HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST II

The class of "History of the Ancient Near East II" is framed into both the History, and the Humanities curricula ("Corso di Laurea Triennale in Storia" and "Corso di Laurea Triennale in Lettere"). Its main goal is to provide an in-depth analysis of a monographic subject of study concerning institutions and cultural aspects of the ancient Near Eastern civilizations.

At the end of the course, students will have acquired a basic knowledge of the historical sources pertaing to the Ancient Near East, along with an up-to-date methodology for addressing a specific subject in this field of study. They will also be informed about historiography, bibliography and available digital resources concerning ancient Mesopotamia and, more in general, ancient Near Eastern studies
During the course, students are also expected to:
a) participate wuth their colleagues in open discussions about historical issues in order to consolidate their critical capacities;
b) learn to collect, analyse and organize the documentation in view of a specific research project;
c) raise questions regarding the nature and reliability of the sources;
D) acquire the ability to write a short essay or exercise on an agreed subject and to present their results to their colleagues.

No specific prerequisit is required; a basic knowledge of the History of Ancient Near East is necessary and can be acquired through a few readings that will be suggested at the beginning of classes.

The course focuses on the history of the reign of Ugarit between the XIV and the XII century B.C. The city of Ugarit, located on the Mediterranean coast near the present-day town of Latakia in Syria, offers the case of a kingdom of significant proportions, flowered during the Late Bronze age, which had significant relations with the great powers of the time. It was for more than a century an autonomous kingdom, it was subsequently subjected to the Hittite power to be finally overwhelmed by the crisis of the entire Eastern Mediterranean area at the arrival of the Sea Peoples at the beginning of the XII century BC. The Royal Archives of the Palace of Ugarit, as well as some other private Archives, are an essential source for the reconstruction of the political, economic and social institutions of Late Bronze Syria. The course will take into account the documentation of these archives, which deal with both international relations and the economic, social and legal structure of the kingdom. Particular attention will be paid to the economic characterization and social structure of Ugarit, to its territorial organization and to the urbanistic aspects of the capital and of the smaller centres. Finally, we will try to reconstruct, on a historical and archaeological basis, the relationship between political events and archaeological and urban development, the function and significance of the archives and the scribal culture of the time.

General bibliography:
Mario Liverani, Storia di Ugarit nell' età degli archivi politici (Studi Semitici, 6), Roma 1962
Wilfred G. E. Watson, Nicolas Wyatt, Handbook of Ugaritic Studies, Brill, Leiden 1999
Marguerite Yon, The city of Ugarit at Tell Ras Shamra, Eisenbrauns, Winona Lake 2006
Matoïan V.- Al-Maqdissi M. (éds), Études ougaritiques IV, Ras Shamra – Ougarit XXIV, Éditions Peeters, Leuven, 2016

Recent texts editions:
Oswald Loretz-Manfried Dietrich-Joaquín Sanmartín, Die keilalphabetischen Texte aus Ugarit, Ras Ibn Hani und anderen Orten. Dritte, erweiterte Auflage. The Cuneiform Alphabetic Texts from Ugarit, Ras Ibn Hani and Other Places. Third, Enlarged Edition. KTU 3 (Alter Orient und Altes Testament 360/1), Ugarit-Verlag, Münster 2013
Pierre Bordreuil-Denis Pardee, R. Hawley, Une bibliothèque au sud de la ville, III : Textes 1994-2002 en cunéiforme alphabétique de la maison d’Ourtenou, Ras Shamra-Ougarit XVIII, Maison de l’Orient et de la Méditerranée, Lyon 2012.
Sylvie Lackenbacher-Florence Malbran-Labat , Lettres en akkadien de la «Maison d'Urtenu». Fouilles de 1994, RSO XXIII, Éditions Peeters, Leuven, 2016.

Texts in translation
André Caquot et Maurice Sznycer, Textes ougaritiques : t. 1 Mythes et légendes, Paris, Éditions du Cerf, coll. « Littératures anciennes du Proche-Orient », Paris 1974
André Caquot, Jean-Michel de Tarragon et Jose Luis Cunchillos, Textes ougaritiques : t. 2 Textes religieux et rituels, correspondance, Paris, Éditions du Cerf, coll. « Littératures anciennes du Proche-Orient » 1989
Sylvie Lackenbacher, Textes akkadiens d'Ugarit, Paris, Éditions du Cerf, coll. « Littératures anciennes du Proche-Orient » 2002
Denis Pardee, Les textes rituels, Paris, Éditions Recherches sur les civilisations, coll. « Ras Shamra-Ougarit » 2000

Digital resources
https://www.mom.fr/Collection-Ras-Shamra-Ougarit-RSO.html
http://www.ras-shamra.ougarit.mom.fr/
http://mnamon.sns.it/index.php?page=Risorse&id=30&lang=en

Oral presentation on a topic assigned in class. For those students who cannot attend classes, alternative readings will be assigned upon request.

Public lectures; sources and materials will be made availbale to the students. Analysis and discussion in class of selected cources. Exploration of on-line resources

Italian

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