Bøger udgivet af Harrassowitz Verlag

This book is the result of a workshop organized by the editors on April 5, 2018, during the 11th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East (ICAANE) in Munich, Germany.The workshop's goal was to discuss the archaeological traces, or lack thereof, of the so-called transitional periods in the long history of Northern Mesopotamia, from the Bronze Age to the Islamic period. What emerges from the contributions, which differ in terms of chronology, spatial extent, and research subject - from single sites to long term investigation, from material culture to historical approaches -, goes beyond the traditional approach to the Dark Ages, emphasizing phenomena of resilience and evolution, rather than drastic and abrupt changes. From the expansion and contraction of settlement patterns to the spatial redefinition of urban spaces and the persistence of certain ceramic horizons through time, the authors put back the material evidence on the agenda of the archaeological research on the Dark Ages. The book offers a unique view, although from different angles, of some of the in-between periods of Mesopotamian history: The Middle-Late Bronze transition, the so-called post-Assyrian period, the evolution of late antiquity material culture into the Islamic period. Thus, the authors aim at redefining the concept of transition in the light of new or revised data from fundamental projects in Syria, Iraq, and Iraqi Kurdistan.

Achaemenid Studies fall between the academic divisions of Ancient Near Eastern Studies and Archeology, Ancient History, Classical Philology, Egyptology and Semitic Languages. No single scholar can cover the many cultures that were united under the umbrella of this huge empire alone and in-depth. Interdisciplinary approaches are a necessity in order to tackle the challenges that the diverse textual records in Akkadian, Demotic Egyptian, Elamite, Aramaic and Greek present us with. This volume, the proceedings of a conference on taxation and fiscal administration in the Achaemenid Empire held in Amsterdam in 2018, contains contributions on Babylonia, Egypt, the Levant, Asia Minor and Arachosia, written by specialists in the respective languages and cultures. The question that lies at the basis of this volume is how the empire collected revenue from the satrapies, whether and how local institutions were harnessed to make imperial rule successful. The contributions investigate what kind of taxes were imposed in what area and how tax collection was organized and administered. Since we lack imperial state archives, local records are the more important, as they are our only reliable source that allows us to move beyond the famous but unverifiable statement on Achaemenid state finances in Herodotus, Histories 3, 89-97.

Professor Alfred Haverkamp, founder of the Arye Maimon Institute for Jewish History at Trier University, has been a leading scholar and successful mentor for medieval historical research on Jews and Judaism in Central Europe (Ashkenaz) since the 1970s. This Festschrift joins together current multi-disciplinary perspectives on medieval Jewish life and Jewish-Christian relations, in studies based on archival and manuscript sources as well as medieval sculpture and artefacts. With contributions by Elisheva Baumgarten, Thilo Becker, Eveline Brugger, Nicolò Bucaria, Jörn R. Christophersen, Christoph Cluse and Carsten Ginsheimer, Johannes Deißler, Simcha Emanuel, Rachel Furst and Sophia Schmitt, Johannes Heil, Elisabeth Hollender, Ephraim Kanarfogel, Katrin Kogman-Appel, Andreas Lehnertz, Ivan G. Marcus, Gerd Mentgen, Rachel Zohn Mincer, Jörg R. Müller, Judith Olszowy-Schlanger, Lucia Raspe, René Richtscheid, Michael Schlachter, Merav Schnitzer Maimon, Christian Scholl, Sarit Shalev-Eyni, Ephraim Shoham-Steiner, Alessandra Veronese, Markus J. Wenninger, and Birgit Wiedl. Foreword by Israel J. Yuval.

Despite the decisive turn toward cultural history in the last generation, scholars working on the Reformation have only gradually perceived the riches that are available if they place sixteenth-century Reformers and their theological innovations within a broader context of established beliefs and practices. Inspired by such pioneers as Natalie Zemon Davis and Robert W. Scribner, this aggregation of leading historians demonstrates that cultural approaches to the past may suggest whole new opportunities for research: Time (Helmut Puff), shared spaces (David Luebke), the senses (Philip Hahn), religious singing (Francisca Loetz), the use of images (Bridget Heal), healing and material culture (Ute Lotz-Heumann), physico-theology (Kaspar von Greyerz), reproduction and ensoulment (Kathleen Crowther), Calvin's sexuality (Susan Karant-Nunn), women's spirituality (Alexandra Walsham), the translation of texts (Renate Dürr), and missionary practices (Ulrike Strasser). Charles Zika and Merry Wiesner-Hanks admit us to the perusal of historiographic essays that reveal both their profound expertise and their personal involvement in our profession. Within Reformation studies, this collection signals both a perspective attained by the time of the five-hundredth anniversary of the German Reformation, and a milestone from which a new and innovative generation of researchers will depart.

