Drehem Administrative Documents from the Reign of Amar-Suena

Drehem Administrative Documents from the Reign of Amar-Suena
Author: Markus Hilgert
Publisher: Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures
Total Pages: 776
Release: 2003
Genre: History
ISBN:

A sequel to the author's Cuneiform Texts from the Ur III Period in the Oriental Institute, Volume 1: Drehem Administrative Documents from the Reign of Aulgi (OIP 115), this volume is the editio princeps of the 605 cuneiform tablets in the Asiatic Collection of the Oriental Institute Museum that were found at the site of the ancient administrative center Puzria-Dagan (modern tall Yad-duraihim, Drehem) and date to the reign of Amar-Suena (2046-2038 b.c.), the third ruler of the Third Dynasty of Ur (2112-2004 b.c.). Presented in a systematic arrangement that is based on both date and contents, these administrative documents may be considered indispensable primary sources for the study of the socio-economic, political, and religious history during the reign of Amar-Suena. The volume features an annotated typology of Drehem administrative records from the reign of Amar-Suena, detailed philological commentaries on individual texts and text groups, transliterations of all documents, a complete glossary, extensive analytical charts, as well as illustrations (hand copies, photographs) of selected cuneiform tablets. The sealing practice as attested on the sealed objects within this corpus is analyzed in an appendix by Clemens D. Reichel.

Drehem Administrative Documents from the Reign of Šulgi

Drehem Administrative Documents from the Reign of Šulgi
Author: Markus Hilgert
Publisher: Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures
Total Pages: 616
Release: 1998
Genre: Foreign Language Study
ISBN:

This volume is the first publication of all 499 cuneiform tablets in the Asiatic Collection of the Oriental Institute Museum that come from the ancient administrative center of Puzrish-Dagan (modern Drehem) and date to the reign of Shulgi, the second ruler of the Ur III Dynasty (ca. 2094-2047 b.c.). One hundred twenty administrative documents from the business archive of Queen Shulgi-simtum are the highlight of this innovative text edition. The volume features a comprehensive catalogue, transliterations of all cuneiform texts, complete indices and detailed analytical charts for all documents, as well as philological notes and illustrations for selected tablets.

A Question of Identity

A Question of Identity
Author: Dikla Rivlin Katz
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 438
Release: 2019-06-04
Genre: History
ISBN: 311061281X

‘‘‘Who am I?’ and ‘Who are we?’ are the existential, foundational questions in our lives. In our modern world, there is no construct more influential than ‘identity’ – whether as individuals or as groups. The concept of group identity is the focal point of a research group named “A Question of Identity” at the Mandel Scholion Interdisciplinary Research Center in the Humanities at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The papers collected in this volume represent the proceedings of a January 2017 conference organized by the research group which dealt with identity formation in six contextual settings: Ethno-religious identities in light of the archaeological record; Second Temple period textual records on Diaspora Judaism; Jews and Christians in Sasanian Persia; minorities in the Persian achaemenid period; Inter-ethnic dialogue in pre-1948 Palestine; and redefinitions of Christian Identity in the Early Modern period.

At the Dawn of History

At the Dawn of History
Author: Yağmur Heffron
Publisher: Penn State Press
Total Pages: 850
Release: 2017-03-24
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 157506474X

Nearly 50 students, colleagues, and friends of Nicholas Postgate join in tribute to an Assyriologist and Archaeologist who has had a profound influence on both disciplines. His work and scholarship are strongly felt in Iraq, where he was the Director of the British School of Archaeology, in the United Kingdom, where he is Emeritus Professor of Assyriology in the University of Cambridge, and in the subject internationally. He has fostered close collaboration with colleagues in Turkey and Iraq, where he has been involved in archaeological investigation, always seeking to meld the study of texts with that of material remains. The essays embrace the full range of Postgate’s interests, including government and administration, art history, population studies, the economy, religion and divination, foodstuffs, ceramics, and Akkadian and Sumerian language—in a word, all of ancient Mesopotamian civilisation.

Ur III Texts in the Schøyen Collection

Ur III Texts in the Schøyen Collection
Author: Jacob L. Dahl
Publisher: Penn State Press
Total Pages: 429
Release: 2020-12-11
Genre: History
ISBN: 1646020774

Judging from the sheer amount of textual material left to us, the rulers of ancient Ur were above all else concerned with keeping track of their poorest subjects, who made up the majority of the population under their jurisdiction. Year after year, administrators recorded, in frightening detail, the whereabouts of the poorest individuals in monthly and yearly rosters, assigning tiny parcels of land to countless prebend holders and starvation rations to even more numerous estate slaves. The texts published in this volume—dating from the time of the Third Dynasty of Ur (ca. 2100–2000 BC)—attest to the immense investment of the ancient rulers in managing their subjects. This volume presents editions of two hundred and twenty-four cuneiform tablets selected from the Schøyen Collection, the vast majority of which have not been previously published. The ancient provenience for these texts is primarily Umma, with other core provinces represented in smaller numbers, such as notable contributions from ancient Adab, which is underrepresented in the published record. In order to provide a fuller picture of the administration of the Ur III state, a number of texts from other collections, both published and unpublished, have been integrated into this volume. Accompanied by Jacob L. Dahl’s precise translations, extensive commentary, and exhaustive indexes, this volume presents extensive new data on prosopography, economy, accounting procedures, letters, contracts, technical terminology, and agriculture that adds significantly to our knowledge of society and the economy during the Third Dynasty of Ur. An important contribution to the study of the Ur III period, in particular for Assyriology, this volume will serve as a useful handbook for scholars and students alike.

