[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”0″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]Welcome to The Ancient Near East Today, Vol. II, No. 4! This month we present a special edition on the theme of “Passover as Jesus Knew It.” Leading scholars James Strange, Eric Meyers, Helen Bond, James Charlesworth and Adela Yarbro Collins discuss different aspects of Passover in Jesus’s time, from the rituals he would have celebrated, to the political environment he encountered in Jerusalem.
We also begin ASOR’s new podcast series with three interviews about the new film Noah, with ancient Near Eastern scholars Marvin Sweeney, Robert Cargill and Eric Cline, each of whom has a very different take on the controversial film. Finally, Nancy Serwint discusses her role models, mentors, and career path as a distinguished woman in archaeology.
As always, we encourage you to send The Ancient Near East Today articles to family and friends, post links to Facebook and Twitter, and to be in touch with the editor. Remember, being a Friend of ASOR is free, so please spread the news![/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”0″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]
The question of whether Jesus celebrated Passover in Sepphoris is related to the larger question of why Sepphoris is not mentioned in the New Testament. As many of our readers must know, Sepphoris is only 5 kilometers from nearby Nazareth.
Passover in Exodus 12-13 was a family ritual, but in Jesus’s day it had developed into a national pilgrimage holiday centered in Jerusalem. Practices that were found at first in the family had become more institutionalized in Jesus’s day, with priests managing thousands of sacrifices in the Temple.
Jerusalem in the 30s CE was in a frequent state of heightened political and religious tension, no time more so than at the great religious festivals. Passover was particularly hazardous, with tens of thousands of pilgrims flocking to the holy city not only from Palestine but from all over the Jewish diaspora.
In the Spring, Passover is time for reflective celebration. The great festival is also time for joyous expectation, as humans relish in the return of warm sunshine and blooming flowers.
We actually know very little about how the Passover was celebrated at the time of Jesus. According to the Mishnah, the Hallel (Psalms 113–118) was sung by the Levites at the sacrifices in the temple on important festival days. It was taken over early into the domestic Passover meal, but it is not clear whether such was already the case during the lifetime of Jesus.
I have always thought that the sandbox of archaeology was big enough for lots of us to play in, and I guess, for the most part, I was never that observant to actually see who was doing the playing. Having grown up with the ethic that hard work paid off, that’s the standard I’ve always adhered to and just assumed others did as well.
Friends of ASOR Podcast: Reviews of the Movie Noah
Darren Aronofsky’s new film Noah is taking theaters by storm. A new ASOR podcast series explains what leading scholars are thinking in regards to the new blockbuster. Warning: podcasts may contain spoilers!
[/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”10″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]The Ancient Near East Today features contributions from diverse academics, a forum featuring debates of current developments from the field, and links to news and resources. The ANE Today covers the entire Near East, and each issue presents discussions ranging from the state of biblical archaeology to archaeology after the Arab Spring.
