LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course is meant to help develop:

- students' understanding of the major events in Ancient Near East from the 3rd millennium B.C. to the 1st millennium B.C., and students' ability to see the connection between such events and the cultural and religious contexts of the area;
- students' knowledge of the main features of biblical literary production and of the evolution of the Hebrew religion and society towards a new monotheism.
Students who undertook a postgraduate program in Ancient Studies must know in depth all the historic and cultural aspects of the Ancient world: therefore, this course is meant to fill a gap in students' knowledge.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course is also meant to provide an in-depth knowledge of some specific aspects of the ancient Near Eastern Civilizations (specifically the civilizations of Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Syria) from a historical and cultural point of view through the analysis of different types of sources (literary, historical, juridical, and artistic sources).

PREREQUISITES

None.

TEACHING METHODS

Traditional lecture.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The course will be structured as follows:

– the rediscovery of the civilizations of the ancient Near East; the pioneering phase of investigations and research; the first archaeological excavations

– the geographical and historical framework: the people and cultures of the ancient Near East; the available sources; the issues of the historical reconstruction

– the writings of the ancient Near East: decipherment (research history and current studies), origins, underlying mechanisms

– “Culture in the Ancient Near East”: selected readings from relevant texts.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

A) BIBLIOGRAFY FOR ATTENDING STUDENTS:

– M.L. Uberti, Introduzione alla storia del Vicino Oriente antico, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2005.

And a book, at the choice of the students, between:

– M. Liverani, Uruk, la prima città, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 1998.

– P. Matthiae, Prima lezione di archeologia orientale, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2005.

B) BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS:

In addition to the readings required for attending students, non-attending students must read one of the following readings:

– W. von Soden, Introduzione all’Orientalistica antica, Brescia, Paideia, 1989: capp. 1-5, 10, 12.

– J. Bottéro, Mesopotamia. La scrittura, la ragione, gli dèi, Torino, Einaudi, 1991: pp. 53-106 (“La scrittura”) e pp. 109-165 (“La ragione: istituzioni, mentalità”).