Ancient Near Eastern Studies
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Ancient Near Eastern Studies Sensing the Past Writing and Rewriting History in Detecting the Use of the Ancient Israel and Near Eastern Five Senses in Ancient Near Cultures Eastern Contexts edited by Isaac Kalimi edited by Davide Nadali Most of the papers collected in this volume were de- and Frances Pinnock livered at a conference held in June 2018 in Mainz. The Archaeology of Senses and They discuss recent developments in the analysis the Archaeology of Emotions of history and historiography in ancient Israel and are two most interesting recent its surrounding cultures. The scholars compare the trends in the modern stud- compositional and editorial approaches evident in ies about the past, aiming at biblical and post-biblical writings with those shown enlightening the human experience of the archaeological remains in other ancient literature, while concentrating on a specific theme. and artifacts. This volume presents the proceedings of a congress 250p (Harrassowitz Verlag, February 2020) hardcover, 9783447113632, $73.00. focusing mainly on the use of the five traditional senses, and trying Special Offer $59.00 to analyze how each of them might have played a role in specific ancient contexts: The use of sight was common in the rituals of king- Researching Metaphor ship at Ebla and in the choice of specific places for settlements in the in the Ancient Near East southern Levant. The use of hearing was an important aspect in the edited by Marta Pallavidini rites taking place at Ebla or in the open air sanctuaries of Anatolia, and Ludovico Portuese and specific words for the definition of sounds are detectable in Sumerian and Akkadian texts. Special foods and beverages were Both as a figure of speech and as a cognitive phe- used during ceremonies involving taste and smell. Small every-day nomenon, this volume aims to research metaphor use objects might have had also tactile properties; senses convey from different perspectives by considering its pres- emotions and this aspect can be reconstructed from Mesopotamian ence in ancient Near Eastern written documents. The texts. A peculiar perspective is provided by the analysis of the rela- contributions focus on several ancient Near Eastern tion between the public and artifacts in museums. cultures, encompass more than two millennia, and 254p (Harrassowitz Verlag, March 2020) paperback, 9783447114110, examine various topics, from Sumerian literature to $92.00. Special Offer $74.00 Hittite written sources, to Neo-Assyrian art, and to the Biblical world. 212p (Harrassowitz Verlag, August 2020, Philippika 141) paperback, 9783447114370, $67.00. Special Offer $54.00 Photo: Foundation tablet of the temple of Ninisina in Larsa, Louvre Museum, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons 70 Enterprise Drive, Suite 2 • Bristol, CT 06010, USA Distributor of phone: (+1) 860 584 6546 • fax: (+1) 860 516 4873 Scholarly Books www.isdistribution.com • [email protected] The Glyptic of Tell Chuēra Staatsrituale, Seals and Sealings of the 3rd Festbeschreibungen Millennium BC und weitere Texte zum by Anne-Birte Binder assyrischen Kult This volume publishes the seal impres- by Hanspeter Schaudig sions and seals excavated between 1955 This volume presents 55 clay tablets and and 2011. With a total of 605 items fragments with texts that were once and 313 different designs, the corpus intended to ensure the cultic correctness of forms a good basis to analyze the motif rituals and festivals in the temples of the repertoire of Tell Chuera, which is the city of Assur. The tablets were found at the only major site of the 3rd millennium BC beginning of the twentieth century during between the Balikh and Habur that has been excavated on a large scale. The the German excavations in Assur and are now kept in the Vorderasiatisches majority of finds comes from secondary contexts. Thus, a major part of this Museum zu Berlin. The texts presented date from the late second and first volume discusses the dating of almost the entire glyptic motives found within millennia BC, when the Middle and Neo-Assyrian empires dominated large the borders of modern Syria and aims create a chronological framework in parts of the Near East. As the highest priest, administrator, and representative which to integrate Tell Chuera’s glyptic. of the god Assur, the Assyrian king was of utmost importance in the religious 218p, 30 pls (Harrassowitz Verlag, June 2020, Vorderasiatische Forschungen and political life of his time. In these texts, he is usually the center of atten- der Max Freiherr von Oppenheim Stiftung 2.9) hardcover, 9783447113502, tion, which is why the group is called “state rituals.” Among the texts are, for $133.00. Special Offer $107.00 example, the famous Middle