Achaemenid in the Kur River Basin: Introduction on the Identity of The Exchange and Trade

Abstract
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/Matezis (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 “Secular”, “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/Mateziš and Persepolis) and the exchanges between them and Persian’s merchants. According to these documents, the main occupation of Babylonian’s merchants in the Persepolis region was slave trade. There is also evidence of the exchange of labor and the use of the services of parties between Babylon and the Kur river.
Keywords: Achaemenid Empire, Kur River Basin, Persepolis Archive, Exchange and Trade, Babylonian’s Merchant.
 
Introduction
When the Achaemenid Empire was formed and started to develop, it was able to reach various lands with special businesses. Many of the nations that came under the control of the Achaemenids had a commercial profession and had been trading with different regions for a long time. One of these areas is the Kur River Basin, located in the north of Fars province, whose archeological researches on its extensive commercial relations with different lands (Persian Gulf, Mesopotamia, etc.) It proves that before the rise of Achaemenid, especially in the early Elamite/Middle Banish phase (Sumner, 2003) and Old Elam/Kaftri (Nickerson, 1991; Stolper, n.d: 6-35). Nevertheless, the documents and evidence related to trade in the Achaemenid period of the Kur River region are scattered and few and often include a small number of Tablets from Persepolis and Akkadian texts discovered from the archives of Egibi Company in Babylon. Objects and other archaeological artifacts do not provide much information in this field and are almost silent. This research was compiled with the aim of trying to explain and clarify the situation of trade and exchange in the Kur river basin during the Achaemenid period. The basis of the present research is to answer the following questions: What was the status of trade and exchange in the Kur river basin during the Achaemenid period? What groups/individuals and ethnicities were the parties to the exchange with the administrative/economic organization of Persepolis? What kind of goods, products and objects have been exchanged in these exchanges? Documents and evidences tell about the exchange of surplus goods at the end of the year in warehouses (mainly grain, wine and fruit) with each other, with weighted money/silver (probably with Persian nobles, individuals and free peasants, etc.) and with livestock. It has styles and animals of Babar’s land. Intensive trade relations have also been established between the merchants of Persepolis/Kur River and Babylonia, whose main business was apparently based on buying and selling “slaves”.
 
Identified Traces 
The archival of Persepolis mentions three types of exchange of goods for goods, religious and trade. In Secular and religious exchanges, mainly the exchange of goods or clearing takes place. The goods exchanged in Secular exchanges are more diverse and include all kinds of grains, fruits, wine, light and heavy livestock, beasts of burden, clothes and even young female slaves. But religious exchanges only include the exchange of grain and wine with light livestock. The exchange rates are usually fixed and ordered. Also, the price of beasts of burden and cattle followed a certain standard based on their quality and was fixed exactly like the relative value of wine, grain and fruit. In Secular exchanges, the optimal control of warehouse stock in order to prevent damage and spoilage of products is the main goal, and economic benefits are a secondary goal. The parties to the transaction with the administrative organization of Persepolis in such exchanges can include internal groups (groups/individuals covered by the Fortification archive), foreign/semi-foreign (semi-autonomous ethnic groups, including cattle-raising oxyans) - Farmers living in the southwest region) Persian nobles or free people and peasants. In religious exchanges, according to the type of goods (grains/wine in exchange for sheep/goats) and the economic policies of the Persepolis Organization, it seems that the purpose of the exchange and the parties involved in it are different from the previous type. In religious exchanges, according to the type of goods (grains/wine in exchange for sheep/goats) and the economic policies of the Persepolis Organization, it seems that the purpose of the exchange and the parties involved in it are different from the previous type. In addition to barter or commodity-to-commodity exchanges, a number of Fortification Tablets mention exchanges based on the circulation of silver/money (saumaras) in the Persepolis region. In this type of economic exchange, goods are not exchanged, but storekeepers receive silver in exchange for goods; according to a fixed ratio. Cash payments and exchanges, along with the references of the Tablets to the exchange place/places called “Zamatas”, indicate the existence of markets for private goods in the Persepolis/Kur area. Governmental control over these markets and the setting of mandated prices for goods distracts the mind from the existence of any free market. Akkadian texts refer to the active presence of Babylonian merchants in Achaemenid Persia and their close relationship with Persian merchants; It means an emphasis on trade with distant lands. According to these documents, the representatives of the famous Egibi trading house were engaged in business in Pars during the reign of Cyrus, Kambises, Smerdis/Bardia and Darius. Buying and selling slaves, loan payments and labor exchange form the main areas of trade between the two regions.
 
Conclusion 
The archival documents of Persepolis categorize exchanges into three types: secular, religious, and saumaras. The governing principle of these exchanges predominantly revolves around the barter of surplus goods from warehouses, including the exchange of grains for wine and among grains themselves, as well as pack animals, small livestock, and silver. The foremost goal is to maintain optimal inventory control within the warehouses, with economic profit being a secondary consideration. The entities involved in the transaction with the administrative body of Persepolis may consist of internal factions (groups or individuals documented in the Fortification archive), foreign or semi-foreign entities (semi-autonomous ethnic groups, such as livestock-rearing oxyians and farmers residing in the southwestern region), as well as Persian aristocrats, free individuals, and agricultural laborers. Alongside domestic exchanges, the Akkadian writings found in the Egibi archive of Babylon, which were inscribed in Homadshu/Matezis, as well as several tablets from Persepolis, demonstrate commerce with foreign and distant territories of the empire. These texts reveal that significant trading relationships were developed between Babylonian and Persian merchants throughout the reigns of Cyrus, Cambyses, Smerdis, and Darius. The slave trade is viewed as the foremost and principal transaction conducted by these merchants, with Matezis and Persepolis playing a crucial role in this sector. Besides the slave trade, written accounts also highlight the labor exchange and the provision of services between the areas of the Kur River and Babylon in the Achaemenid period.