Elena Devecchi
Rijksmuseum van Oudheden: Taffeh Hall
Agriculture formed the foundation of the Mesopotamian economy, and this was no less true for the Kassite kingdom (c. 1595–1155 BCE), which governed one of the longest-lasting regimes in Mesopotamian history. This is evidenced by the wealth of cuneiform sources from Kassite Babylonia that document sustained efforts to organize the production, administration, and redistribution of agricultural goods through the systematic management of land, labor, and surplus. This lecture explores the mechanisms by which the Kassite state mobilized, stored, and redistributed agricultural products – particularly cereals – across an interdependent landscape of cities, estates, and rural settlements.
While cities like Nippur served as administrative and bureaucratic centers, the economic engine of Kassite Babylonia lay in its countryside. A dense network of villages, agricultural estates, and small settlements supported the production of cereals and other staples. The combined analysis of textual data and results from archaeological surveys reveals a productive and well-organized rural landscape that underpinned the larger system. These settlements were not isolated; rather, they were deeply embedded in a web of relationships that channeled goods upward into institutional economy.
Crucial to this system was the role of bureaucratic oversight, particularly visible in the development of standardized documentation aimed at tracking the production and storage of agricultural products and facilitating the redistribution of surplus across time and space. The lecture highlights the dynamic interplay between centralized administrative control and decentralized, locally grounded production, which enabled the Kassite state to manage resources effectively across a diverse economic landscape.
Dr Elena Devecchi is Associate Professor of History of Ancient Near East at the University of Turin.
Image: Administrative clay tablet with account of stored cereals, Middle Babylonian period (CUSAS 37 54).
The Veenhof Lecture 2025 will be held as a hybrid event. Please join us!
The Veenhof Lecture is organized every November by the Netherlands Institute for the Near East in cooperation with the National Museum of Antiquities. Named after Prof. K.R. Veenhof (1935-2023) and honouring his contributions to Assyriology, the annual lecture is aimed at colleagues and students, as well as a broader public. The speaker is an internationally renowned scholar. All are welcome to attend the lecture.
De Veenhof-lezing werd in mei 2002 in het leven geroepen, naar aanleiding van het afscheid van professor Klaas Veenhof (1935-2023) als hoogleraar talen en geschiedenis van Babylonië en Assyrië aan de Universiteit Leiden. De lezing wordt jaarlijks georganiseerd door het NINO i.s.m. het Rijksmuseum van Oudheden. Alle geïnteresseerden zijn van harte uitgenodigd.
Spreker: dr. Elena Devecchi, universitair hoofddocent Geschiedenis van het Nabije Oosten aan de Universiteit van Turijn.