ISD – PLATINUM SPONSOR
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ISD is a full-service book distribution company focusing exclusively on scholarly and specialist books in the Humanities. We represent some of the world’s finest publishing houses—including Acumen Publishing, Brepols Publishers, Equinox Publishing, Harrassowitz Verlag, Peeters Publishers, and many more—and are located in Bristol, CT. Visit www.isdistribution.com to see our full range of distributed publications.[/vc_column_text][mk_divider divider_color=”#d8d8d8″ thickness=”1″ margin_top=”10″ margin_bottom=”10″][vc_column_text]THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS | JOURNALS – PLATINUM SPONSOR
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The University of Chicago Press publishes more than 70 journals in print and electronic editions, presenting original research from international scholars. View our newly acquired journal, Res: Anthropology and aesthetics, and sample issues of the Journal of Near Eastern Studies, which covers Assyriology, Egyptology, Hittitology, Hebrew Bible, with an emphasis in early, medieval, and early-modern Islamic studies.[/vc_column_text][mk_divider divider_color=”#d8d8d8″ thickness=”1″ margin_top=”10″ margin_bottom=”10″][vc_column_text]PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS – PLATINUM SPONSOR
Contact: Patrick Alexander
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Penn State University Press publishes scholarly works of exceptional quality in the humanities and social sciences. We’re pleased to announce that Eisenbrauns is now an imprint of our award-winning publication program. Visit us in the exhibit hall at the 2018 ASOR meeting or at PSUPress.org for more information.[/vc_column_text][mk_divider divider_color=”#d8d8d8″ thickness=”1″ margin_top=”10″ margin_bottom=”10″][vc_column_text]BAKER ACADEMIC & BRAZOS PRESS – SILVER SPONSOR Steve Ayers
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At Baker Academic we count it a privilege to partner with authors who make vital contributions to conversations of consequence within the academic community. Our books serve the academy and the church, draw from a broad range of scholarship, and are published according to the highest standards.[/vc_column_text][mk_divider divider_color=”#d8d8d8″ thickness=”1″ margin_top=”10″ margin_bottom=”10″][vc_column_text]THE ARIZONA CENTER FOR JUDAIC STUDIES – COFFEE BREAK SPONSOR
J. Edward Wright
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AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF IRANIAN STUDIES – GRANT AWARD
Erica Ehrenberg
118 Riverside Drive
New York, NY 10024
Tel: 202-874-4094
E-mail: aaiis@nyc.rr.com
The American Institute of Iranian Studies is a non-profit consortium of US universities and museums that awards grants to promote Iranian Studies and US-Iran academic exchange. Its purview comprises the historical Iranian world of Central Asia, the Middle East and South Asia as well as the modern political state of Iran.[/vc_column_text][mk_divider divider_color=”#d8d8d8″ thickness=”1″ margin_top=”10″ margin_bottom=”10″][vc_column_text]
2018 EXHIBITORS
ANDREWS UNIVERSITY PRESS
Sam Neri, Customer Service
Sutherland House
Berrien Springs, MI 49104-1700
Tel: 269-471-6134;
E-mail: aupo@andrews.edu
The primary mission of Andrews Press is to publish books, journals and papers that make a scholarly and/or professional contribution to their respective fields and are in harmony with the mission of Andrews University. Publication emphases include such areas as archaeology, biblical studies, religion, education, and science.[/vc_column_text][mk_divider divider_color=”#d8d8d8″ thickness=”1″ margin_top=”10″ margin_bottom=”10″][vc_column_text]ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF AMERICA
Laurel Sparks
44 Beacon St.
Boston, MA 02108
Tel: 857-305-9360
E-mail: Lsparks@archaeological.org www.archaeological.org
The Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) promotes archaeological inquiry and public understanding of the material record of the human past to foster an appreciation of diverse cultures and our shared humanity. The AIA supports archaeologists, their research and its dissemination, and the ethical practice of archaeology. The AIA educates people of all ages about the significance of archaeological discovery and advocates the preservation of the world’s archaeological heritage.[/vc_column_text][mk_divider divider_color=”#d8d8d8″ thickness=”1″ margin_top=”10″ margin_bottom=”10″][vc_column_text]
ISO 17025-accredited Beta Analytic is a dedicated radiocarbon dating laboratory with standard turnaround time of 14 business days for its AMS service. We also provide d18O, d15N and dD analysis. All analyses are performed in-house. Respected worldwide for accuracy, quality, and customer care. 24/7 accessible results via web access.[/vc_column_text][mk_divider divider_color=”#d8d8d8″ thickness=”1″ margin_top=”10″ margin_bottom=”10″][vc_column_text]
BRILL Katelyn Chin
2 Liberty Square, 11th Floor
Boston, MA 02109
Tel: 617-263-2323
E-mail: chin@brill.com
Founded in 1683, Brill is a leading international academic publisher in the ancient Near East and Egypt; Middle East and Islamic Studies; Asian Studies; Classical Studies; History; Biblical and Religious Studies; and Language & Linguistics. Brill is also a major provider of primary source materials online and on microform through its imprint IDC.[/vc_column_text][mk_divider divider_color=”#d8d8d8″ thickness=”1″ margin_top=”10″ margin_bottom=”10″][vc_column_text]
