| Ea-nāṣir | |
|---|---|
 | |
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Real Name |
Ea-nāṣir |
|
Born |
18th century BCE |
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Died |
Unknown |
Origin[]
Ea-Nasir was a merchant who lived in Ur during the mid-18th century BCE. He was a member of the Alik Tilmun, a guild of merchants based in Dilmun, and was active during the 11th and 19th regnal years of the Larsa ruler Rim-Sîn I. He is most well-known for a customer complaint written against him by Nanni in 1750 BCE.
Ea-nāṣir is most well-known for a customer complaint written by Nanni in 1750 BCE. He had agreed to sell some copper ingots to Nanni, after which he presented Nanni's servant with poor-quality ingots and stated the Old-Babylonian equivalent of "take it or leave it". Enraged, Nanni wrote:
"Who am I that you are treating in this manner and offend me (ia-a-ti a-na ki( !) -ma ma-an-ni-im tu-si-im-ma-ni-[i]-ma ki-a-am tu-me-i[s-an]ni lines 16-18); (that this could happen between) gentlemen as we (both) are! (ma-a-ri a-we-li ki-ma ne-ti, elliptic in line 19)" and he continues, "Who is there amongst the Telmun traders who has (ever) acted against me in this way (i-na a-li-ik Te-el ( !)-mu-un ma-an-nu-um sa kci-a-am i-pu-sa-an-ni-i-ma lines 26-27)?"
— A. L. Oppenheim, The Seafaring Merchants of Ur In response, Ea-nāṣir wrote:
"I myself gave on account of you 19 talents of copper to the palace and Sumi-abum gave (likewise) 18 talents of copper, apart from the sealed document which we both handed over to the temple of Shamas."
— A. L. Oppenheim, The Seafaring Merchants of Ur
Notes[]
- Written in Akkadian cuneiform, this tablet is recognized as the "Oldest Customer Complaint" by Guinness World Records. From 2015 onwards, the tablet's content and Ea-nāṣir in particular gained popularity as an internet meme, due to its modern-sounding nature of dissatisfaction with goods