The contribution of the Indus Valley civilization to the historic cultures of South Asia is a matter of debate due to a discontinuity in material culture, from the time of its decline to the reappearance of urbanization several centuries later. Progress in the epigraphy of the Indus Valley has been hindered by the absence of a bilingual inscription and the brevity of its texts. One of the most frequent signs encountered in its undeciphered writing system is the pictogram of ‘fish’. On a few seal inscriptions, this sign appears alone, suggesting that it represented a meaningful word or a name. It is noteworthy that Indian literature of later centuries recounts a protohistoric kingdom named Matsya in the vicinity of the Indus Valley sites, as matsya is the Sanskrit word for ‘fish’ and a divinity in the form of a fish is celebrated in the Indian version of the flood myth. An analysis of these narratives is presented in this paper, revealing the possibility of an association with the Indus Valley civilization of the more distant past. These observations indicate that fish symbolism may have occupied a place of prominence in Indus culture from political and religious perspectives. The Matsya territory mentioned in Vedic and epic literature is discussed in light of the chalcolithic cultures of Rajasthan, and it is suggested that this region witnessed successive waves of migration of different cultural groups due to its economic importance related to the exploitation of copper reserves.
{"title":"Fish Symbolism in Indus Valley Epigraphy and Protohistoric Accounts","authors":"Shamashis Sengupta","doi":"10.23993/store.110917","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.23993/store.110917","url":null,"abstract":"The contribution of the Indus Valley civilization to the historic cultures of South Asia is a matter of debate due to a discontinuity in material culture, from the time of its decline to the reappearance of urbanization several centuries later. Progress in the epigraphy of the Indus Valley has been hindered by the absence of a bilingual inscription and the brevity of its texts. One of the most frequent signs encountered in its undeciphered writing system is the pictogram of ‘fish’. On a few seal inscriptions, this sign appears alone, suggesting that it represented a meaningful word or a name. It is noteworthy that Indian literature of later centuries recounts a protohistoric kingdom named Matsya in the vicinity of the Indus Valley sites, as matsya is the Sanskrit word for ‘fish’ and a divinity in the form of a fish is celebrated in the Indian version of the flood myth. An analysis of these narratives is presented in this paper, revealing the possibility of an association with the Indus Valley civilization of the more distant past. These observations indicate that fish symbolism may have occupied a place of prominence in Indus culture from political and religious perspectives. The Matsya territory mentioned in Vedic and epic literature is discussed in light of the chalcolithic cultures of Rajasthan, and it is suggested that this region witnessed successive waves of migration of different cultural groups due to its economic importance related to the exploitation of copper reserves.","PeriodicalId":178307,"journal":{"name":"Studia Orientalia Electronica","volume":"56 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139262229","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The paper focuses on three sets of events relating to Karṇa’s defeat in the Mahābhārata: the weapons exchange (MBh. 3.284–294), the chariot ride (MBh. 8.26–69), and the two curses (MBh. 12.2–5). From a narratological perspective, it analyzes them in terms of story-time (the narrative timing of the events in the story). With this literary approach to Karṇa’s character, its goal is to support the claims of consciously designed Mahābhārata, one of whose authorial techniques would precisely be time management.
