On privileged classes, the kidinnū

From Tony Ho Tran (@tonyhotran.bksy.social): "Not totally unbelievable that CEO might become a protected class sometime in the next 4 years."

Perhaps this is not the history many are asking for, but Babylonia had a millennia long tradition of protecting privileged classes of citizens with physical immunity (among other things). A clear example of this comes from the literary work, the Poor Man of Nippur.

In this ancient tale, a poor man by the name of Gimil-Ninurta brings a present to the mayor and it is mistaken for a bribe. Gimil-Ninurta is prohibited from enjoying this gift alongside the mayor and so he begins plotting his revenge of beating the snot out of said mayor.

"He set upon the mayor, made him beg for mercy. He thrashed him from head to toe, he inflicted pain upon him. 

At his feet, the mayor cried out... 'My lord, do not destroy a citizen of Nippur! The blood of a protected person, sacred to Enlil, must not stain your hands!'"

This topic of privileged protection became a major point of contention between Babylonian elites and their Assyrian ruler. It was used to sow dissent between Assurbanipal, king of Assyria, and his brother Shamash-shuma-ukin, king of Babylon and vassal of Assyria.