Monographs on the Ancient Near East – serie

A short monograph exploring the social and landholding structures during the Kassite Dynasty (c. 1531-1155 BCE).

F. R. Kraus Die Rolle der Tempel von der dritten Dynastie von Ur bis ersten Dynastie von Babylon," an unpublished manuscript in German published in French in The Journal of World History in anticipation of inclusion in a scientific and cultural history of mankind to be issued by the International Commission for a Scientific and Cultural History of Mankind. The essay discusses in general terms the role of temples in early Mesopotamian society, then turns to more detailed consideration of the respective positions of temples in Babylonian society at the end of the third and during the first half of the second millennium B.C.

The famous programmatic article by Benno Landsberger, "Die Eigenbe grifflichkeit der Babylonischen Welt," was a manifesto which "insisted on the necessity of studying Mesopotamian culture for its own sake, in its own terms, and within its own system of values": as Jacobsen notes it was "under the banner of Eigenbegrifflichkeit thatLandsberger... may be said to have made Assyriology for the first time an autonomous discipline." The article is here made available in a masterly translation by Jacobsen, based on two initial drafts by Foster and Von Siebenthal: it provides an accurate and sensitive reading by another intellectual giant in the field, who was himself a long time personal friend of the author. The introduction, published originally as an obituary, gives a brief and penetrating assessment of Landsberger's life work.

A comparative examination of two recent books on ancient trade (Trade in the Ancient Near East, ed. J. D. Hawkins, 1977 and Ancient Civilizations and Trade, eds. J. A. Sabloff and C.C. Lamberg-Karlovsky 1975) provides the opportunity to juxtapose bodies of data and theory in the interpretation of Mesopotamian economic systems. It is seen that the study of trade necessarily entails an appreciation of the socio economic consequences of movement of goods and must include an assessment not only of the quality of traded materials but also of the volume of the trade. Among the sections of the essay are reviews of Mesopotamian trade in the third millennium and Old Assyrian period, an overview of prehistoric tradeand a concluding evaluation on the prospects for explaining trade in ancient Western Asia.

Focuses on the the urban and religious dimensions of one of the earliest historical civilisations, describing in detail, and with reference to primary sources, the organisation of the templeand its interrelationship with the political and social order of ancient Sumer.

These two series make available original documents in English translation (Sources) and im (Monographs) as a contribution to the study of the history, religion, literature, translation (Sources) and important studies by modern scholars Inexpensive and flexible in format, they are meant to serve the specialist by me study of the history, religion, literature, art, and archaeology of the Ancient Near East. , they are meant to serve the specialist by bringing within easy reach basic publications, often in updated versions, to provide imaginative education outlets for undergra provide imaginative education outlets for undergraduate and graduate courses, and to reach interested segments of the educated lay audience.