{"title":"Kālaviphalāny astrāṇi te santu: Story-time in Karṇa’s defeat as depicted in the Mahābhārata","authors":"Roberto Morales-Harley","doi":"10.23993/store.126768","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.23993/store.126768","url":null,"abstract":"The paper focuses on three sets of events relating to Karṇa’s defeat in the Mahābhārata: the weapons exchange (MBh. 3.284–294), the chariot ride (MBh. 8.26–69), and the two curses (MBh. 12.2–5). From a narratological perspective, it analyzes them in terms of story-time (the narrative timing of the events in the story). With this literary approach to Karṇa’s character, its goal is to support the claims of consciously designed Mahābhārata, one of whose authorial techniques would precisely be time management.","PeriodicalId":178307,"journal":{"name":"Studia Orientalia Electronica","volume":"125 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128180868","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Even as Babylonia came under foreign rule, cuneiform documentation continued to record traditional activities. In the transition to the Hellenistic period, it is assumed that Greek practices became more prevalent, although documentary evidence for them remains limited. Cuneiform legal texts documented a narrower range of transactions. In Uruk, these were primarily real estate transactions and prebend sales, which continued to be framed in traditional Babylonian formulaic language. However, in those texts, some actors display personal attributes and/or form networks suggesting they are promoting Hellenizing identities. The attributes include the adoption of Greek names, the use of polyonymous Akkadian-Greek names, and of Hellenistic motifs in the iconography of their seals. These practices appear in the records of three groups of individuals, including members of the elite Ah’ūtu family; the Dumqi-Anu/Arad-Rēš family, which held a share in the atû (porter) prebend; and of the ēpiš dulli ša ṭīdi (clay workers) class. The evidence suggests active construction of a Hellenizing identity is most apparent among members of the ēpiš dulli ša ṭīdi, who belonged to the lowest stratum of the groups considered, while the social networks of members of the Dumqi-Anu/Arad-Rēš family often attest to individuals who bridge communities grounded in Babylonian culture and to those who adopt features of Hellenizing identities.
{"title":"Constructing Identities: Greek names as a marker of Hellenizing identity","authors":"L. Pearce, Paola Corò","doi":"10.23993/store.129807","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.23993/store.129807","url":null,"abstract":"Even as Babylonia came under foreign rule, cuneiform documentation continued to record traditional activities. In the transition to the Hellenistic period, it is assumed that Greek practices became more prevalent, although documentary evidence for them remains limited. Cuneiform legal texts documented a narrower range of transactions. In Uruk, these were primarily real estate transactions and prebend sales, which continued to be framed in traditional Babylonian formulaic language. However, in those texts, some actors display personal attributes and/or form networks suggesting they are promoting Hellenizing identities. The attributes include the adoption of Greek names, the use of polyonymous Akkadian-Greek names, and of Hellenistic motifs in the iconography of their seals. These practices appear in the records of three groups of individuals, including members of the elite Ah’ūtu family; the Dumqi-Anu/Arad-Rēš family, which held a share in the atû (porter) prebend; and of the ēpiš dulli ša ṭīdi (clay workers) class. The evidence suggests active construction of a Hellenizing identity is most apparent among members of the ēpiš dulli ša ṭīdi, who belonged to the lowest stratum of the groups considered, while the social networks of members of the Dumqi-Anu/Arad-Rēš family often attest to individuals who bridge communities grounded in Babylonian culture and to those who adopt features of Hellenizing identities.","PeriodicalId":178307,"journal":{"name":"Studia Orientalia Electronica","volume":"29 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"117246034","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tero Alstola, Paola Corò, Rocío Da Riva, S. Fink, M. Jursa, Ingo Kottsieper, Martin Lang, M. Monroe, L. Pearce, R. Pirngruber, K. Ruffing, Saana Svärd
The aim of this article is to discuss several groups of sources which are of special interest regarding the question of Mesopotamian identities after 539 bce, towards the end of the use of cuneiform writing. In this late period, several languages and scripts were in use in Mesopotamia; therefore, groups of Akkadian, Aramaic, Greek, and Sumerian texts are discussed. The scripts used are Aramaic letters, cuneiform, and the Greek alphabet. A scholar who is interested in late Mesopotamian identities needs to take all these documents into account. This article aims at giving a brief overview on available textual material and where to find it. The topics of these texts vary from administrative documents to highly literary texts. The authors discuss Aramaic inscriptions, legal and administrative cuneiform texts, the astronomical diaries, the Seleucid Uruk scholarly texts, the late Babylonian priestly literature, Emesal cult-songs from the Hellenistic period, the Graeco-Babyloniaca (clay tablets containing cuneiform and Greek), and finally Greek inscriptions from Mesopotamia.
