2,200 Year-Old Rental Agreement

Türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Milliyet Newspaper, 3 October 2016)


Expecting you classic scholars out there to verify this.

In the course of the ongoing excavations at the Teos Antique City
in Seferhisar district of Izmir province, a 2,200 year-old inscription
has been shown to be the first comprehensive 'rental agreement' in
Anatolia.  Dr. Mustafa Adak of Akdeniz University provided information
about Teos, one of the prominent Ionian cities, that was founded in 1,100
B.C.

Dr. Adak noted that many inscriptions have been uncovered at Teos,
adding that "from the standpoint of inscriptions, Teos is Anatolia's most
plentiful and the contents of the inscriptions are quite satisfying.  By
analyzing the inscriptions the city's social, administrative and religious
structure becomes apparent."


In light of this disrepair, renter's descendants should pay up.

"Among the inscriptions, one is particularly interesting.  An agreement
was inscribed on a 1.5 meter-high marble tablet.  There are 58 lines and
it is a detailed rental agreement.   The Neos group of the city's Gymnasium
received an inheritance from a Teos citizen and gave it for rent to earn
income."

Dr. Adak pointed out that there are many conditions listed in the agreement.
"The renter had to have a guarantor in order to fulfill these conditions and
there had to be six witnesses for the agreement to go into effect.  The
inscription reflects the structure of Gymnasium, that the Neos may have
been the owners and that they gave the property to earn rental income.
There is no similar example of this from the world of antiquity.  About
half of the inscription reflects the penalties that might be incurred if the
renter damaged the property, did not take proper care of the lot or left
the buildings in disrepair."