Periodically "clean slate" decrees were signed by rulers which cancelled all the rural (but not commercial) debt and allowed bondservants to return to their homes. Customarily rulers did it at the beginning of the first full year of their reign, but they could also be proclaimed at times of military conflict or crop failure. The first known ones were made by Enmetena and Urukagina of Lagash in 2400-2350 BC. According to Hudson, the purpose of these decrees was to prevent debts mounting to a degree that they threatened fighting force which could happen if peasants lost the subsistence land or became bondservants due to the inability to repay the debt. COUNT 5
QSN1 What type of debt did "clean slate" decrees cancel? ANS1 rural QSN2 When did rulers typically proclaim "clean slate" decrees? ANS2 the first full year of their reign QSN3 Why were the clean slate decrees useful to the rulers of Sumer? ANS3 to prevent debts mounting to a degree that they threatened fighting force QSN4 What would happen if peasants couldn't repay their debts? ANS4 lost the subsistence land or became bondservants QSN5 Who made the first known clean slate decrees? ANS5 Enmetena and Urukagina