{"title":"Sources at the end of the cuneiform era","authors":"Tero Alstola, Paola Corò, Rocío Da Riva, S. Fink, M. Jursa, Ingo Kottsieper, Martin Lang, M. Monroe, L. Pearce, R. Pirngruber, K. Ruffing, Saana Svärd","doi":"10.23993/store.129801","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.23993/store.129801","url":null,"abstract":"The aim of this article is to discuss several groups of sources which are of special interest regarding the question of Mesopotamian identities after 539 bce, towards the end of the use of cuneiform writing. In this late period, several languages and scripts were in use in Mesopotamia; therefore, groups of Akkadian, Aramaic, Greek, and Sumerian texts are discussed. The scripts used are Aramaic letters, cuneiform, and the Greek alphabet. A scholar who is interested in late Mesopotamian identities needs to take all these documents into account. This article aims at giving a brief overview on available textual material and where to find it. The topics of these texts vary from administrative documents to highly literary texts. The authors discuss Aramaic inscriptions, legal and administrative cuneiform texts, the astronomical diaries, the Seleucid Uruk scholarly texts, the late Babylonian priestly literature, Emesal cult-songs from the Hellenistic period, the Graeco-Babyloniaca (clay tablets containing cuneiform and Greek), and finally Greek inscriptions from Mesopotamia.","PeriodicalId":178307,"journal":{"name":"Studia Orientalia Electronica","volume":"5 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114166093","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article is an investigation of the role of the knowledge of dead languages, namely Latin and Sumerian, for scribal or scholarly identities. While at first glance there is no obvious reason why a “dead language” should be part of the curriculum of people who were about to become the foremost administrators of their time, knowledge of one or more dead languages seems to be a pillar of scholarly self-consciousness in many periods. The three groups under study are Mesopotamian scribes in general, especially those of the Old Babylonian schools; the galas/kalûs, professional lamentation singers that became scribes over the course of time; and Renaissance scholars, for whom a perfect grasp of Latin was of utmost importance. Those who did not meet the expectations of their colleagues were accused of speaking “Barber Sumerian” or “Kitchen Latin” and thereby excluded from the exclusive scholarly circles—or, as the Sumerian school texts put it, from becoming a true member of humanity.
{"title":"Scribal Identities, Renaissances, and Dead Languages: From Barber Sumerian to Kitchen Latin","authors":"Delila Jordan, S. Fink","doi":"10.23993/store.129805","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.23993/store.129805","url":null,"abstract":"This article is an investigation of the role of the knowledge of dead languages, namely Latin and Sumerian, for scribal or scholarly identities. While at first glance there is no obvious reason why a “dead language” should be part of the curriculum of people who were about to become the foremost administrators of their time, knowledge of one or more dead languages seems to be a pillar of scholarly self-consciousness in many periods. The three groups under study are Mesopotamian scribes in general, especially those of the Old Babylonian schools; the galas/kalûs, professional lamentation singers that became scribes over the course of time; and Renaissance scholars, for whom a perfect grasp of Latin was of utmost importance. Those who did not meet the expectations of their colleagues were accused of speaking “Barber Sumerian” or “Kitchen Latin” and thereby excluded from the exclusive scholarly circles—or, as the Sumerian school texts put it, from becoming a true member of humanity.","PeriodicalId":178307,"journal":{"name":"Studia Orientalia Electronica","volume":"42 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133345893","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The written sources from the ancient Near East are for the most part authored from the perspective of the dominant group and yield a very limited view on people’s identities from an emic point of view that would correspond to their own self-identification. Self-defined minority groups in Mesopotamia have not left behind written evidence about themselves and their identity strategies. A notable exception to this rule is the book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible. This book documents an intense and enduring attempt at reconstructing the identity of a dislocated group of people. The book of Ezekiel is produced by a group that constructed a diaspora identity from the early sixth century onwards, whether in Babylonia or in Jerusalem; in any case, it is written in an environment where the adaptation of a wide array of Mesopotamian linguistic, iconographic, literary, and theological motifs was possible. Wherever and whenever the book of Ezekiel was produced, it presents itself as a document of an explicit identity strategy of a minority group, unique among written sources from any part of Mesopotamia. It can be read as an example of the survival strategy of a group that distinguishes itself from others by way of self-reidentification. The book does not reflect a stable and universally shared identity of the Judeans. On the contrary, it creates and constructs an inner-Judean antagonism between Ezekiel’s in-group and the delegitimized out-group. The book of Ezekiel, therefore, does not convey much about the integration of the Judean minority into Babylonian society but all the more about conflicts among Judeans themselves.
