Societal Structure

Early on, Kassite society appears to have been organized according to tribes or houses (Zadok “Peoples,” 18). Brinkman suggests that during the later periods (1200–850 bc), the Kassites were grouped according to a common ancestor under the heading “The house of …” (Brinkman, “Kassiten,” 465). However, Sassmannshausen argues that there is not enough definitive textual evidence to support this suggestion (Sassmannshausen “Adaptation,” 420).

From their origins as marauding bands from the east, the Kassites quickly adopted the laws and—to a degree—the culture and names of the Babylonian region. Nevertheless, aspects of their culture remained intact and may have had a sociological influence in ancient Kassite-controlled Babylon. For example, if the social structure of the Kassites was clan or tribe based, this may explain the increase in small, nonurban villages in the Kassite era (Brinkman, “Kassiten,” 469).

Millard suggests the Kassites’ tribal structure may have contributed to their demise. As the Kassite dynasty drew to a close, Kassite kings tended to give out large land grants to loyal subjects, further parceling up the empire into regional territories. Millard suggests this took away the strong centralizing tendencies that were the hallmark of other empires and may have paved the way for the takeover of the territories by “Aramean and Chaldean tribes in the heart of Babylonia” (Millard, “Kassites,” 4).