Institutional Lending Practices in the Ur III Period (ca. 2110–2003 BCE): the še-ur5-ra-Loans from Ĝirsu-Lagaš

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the operation of the še ur5-ra system of institutional loans of barley in late third millennium BCE Babylonia. In particular, it focuses on the še ur5-ra-loans stemming from the Ĝirsu-Lagaš province, one of the most important areas for cereal production of the entire Ur III kingdom. The article argues that the še ur5-ra system, which was based on the availability of large quantities of barley in the provincial network of rural storage facilities, was designed and implemented to (1) reduce food losses, (2) provide state dependents with economic support in times of need, and (3) counteract and mitigate the impact of local crop failures on the institutional workforce at large.