The Independent State of Samoa, Papua New Guinea, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republics of the Marshall Islands, of Nauru and of Palau, the US Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas and parts of the Solomon Islands share a colonial legacy: all had been under German colonial rule before World War One. At the time Germany's Pacific empire was second only to Great Britain. In the beginning, German colonialism in the Pacific looked like a state-sponsored economic enterprise. Big trading companies were running the actual colonial administration of what was officially termed "Protectorates", not colonies. The result was devastating, a human, moral and also economic catastrophe. Just before the turn of the century, the German government intervened, and the so-called "Protectorates" became real colonies, one after the other. Prestige purposes played a significant role in German colonialism. There were just 1,523 Germans scattered over their vast Pacific empire in 1914, less people than currently live in the Samoan village of Falefa alone. Despite their small number, German influence was tremendous, and their impact still lingers on. This book by Hermann J. Hiery is about Fa'a Siamani, the particular way Germans behaved, shaped and influenced Pacific behaviour in the colonial period. It is also about how the Pacific and the Islanders' attitude affected the Germans. Numerous government, mission, and private archives were consulted by the author, both in Germany and world-wide. Many of them are unknown even to specialists. Micronesians, Papua New Guineans, and Samoans, who had experienced German colonial rule in person, shared their experience with the author. This book combines earlier research that had been available only in German, with more recent findings and discoveries.

Since the mid-19th century, boundary-making in the Pamirian Crossroads had involved the redefining of contested spheres of influence between Great Britain and Russia. Remote mountain microstates had enjoyed a comparatively high degree of autonomy from their immediate neighbours. The incorporation of the Hunza Valley into the British-Kashmirian realm followed a successful military intervention. The colonial project has significantly affected living conditions in the Hunza Valley. Hunza matters addresses the transformation from four perspectives. First, the changing physical infrastructure are analysed from a road perspective. Initially, pack animals and porterage were involved in crossing high passes. Daring geostrategic projects emerged, shedding light on early plans for connecting British India with China by motor road. Much later the Karakoram Highway was built. The latest stage of infrastructure development is the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Second, environmental resource utilisation strategies have changed over time. Emphasis has shifted from a predominantly agriculture-based economy towards a market-oriented income generation including extractivism, remittances and services. Third, bordering and ordering is strongly linked to actors and factors. Fourth, new light is shed on prevalent myths that are associated with Alexander the Great and the Silk Roads, longevity and an ideal state. A developmentalism discourse has been transformed in Chinese occupation narrative. All four perspectives are displayed on the basis of archival evidence that has been collected from a wide range of sources, augmented by empirical material collected during four decades.

Greece 1947-1967 brings together contributions by Heinz A. Richter on the history of Greece from the time of the civil war to the coup d'état on April 21, 1967. In the first part, decisive factors of the Greek civil war are presented; the second part analyzes the background of the military coup. The contributions were published a few years ago mainly in German; to make them accessible to a wider range of scholars, they were translated and revised. Richter analyzes in detail the Varkiza Agreement of 1945 between the then Greek government and the EAM and the violations of this agreement. He can show that it was the violations of the agreement that ultimately triggered the civil war. Furthermore an English document by C.M. Woodhouse is published, which describes the terror situation on the Peloponnese in summer 1945. While the general idea is that the second plenary of the CC of the Greek Communist Party decided to start the civil war, Richter points out that this is a legend. The next article deals with the murder of Georg Polk and shows who the real murderers were. The political background of the attack on Konitsa is analyzed as well as the development of the Communist Party, which became a mass party with 200,000 members during the occupation and after the war shrank back to a cadre party. The second part of the study describes the background to the military coup of April 21, 1967 in three articles that deal with the crisis in Greece that led to the coup, the preparations for the coup, and finally the myth that the U.S. organized the coup. On the contrary, Richter makes it clear that the coup was a genuine Greek enterprise.