{"title":"Ezekiel, Ethnicity, and Identity","authors":"Martti Nissinen","doi":"10.23993/store.129806","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.23993/store.129806","url":null,"abstract":"The written sources from the ancient Near East are for the most part authored from the perspective of the dominant group and yield a very limited view on people’s identities from an emic point of view that would correspond to their own self-identification. Self-defined minority groups in Mesopotamia have not left behind written evidence about themselves and their identity strategies. A notable exception to this rule is the book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible. This book documents an intense and enduring attempt at reconstructing the identity of a dislocated group of people. The book of Ezekiel is produced by a group that constructed a diaspora identity from the early sixth century onwards, whether in Babylonia or in Jerusalem; in any case, it is written in an environment where the adaptation of a wide array of Mesopotamian linguistic, iconographic, literary, and theological motifs was possible. Wherever and whenever the book of Ezekiel was produced, it presents itself as a document of an explicit identity strategy of a minority group, unique among written sources from any part of Mesopotamia. It can be read as an example of the survival strategy of a group that distinguishes itself from others by way of self-reidentification. The book does not reflect a stable and universally shared identity of the Judeans. On the contrary, it creates and constructs an inner-Judean antagonism between Ezekiel’s in-group and the delegitimized out-group. The book of Ezekiel, therefore, does not convey much about the integration of the Judean minority into Babylonian society but all the more about conflicts among Judeans themselves.","PeriodicalId":178307,"journal":{"name":"Studia Orientalia Electronica","volume":"65 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132245401","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Babylon, a city of shifting identities, was a constant point of reference for the Mediterranean world. This article explores the portrayal of the Babylonian queen Semiramis in Greek and Roman sources, demonstrating how ancient Near Eastern identities were constructed from the external perspective of Mediterranean cultures. Herodotus first mentioned Semiramis in the fifth century bce, associating her with Babylon’s architectural wonders. Ctesias described her as an outstanding, but in many respects flawed military leader. In contrast, during the final stage of the Roman Republic, Diodorus Siculus reshaped Ctesias’ narrative and portrayed her more positively, emphasizing her beauty, virtues, courage, and intelligence. During the Roman Empire, Semiramis remained a remarkable figure who accomplished great deeds, but later authors introduced negative aspects to her story. The Augustan Age portrayed her negatively, with new elements added, such as sodomy and murder, and used her as a stand-in for Cleopatra. Both queens were denigrated as female rulers and foreigners, emphasizing cultural differences between Mesopotamian and Roman identities. The portrayal of Semiramis served to categorize and describe Mesopotamian culture, rather than to understand it. Ultimately, this article shows how Semiramis reflects different perceptions of Babylonia/Assyria and how her portrayal shifted over time in ancient literature, serving as part of Augustan propaganda to pass judgment on Cleopatra and emphasize cultural differences.
{"title":"Changing Identities at the Turn of the Common Era: The Case of Semiramis","authors":"Kerstin Droß-Krüpe","doi":"10.23993/store.129809","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.23993/store.129809","url":null,"abstract":"Babylon, a city of shifting identities, was a constant point of reference for the Mediterranean world. This article explores the portrayal of the Babylonian queen Semiramis in Greek and Roman sources, demonstrating how ancient Near Eastern identities were constructed from the external perspective of Mediterranean cultures. Herodotus first mentioned Semiramis in the fifth century bce, associating her with Babylon’s architectural wonders. Ctesias described her as an outstanding, but in many respects flawed military leader. In contrast, during the final stage of the Roman Republic, Diodorus Siculus reshaped Ctesias’ narrative and portrayed her more positively, emphasizing her beauty, virtues, courage, and intelligence. During the Roman Empire, Semiramis remained a remarkable figure who accomplished great deeds, but later authors introduced negative aspects to her story. The Augustan Age portrayed her negatively, with new elements added, such as sodomy and murder, and used her as a stand-in for Cleopatra. Both queens were denigrated as female rulers and foreigners, emphasizing cultural differences between Mesopotamian and Roman identities. The portrayal of Semiramis served to categorize and describe Mesopotamian culture, rather than to understand it. Ultimately, this article shows how Semiramis reflects different perceptions of Babylonia/Assyria and how her portrayal shifted over time in ancient literature, serving as part of Augustan propaganda to pass judgment on Cleopatra and emphasize cultural differences.","PeriodicalId":178307,"journal":{"name":"Studia Orientalia Electronica","volume":"53 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126368034","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article provides a short overview on the few Greek inscriptions from Mesopotamia which date to the period between the third century bce and the first century ce. It argues that since the concept of “identity” has certain shortcomings for a historical analysis of an ancient society it might be useful to apply the concepts “commonality,” “connectedness,” and “groupness” for a somehow further and deeper insight. Due to the lack of a larger group of Greek documents in the timeframe mentioned, these concepts are used for some short remarks on the graffiti of the Nebuchelos-Archive from Dura-Europos which dates to the third century ce. The article attempts to show how, in a situation of cultural contact which produced hybrid and ambiguous forms of cultural practices, individuals used different cultural markers and practices of the different societies to demonstrate and publicly display their “commonality” and “connectedness.”
