12 Hittite Economics

Tür:

Kitap Bölümü

Yazar:

Jörg Klinger

Yayın yılı:

2022

Yayıncı:

De Gruyter

Following a brief overview of general theoretical concepts of economic history from different traditions and their reception in Hittitology, such as the interpretation of Hittite society as a feudal state based primarily on the work of I. Diakonoff, the chapter addresses a variety of aspects that are of importance in the interpretation of the Hittite economy in general and in its aspects. An examination of the general socio-political structure and the specifics of natural conditions of the Hittite heartland as well as the reconstruction of the paleoclimatic conditions, including an overview of natural resources such as water, arable land, the availability of fauna and flora and food stuffs of economic significance as well as other natural resources, serves as a point of departure. Drawing upon information from the so-called land donation tablets as well as other sources, the household is identified as the basic unit of Hittite agropastoral economic society, and exemplary quantitative calculations are used in an attempt at reconstructing its organisation and relative productivity. The evidence of extensive, decentralised storage facilities is understood as an important part of the organisation and administration of economic resources at the hands of the state and used to illustrate the involvement of institutions such as palace and temple in economic activity. This is supplemented by an outline of the varied sources of revenue that underpinned and funded the Hittite state, …

Künye/erişim: kaynak bağlantısı