Early Mesopotamian divination literature : its organizational framework and generative and paradigmatic characteristics /
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In Early Mesopotamian Divination Literature: Its Organizational Framework and Generative and Paradigmatic Characteristics , Abraham Winitzer provides a detailed study of the Akkadian Old Babylonian (ca. 2000-1600 BC) omen collections stemming from extispicy, the most significant Mesopotamian divination technique for most of that civilization's history. Paying close attention to these texts' organizational structure, Winitzer details the mechanics responsible for their origins and development, and highlights key characteristics of a conceptual framework that helped reconfigure Mesopotamian divination into a literature in line with significant, new forms of literary expression from the same time. This literature, Winitzer concludes, represents an early form of scientific reasoning that began to appreciate the centrality of texts and textual interpretation in this civilization's production, organization, and conception of knowledge.
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1 online resource (xxi, 489 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 460-477) and index. :
9789004347007 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The new Babylonian diaspora : the rise and fall of the Jewish community in Iraq, 16th-20th centuries C.E. /
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The New Babylonian Diaspora: Rise and Fall of Jewish Community in Iraq, 16th-20th Centuries C.E. provides a historical survey of the Iraqi Jewish community's evolution from the apex of its golden age to its disappearance, emergence, rapid growth and annihilation. Making use of Judeo-Arabic newspapers and archives in London, Paris, Washington D.C. and other sources, Zvi Yehuda proves that from 1740 to 1914, Iraq became a lodestone for tens of thousands of Jewish immigrants from Kurdistan, Persia, the Mediterranean Basin, and Eastern and Central Europe. After these Jews had settled in Baghdad and Mesopotamia, they became "Babylonians" and 'forgot' their lands of origin, contrary to the social habit of Jews in other communities throughout history.
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"Published in partnership with The Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center (BJHC)." :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004354012 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Iron oxide rock artefacts in Mesopotamia c. 2600-1200 BC : an interdisciplinary study of hematite, goethite and magnetite objects /
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The flourishing civilisations of Mesopotamia imported all kinds of materials from the surrounding regions. Iron oxide rock was very popular for weight stones and cylinder seals around 2000 BC. This research aims to determine the region of origin for the raw material, what made people start using iron oxide rock, and what led them to stop using it.
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Previously issued in print: 2018. :
1 online resource (vi, 258 pages) : illustrations (black and white, and colour) :
Specialized. :
9781784919658 (ebook) :
Le Devin historien en Mésopotamie
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Le devin historien en Mesopotamie is a combined study of divination and historiography. More than mere custodians of historical memory, diviners approached omens as written signs and developed a sophisticated semiology to recognize and order them. Diviners perceived omens as potentially rich in various meanings and cultivated an elaborate hermeneutic for working these out using hypothetical and inductive reasoning. Even if omens were removed from the recorded facts, diviners endowed them with a wide range of possibilities. Divination sought to establish links among historical, cosmic, and natural events because it investigated at once the past, present, and future. The first study of its kind since 1946, when only about 60 historical omens were known, this work presents 385 in a comprehensive edition.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004390065 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Glass and glass production in the Near East during the Iron Age period : evidence from objects, texts and chemical analysis /
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This text examines the history of glass in Iron Age Mesopotamia and neighbouring regions (1000-539 BCE). This monograph covers this region and period comprehensively and in detail.
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Previously issued in print: 2019. :
1 online resource (viii, 316 pages) : illustrations (colour) :
Specialized. :
9781789691559 (ebook) :
Les representations architecturales dans l'iconographie Neo-Assyrienne /
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In this book Nicolas Gillmann provides scholars as well as non-specialists with a comprehensive study of architectural representations in Neo Assyrian iconography. The author answers three important questions: How are Mesopotamian images conceived? What rules are presiding over them and how are they to be interpreted by modern viewers? Can the architectural representations be of some use to archaeologists or are they merely schematic depictions of given building types? Nicolas Gillmann shows that new conclusions can be reached once the reader is given the right reading keys and interpretation framework.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004324015 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Scribal Education in the Sargonic Period /
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Scribal Education in the Sargonic Period is an in-depth analysis of the process of education for scribes during the period of Sargonic hegemony in ancient Mesopotamia (c. 2335-2150 BCE). The book provides a holistic study of the topic, addressing the technology of writing, the school texts used in education, the languages of instruction, and the social and historical context of scribal life and an education in cuneiform writing. The topic of scribal education at such an early period of Mesopotamian history has never been addressed at length before. Nicholas Kraus convincingly argues that scribal education during the Sargonic period was closely tied to the administrative institutions of the Sargonic Empire and prepared a scribe to become an effective administrator. The Harvard Semitic Studies series publishes volumes from the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East. Other series offered by Brill that publish volumes from the Museum include Studies in the Archaeology and History of the Levant and Harvard Semitic Monographs , https://hmane.harvard.edu/publications.
