This article offers an overview of the early Babylonian priesthood, as it was organized and operated during the third millennium BCE. It is emphasized that the priests and priestesses proper, i.e., individuals who were specifically concerned with cultic matters, represented a relatively small segment of the employees of temple households. Much more numerous within these institutions (which might more appropriately be termed “temple communities”) were the individuals whose roles were of either administrative or economic character. Focusing on the administrators of temple households, and identifying them as “Managerial Class,” the article argues that, during Pre-Sargonic times, this social group wielded great economic and political power, which at times even exceeded that of the emerging secular leaders (such as ensiks and lugals). To demonstrate this point, an interaction between these two competing centers of powers (particularly in the city-state of Lagaš) is studied in detail.

In memory of Itamar Singer

本文概述了早期的巴比伦圣职制度，因为它是在公元前三千年期间组织和运作的。。需要强调的是，适当的神父和女祭司，即专门从事邪教活动的人，在庙宇家庭雇员中所占的比例相对较小。在这些机构中（可能更合适地称为“寺庙社区”），人数更多的是具有行政或经济角色的个人。该文章着眼于寺庙家庭的管理者，并将其识别为“管理阶层”，并指出，在前Sargonic时期，该社会团体具有强大的经济和政治权力，有时甚至超过了新兴世俗领袖的经济和政治权力（例如ensiks和lugals）。为了证明这一点，

纪念Itamar Singer