A newly unearthed cache of cuneiform tablets in the ruins of Ur (modern Iraq) has provided the first documented 'Maritime Trade Treaty' between the Sumerian state and the people of Meluhha (the Indus Valley Civilization). The tablets, dating to approximately 2050 BCE, outline protocols for shipping insurance, gemstone quality standards, and tax exemptions for foreign sailors.
This archive confirms that trade between India and Mesopotamia was not merely informal exchange but governed by complex international legal frameworks. The tablets also mention a 'Meluhhan Colony' within the city of Ur, where Indian merchants lived under their own traditional laws while serving the Sumerian court.