Ur III Empire

A redistributive economy

The administrative documentation should not, therefore, be overinterpreted. The image of a well-organized empire firmly ruled by a central power through bureaucratic institutions, often associated with the Ur III empire, is undoubtedly false, especially if we take into account the rather limited time span (around thirty years) during which most of the administrative documentation was produced, and the fact that the majority of the tablets come from a limited number of sites (Girsu and Umma provide about half), located in the heart of the Sumerian country (and very few from the periphery). The quantity of administrative documentation probably reflects the aspirations of the authorities for centralized control more than the reality of such control.