The Bourse of Babylon : Market Quotations in the Astronomical Diaries of Babylonia

The monthly market reports in the summaries of Late Babylonian astronomical diaries are a unique source of economic data. They are homogeneous; span 500 years; come from one site; and all but a few can be securely dated. This book analyzes and presents this data so as to be an essential work in understanding the economy of late first-millennium Babylonia. Topics include: the diaries and their market quotations; the role of the 6 diary commodities in Babylonian society; the role of commodity price lists within Mesopotamian tradition; the rationale for including lists of prices in mostly astronomical texts; statistical analysis of raw price data and examination of evidence for seasonal and long-term price fluctuations; statistical analysis of Euphrates River level data.