Mesopotamian American Trade

TRADE AND TRADERS OF MESOPOTAMIAN UR
Mesopotamia extended north along the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers and consisted of two cultures: Sumerian in the south and Akkadian to the north, each with its own language, but shared a lifestyle based upon farming and the raising of sheep and goats.
The Ur III dynasty became capital the Summer and Akkad in the late third millennium
He dug new irrigation canals and dredged old ones to increase agricultural activity and to promote the international trade.
For the next 100 years the conquered provinces were required to pay taxes (paid in the form the cattle to the Ur III state.
Summer lacked natural resources so they imported in trade for local goods grown.
These merchants sent copper in from Mangan, precious
stones from Tilmun and from
Melukka sent ivory and precious wood. Tilmun used the same system of weight measures as that found in Indus Valley because they got along well.
Evidence of trade to the east between Mesopotamian cities and the southeastern Iran comes from cylinder seals that were made by bronze, stone and bone and were used to close storage rooms in ancient Persia.
Traders traveling to the north and west sent merchandise by river boats from Ur up the
Euphrates River, trough Mari and on to Emar and transferred their goods to donkey and drove caravans west to Ebla and then on to Ugarit on the Mediterranean Sea or south of
Qatna.
Silver and grain were the mediums of exchange during the fourth to second millennium, the first one was used to buy household and commodities and to make loans whereas grain most often barley was used to buy and sell, loan at interest or exchange for other commodities. UR MERCHANTS
The merchants of the Ur III period were considered by the State as a source and desired goods which could be tricky to obtain and a source of liquid capital when the palace needed to get profits for that reason it is believed that they were agents of the state.
TRADE FROM TILMUN DURING THE REIGN OF KING RIM SIN
Ea-nasir was a merchant who acted as a private trader and imported copper during the Rim-Sin`s reign.
Ea-nasir bought the copper in Tilmun and sent all it to the palace at Ur, but
the merchandise did not arrive and the dealers in Ur sent word of their dissatisfaction.
Finally, the big businessman abandoned his smaller company because of the increased complaints from the private traders.
To conclude
Traders had different routes to barter their products or goods and to be transported depending on where they were going to travel they could go by river boats, donkeys, drove caravans, ships to all parts of the Fertile Crescent (Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Syria,
Lebanon, Israel and Egypt), Persia, Tilmun, Magan and Milukka, also imported copper, precious stones, ivory and exported woolen clothing, barley, among other things, and traded for palace, other merchants, and on their own account.
The activities made by the Ur (the southernmost city in ancient Mesopotamia), traders established a model that has been the great importance for the civilized world and the modern times.
Nowadays, we can exchange our products in different ways for example on internet you can sell something to obtain benefits or you can send cloth, food, medicine, arms, drugs or whatever you want by plane or boat.
I believe that Ur traders opened the way for us and now we are leading by the example but with more commodities than many years ago.