CASEMATE ACADEMIC
Michaela Goff
1950 Lawrence Rd.
Havertown PA 19083
United States
Tel: 610-853-9131
E-mail: michaela.goff@casematepublishers.com
Casemate Academic (formerly the David Brown Book Company) is a leading distributor of academic archaeological publications. We represent publishers including Oxbow Books, the British Museum Press, the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago, and Archaeopress Archaeology. Visit www.casemateacademic.com for a full list of our distributed titles.[/vc_column_text][mk_divider divider_color=”#d8d8d8″ thickness=”1″ margin_top=”10″ margin_bottom=”10″][vc_column_text]CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Kamini Ramphal
1 Liberty Plaza
New York, NY 10006
Tel: 212-337-5000
E-mail: kramphal@cambridge.org
Cambridge University Press’ publishing in books and journals combines state-of-the-art content with the highest standards of scholarship, writing and production. Visit our stand to browse new titles, available at 20% discount, and to pick up sample copies of our journals. Visit our website to find out more about what we do: www.cambridge.org/academic[/vc_column_text][mk_divider divider_color=”#d8d8d8″ thickness=”1″ margin_top=”10″ margin_bottom=”10″][vc_column_text]
DE GRUYTER
Dr. Albrecht Döhnert
Genthiner Str. 13
10785 Berlin
Tel: +49 30 26 005 195
E-mail: Albrecht.doehnert@degruyter.com
As an independent academic publisher, De Gruyter can look back at a company history of over 260 years. Today, we publish more than 1,300 titles each year, available in print and as e-books, more than 700 journals, and a variety of digital products. See us at the bookstand or visit our website, www.deguyter.com.
DirectAMS
Alyssa Tate
11822 North Creek Parkway North
Suite 107
Bothell, WA 98011
Tel: 425-481-8122
E-mail:
DirectAMS provides high-precision radiocarbon dating services for applications in archaeology, geology, climate sciences, and antiquities. Samples are processed in a dedicated lab by expert staff and all dates are obtained using an accelerator mass spectrometer (AMS) designed specifically for radiocarbon.
Gorgias Press is an independent academic publisher of books and journals run for scholars by scholars. Our publishing includes fields of study in the Hebrew Bible, the Ancient Near East, Judaism, Early Christianity, Eastern Christianity, Arabic and Islam, Classics, Middle Eastern Studies and Semitic Linguistics.
HENDRICKSON PUBLISHERS
Chelsea Gonzalez
140 Summit Street
Peabody, MA 01961
Tel: 978-573-2116
E-mail: cgonzalez@hendrickson.com
Hendrickson Publishers has a strong history of producing outstanding books for the religious studies academic community. We publish works on the Hebrew Bible, ancient Near Eastern studies and archaeology, New Testament and Greek language, theology, and religion. Hendrickson is also delighted to be partnering with the German Bible Society and Carta Jerusalem.
THE INSTITUTE FOR FIELD RESEARCH Dan Zborover
2999 Overland Ave. #103
Los Angeles CA
Tel: 877-839-4374
E-mail: info@ifrglobal.org
The IFR is dedicated to supporting excellence in archaeological research through field schools. With over 40 programs across the world, we use economies of scale to ensure field schools are accessible & affordable. Each field school is peer-reviewed annually by our Academic Board and students earn 12 UCLA credit units.
NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES
Sarah Lepinski
Senior Program Officer slepinski@neh.gov
Sarah Lepinski, Senior Program Officer in the Division of Preservation and Access and Challenge Grants, National Endowment for the Humanities, will be at the upcoming ASOR Annual Meeting in Denver, CO and is available to meet with those interested in learning more about NEH funding opportunities, particularly in Preservation and Access, the Digital Humanities, Research, and Education.