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Based on the author's dissertation (doctoral)--Yale University, 2018. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004443242
9789004443228
Corpus of Mesopotamian anti-witchcraft rituals.
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Among the most important sources for understanding the cultures and systems of thought of ancient Mesopotamia is a large body of magical and medical texts written in the Sumerian and Akkadian languages. An especially significant branch of this literature centres upon witchcraft. Mesopotamian anti-witchcraft rituals and incantations attribute ill-health and misfortune to the magic machinations of witches and prescribe ceremonies, devices, and treatments for dispelling witchcraft, destroying the witch, and protecting and curing the patient. The Corpus of Mesopotamian Anti-witchcraft Rituals aims to present a reconstruction of this body of texts; it provides critical editions of the relevant rituals and prescriptions based on the study of the cuneiform tablets and fragments recovered from the libraries of ancient Mesopotamia. This is the first volume in the three-part Corpus of Mesopotamian Anti-witchcraft Rituals series . Volumes two and three are expected in 2015 and 2018 respectively. \'Even in its incomplete form, Mesopotamian Anti-Witchcraft Rituals is a major contribution to the study of witchcraft, supernatural belief, folk medicine (both supernatural and non-supernatural), theories of magic, incantations, and ritual. This edition is required reading for any scholar with an interest in these topics.\' David Elton Gay, Indiana University
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004214897 :
1566-7952 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Medieval urban landscape in northeastern Mesopotamia /
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The authors investigate the sites which formed an urban network from 6th to 19th centuries in the region of northeastern Mesopotamia, bounded by the rivers Great Zab, Little Zab and Tigris.
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Previously issued in print:. :
1 online resource : illustrations (black and white, and colour). :
Specialized. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9781784915193 (ebook) :
Sources of evil : studies in Mesopotamian exorcistic lore /
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Sources of Evil: Studies in Mesopotamian Exorcistic Lore is a collection of thirteen essays on the body of knowledge employed by ancient Near Eastern healing experts, most prominently the 'exorcist' and the 'physician', to help patients who were suffering from misfortunes caused by divine anger, transgressions of taboos, demons, witches, or other sources of evil. The volume provides new insights into the two most important catalogues of Mesopotamian therapeutic lore, the Exorcist's Manual and the Aššur Medical Catalogue, and contains discussions of agents of evil and causes of illness, ways of repelling evil and treating patients, the interpretation of natural phenomena in the context of exorcistic lore, and a description of the symbolic cosmos with its divine and demonic inhabitants.
