Ancient Near East, Ancient Syria

In his book “The Seal Cylinders of Western Asia” William Hayes Ward wrote that Anu was half-forgotten, and that he was never a familiar god.
However, on a cylinder seal the sky god sits on his wife Uraš, who is depicted as a mountain, and he is surrounded by three children.

This study documents the history of epidemics in the ancient Near East, giving some examples from Mesopotamia,
the Levant, and the Arabian Peninsula. It relies on the cuneiform scripts, the Sumerian and Akkadian languages, and
other inscriptions from the Levant, Old Testament texts and ancient Egyptian sources. These sources provide us
with important information about epidemics that have spread across the Arab Mashreq since the third millennium
BC, and how people and the state dealt with them. After presenting a general picture of epidemics and pandemics
throughout history, the paper discusses the ancient period, then moves on to the "Plague of Justinian" (541 - 542
AD), known in Arab history and the Levant through its historical continuity with the plague of Amwas.

This thesis aims to map non-Semitic influences in the religion and culture of the Late Bronze Age Syria. During the Late Bronze Age, Syria was divided into many local kingdoms which were most of the time subdued to the great empires of the ancient Near East (Mitanni and Ḫatti) and Egypt. Influences from these cultural areas are the most noticeable.Trade across the Mediterranean brought many cultural influences, too. Theseare mostly observable in art.
The thesis is centred around case studies from Ugarit, Amurru, Byblos, Karkemiš, Alalaḫ, Ḫalāb, Emar, Tunip and Qaṭna. Each case study shows peculiarities of individual sites and different modes of cultural transfer. The data are set into a broader anthropological perspective and some general conclusions are made about the process of culture transfer and about conceptions of foreignness in the cultures of the ancient Near East and Egypt.Abroadertheory of culture as a system of concepts is outlined and the material is interpreted in its light.

COURSE DESCRIPTION (updated and expanded):
“War & Peace in Ancient Mesopotamia” (ca. 10,000 - 323 BCE) begins with an introduction to the advent of farming, urban life, various crafts, writing, and other innovations in the region of the "Two Rivers," namely the Tigris and Euphrates' flood plain.  It proceeds with the rise and fall of early state complex societies and empires in the Bronze and Iron Ages, and terminates in the Persian period.  Although providing much focus on diverse issues dealing with war, alliances, diplomacy, treaties, and peace, this course also integrates a comprehensive background context and overview of other aspects of past societies in this region, including history, archaeology, language, literature, religion, architecture, art, material culture, and trade.  The course material is introductory, with no specific prerequisite, but a prior enrolment in either ANTH.245 (Peoples of the Mediterranean), or ANTH.340 (Archaeology & History of Bible Lands), is helpful since these courses introduce past societies from contemporary, adjacent regions frequently in direct contact with Ancient Mesopotamia.

OVERALL COURSE OBJECTIVES:
This course aims (1) to educate students in the broad archaeological, cultural, and related developments in Ancient Mesopotamia and selected adjacent regions, including various key issues, from 10,000 BCE to 332 BCE, with the addition of historical data in pertinent periods. The documentaries and written responses serve (2) to illustrate and reinforce selected time periods and topics, providing visual references, specialist views, and general narration. (3). The in-class seminars and (4) class member presentations are designed to provide students with more in-depth understanding regarding key concepts and subject materials, and experience in presenting one’s essay research and results.  The mid-term and end-of-term examinations, accompanied by pre-posted, focus-learning guides, should (5) aid students in focusing upon, comprehending, and memorizing the most salient data and broader trends that characterize each period’s time span (within the Neolithic to 323 BCE area coverage), including society, architecture, material culture, technology, art, religion, and other aspects.  The research essay enables students (6) to explore in more depth and in a more critical fashion a topic of interest not covered in sufficient detail in class, including guidance and feedback to assist in learning and refining the composition of college essays. This course also aims (7) to provide a sufficiently comprehensive overview as a “gateway” course to allow students to assess whether they wish to pursue more advanced studies regarding this cultural area, period, or a related aspect.

ADDED RESOURCE LIST: The syllabus contains an updated temporary extensive list of key resources being compiled in Sterne Library (UAB), which include a listing of reviewed documentaries, lectures (mostly from the Great Courses), books, articles, and other materials. These materials are being transferred into a separate, larger resource guide to aid students in using and optimizing the fledgling Sterne Library collections on the Ancient Near East: Arabia, Mesopotamia, Levant, Anatolia, Iran, and a bit on the Indus Valley as well.