Sarah will be available on November 16th, in the afternoon. To schedule a time to meet, please email Sarah directly at slepinski@neh.gov. Projects may be at any stage of development, so come with your ideas and questions! More information regarding the NEH can be found at the display table in the ASOR Exhibit Hall.
Please visit the Princeton University Press table to view Eric Cline’s titles, Three Stones Make a Wall: The Story of Archaeology and 1177 B.C: The Year Civilization Collapsed. Pick up an order form and enter coupon code C234 online at press.princeton.edu to receive 30% off all titles. Offer expires 12/18/18
ROUTLEDGE PUBLISHING
Part of the Taylor & Francis Publishing Group
Rachel Young
Taylor & Francis
2-4 Park Square
Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxford, UK OX14 4RN
E-mail: Rachel.Young@tandf.co.uk
Routledge partners with researchers, scholarly societies, universities and libraries worldwide to bring knowledge to life. As one of the world’s leading publishers of scholarly journals, books, ebooks and reference works our content spans all areas of Humanities, Social Sciences, Behavioural Sciences, Science, and Technology and Medicine. From our network of offices in Oxford, New York, Philadelphia, Boca Raton, Boston, Melbourne, Singapore, Beijing, Tokyo, Stockholm, New Delhi and Johannesburg, Routledge staff provide local expertise and support to our editors, societies and authors and tailored, efficient customer service to our library colleagues.
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE
Kathie Klein
Marketing Manager, SBL Press
Society of Biblical Literature
825 Houston Mill Road, Suite 350
Atlanta, GA USA 30329-4217
Tel: 404-727-2325
E-mail: kathie.klein@sbl-site.org
Website: http://www.sbl-site.org
SBL Press publishes essential research in biblical studies for scholars and students. Cutting edge reference works, textbooks, monographs, anthologies, and translations cover everything from ancient Near Eastern and Greco-Roman texts to ancient and contemporary methods and interpretations. SBL Press is the publishing arm of the Society of Biblical Literature, the flagship organization for biblical studies.
UNIVERSITY PRESS OF COLORADO
Beth Svinarich
245 Century Circle, Suite 202
Louisville, CO 80027
Tel: 720-406-8849 x803
E-mail: beth@upcolorado.com
The University Press of Colorado publishes books in Mesoamerican, Latin American, North American and Southwestern anthropology and archaeology, and is currently expanding this list into Near Eastern archaeology.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”0″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]Welcome to The Ancient Near East Today, E-Books! We are pleased to share with you some highlights of ANE Today.
As always, please forward articles from The Ancient Near East Today to family and friends, post links to Facebook, and be in touch with the editor. Tell your friends about Friends of ASOR![/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”0″][vc_column_text]
2018 Editor’s Selection Vol. 1
This E-Book includes articles such as: About that Museum in Washington; Were There Phoenicians; Three Israelite Psalms in an Ancient Egyptian Papyrus; Life of a Salesman: Trade and Contraband in Ancient Assyria; and Comics, Narrative and the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East … CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD[/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”0″][vc_column_text]
2018 Editor’s Selection Vol. 2
This E-Book includes articles such as: The World’s Oldest Torah Scrolls; Alchemy Between the Two Rivers; Getting Old in Ancient Egypt; The Cross: History, Art and Controversy; and Sinai’s Unfinished 150-year Survey … CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD[/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”0″][vc_column_text]
Five Articles about Jesus
This E-Book includes articles such as: What did Jesus look like; Did Jesus Speak Greek; What Do We Know about the Scourging of Jesus; The Face of the Baptized Jesus at Shivta; and Jesus as a Security Risk: Intelligence and Repression in the Roman Empire … CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD[/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”0″][vc_column_text]
Five Articles about Food Traditions
This E-Book includes articles such as: When Life Gives You Lemons: Tracking the Earliest Citrus in the Mediterranean; The Daily Stew? Everyday Meals in Ancient Israel; Göbekli Tepe: Neolithic Gathering and Feasting at the Beginning of Food Production; Cooking in the Hebrew Bible; and Hogging the Attention: Cuisine and Culture in Ancient Israel … CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD[/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”0″][vc_column_text]
