Achaemenid in the Kur river basin: Introduction on The identity of The Exchange and Trade

In order to properly understand the social and economic structures of ancient governments, the initial core and the focus of their formation is of special importance. The Kur River Basin, located in the North of Fars Province, is one of these Civilization Nuclei, which is considered the focal point of formation (along with the Sivand River Basin) of the Achaemenid Empire. The construction of Persepolis as one of the main capitals of Achaemenid by Darius I, as well as the existence of an important place such as Humadesu/Metzis (related to before Persepolis) in the discussed area, clearly shows its importance. The documents and evidence discovered or exported (The Persepolis Tablet Archive and the Akkadian texts of the Egibi’s trading company archive) from the mentioned places provide a clear perspective about the exchange and trade situation of the Kur river basin. The current research tries to discuss and examine the status of trade and exchange in the geographical area of the Kur River by means of a descriptive-analytical method and by examining the remaining documents and evidences from the Achaemenid period. Fortification’s texts are about the exchange of surplus goods from warehouses (grains, wine, fruit) with each other and with durable goods (sheep, goats, cows, mules and money/silver) in the form of exchanges called "Simple", "Religious", and They called "šaumarraš". The purpose of supplying goods in the mentioned cases is to prevent the products from Waste and spoiling (primary purpose) and to earn profit (secondary purpose). The parties to the exchange probably include groups/individuals affiliated with the Persepolis Organization, Persian Nobles, free individuals and Peasants, and oxyians of the southwestern region. Some of the Elamite texts of Persepolis, together with the Akkadian’s documents of the Egibi’s archive, confirm the presence of Babylonian’s merchants in the important centers of the Kur river basin (Humadešu/Metziš and Persepolis) and the exchanges between them and Persian’s merchants.