Water Transport in 2nd Millennium BC Babylonia and Mari: Its Organization and Economic Importance

Abstract

This article studies water transport in southern Mesopotamia and along the Middle Euphrates. Based on the author’s PhD thesis of 2002 with the addition of new material we discuss transported goods, boat sizes, the organization of transport and the cost particularly in the 2nd millennium. Based on established documented prices, a comparison with the costs of overland transport is attempted. In the appendix, three hitherto unpublished ‘tax passes’ from Babylonia similar to those known from the Mari archives are published for the first time.