By The European Times | Created at 2026-10-12 16:37:03 | Updated at 2026-10-12 17:40:50
1 hour ago
Humanity has changed significantly over the millennia, yet in one respect, we have remained the same throughout history: we have always found things to complain about—dishonest merchants, for instance.
The oldest known complaint, inscribed in cuneiform on a clay tablet, is directed at a Mesopotamian merchant named Ea-Nasir. Judging by the accusations, he was arguably the worst businessman of the second millennium BCE.
This archaeological artifact, dating back to around 1750 BCE, was discovered in the ancient city of Ur, famous for its impressive ziggurat.
The city, located in present-day Iraq, was excavated in the early 20th century, primarily by the British archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley. One particular house contained a large number of cuneiform tablets—business letters addressed to Ea-Nasir. He was a member of the *Alik Tilmun*, a merchant guild based in Dilmun—another archaeological site in the Persian Gulf, located in modern-day Bahrain. Dilmun’s location by the waters of the Persian Gulf made it an ideal hub for import and export activities for merchants like Ea-Nasir. Judging by the more than a dozen clay tablets found in his own home, archaeologists have discovered that Ea-Nasir was a major copper merchant; he dealt primarily in wholesale ingots but also traded in finished metal goods and, occasionally, textiles and foodstuffs.
Early in his career, Ea-Nasir bought and sold for the palace at Ur and enjoyed a solid credit reputation. However, at some point, he began spending more time in Dilmun, prompting unpleasant letters from angry creditors demanding to know the whereabouts of their goods.
Here is the story as seen through the eyes of his defrauded clients.
The clay tablet bears a message—a formal complaint—from a man named Nanni to the supplier Ea-Nasir. In fact, the letter contains multiple grievances. Ea-Nasir had evidently supplied poor-quality copper ore from the Persian Gulf. He was also responsible for a delivery error and a delay in the subsequent shipment. To top it all off, he was rude to the servants Nanni had sent to collect the goods.
“Why do you treat someone like me with such contempt? I sent my representatives as messengers to collect the bag of money I had deposited with you, yet you treat me with disdain, sending them back empty-handed time and again—and through hostile territory, no less.
“Is there any other merchant trading with Dilmun who has ever treated me this way?” “You alone treat my messenger with contempt!”
The clay tablet is part of the British Museum’s permanent collection, though it is not currently on display. The message is written in Akkadian—the earliest known Semitic language (a family originating in the Middle East that includes Hebrew, Arabic, and Aramaic)—using cuneiform script, a system originally developed for Sumerian, a language unrelated to the Semitic group. The tablet is small, measuring 11.6 by 5 cm, yet the text is charged with Nanni’s emotions.
“How have you treated me regarding this copper? You withheld my money bag in enemy territory; now it is up to you to restore [my money] in full,” the customer insists.
Despite all this, however, it seems Nanni had no choice but to continue doing business with Ea-Nasir, concluding the letter with a warning and a note of resignation:
“Be aware that [from now on] I will not accept any copper from you here that is not of fine quality. [From now on] I shall select and take the ingots individually in my own courtyard and exercise my right of rejection against you, because you have treated me with contempt.”
Does this sound familiar? Even in the earliest civilizations known to man, people complained about poor service—grievances just as frustrating then as they are today.
Illustration: The clay tablet with the written complaint from Nanni to Ea-nasir. Credit: British Museum. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
