation to provide for old age, could also be manumed and adopted. Often they also owned land that they could lease. Since there are only very few sales deeds for this, it is assumed that Nadītum had a usufruct here , but the right of disposal remained with her family.

Marduk Nadītum

It is known for the Nadītum of Marduk in Babylon that they were also allowed to enter into marriages, although they too had to remain childless. Marriages with a nadītum were highly regarded socially and were often associated with economic benefits. The nadītum had certain rights and obligations towards her husband, which were laid down in the Codex Hammurapi. For example, she had to provide her husband with a slave for the procreation of offspring, but could then and only then forbid him to enter into another marriage with a woman of the so-called šugītum class (§ 144 CH). In any case, however, their priority status had to be preserved, regardless of the possible offspring of her husband with another woman (§§ 145 f. CH). Accordingly, nadītum adoption certificates for daughters of their husbands and their slaves are relatively common. Whether these children actually emerged from such a connection or whether this was a means of circumventing social norms must remain speculation based on the sources.

literature

  • Rivkah Harris: Biographical Notes on the nadītu Women of Sippar. In: Journal of Cuneiform Studies 16, 1962, pp. 1-12 jstor
  • Rivkah Harris: The nadītu-woman. In: Robert D. Biggs et al. (Ed.): Studies presented to A. Leo Oppenheim . Chicago, Oriental Institute of Chicago 1964, pp. 106-135.
  • Rivkah Harris: Ancient Sippar. A demographic study of an Old-Babylonian city (1894-1595 BC) . Istanbul, Nederlands Historisch-Archäologische Instituut 1975, p. 305 ff.
  • Elisabeth C. Stone: The Social Role of the Nadītu Women in Old Babylonian Nippur . In: Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 25, 1982, pp. 50-70 jstor

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Rivkah Harris: The nadītu-woman. In: Robert D. Biggs et al. (Ed.): Studies presented to A. Leo Oppenheim . Chicago, Oriental Institute of Chicago 1964, p. 106.
  2. ↑ Rivkah Harris: The nadītu-woman. In: Robert D. Biggs et al. (Ed.): Studies presented to A. Leo Oppenheim . Chicago, Oriental Institute of Chicago 1964, pp. 107-108.
  3. ↑ Rivkah Harris: The nadītu-woman. In: Robert D. Biggs et al. (Ed.): Studies presented to A. Leo Oppenheim . Chicago, Oriental Institute of Chicago 1964, p. 108.
  4. ↑ Rivkah Harris: The nadītu-woman. In: Robert D. Biggs et al. (Ed.): Studies presented to A. Leo Oppenheim . Chicago, Oriental Institute of Chicago 1964, pp. 123-124.
  5. ↑ Rivkah Harris: The nadītu-woman. In: Robert D. Biggs et al. (Ed.): Studies presented to A. Leo Oppenheim . Chicago, Oriental Institute of Chicago 1964, p. 112.
  6. ↑ Rivkah Harris: The nadītu-woman. In: Robert D. Biggs et al. (Ed.): Studies presented to A. Leo Oppenheim . Chicago, Oriental Institute of Chicago 1964, p. 116.
  7. ↑ Rivkah Harris: The nadītu-woman. In: Robert D. Biggs et al. (Ed.): Studies presented to A. Leo Oppenheim . Chicago, Oriental Institute of Chicago 1964, p. 114.
  8. ↑ Rivkah Harris: The nadītu-woman. In: Robert D. Biggs et al. (Ed.): Studies presented to A. Leo Oppenheim . Chicago, Oriental Institute of Chicago 1964, p. 122.