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Regular version of the site

History of Mesopotamia

2020/2021
Academic Year
ENG
Instruction in English
6
ECTS credits
Course type:
Compulsory course
When:
2 year, 1-4 module

Instructors

Course Syllabus

Abstract

After completing a brief introduction to the history of the Ancient Near East during the first year, the students are now offered an in-depth training in main subjects of the economic, social, political and cultural history of Mesopotamia, encompassing the periods from the rise of Sumerian city-states in the early 3rd millennium until the Persian invasion in the late 6th century BC. The 3rd millennium section will explore the earliest city-states, the concept of kingship and political power, the arrival of the Semites in Mesopotamia and its impact on society and economy of the region, and finally, the state bureaucracy at its height under the Ur III dynasty. For the Old Babylonian period (ca. 2000-1600 BC), the key issues include the role and structure of the palace economy, the relations between nomadic pastoralists and sedentary farmers, and the system of international relations. The later periods offer subjects such as Middle Babylonian approach to land property, Middle Assyrian law, the organization of the Neo-Assyrian empire, and the life of temple households in 1st millennium Babylonia. The course involves reading primary sources, both original (in Sumerian and Akkadian) and translated.
Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives

  • This course aims to introduce the archaeological and textual evidence for the Assyrian and Babylonian civilizations and explore how it can be reconstructed to provide a coherent picture of society, economics and political developments in Mesopotamia throughout its three millenia of history.
  • By the end of this course students will be expected to understand the range of evidence for reconstructing an ancient society as well as the general outline of the chronology and cultural and political developments in ancient Mesopotamia.
  • Upon completion of the course the students will be expected to have gained the following skills: critical assessment of different types of evidence and their context; correlation of many threads of evidence to arrive at a narrative interpretation; present clear and rational arguments to defend the interpretation of evidence.
Expected Learning Outcomes

Expected Learning Outcomes

  • The ability to discuss political, economic and social developments observed in the Early Dynastic period.
  • Being able to address the key events of the later phase of the Early Dynastic period. Knowledge of the morden approach to the key historical problems of the period.
  • Knowledge of the key events and problems of the Sargonic period and the ability to discuss themusing the most up-to-date research.
  • Knowledge of the economic and political structure of the Ur-III state. The ability to explain the bala-system as reflected in Ur-III documents.
  • The awareness of the up-to-date state of research of the Old Assyrian period. Knowledge of the Assyrian trading system and relations between Ashur and Asia Minor.
  • The ability to discuss political, economic and social developments observed in the Isin-Larsa period.
  • The ability to discuss political, economic and social developments observed in the Hammurabi period.
  • The ability to discuss political, economic and social developments observed in the late Old Babylonian period.
Course Contents

Course Contents

  • The Early Dynastic period: Rivaling City-States of Southern Mesopotamia
    The written sources and their historical uses. Sumerian King List (SKL) and the extant royal inscriptions. Political developments in Southern Mesopotamia: cooperation and rivalry between the city-states. Early Dynastic Ur.
  • Political Centralization in the early Third Millennium. The Sargonic state.
    The first attempt at creating a territorial state under Lugalzagesi. Lugalzagesi and the Sumerian concept of kingship. The arrival of the Semites in Mesopotamia. The modern approach to "The Kish Civilization". The rise of Sargon of Akkad. Sargonic royal inscriptions as historical evidence. Changes to written documentation. The unification of Northern and Southern Mesopotamia under the rule of Sargon. The Sargonic state as "the world's first empire". Sargon's sons and the succession problem. Naram-Su'en, "the king of the four quarters of the world." Sharkalisharre and the fall of Akkad.
  • The years of political fragmentation: Mesopotamia before the Ur-III Dynasty
    Textual and archeological evidence pertaining to the Post-Sargonic period. The Gutian invasion. Inter-city political relations that outlived the Sargonic kingdom. The kings of Akkad and the problem of the "Gutian state". The Lagash-II dynasty and sources for its reconstruction. The city of Lagash under the rule of Gudea.
  • The Ur-III Dynasty
    The Gutians and the Amorite tribes and the new balance of political power in Mesopotamia. Utuhengal and the emergence of the Ur-III state. The kings of Ur. Ur-III bureaucratic practices and the economic organization of the Ur-III state. The bala-system. The gu2-un-ma-da-system. The fall of Ur.
  • Post-Sargonic political developments in Northern Mesopotamia: the Old Assyrian period.
    An overview of the textual sources for the period. Ashur: the god and his city. Assyrian King List (AKL) and the early kings of Ashur. Old Assyrian trade. Assyrian trading colonies and outposts in Asia Minor (Kanesh II). The Anatolian cities and their rulers. Commercial treaties. The end of the Old Assyrian period (Kanesh Ib).
  • The dominance of Isin and Larsa: the Early Old Babylonian period.
    The written and archaeological sources. The rise of the Amorite dynasties. Political struggle in Southern Mesopotamia.
  • The age of Hammurabi: the Classical Old Babylonian Period
    The written and archaeological sources. The ”club of great powers” and the rise of Babylon. Palace economy in the light of Hammurabi letters and the Mari archives. Nomadic pastoralists and sedentary farmers.
  • The return of polycentrism: the Late Old Babylonian Period.
    The written and archaeological sources. The heirs of Hammurabi and the collapse of the Babylonian Empire. Northern Mesopotamia between Halab and Babylon. The private archives of Sippar. The fall of Babylon.
Assessment Elements

Assessment Elements

  • non-blocking Tests, essay
  • non-blocking Exam
Interim Assessment

Interim Assessment

  • Interim assessment (2 module)
    0.5 * Exam + 0.5 * Tests, essay
  • Interim assessment (4 module)
    0.4 * Interim assessment (2 module) + 0.6 * Tests, essay
Bibliography

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

  • Ancient Assyria, Johns, C. H. W., 2012
  • Liverani, M. (2013). The Ancient Near East : History, Society and Economy. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=671926
  • Potts, D. T. (2012). A Companion to the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East. Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=452228
  • The Babylonian world, , 2009
  • The great transformation : the political and economic origins of our time, Polanyi, K., 1971
  • The invention of enterprise : entrepreneurship from ancient Mesopotamia to modern times, , 2010
  • Van de Mieroop, M. (2016). A History of the Ancient Near East, Ca. 3000-323 BC (Vol. Third edition). Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1021678
  • Зарождение древнейших классовых обществ и первые очаги рабовладельческой цивилизации. Ч.1: Месопотамия, , 1983
  • Месопотамия до Саргона Аккадского. Древнейшие этапы истории, Ковалев, А. А., 2002

Recommended Additional Bibliography

  • The great transformation: the political and economic origins of our time, Polanyi, K., 2001