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1 online resource (xiii, 382 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004373341 :
1566-7952 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Corpus of Mesopotamian anti-witchcraft rituals /
:
Among the most important sources for understanding the cultures and systems of thought of ancient Mesopotamia is a large body of magical and medical texts written in the Sumerian and Akkadian languages. An especially significant branch of this literature centres upon witchcraft. Mesopotamian anti-witchcraft rituals and incantations attribute ill-health and misfortune to the magic machinations of witches and prescribe ceremonies, devices, and treatments for dispelling witchcraft, destroying the witch, and protecting and curing the patient. The Corpus of Mesopotamian Anti-Witchcraft Rituals aims to present a reconstruction of this body of texts; it provides critical editions of the relevant rituals and prescriptions based on the study of the cuneiform tablets and fragments recovered from the libraries of ancient Mesopotamia. \'Now that we have the second volume, we the more admire the thoughtful organisation of the entire project, the strict methods followed, and the insightful observations and decisions made.\' Martin Stol, Bibliotheca Orientalis lxxIV n° 3-4, mei-augustus 2017
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1 online resource : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references. :
9789004318557 :
1566-7952 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The Image of Mesopotamian Divine Healers : Healing Goddesses and the Legitimization of Professional asûs in the Mesopotamian Medical Marketplace /
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"This volume exposes one of the world's oldest medical marketplaces and the emergence of medical professionalization within it. Through an unprecedented analysis of the Mesopotamian healing goddesses as well as asûs, a diverse group of "healers", Irene Sibbing-Plantholt demonstrates that from the Middle Babylonian period onwards, the goddess Gula was employed as a divine legitimization model for scholarly, professional asûs. With this work, Sibbing-Plantholt provides a unique insight in processes of medical competition and legitimization in ancient Mesopotamia, which speak to similar processes in other societies"--
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Based on author's doctoral dissertation at Unviersity of Pennsylvania in 2017. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004512412
9789004512405
The Image of Mesopotamian Divine Healers : Healing Goddesses and the Legitimization of Professional asûs in the Mesopotamian Medical Marketplace /
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"This volume exposes one of the world's oldest medical marketplaces and the emergence of medical professionalization within it. Through an unprecedented analysis of the Mesopotamian healing goddesses as well as asûs, a diverse group of "healers", Irene Sibbing-Plantholt demonstrates that from the Middle Babylonian period onwards, the goddess Gula was employed as a divine legitimization model for scholarly, professional asûs. With this work, Sibbing-Plantholt provides a unique insight in processes of medical competition and legitimization in ancient Mesopotamia, which speak to similar processes in other societies"--
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Based on author's doctoral dissertation at Unviersity of Pennsylvania in 2017. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004512412
9789004512405
L'eau, enjeux politiques et théologiques, de Sumer à la Bible /
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This book investigates a corpus of royal inscriptions and literary texts, with special emphasis on those that are mythological and biblical, stretching over several millennia from the early days of Sumer to the Biblical period, in order to determine the ways in which the concept of water was used, in particular the way it functions in the political and theological ideology of the time. Three literary motifs are the object of a careful study : the crossing of water, the flood and the water of abundance. Though their study shows diversity in evolution, transmission and reception, it appears that their function is common at the heart of the Mesopotamian political theology of royal mediation.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [613]-672) and indexes. :
9789047441335 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Al-Ḥîra : eine arabische Kulturmetropole im spätantiken Kontext /
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In al-Ḥīra: Eine arabische Kulturmetropole im spätantiken Kontext , Isabel Toral-Niehoff draws a vivid portrait of this Late Antique Arab metropolis, located on the frontier between Byzantium and Sasanian Iran. Based on new archaeological and textual evidence, this study documents al-Ḥīra's historical impact far beyond its well-known role in literary history and describes its creation of a distinctly Arabic urban cultural symbiosis that drew on neighboring civilizations. Al-Ḥīra's multicultural synthesis is shown to be a direct precursor to the emerging city of Kufa, its Islamic successor, and Islamic city culture at large. In al-Ḥīra. Eine arabische Kulturmetropole im spätantiken Kontext zeichnet Isabel Toral-Niehoff ein lebendiges Porträt dieser spätantiken arabischen Stadt im Grenzraum zwischen Byzanz und dem sassanidischen Iran. Auf der Grundlage von teilweise neuen Zeugnissen zeigt diese Studie, dass die historische Bedeutung von al-Ḥīra weit über deren bekannte Rolle in der Literaturgeschichte hinausgeht. Sie richtet ihren Blick insbesondere auf die dort entwickelte multikulturelle Symbiose, welche die Grundlage einer spezifisch arabischen urbanen Kultur bildete, die durch den Kontakt mit den angrenzenden Zivilisationen bereichert wurde. Die Autorin zeigt, dass diese Synthese ein direkter Vorläufer der frühislamischen Kultur war, die später in Kūfa, al-Ḥīra's islamische Nachfolgestadt, entstand. Diese prägte zutiefst das klassische Modell der islamischen urbanen Gesellschaft.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004260245