The present volume brings together a group of scholars from diverse fields in Jewish studies who deal with Jewish medical knowledge from ancient to medieval times, applying a comparative approach to the subject. Based on a variety of methodological and theoretical concepts, they address strategies of interaction with earlier Jewish traditions and the deep embeddedness in other, often religiously shaped discourses (exegesis, ethics, Talmudic law and lore). Special attention is paid to the complex interplay between literary forms and the knowledge conveyed. Diachronic approaches also explore the complex ways of transmission, transfer, rejection, modification and invention of medical knowledge. Possible contexts and points of contacts can be found in medical thinking and practices in surrounding cultures (Ancient Near East, Graeco-Roman, Byzantine, Persian-Iranian, Syriac and medieval Western Christianity, early Islamic). Such a twofold perspective allows for assessing particularities of Jewish medical discourses within Jewish cultural history and their trans-cultural interaction with other medical traditions. Moreover, these studies may serve as a starting point to further inquiries into the role of these exchanges and entanglements, not only within a broader history of medicine, science and knowledge, but also for the history of cultures and religions at large.

This book has been written for beginners studying on their own and assumes no prior knowledge of the subject. It begins with the history of the language and its discovery and decipherment up to the present day. It contains a clearly structured concise grammar which offers much original material on Luwian syntax. Twelve reading exercises introduce the basic grammatical principles and are carefully graded to allow the reader to build up a knowledge of common signs and vocabulary as well as giving a broad introduction to Hieroglyphic Luwian literature. Grammatical analysis, commentary, vocabulary notes and a revision section accompany each text. Additionally, the book includes the most extensive up-to-date vocabulary available and a complete sign list. Both will serve the reader as invaluable tools for any further study of the subject.

Classical Syriac for Hebraists is intended for people who already have a basic knowledge of Biblical Hebrew and want to study Syriac, an important ancient Semitic language, a dialect of Aramaic. Syriac is the official language of the Syriac-speaking churches and has a vast amount of literature representing diverse areas of human knowledge: ancient translations of the Bible and related early documents, biblical commentaries, theological treatises, ecclesiastical histories, legends about saints, scientific texts covering philosophy, natural sciences, grammar, translations from Greek documents and many others. With previous knowledge of Hebrew assumed and related phenomenon in Hebrew frequently mentioned, the student can be expected to acquire reading knowledge of Syriac with reasonable ease and speed.The chrestomathy presents a selection of eleven documents including not only passages of the Bible, but also biblical commentaries and theological discussions, humorous fables and a grammatical treatise, all original Syriac compositions. The texts are fully or partly vocalised, provided with grammatical annotations with constant cross referencing to the appropriate sections of the grammar. A glossary to facilitate studying of these texts is appended.

Conversations in the House of Life offers a new translation of a text first published as The Ancient Egyptian Book of Thoth (2005). The composition is a dialogue between a Master, perhaps the god Thoth himself, and a Disciple, named "The-one-who-loves-knowledge." Originally written in Demotic, the text dates to the Graeco-Roman Period (ca. 300 B.C. to 400 A.D.). The dialogue covers everything from how to hold the writing brush and the symbolic significance of scribal utensils to a long exposition on sacred geography. The work may be an initiation text dealing with sacred knowledge. It is closely associated with the House of Life, the temple scriptorium where the priests wrote their books. The 2005 publication was aimed at specialists, but Conversations in the House of Life is intended for the general reader. The revised translation reflects recent advances in our understanding of the text. The explanatory essays, commentary, and glossary help the reader explore the fascinating universe of the Book of Thoth. As a document of Late Period Egyptian thought it is of importance to all those interested in Graeco-Roman Period intellectual history; students of the Classical Hermetica will find the Book of Thoth especially intriguing. The express goal of Conversations in the House of Life is to make this challenging Ancient Egyptian composition accessible to the widest possible audience.

A Sumerian Chrestomathy by Konrad Volk has been written for beginners studying Sumerian within the academic curriculum. The volume contains 44 texts of varying contents: royal inscriptions, legal, and economic documents dating from the Early Dynastic (ca. 2500 B.C.) to the Old Babylonian Period (ca. 1750 B.C.) when Sumerian was no longer a spoken language. Some of the autographed texts are accompanied by a version in Neo-Assyrian script so that the student can learn the Neo-Assyrian sign forms which are of fundamental importance for the use of the sign list in this book and, in general, for most Assyriological sign lists. Each inscription can be studied with the help of the sign list, which is intentionally limited to the signs that occur in this book. Reference is given to the most recent works in the field by R. Borger and C. Mittermayer. Also included are individual and detailed glossaries: General Vocabulary; Divine Names; Personal Names; Place Names; Sacred Buildings; Year Dates; Year Names; Festivals. These glossaries not only quote the lexical items found in the inscriptions but also give the Akkadian equivalents for Sumerian words and refer - wherever necessary - to the most recent Sumerological literature.

