In Asia Minor, people with gold created a company
A tablet found in Kultepe 4000 years ago indicates that the world's first known trading company was founded in Anatolia by 12 people , who had 15 kilograms of gold.
Excavations carried out at the ruins of Kültepe Kanis Karum have shed light on Anatolia's commercial past.
In the early years of the 2nd millennium, the Assyrians established many trading settlements in Anatolia. In archaeological terminology, the period of the Assyrian colonies, spanning the first two centuries, is commonly known as the Middle Bronze Age. During this period, the Assyrians were very active in international trade and commercial ventures. The center of trade operations was the city of Nesa or Kültepe, also known as Kanesh or Nesha.
The city is considered one of the oldest shopping centers in Anatolia, its history goes back 6 thousand years. Excavations have been ongoing continuously for 75 years, and to date more than 20 thousand cuneiform tablets have been found. These tablets detail the commercial activities of that period.
The head of the Kultepe excavations, Professor Fikri, claims that most of the tablets were intended for commercial purposes and recorded all types of financial transactions. There are many details included in these plates, ranging from caravan expenses to credit and debit relationships. This indicates that Kültepe was a very active and large trading center at that time.
Professor Kulakoglu stated that information obtained from the tablets showed that the first company founded in Anatolia was founded with a capital of 15 kilograms of gold and that this company had 12 partners. Each of the investors became a shareholder of the company, giving away gold in different proportions. The company's capital was managed for 12 years by a merchant named Cupid Ishtar, and a third of the profits were distributed between them. All transactions related to the company were sealed and recorded in the presence of witnesses.
Kulakoglu noted: “If you want to withdraw your share from the company’s capital before the deadline, you will be given about 4 kilograms of silver instead of 1 kilogram gold. If you withdraw your capital before the due date, you will incur losses. In other words, it is guaranteed that the capital will remain in place for an extended period of 12 years.
The found tablets date back to the period after the 1950s BC. This is the period when writing first appeared in Anatolia. According to archaeologists, this is the first statement of a company on the peninsula, in some sense a corporate document.
The clay tablets contain more than just commercial information. Many details of public life, such as marriage contracts, divorces, inheritance documents and notarial procedures, are also in these tablets. This shows that Kültepe can be an excellent source of information for scientists about social and economic life in the Middle Bronze Age.
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