Mesopotamian medicine and magic : studies in honor of Markham J. Geller /
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Mesopotamian Medicine and Magic. Studies in Honour of Markham J. Geller is a thematically focused collection of 34 brand-new essays bringing to light a representative selection of the rich and varied scientific and technical knowledge produced chiefly by the cuneiform cultures. The contributions concentrate mainly on Mesopotamian scholarly descriptions and practices of diagnosing and healing diverse physical ailments and mental distress. The festschrift contains both critical editions of new texts as well as analytical studies dealing with various issues of Mesopotamian medical and magical lore. Currently, this is the largest edited volume devoted to this topic, significantly contributing to the History of Ancient Sciences.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004368088
Baghdād : From Its Beginnings to the 14th Century /
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Baghdād: From its Beginnings to the 14th Century offers an exhaustive handbook that covers all possible themes connected to the history of this urban complex in Iraq, from its origins rooted in late antique Mesopotamia up to the aftermath of the Mongol invasion in 1258. Against the common perception of a city founded 762 in a vacuum, which, after experiencing a heyday in a mythical "golden age" under the early ʿAbbāsids, entered since 900 a long period of decline that ended with a complete collapse by savage people from the East in 1258, the volume emphasizes the continuity of Baghdād's urban life, and shows how it was marked by its destiny as caliphal seat and cultural hub. Contributors Mehmetcan Akpınar, Nuha Alshaar, Pavel Basharin, David Bennett, Michal Biran, Richard W. Bulliet, Kirill Dmitriev, Desmond Durkin-Meisterernst, Hend Gilli-Elewy, Beatrice Gruendler, Sebastian Günther, Olof Heilo, Damien Janos, Christopher Melchert, Michael Morony, Bernard O'Kane, Klaus Oschema, Letizia Osti, Parvaneh Pourshariati, Vanessa van Renterghem, Jens Scheiner, Angela Schottenhammer, Y. Zvi Stampfer, Johannes Thomann, Isabel Toral.
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Baghdād: From Its Beginnings to the 14th Century offers an exhaustive handbook that covers all possible themes connected to the history of this urban complex from its beginnings up to the 14th century. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004513372
9789004513365
Sophene, Gordyene, and Adiabene : three regna minora of northern Mesopotamia between east and west /
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In Sophene, Gordyene, and Adiabene , M. Marciak offers the first-ever comprehensive study of the history and culture of these three little-known countries of Northern Mesopotamia (3rd century BCE - 7th century CE). The book gives an overview of the historical geography, material culture, and political history of each of these countries. Furthermore, the summary offers a regional perspective by describing the history of this area as a subject of the political and cultural competition of great powers. This book answers both a recent growth of interest in ancient Mesopotamia as the frontier area, as well as the urgent need for documentation of the cultural heritage of a region that has recently become subject to the destructive influence of sectarian violence.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references. :
9789004350724 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Hatra : il territorio e l'urbanistica /
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The main purpose of the research presented in this volume has been the study of the city and the surrounding landscape of Hatra. To achieve this result, a multilayer GIS was created. It will remain an important resource for future excavations, which themselves may expand its dataset and verify it with additional ground control points.
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Also issued in print: 2018.
"Available in both print and Open Access"--Homepage. :
1 online resource (x, 560 pages) : illustrations (black and white, and colour), maps (black and white, and colour). :
Specialized. :
Includes bibliographical references. :
9781789690064 (ebook) : :
Open access.
The Amorites : A Political History of Mesopotamia in the Early Second Millennium BCE /
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This study of the political history of Mesopotamia - today's Iraq and Syria - in the Old Babylonian period (ca. 2000-1600 BCE) is the first comprehensive historical synthesis of this kind published in English after many decades. Based on numerous written sources in Sumerian and Akkadian - royal inscriptions, letters, law collections, economic records, etc. - and on up-to-date research, it presents the region's political history in a meticulous geographic and chronological manner. This allows the interested academic and non-academic reader an in-depth view into the scene of ancient Mesopotamia ruled by competing dynasties of West Semitic (Amorite) origin, with a complex web of political and tribal connections between them.
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1 online resource (597 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004547315