ORIENTALIA SUECANA 2019. Vol. 62–68: 13–17. UPPSALA UNIVERSITY Obituary Jakob Andersson* In Memoriam Åke W. Sjöberg (1924–2014) https://doi.org/10.33063/di!a"377933 In the early evening of August 8, 2014, orientalist and Near Eastern philologist Åke Waldemar !"#$erg, %lark &esearch (rofessor of Assyriology emeritus, and %urator of the )ablet %ollections of the *niversity +useu of Archaeology and Anthropology at the *niversity of (ennsylvania, (hila, delphia, *SA, passed away peacefully in *ppsala. Åke -as $orn in Sala, !-eden, on August 1, 1/24 to his parents postmaster 0ernhard Waldemar !"#$erg and +ary Ingeborg 1e2er$erg. After primary and secondary schooling in Sala, Åke spent some time as an office -orker at a local $usiness, $ut further studies $eckoned hi . In 1/45, $y means of recommendations from friends of the family, he enrolled at 6"ellstedtska Skolan, a reno-ned $oarding school in *ppsala. The 'urriculu at 6"ellstedtska had a strong emphasis on $i$, lical studies and on languages, including 8atin, Greek, and 0i$lical :ebre-. *p until 1/5/, for an ap, plication even to $e considered, the applicant had to e;plicitly state that he intended to $ecome a 'lergyman. In 1/4<, Åke passed his studentexamen =corresponding to a matriculation e;amination), granting hi access to higher studies. :is grade card sho-s that his strongest su$"ect $y far -as 0i$, lical :ebre-, for -hich he re'eived an A ? the highest possi$le grade $y the standards of the day. 8ater that same year, Åke enrolled at *ppsala *niversity. :e attended courses in Semiti' 8an, guages led $y (rofessors :. !. Ny$erg and @scar 8öfgrenA in the :istory of &eligion led $y (rofessor of @ld )estament Studies Ivan EngnellA and in Ethnography led $y &eader =later (rofessor> Sture 8agercrantB. In 1/C0 he completed his Drst academi' degree, filosofie kandidat =0achelor of Arts) in Semiti' 8anguages, -ith the other t-o su$"ects as minors. This degree -as supplemented in 1/C5 -ith further course--orkE this time in Assyriology, encompassing the Akkadian language in its 0aby, lonian and Assyrian dialects, and the Sumerian language, a linguisti' isolate. 7ese ancient languages -ere -ri2en in cuneiform, -hi'h is Fuite diGerent from the alphabeti' -riting of the languages Åke had $een in contact -ith up to that point. The variety and -ealth of source materials for these cunei, for languages are unparalleled among ancient languages. :is teacher in Assyriology -as, to $egin -ith, &eader Alfred :aldar. ÅkeHs time at *ppsala *niversity -as not all about studies, something he often -illingly confessed to. :e managed to co $ine his 'urricular duties -ith active participation in the student nation Väst- manlands-Dala nation, or I,Jala for short. In 1/C1?1/C2, Åke served as klubbmästare =+aster of %er, emonies) at I,Jala; and his -ife-to-$e 9unnil Kronborg -as klubbmästarinna =+istress of %ere, monies). A3er an intense courtship, the couple arried in April 1/C5. Apart from his duties to the student nation, Åke sang tenor in the student choir, Upsala studentkårs allmänna sångförening, or Allmänna sången. Juring the mid,1/C0s, Åke -as also a ember of a Fuartet, V-Dala-kvartetten, alongside Gunnar 6lodell =$aritone), Gunnar &osenqvist =Drst $ass), and &agnvald Lohannes =second $ass). For reasons -hich are not entirely clear to this author, !"#$erg -ent under the stage name M8ukas”. The Fuartet -as Fuite successful in its heyday, allegedly almost landing a contract -ith the !-edish State &adio. %ritically acclaimed, they even sang abroad, for instance for the Finnish presi, dential couple (aasikivi in :elsinki in +arch 1/C4. Their repertoire mainly consisted of traditional !-edish student songs, serenades, and international classics. :ad it not $een for tensions -ithin the * #epar$%en$ of Linguis$i)s and Philology, Uppsala Uni!ersi$+, E"%ail: Jakob.Andersson/lin &il.uu.se. 0pen A))ess. *ublished b+ $he #epar$%en$ of 'inguis$i)s and *hilology, -ppsala -ni!ersi$+. 1his 2ork is li)ensed under $he 3rea$ive Com%ons Attrib($ion"4on3om%er)ial"4oDeriva$ives 4.0 In$erna$ional li)ense. J. A4#.78804 64 9.9076A9 :;. <. 8J=>.7? Fuartet, !"#$erg "ust might have pursued a career in sho- $usiness, $ut as it turned out, fate had an, other path in store for hi . 0et-een 1/C5 and 1/C/ Åke spent several semesters in :eidel$erg studying Assyriology and Near Eastern Archaeology under (rofessor Adam 6alkenstein at the @rientalisches Seminar, situated $y the KarlsplatB in the :eidel$erger Altstadt, $elo- Schloss :eidel$erg. !"#$erg obtained the degree of filosofie licentiat =roughly corresponding to a +asterHs degree) in Assyriology in Lune 1/CC, -ith Falkenstein administering the examination. !"#$ergHs time in Germany -as supported $y a su$stan, tial grant from :.