No matter what age, providing for the aged is an unavoidable problem in society. By analyzing the problem of old-age care in ancient Babylonian dynasty, we will find that many methods to solve the problem of old-age care in this society are very advanced. In addition to social relief for the elderly, the elderly in Babylon will also ensure the smooth life in their later years through the emergence of support contracts.

So, in ancient Babylonian society, how did people solve the problem of providing for the aged? How did the old people in Babylon regard the contract as the guarantee of life?

0 1 The living materials needed by the old people in Babylon in the process of providing for the aged.

From a large number of documents about ancient Babylon, we can see that the living materials of the elderly in ancient Babylon are very rich. At that time, people thought barley was a magical crop, so barley became the most commonly used living material for the elderly in Babylon. This content was also clearly recorded in the contract for supporting the elderly at that time.

In the adoption system of ancient Babylon, there are such records:

"Because most of Babylon's clothes are made by wool mills, wool is also very important for life."

It can be seen that in ancient Babylon, wool was a vital item in the lives of young people and old people. Therefore, in some maintenance contracts, the supporter should provide a certain amount of wool to the dependents in addition to barley.

In Historical Monthly, there is a passage like this:

"In ancient Babylon, an old man needed about 700 liters of barley, about 3 kilograms of wool and about 7 liters of sesame oil every year. It can be seen that during the Babylonian period, the annual demand for living materials for an elderly person was very large. "

Faced with such a huge demand, the Babylonian society did not abandon the existence of the elderly, but guaranteed their lives by signing maintenance contracts. It can be seen that the social status of middle-aged and elderly people in ancient Babylonian society is also relatively high.

Children in Babylonian society supported the elderly.

In Babylonian times, the nuclear family was generally composed of husband, wife and children, but for Babylonians, the husband was generally older than the wife, so in the society at that time, the situation that sons supported their parents generally did not exist. After all, when a son needs to get married, have children and start a family, his parents are generally dead.

It can be seen that the maintenance obligation and right relationship between father and son generally do not need to be realized by signing a contract, but in some special cases, in order to prevent the son from escaping the maintenance obligation, father and son also need to sign a contract to ensure the parents' pension. In the history of ancient Babylon, there is such a record:

"If sons can't provide their fathers with necessities such as barley and wool, they will not be able to inherit, and in the name of the king, these sons who fail to fulfill their maintenance obligations will also be prosecuted."

Because of the high social status of women in Babylonian period, their inheritance rights also occupied a major position. There is such a description in "Stunning in the Soil":

"Sometimes, in addition to providing the necessary information for life, a daughter will also provide a female slave to her mother and father to take care of their daily lives."

It can be seen that in ancient Babylonian society, the obligation of providing for the aged was mainly borne by women.

The ancient Babylonians spent their old age by adopting heirs.

Due to the poor medical conditions in Babylon, the infant survival rate was low in the society at that time, so some families would face the situation of no heirs. In this kind of family, these old people who have lost their children will solve the problem of providing for the aged by adopting heirs. According to the Babylonians, the more children they had, the happier their life after death.

There is such a description in forgotten one's epic:

"People with one son will be very sad and painful after death, people with two sons will sit on the stone steps and eat cakes, and people with seven sons will be the object of support."

It can be seen that the parents of ancient Babylon often adopted adopted sons in order to make their life happier after death. For these adopted sons, although they are not directly related to their parents, they have the same social rights and social status as their parents. At the same time, their support obligations are the same as those of their parents.

In order to ensure the maintenance obligation of adopted sons, according to the provisions of code of hammurabi, some maintenance agreements will be signed between adoptive parents and adopted sons. In the society at that time, if the adoptive father decided to give up the adoptive relationship after having a parent-child, the adopted son could leave the family, but at the same time, the adoptive father had to give the adopted son some spiritual compensation, and at this time the adopted son would get about one-third of the property inherited by the heir. However, if the adopted son denies this adoption relationship, he will be severely punished, and even sell the adopted son as a slave to earn some wealth for the adoptive father.

Old age contract between husband and wife in ancient Babylon

In ancient Babylonian society, in order to ensure that his wife could live a stable old age after his death, the husband usually gave his property to his wife as an independent owner, so that her wife could gain a certain social status after her death. There is such a description in Mu Na Weitong:

"After her husband dies, she will distribute all her property to her wife, so that her wife can get the respect of her children and their careful support."

It can be seen that the husband-wife contract also ensures that Babylonian women can get good support.

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By analyzing the history of ancient Babylon, we can see that this society respects the elderly very much, and it is also the social responsibility of every citizen to provide old-age services for the elderly. From the above discussion about providing for the aged, we can find that the old people in Babylon have come up with many different ways to solve their own problems of providing for the aged.

In the process of analyzing the old-age care model of ancient Babylonians, we can also get a preliminary understanding of the social population composition and social lifestyle at that time. For modern society, the old-age customs of ancient Babylonians can also provide some reference and help for the old-age problems in modern society.

References:

The adoption system of ancient Babylonians, Historical Monthly, History of Ancient Babylonians, Hita Ning in Tully, Epic of Gilgamesh, code of hammurabi and Munaveton Code.