Actes de la rencontre franco-allemande tenue à Nancy du 6 au 8 juin 2016 A.D.R.A.-Nancy 2017 Le long règne d'Antiochos III représente un moment clé pour les historiens soucieux d'apprécier la nature du pouvoir séleucide. Son anabase (212-205 a. C.) redonne provisoirement à la monarchie séleucide un éclat terni par le difficile contrôle des provinces les plus orientales du royaume. Mais le règne ne se limite pas à cette seule expédition militaire, et la politique d'Antiochos III est aussi multiforme que les forces centrifuges qui mena-cent le royaume séleucide. Pour en apprécier la variété, un colloque tenu à Nancy a rassemblé des spécialistes de disciplines et de sources variées : sources littéraires, numismatiques, épigraphie, assyriologie, archéologie, études juives... L'ensemble de ces études permettent de prendre la mesure de la vision politique ambitieuse d'un souverain qui n'a pas hésité à jouer de tous les instruments , militaires, monétaires, diplomatiques ou symbo-liques à sa disposition pour tenter de redonner grandeur et cohérence au royaume dont il avait hérité. The long reign of Antiochos III the Great represents a key moment for historians of the Seleucid kingdom. His anabasis (212-205 a. c.) temporarily restores the lost luster of the Seleucid monarchy in the most eastern provinces of the kingdom. But the reign is not limited to this military expedition alone, and the policy of Antiochos III is as multifaceted as the centrifugal forces threatening the Seleucid kingdom. To appreciate its variety, a colloquium held in Nancy brought together specialists from various disciplines and sources: greek philology, numismatics, epigraphy, assyriology, archeology , Jewish studies... The resulting book provides a better understanding of the ambitious political vision of a sovereign who did not hesitate to play all the instruments , military, monetary, diplomatic or symbolic at his disposal to try to give back grandeur and coherence to the kingdom he inherited.

The aim of the paper is to analyze such peculiarities as: untypical shape of letters, omissions and interchanging of characters, incorrect characters in Latin words, fragmentary etching of a given character into the stamp die and etching of a superfluous character which seem to be phenomena typical for the legends of aurei and, in particular, of denarii struck in Syria (especially at Antioch) for Vespasian and Titus in the early 70s of the first century and of denarii minted in uncertain eastern mints (sometimes attributed to Antioch) under Hadrian. The  epigraphic and palaeographic approach to the numismatic material allows us to conclude that it’s highly probable that the striking of the aurei and denarii in Syria for the troops of Vespasian and Titus (similarly as 120 years later of denarii for Pescennius Niger and, subsequently, for Septimius Severus) was entrusted to die-cutters and minters previously involved in the production of local coins with Greek legends, and usually of a larger diameter, facilitating proper legend arrangements, nad that engravers of the coins minted in Syria and neighbour provinces who were Greek native-speakers, when they had to engrave denarii with Latin legends often made characteristic mistakes due to their insufficient acquaintance with Latin language or even Latin alphabet.

In her book “Early Dilmun Seals From Saar” Harriet Crawford published 93 seals and 13 tokens found in Saar.
Just 3 of them, like the one above, show “a love scene.”
I think that these “love scenes” were not pornographic images, but visualized the creation of the seal owners.

Based on a new specimen in a high state of preservation, the author argues that the “warrior” depicted on a civic bronze issue of Apameia on the Axios in 150/49 BC is actually a female personification of the city wearing an elephant headdress. The type alludes to the Seleukid military traditions of the city and predates Ptolemaic numismatic representations of Alexandria with an elephant headdress.

