Ahaha (c. 1800s BC) was an ancient Assyrian investor and one of the earliest documented businesswomen in history. She is known for falling victim to

financial fraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover mone ...

and pleading to her brother to retrieve stolen silver for her. It is unknown if her pleas were answered.

History

Ahaha lived during the

Old Assyrian period The Old Assyrian period was the second stage of Assyrian history, covering the history of the city of Assur from its rise as an independent city-state under Puzur-Ashur I 2025 BC to the foundation of a larger Assyrian territorial state after th ...

and grew up in

Assur Aššur (; AN.ŠAR2KI, Assyrian cuneiform: ''Aš-šurKI'', "City of God Aššur"; ''Āšūr''; ''Aθur'', ''Āšūr''; ', ), also known as Ashur and Qal'at Sherqat, was the capital of the Old Assyrian city-state (2025–1364 BC), the Midd ...

. Her mother, Lamassī, raised Ahaha while her father was primarily stationed in Kanesh engaging in business affairs. During this time, it was customary for women to head the household and make financial decisions while their husbands traveled extensively as merchants. Women operated

joint-stock companies A joint-stock company (JSC) is a business entity in which shares of the company's stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their shares (certificates of ownership). Shareholder ...

and dealt with loans, real estate, and market trends. Assyrians made money facilitating trades between Babylon (and other foreign lands) and Kanesh, traveling in long-distance caravans funded by investors, who earned profits such as

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

and

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

when trades were successful. Following the death of her mother, Ahaha took control of the paternal estate.

Investments

As a businesswoman, Ahaha made investments in various joint-stock companies, including one managed by her father's partner, Pazzur-Aššur. One of Ahaha's brothers, Buzāzu, also invested in the same joint-stock company and was tasked with managing his sister's share. However, Buzāzu exploited this responsibility by withdrawing her funds for his own business. In a financial venture common in the

, Ahaha invested in a donkey caravan that was set to carry out a long-distance trade between

and Kanesh. When the caravan returned, Ahaha was promised a share of the profits in silver. However, Ahaha concluded that she had been defrauded when no silver was actually returned to her.

Fraud recovery letter

Cuneiform Cuneiform is a Logogram, logo-Syllabary, syllabic writing system that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Near East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. Cuneiform script ...

tablets excavated at Kanesh reveal that Ahaha suspected the fraudster was her own brother, Buzāzu. In a clay tablet written to her other brother, Ahaha begged for help:

I have nothing else apart from these funds... Take care to act so that I will not be ruined!... Let a detailed letter from you come to me by the very next caravan, saying if they do pay the silver... Now is the time to do me a favour and to save me from financial stress!

The letter highlights the urgency of the retrieval of her stolen silver and her request for a notice upon retrieval.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahaha Ancient businesswomen Ancient businesspeople 19th-century BC women Ancient Assyrians Ancient Mesopotamian women Ancient merchants

History

Investments

Fraud recovery letter

See also

References