Abstract:

This paper aims to examine the development of accounting in the Middle East by dividing it into stages. These stages begin with the examination of the inventory records of agricultural products in ancient Egypt (3050 BC – 30 BC). Other earliest extant accounting records are the cuneiform scripts on clay tablets belonging to the settlement system of the trade relations between the Assyrians in Mesopotamia and the Hittites in Anatolia between 2000 BC and 1700 BC. The third stage is experienced within the Abbasids (750 AD – 1258 AD), the Ilkhanate (1256 AD – 1353 AD) and within the accounting records of the Ottomans (1299 AD – 1922 AD). The fourth stage started to be experienced with the influence of Western European accounting culture and the practice of the double entry bookkeeping system in 1850s. Findings indicate that the Mediterranean and Silk Road trade routes, the relations with western countries had a westward effect in the development of Middle Eastern accounting culture. However, the statist understanding and the influence of Islam after 750 AD, limited the effects of these interactions for centuries.

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