Assyrian coronation ritual, which is presented here in a fundamentally new edition, as well as a fragment of an early version Lexikalische Texte II of the Neo-Assyrian coronation hymn, a new manuscript of the Mesopota- Teil 1: Einleitung, Katalog, mian substitute king ritual, regulations for the ordination of priestesses, and Textbearbeitungen, numerous other texts such as hymns and prayers. German text. Verzeichnisse. Teil 2: Glossare 196p (Harrassowitz Verlag, November 2020, Keilschrifttexte aus Assur und Keilschriftautographien literarischen Inhalts 12) hardcover, 9783447115223, $79.00. Special Offer $64.00 by Ivan Hrůša and Frauke Weiershäuser Bannlösung This two-volume study offers the critical edition of 123 cuneiform so-called lexical (nam-érim-búr-ru-da) texts recovered from the urban area of Die Therapie eines auf eidliche Falsch- Assur, the former capital of the Assyrian aussage zurückgeführten Leidens Empire, and housed in the Vorderasiatisches Museum in Berlin. Written down by Stefan M. Maul on clay tablets between the 12th and 7th centuries BC, these texts contain This volume presents a hitherto completely systematically constructed bilingual dictionaries in which Sumerian words unknown corpus of texts. The cuneiform tab- or expressions are explained by corresponding Akkadian terms. They bear lets document a therapeutic procedure called witness to the long lexicographical tradition of Mesopotamia, which closely “curse-breaking”. The aim of the therapy was accompanied the development of writing culture and scholarship there. For to free the patient from the symptoms and each tablet, the text edition provides the Latin transliteration, a German causes of a serious illness whose origin was translation, and a commentary focusing on problems of text reconstruction believed to be the guilt of a sworn false statement. German text. and translation. German text. 2 vols, 550p (Harrassowitz Verlag, January 2020, Keilschrifttexte aus Assur literarischen 2 vols, 626p (Harrassowitz Verlag, September 2020, Keilschrifttexte aus Assur Inhalts 10) hardcover, 9783447112093, $133.00. Special Offer $107.00 literarischen Inhalts 11) hardcover, 9783447114196, $173.00. Special Offer $139.00 2 www.isdistribution.com Quote promotional code 1807–21 for Special Offers (+1) (860) 584 6546 The Reach of the Assyrian Cult, Temple, Sacred Spaces and Babylonian Empires Cult Practices and Cult Spaces in Case Studies in Eastern and Western Hittite Anatolia and Neighbouring Peripheries Cultures edited by Shuichi Hasegawa edited by Susanne Görke and Karen Radner and Charles Steitler This volume provides new data for the In June 2019, the project “Corpus der hethi- ways that enabled the Assyrian and Baby- tischen Festrituale” invited renowned inter- lonian empires to govern efficiently their national scholars to a symposium discuss- vast territories and diverse populations ing recent developments in ancient Near across the ancient Middle East. With both Eastern studies regarding the interpreta- states exerting and distributing power and authority from center to periph- tion of philological and archaeological sources from Anatolia and adjacent ery, the channels through which these were asserted are of key concern in areas in the 2nd mill. BCE. The symposium focused on questions concerning order to assess the imperial structures. Elucidating the mechanisms of control, the archaeology of temples and other sacred places, differentiation of sacred especially in view of the always fragile relations between the state center and spaces according to written sources, the organization of festivals with a focus remote peripheries, has long been a major subject in the study on ancient on spatial aspects, participation in festivals, and possibilities of interpretation empires. The volume covers the period from the 9th to the 6th century BCE thanks to insights into the cult practices of areas such as Northern Syria, the and draws on the rich archaeological and textual data that has come to light, Levant, Mesopotamia or Egypt. in particular at the Dinka Settlement Complex, the cemetery discovered at 376p (Harrassowitz Verlag, November 2020, Studien zu den Boğazköy-Texten Sanandaj, Tel Rekhesh, Tell Ali al-Hajj, Tell Mastuma, and Yasin Tepe. 66) hardcover, 9783447114868, $119.00. Special Offer $96.00 202p, 63 illus, 3 tbls (Harrassowitz Verlag, October 2020, Studia Chaburensia 8) paperback, 9783447114776, $65.00. Special Offer $52.00 Assur-Forschungen 2 edited by Stefan M. Maul Testi di Cancelleria. Contents: Die Erforschung der literarischen Il re e i funzionari, Vol. II Keilschrifttexte aus Assur: ein Zwischenb- ericht; Überlegungen zum „altakkadischen (L. 2875) Wohnhaus“ unter dem Sîn-Šamaš-Tempel by Amalia Catagnoti in Assur; Gedanken zu dem Drogen-Inventar and Pelio Fronzaroli aus Assur: KADP 36 (VAT