This Hebrew Grammar is a helpful instrument both for the beginner and the more advanced student. The views adopted in this grammar have been corroborated by briefly referring to papers or paragraphs of grammars. Phonology has been based on the assumption of a general penultimate stress. In morphology, nouns have been arranged according to synchronical, rather than diachronical principles. As for syntax, it was considered best to base the sections dealing with it on the quoted Biblical excerpts rather than to adduce selected syntactical phenomena from the whole Bible.The new edition has brought the grammar up-to-date, including references to scientific literature written in modern Hebrew.

The Kurdish Reader by Khanna Omarkhali comprises an exciting collection of texts in Kurmanji, the northern dialect of the Kurdish language. It is designed to help students with a basic knowledge of the Kurdish language to enhance their fluency by studying a variety of texts ranging from literary and folklore to non-narrative prose works.The first part of the book focuses on the literary works, both prose and verse, from all parts of the Kurmanji speaking countries. Many of the texts were produced in Armenia where the dialect evolved its written tradition. This is the first collection incorporating material from this important literary and cultural heritage. As the first part of the book presents the development of written tradition, part two introduces the reader to a range of variants of Kurmanji from Turkey, Armenia, Russia, Syria, Iraqi Kurdistan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenia, and Khorasan, each conveying the richness of their forms. This part of the Reader is of interest for Kurdish Oral History Studies too for it consists of various recordings of historical information, based on the personal experience of the speakers. The Reader contains two Kurdish-English glossaries and a grammar section. This constitutes a comprehensive outline of the subjects under study along with a fundamental description of the cornerstones of Kurmanji grammatical categories, and explanations of the main discrepancies between the local Kurmanji variants and the literary language with examples taken from the selections. Additionally, the book offers English translations of selected texts with an English-Kurdish dictionary of linguistic terms.

This work by Bentley Layton is a newly revised, third edition of the standard reference grammar of Coptic in the classical Sahidic dialect. Compared to the previous edition, "A Coptic Grammar" incorporates new additions and corrections, and retains a full index locorum of examples cited in the grammar. Citations are the backbone of any reference grammar, and this index gives readers immediate access to a grammatical discussion of about three thousand citations of classical Coptic. Especially noteworthy is the extensive use of citations from the celebrated Coptic stylist Shenoute of Atripe.

This book is a comparative examination of the main teachings contained in the Sutranga portion of the Pali Samyutta-nikaya (SN) and its counterpart in Chinese canon, a translation of a now lost Sanskrit Samyuktagama (Za-ahan-jing) (SA). The SN and SA are essentially two different versions of the same collection of discourses.This study builds on the work of Yin Shun, which demonstrates the historical importance of SN/SA in the formation of the early Buddhist canon. In particular, it is based on Yin Shun¿s recognition of the three-anga structure of SN/SA, and of the status of its Sutranga portion as of prime importance in the historical formation of this nikaya/agama, and as containing the most fundamental teachings of Buddha. The aim of this research is to reveal and clarify the similarities and differences between SN and SA, with regard to the principal Buddhist teachings contained in their Sutranga portion.

Akkadian, comprising the Babylonian, Assyrian and Old Akkadian dialects, is the earliest known Semitic language, attested from the middle of the 3rd millenium B.C. until the time of Christ. It was widely adopted in the ancient Near East as a written vehicle for scholarship, literature, legal and diplomatic affairs. It is the language of the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Code of Hammurapi, the inscriptions of the kings of Assyria and Babylonia and countless legal and administrative documents.A Concise Dictionary of Akkadian has been prepared for the convenience of students and scholars on the basis of Wolfram von Sodens Akkadisches Handwörterbuch updated with reference to the Chicago Assyrian Dictionary and other sources. It aims to include all certainly attested words with variant forms, dialect and period distribution, logographic writings and English meanings (but not textual citations). A list of roots assists in tracking down the right entries.