Land Tenure and Social Stratification in Ancient Mesopotamia: Third Millennium Sumer before the Ur III Dynasty

In this work, the author reconstructs the Mesopotamian land tenure system as it may have existed at or near the beginning of history. The major focus is on the texts from Souruppak, which are the first that can be comprehended reasonably well. These are supported by detailed analysis of two later archives, the more recent of which is Sargonic. The system which is reconstructed from these documents has similarities with a medieval feudalistic system - neither economy was capable of remunerating labourers with pay, and both resorted to allotments of land and payment in kind. A key element of Cripps' argument is that land which has been hitherto seen as private property in the modern sense was actually probably held in return for service, much in the medieval fashion.