{"title":"Greek Inscriptions in Mesopotamia (and Babylonia)","authors":"K. Ruffing","doi":"10.23993/store.129808","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.23993/store.129808","url":null,"abstract":"This article provides a short overview on the few Greek inscriptions from Mesopotamia which date to the period between the third century bce and the first century ce. It argues that since the concept of “identity” has certain shortcomings for a historical analysis of an ancient society it might be useful to apply the concepts “commonality,” “connectedness,” and “groupness” for a somehow further and deeper insight. Due to the lack of a larger group of Greek documents in the timeframe mentioned, these concepts are used for some short remarks on the graffiti of the Nebuchelos-Archive from Dura-Europos which dates to the third century ce. The article attempts to show how, in a situation of cultural contact which produced hybrid and ambiguous forms of cultural practices, individuals used different cultural markers and practices of the different societies to demonstrate and publicly display their “commonality” and “connectedness.”","PeriodicalId":178307,"journal":{"name":"Studia Orientalia Electronica","volume":"42 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127309005","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Editors' Introduction to the volume Mesopotamian identities in the last centuries of cuneiform writing by Sebastian Fink & Saana Svärd.
编辑的介绍卷美索不达米亚身份在最后几个世纪的楔形文字由塞巴斯蒂安·芬克和萨纳Svärd。
{"title":"Editors' Introduction","authors":"S. Fink, Saana Svärd","doi":"10.23993/store.129800","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.23993/store.129800","url":null,"abstract":"Editors' Introduction to the volume Mesopotamian identities in the last centuries of cuneiform writing by Sebastian Fink & Saana Svärd.","PeriodicalId":178307,"journal":{"name":"Studia Orientalia Electronica","volume":"30 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134101059","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article focuses on the social reality behind the so-called Graeco-Babyloniaca, a small sample of less than two dozen fragments of clay tablets, mainly inscribed with cuneiform signs on the obverse, with alphabetic Greek signs on the reverse. As possibly one of the last signs of life of the time-honored cuneiform script, in a Janus-faced manner they hint at the long tradition of Babylonian scholarship and learning on the one hand, and at its disappearance via script-obsolescence on the other. Notwithstanding the fact that there are only a few tablets, the aim of this article is to trace the social group behind the textual remains of the Graeco-Babylonian tablets and tablet fragments.
{"title":"Construction of Identities and Late Mesopotamian Archives as Found in the Fragments of the ‘Graeco-Babyloniaca’","authors":"M. Lang","doi":"10.23993/store.129810","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.23993/store.129810","url":null,"abstract":"This article focuses on the social reality behind the so-called Graeco-Babyloniaca, a small sample of less than two dozen fragments of clay tablets, mainly inscribed with cuneiform signs on the obverse, with alphabetic Greek signs on the reverse. As possibly one of the last signs of life of the time-honored cuneiform script, in a Janus-faced manner they hint at the long tradition of Babylonian scholarship and learning on the one hand, and at its disappearance via script-obsolescence on the other. Notwithstanding the fact that there are only a few tablets, the aim of this article is to trace the social group behind the textual remains of the Graeco-Babylonian tablets and tablet fragments.","PeriodicalId":178307,"journal":{"name":"Studia Orientalia Electronica","volume":"43 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115585715","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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