Society and the Individual in Ancient Mesopotamia

Society and the Individual in Ancient Mesopotamia
Author: Laura Culbertson
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 372
Release: 2024-10-21
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1501517678

This book provides an overview of social life in ancient Mesopotamia, bringing together leading experts to survey key social domains of daily life as well as major non-dominant social groups. It serves as a point of entry to the current research in this field.

Cuneiform Inscriptions in the Collection of the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem

Cuneiform Inscriptions in the Collection of the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem
Author: Joan Goodnick Westenholz
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 205
Release: 2006-09-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 9047408381

The cuneiform inscriptions in this volume illuminate the political, juridical, economical, and religious conditions in Babylonia around 1800 B.C.E. In particular, the large document on the daily cult in Larsa (no. 1) is unique.

From the 21st Century B.C. to the 21st Century A.D.

From the 21st Century B.C. to the 21st Century A.D.
Author: Steven J. Garfinkle
Publisher: Penn State Press
Total Pages: 521
Release: 2013-12-02
Genre: History
ISBN: 1575068710

This volume collects the proceedings of a three-day conference held in Madrid in July 2010, and it highlights the vitality of the study of late-third-millennium B.C. Mesopotamia. Workshops devoted to the Ur III period have been a feature of the Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale roughly every other year, beginning in London in 2003. In 2009, Steve Garfinkle and Manuel Molina asked the community of Neo-Sumerian scholars to convene the following year in Madrid before the Rencontre in Barcelona. The meeting had more than 50 participants and included 8 topical sessions and 27 papers. The 21 contributions included in this volume cover a broad range of topics: new texts, new interpretations, and new understandings of the language, culture, and history of the Ur III period (2112–2004 B.C.). The present and future of Neo-Sumerian studies are important not only for the field of Assyriology but also for wider inquiries into the ancient world. The extant archives offer insight into some of the earliest cities and one of the earliest kingdoms in the historical record. The era of the Third Dynasty of Ur is also probably the best-attested century in antiquity. This imposes a responsibility on the small community of scholars who work on the Neo-Sumerian materials to make this it accessible to a broad, interdisciplinary audience in the humanities and related fields. This volume is a solid step in this direction.

The Elamite World

The Elamite World
Author: Javier Álvarez-Mon
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 973
Release: 2018-01-29
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 131732983X

Amongst the civilizations to participate in the dynamic processes of contact and interchange that gave rise to complex societies in the ancient Near East, Elam has remained one of the most obscure, at times languishing in the background of scholarly inquiry. In recent years, however, an increasing body of academic publications have acknowledged its relevance and suggested that its legacy was more considerable and long-lasting than previously estimated. The Elamite World assembles a group of 40 international scholars to contribute their expertise to the production of a solid, lavishly illustrated, English language treatment of Elamite civilization. It covers topics such as its physical setting, historical development, languages and people, material culture, art, science, religion and society, as well as the legacy of Elam in the Persian empire and its presence in the modern world. This comprehensive and ambitious survey seeks for Elam, hardly a household name, a noteworthy place in our shared cultural heritage. It will be both a valuable introductory text for a general audience and a definitive reference source for students and academics.

The Amorites and the Bronze Age Near East

The Amorites and the Bronze Age Near East
Author: Aaron A. Burke
Publisher:
Total Pages: 458
Release: 2021-01-27
Genre: History
ISBN: 1108857000

In this book, Aaron A. Burke explores the evolution of Amorite identity in the Near East from ca. 2500-1500 BC. He sets the emergence of a collective identity for the Amorites, one of the most famous groups in Ancient Near Eastern history, against the backdrop of both Akkadian imperial intervention and declining environmental conditions during this period. Tracing the migration of Amorite refugees from agropastoral communities into nearby regions, he shows how mercenarism in both Mesopotamia and Egypt played a central role in the acquisition of economic and political power between 2100 and 1900 BC. Burke also examines how the establishment of Amorite kingdoms throughout the Near East relied on traditional means of legitimation, and how trade, warfare, and the exchange of personnel contributed to the establishment of an Amorite koiné. Offering a fresh approach to identity at different levels of social hierarchy over time and space, this volume contributes to broader questions related to identity for other ancient societies.