The Royal Herdsmen of Ur: Compensation and Centralization in the Reign of Shulgi

Abstract

Centralization functioned on multiple complementary levels during the Ur III period. On the one hand, the royal government controlled vast herds of livestock, which it distributed for tending to herdsmen located in various provinces throughout the entire empire. On the other, it exercised direct control over land located in these provinces, which it then used to compensate royal workers in charge of tending these animals. This article studies the evidence for the royal herdsmen, their organization and activities, and their compensation through royal grants of real estate.