Ea-nāṣir
Ea-nāṣir | |
|---|---|
| Akkadian: 𒂍𒀀𒈾𒍢𒅕 | |
| Born | 18th century BCE |
| Occupation | Mesopotamian merchant |
| Known for | Selling low quality copper |
Ea-nāṣir (Akkadian: 𒂍𒀀𒈾𒍢𒅕, lit. ''Ea is (his) warden", reconstructed pronunciation: /ˈe.a ˈnaːt͡sʼiʁ/') was a copper merchant who lived in Ur during the mid-18th century BC.[1] He was a member of the Alik Tilmun, a guild of merchants based in Dilmun, and was active during the 11th and 19th regnal years of the Larsa ruler Rim-Sîn I.[1][2] He was a vendor of copper ingots originating in Magan.[3] He is most well-known for being the subject of a customer complaint written against him by Nanni in 1750 BC.[1][4]
Complaint tablet to Ea-nāṣir
Ea-nāṣir is most well-known for a customer complaint written by Nanni in 1750 BC.[1][4] According to the complaint, Ea-nāṣir had agreed to sell some copper ingots to Nanni, after which he presented Nanni's servant with poor-quality ingots while mistreating and undermining him, and stated the Old-Babylonian equivalent of "take it or leave it". Enraged, Nanni wrote:[5]
"Who am I that you are treating in this manner and offend me (ia-a-ti a-na ki(!)-ma ma-an-ni-im tu-ši-im-ma-ni-[i]-ma ki-a-am tu-me-i[š-an]ni lines 16-18); (that this could happen between) gentlemen as we (both) are! (ma-a-ri a-we-li ki-ma ne-ti, elliptic in line 19)" and he continues, "Who is there amongst the Telmun traders who has (ever) acted against me in this way (i-na a-li-ik Te-el(!)-mu-un ma-an-nu-um ša kci-a-am i-pu-ša-an-ni-i-ma lines 26-27)?"
— A. L. Oppenheim, The Seafaring Merchants of Ur
In response, Ea-nāṣir wrote:[5]
"I myself gave on account of you 19 talents of copper to the palace and Sumi-abum gave (likewise) 18 talents of copper, apart from the sealed document which we both handed over to the temple of Shamash."
— A. L. Oppenheim, The Seafaring Merchants of Ur
The tablet became a meme on Reddit and Tumblr in 2015.[6]
Other tablets
Other tablets have been found in the ruins believed to be Ea-nāṣir's dwelling. These include a letter from a man named Arbituram who complained he had not received his copper yet, while another tablet said that he was tired of receiving bad copper.[1][7]
References
- ^ a b c d e Killgrove 2018.
- ^ Konstantopoulos 2021.
- ^ Hoyland 2001, p. 15.
- ^ a b Guinness World Records.
- ^ a b Oppenheim 1954.
- ^ Moshenska 2023.
- ^ Leemans 2024.
Sources
- Killgrove, Kristina (11 May 2018). "Meet The Worst Businessman Of The 18th Century BC". Forbes. Archived from the original on 4 February 2025. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
- Konstantopoulos, Gina (8 September 2021), Konstantopoulos, Gina; Zaia, Shana (eds.), "Chapter 1. Gods in the Margins: Religion, Kingship, and the Fictionalized Frontier", As Above, So Below: Religion and Geography, Penn State University Press, pp. 3–27, doi:10.1515/9781646021536-003, ISBN 978-1-64602-153-6, retrieved 18 February 2025
- "Oldest written customer complaint". Guinness World Records. Archived from the original on 10 February 2025. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
- Oppenheim, Adolf Leo (1954). "The Seafaring Merchants of Ur". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 74 (1): 6–17. doi:10.2307/595475. ISSN 0003-0279. JSTOR 595475.
- Oppenheim, Adolf Leo (1967). Letters From Mesopotamia. Official, Business, and Private Letters on Clay Tablets from Two Millennia. The University of Chicago Press.
- Leemans, W. F. (2024) [1960]. "Foreign trade in the old Babylonian period as revealed by texts from southern Mesopotamia". Journal of the American Oriental Society. Studia et Documenta ad Iura Orientis Antiqui Pertinentia. 6: 36–55. ISBN 978-90-04-06846-9.
- Rice, Michael (2011) [1994]. The Archaeology of the Arabian Gulf. Routledge. ISBN 9780415513197.
- "tablet". British Museum. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
- Hoyland, Robert G. (2001). Arabia and the Arabs: From the Bronze Age to the Coming of Islam. Routledge. p. 15. ISBN 0-415-19535-7. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
- Moshenska, Gabriel (30 January 2023). "The Legend of Ea-Nasir: how a Babylonian businessman became an internet meme". University College London. Retrieved 20 July 2025 – via the Internet Archive.