"The architectural practice of using orthostats—sculpted wall slabs in stone—in monumental buildings is usually understood as an idiosyncratic phenomenon in the Upper Mesopotamian cities of the Iron Age. Late Assyrian and Syro-Hittite rulers of this period are known for sponsoring building projects that incorporated carved orthostats into their architectural corpus, lining the monumental walls of ceremonial and public spaces. These orthostat programs were commemorative in nature and often took the form of pictorial narratives that structured and animated the ceremonial spaces of the Iron Age cities. Irene J.
Winter was among the very first to address critically the problems of representation in the narrative relief programs of Late Assyrian palaces, while breaking new ground in developing a contextual approach to study Syro-Hittite monuments within the artisanal networks of the early first millennium BC. In a number of articles, she eloquently demonstrated that architectural technologies and material styles offer exceptional opportunities to study cultural interaction between the Assyrian empire and the Syro-Hittite polities. As the following discussion was sparked in part by Irene Winter’s work on networks of cultural interaction, it seems appropriate on this occasion to present this paper on the architectural significance of the orthostats."

The cult of Jupiter Heliopolitanus spread from ancient Heliopolis, modern day Baalbek in Lebanon, to the western provinces of the Roman Empire in the first half of the 2nd century. The cult image of the god is known only from the Roman Imperial period, for there are no depictions dating to the period before the first half of the 1st century B. C. Siscia is known to have been popular with “Orientals”, and many found their new home in this Pannonian transportation and trade hub. Evidence of the cults of Mithra, Cybele, Attis, Isis, Serapis, Jupiter Amon and the Thracian horseman have all been found here in both epigraphic sources and archaeological materials. One monument, the altar of the beneficiarius consularis Lucius Virilius Pupus, testifies to the cult of Jupiter Heliopolitanus in Siscia. At the end of the votive inscription, the dedicant specified that pigs are not to be sacrificed on this altar. Such a formula is unique when it comes to epigraphic sources. This altar is the only known monument from the Roman Imperial period on which we find a ban on sacrificing pigs. It is also the only monument that provides certain information about the practices of the cult of Jupiter Heliopolitanus. The prohibition against pigs and pig taboos are well known to have been widespread among the people of “Oriental” origin at that time. Pigs were considered impure, both literally and symbolically. Since we know very little about the rituals and cult practices of the Heliopolitan cult, this information raises the question of whether this “Oriental” tradition was an official cult policy. If it was, what would it mean in terms of determining the “oriental” in “oriental” cults? Was the cult of Jupiter Heliopolitanus more “Roman” in nature? This paper aims to contribute to solving the problem of continuity of “Oriental” cults and reinterpreting the process of Romanization of deities of “Oriental” origin.

The production of raw materials for perfumery was one of the most profitable branches of the agriculture of Classical Armenia. At the same time the existence of local glassmaking allows to assume, that the local production of different perfumes was developed. It is noteworthy, that also the local imitations of Syrian glass vessels were produced in Armenia. It is notable the discovery of the plaster mold for the pine cone-shaped vessel from the capital of Classical Armenia Artashat. Likely, the local imitations of Syrian perfume vessels were used as containers for local perfumes, which were not only for home market, but also were exported.

In ancient Ebla – and most probably in ancient pre-classical Syria – women had an important role in society. The systematic excavation of Ebla and the study of its epigraphic and archaeological evidence offered impressive data concerning this specific aspect for the Early and Old Syrian periods. In this contribution, I take into account several kinds of evidence concerning female attires and hair-dresses thus far brought to light and I propose hypotheses of reconstruction of the different attires employed in the Ebla court and about their eventual connection with different hair-styles or hair-dresses. Evidence from the texts is also taken into account.

In this contribution I present one of the seals in the “palace style” from Palace G of Ebla of 2300 BC. The seal is characterized by the presence of two divine female figures, Ishkhara and Aštar/Ištar who were important in the Eblaic pantheon and were closely related with kingship. For this reason, and for the location of the sealings, I propose that the seal belonged to a very important official, personally related with the king.

The Italian Archaeological Expedition to Ebla has always paid attention to the preservation of the site. When the Royal Palace
G was brought to light, the expedition started considering the problem of its preservation and/or restoration in the interest
of the Syrian Authorities of the site and for the general public’s curiosity. In the late 1990s, thanks to an important grant from
the European Community, a plan for the preservation of all the monuments of the site started. Another aspect of the Italian
mission activities concerns a plan for the rehabilitation of the region where the tell sits, including three villages – Mardikh itself,
Anqarati, and Mar Dibsi – aiming at exploiting the resources of the archaeological site, in order to revitalise the local economy.
The last phase of the preservation of Tell Mardikh occurred in the most recent years of work of the Italian Expedition: the
refurbishing of the Idlib Museum thanks to an important grant by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.