The lecture began by describing how the army was organized. The existence of a four-level hierarchy has now been confirmed: first came the "general" rabi Amurrim (noted by the ideogram UGULA MAR.TU), then came the "colonel" rabi haṭṭim (noted UGULA GIDRI, formerly read "PA.PA"), then the "lieutenant" laputtûm (NU.BANDA₃) and finally the "private soldier" rêdûm (AGA.ÚS). Of course, our translations are purely conventional. Some texts show that an army corps numbered around 350 men: 1 general, 3 colonels, from 8 to 14 lieutenants and 315 to 337 soldiers. Other army-related titles exist, such as šâpir rêdê, which seems to designate a kind of "generalissimo". The place androle of theabi ṣâbim remain difficult to determine. As for the mu'errum, he was indeed the head of an assembly-puhrum, as indicated by the ideogrammatic notation of this title (GAL.UKKIN.NA).
The Code of Hammu-rabi shows that people who performed service-ilkum for the king were entitled to what is called a "tenure" (in Babylonian, ṣibtum); it could consist of a house, a garden and a field. Beneficiaries are described above all as soldiers, but there is also mention of merchants or nun-nadîtum. A number of court cases illustrate the extent to whichilkum had become hereditary in the Babylonian kingdom under Hammu-rabi's successors: the system had evolved from one in which the king granted the use of land in payment for a service rendered, to one in whichilkum was seen as a burden on land that was hereditarily transmitted. The Code of Hammu-rabi explicitly excluded the possibility of an individual being replaced. Under Abi-ešuh, the Ubarum archives show a distinction between the "incumbent" (lit. qaqqad rêdim), namely Ubarum, and his "substitute"(tahhum), who was none other than his brother Ili-iqišam. The existence of substitutes was officially recognized at the time, since the authorities granted therequest ofUbarum's substitute when he demanded a share in his brother's tenure as payment for his services. Administrative texts show how land allotted to soldiers was managed. Finally, a few small files provide information on the status of certain soldiers, enabling us to produce what is known today as micro-history.