+. King Gustaf II Adolf, a keen collector of antiFuities -ho himself had studied ar, chaeology, and -ho had parti'ipated in ar'haeological e;cavations in !-eden and the eastern +editerranean area. The curriculu in :eidel$erg -as rigorous. +ondays to Fridays -ere dedicated to the study of !umerian and Akkadian cuneifor te;ts, mostly literary and religious -orks. Saturdays -ere com, pletely devoted to studies in Near Eastern Archaeology, a Deld in -hich Falkenstein took a particular interest. The reason for this -as his involvement as epigrapher during several seasons of excavations in the city of *ruk =modern-day Warka), a su$stantial settlement that has produced the earliest known stages of -riting on clay, massive temple architecture spanning more than 4000 years, and huge nu $ers of cuneifor tablets and other small Dnds. *ruk -as also the native city of the ancient king Gilgamesh, -hose adventures in search of fame and everlasting life $ecame the stuG of later myth. Falkenstein -as a stern critic, $ut allegedly he -as not adverse to handing out -ords of encour, agement -hen deserved. An academi' through and through, it seems Falkenstein had very li2le un, derstanding for !"#$ergHs e;tracurricular activities, singing traditional German songs for free, accom, panied $y a pianist in Iater &hein, an esta$lishment "ust a stoneHs throw from the Neckar, and -hich to this day is still located on the same premises. 0et-een his stints in :eidel$erg, and a3er-ards, Åke taught :e$rew at his old alma mater 6"ellstedtska Skolan, and also served as a part,time lecturer at the Jepartment of Theology in *ppsala. In 1/<0 Åke successfully defended his doctoral thesis Der ondgott Nanna-"uen in der sumerischen $berlieferung& '( )eil: )exte. Shortly a3er his oral defence, Åke held a lecture for a three-year reader, ship in Assyriology. :e -ent to Stockhol to personally deliver a copy of his thesis to :. +. King 9ustaf II Adolf as a token of gratitude for the Dnancial support he had received during his studies. Although the court secretary told Åke that the king -as in, and -as e;pecting him if he -ould like to pay :is +ajesty a visit, and although Åke -as a commi2ed royalist, he nevertheless declined, saying he did not -ant to trou$le :is +a"esty. The decision appears to have $een taken on the spur of the moment, as later in life he often -ondered -hy he didn’t have the nerve to go through that door. Åke spent the -inter of 1/<1?1/<2 at *ruk,Warka as a parti'ipating guest at the 9erman e;cava, tions led $y (rofessor 8enzen. Juring this time, he travelled Fuite e;tensively and saw any other archaeological sites of interest to a specialist in Near Eastern societies, cultures and languages. :is o$servations on these sites are to some e;tent re'ounted in one of his early articles in !-edish, MI !umers städerN, =In the %ities of Sumer, "vensk +xegetisk ,rsbok 2P, 1/<2, C?52>. It -as during this time that !"#$erg picked up the habit of smoking tobacco, -hile $eing rescued from the cold -inter mornings of a southern Iraqi e;cavation site. Jressed as if e;pecting a -ar day in the desert, Åke -as aided $y an e;perienced s#er-ati -ho -rapped his "acket around him, put a cigarette in his mouth, and lit it for hi . This episode -as one of !"#$ergHs favourite anecdotes, and serves as a $ril, liant illustration of how Åke -as not afraid to point to his o-n shortcomings. It should $e added, in all fairness, that for the rest of his smoking career, -hich lasted a fe- decades, Åke hardly ever in, haled. After a fe- years, Åke -as invited to come to the *nited States. In Lanuary 1/<5, he "oined the staff of the @riental Institute of the *niversity of %hicago, -here he assisted in compiling the Assyr, ORIENTALIA SUECANA 2019. Vol. 62–68. 15 J. A4#.78804 64 9.9076A9 :;. <. 8J=>.7? ian Jictionary =%AJ>, a long,standing dictionary project of the Akkadian language in all its dialectal -ealth, covering ore than 2C00 years of -ri2en do'umentation. 7e %AD project -as completed in 2010. In all, Åke and Gunnil spent three years in %hicago $efore moving to (hiladelphia and the *ni, versity of (ennsylvania in 1/<<. 7ere Åke $egan $y teaching classes mainly in the Akkadian lan, guage. )-o years later, Åke succeeded Sumerologist Samuel Noah Kramer as %lark &esearch (rofes, sor in Assyriology, assuming the responsi$ilities of curator of the tablet collections of the *niversity +useum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Alongside his colleagues 0arry 8. Eichler and Erle I. 8ei'hty, $oth Åke and the department thrived. As an e;ample of the "ovial atmosphere at the *niversity +useu can $e noted the day -hen Åke arrived in his office to Dnd that a ne- volume, $ound in red 'loth and -ith gilt lettering on the spine, had $een placed on his shelves ne;t to a $ound copy of his thesis on the Sumerian moon god.