The Ilia A Archive
The Babylonian Socio-economic Landscape as Mirrored in the Archive of a Priestly Family in the First Millennium BCE
By (author) Ludovica Cecilia
Hardback (Published)
(December 2025)
ISBN: 9783963272783
6.73 x 9.49 inches
Price: $188.00
In stock
This study examines the “Ilia-A Archive,” a collection of texts from the extensive corpus of the Babylonian Empire in the first millennium BCE, particularly from the city of Borsippa. The work contributes to the growing field of Neo-Babylonian studies by presenting the edition of one of the largest surviving family archives of the period.
Its two main aims are: first, to reconstruct the microhistory of the family that created the archive—including its social and business relationships, property holdings, and economic interests—and second, to analyze the connections between the archive and its broader historical and socio-economic context.
Accordingly, the book is divided into two main parts: Part I focuses on the Ilia-A Archive, while Part II presents the text editions. Part I comprises four chapters. Chapter 1 outlines the chronological and historical background of the archive, along with the current state of research. Chapter 2 introduces the archive and its principal actors. Chapter 3 presents the archive’s contents, organized thematically into various dossiers reflecting the family’s interests (e.g., inheritance, land, real estate, slaves, money, taxes, and miscellaneous matters). Finally, Chapter 4 examines the family’s social and economic conditions within the broader framework of political history from a macrohistorical perspective.
This study examines the “Ilia-A Archive,” a collection of texts from the extensive corpus of the Babylonian Empire in the first millennium BCE, particularly from the city of Borsippa. The work contributes to the growing field of Neo-Babylonian studies by presenting the edition of one of the largest surviving family archives of the period.
Its two main aims are: first, to reconstruct the microhistory of the family that created the archive—including its social and business relationships, property holdings, and economic interests—and second, to analyze the connections between the archive and its broader historical and socio-economic context.
Accordingly, the book is divided into two main parts: Part I focuses on the Ilia-A Archive, while Part II presents the text editions. Part I comprises four chapters. Chapter 1 outlines the chronological and historical background of the archive, along with the current state of research. Chapter 2 introduces the archive and its principal actors. Chapter 3 presents the archive’s contents, organized thematically into various dossiers reflecting the family’s interests (e.g., inheritance, land, real estate, slaves, money, taxes, and miscellaneous matters). Finally, Chapter 4 examines the family’s social and economic conditions within the broader framework of political history from a macrohistorical perspective.
- By (author) Ludovica Cecilia
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