Contracts language in the old Babylonian period in the light of published an unpublished cuneiform texts

الملخص EN

The most of legal documents (economic contracts) which came from the south of Mesopotamia during the pre-akkadian era , its writings was purely in Sumerian but with the advent of the Akkadian clans and established their Empire, began a new age and then spread the using of Akkadian and adopted as an official language along with Sumerian accent and writing , the legal documents became carries a mixture from Sumerian and Akkadian vocabulary During the old Babylonian period the using of the Sumerian accent was continued in writing of the legal documents widely along with some Akkadian vocabulary , although the using of the Sumerian was reduced as spoken accent , because the political power in the hands of Amorites therefore the Babylonian scribes used the Akkadian accent to write the contracts mainly along with sumerian accent which considered as a second accent, but the writings rate of the Sumerian to the Akkadian in the texts varied according to the writer, location and date of the text writing .

Most of the documents that which came from the south of Babylon has been written in Sumerian purely , however were found in the same locations many documents with Akkadian formulation in most of its clauses .

While the documents which discovered in the middle and north of Babylon was in Akkadian drafting in most of its paragraphs ,even that some of these documents was mentioned in a pure Akkadian formulation , and in spite of that we can notes the existence of some contracts which written in Sumerian in the areas of north Babylon , and this will back as we mentioned Previously to the locations and the writer,s knowledge and his influenced rate by this accent or that .

There are main reasons that prompted the writers to use the Sumerian accent in writing the legal documents in the old Babylonian period that these formulas have gained legality over time and also by frequently using till it became dominant rule later , as well as the Akkadian were not fully ready to adapt with the developed economic and legal terminologies which used in Sumerian society .

We must refer that many historical formulas during the old Babylonian period was written in Sumerian and read in Sumerian as well..

From all this we can deduce that the Babylonian scribes had used both the Akkadian and Sumerian accents in the writing of the contracts formulas during the old Babylonian period , although the using of Sumerian accent had reduced through the old Babylonian period , but it still continuous in writing contracts formula during this period , and we could prove that through what we mentioned previously that the Babylonian writer has forced the readers to read the Sumerian vocabulary in Sumerian accent .