Five Articles about Threatened Cultural Heritage
This E-Book includes articles such as: The Iraq Emergency Heritage Management Training Scheme; Saving Archeological Heritage in Afghanistan; Pop-Up Museums Provide Hope for Libya in the Aftermath of War; Ancient Papyri Online and for Sale; and Cuneiform Exceptionalism: An Argument for Studying and Publishing Unprovenanced Tablets … CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD[/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”0″][vc_column_text]
Five Articles about Community Archaeology
This E-Book includes articles such as: Archaeology for the Masses: Tearing Down the Barriers between Archaeology and the Public; Common Ground: Archaeological Practice and Local Communities in Southeastern Turkey; The Past Performative: Thinking through the Azraq Community Archaeology Project; A Call for the Preservation of Heritage Landscapes in the United Arab Emirates; and Preserving the Past, the Mapping Mesopotamian Monuments Project… CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD[/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”0″][vc_column_text]
Five Articles about Everyday Life in the Ancient World
This E-Book includes articles such as: Trash and Toilets in Mesopotamia: Sanitation and Early Urbanism; Cursing in the Ancient Near East; Getting Old in Ancient Egypt; Sunlight and Shade in the First Cities – A Sensory Archaeology of Early Iraq; and Children in Ancient Sumer: How Much Do We Know?… CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD[/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”0″][vc_column_text]
Five Articles about Drugs, Medicine, & Alcohol
This E-Book includes articles such as: An Affair of Herbal Medicine? The ‘Special’ Kitchen in the Royal Palace of Ebla; Potent potables of the past: Beer and brewing in Mesopotamia; ‘Joy plants’ and the earliest toasts in the Ancient Near East; Psychedelics and the Ancient Near East; and A Toast to Our Fermented Past: Case Studies in the Experimental Archaeology of Alcoholic Beverages… CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD[/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”0″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”0″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]Welcome to The Ancient Near East Today, Vol. II, No. 5! This month we ask the question, is it the best of times or the worst of times for Biblical and Near Eastern Studies in the United States? Are universities taking these disciplines seriously? Is society paying attention? Mark Smith lays out some of the issues and expresses his concerns. Responding to Smith are two podcast interviews with Gary Rendsburg and Richard Friedman, each with a different take on the situation. We also present a series of articles highlighting some of the most exciting archaeological projects in the Near East. Carlo Lippolis discusses the early results from an important new project at Tulul al Baraqat in Southern Iraq. Two articles present dramatic new discoveries from the Early Bronze Age in Israel: Matthew Adams and his colleagues on Megiddo, and Ianir Milevski and his colleagues on Ein Zippori. Finally, Jennifer Baird looks at the well-known site of Dura Europos.
As always, we encourage you to send The Ancient Near East Today articles to family and friends, post links to Facebook and Twitter, and to be in touch with the editor. Remember, being a Friend of ASOR is free, so please spread the news![/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”0″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]
I thank ANE Today for asking me to address this question. The perspective on the state of Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern (ANE) studies that I offer here is my personal take; I speak for no one else. Furthermore, my remarks are also hardly comprehensive.
Listen to ASOR’s own Ancient Near East Today editor, Alex Joffe talk with Dr. Gary Rendsburg, about the state of biblical archaeology and the study of the humanities.
Italy has a long and distinguished tradition of work in Mesopotamia. Centro Scavi Torino began research and excavations in Iraq in 1964 with excavations at the Greek city of Seleucia on the Tigris, about 30 kilometers south of Baghdad.
In this episode ASOR’s own Ancient Near East Today editor, Alex Joffe spoke with Richard E. Friedman, author and University of Georgia professor, about the state of biblical archaeology and the study of the humanities.
By Matthew J. Adams, Jonathan David, Robert S. Homsher, and Margaret E. Cohen
Tel Megiddo lies in the heart of the Jezreel Valley, at the hub of international roads between Egypt and Syria. Its local importance in all periods of the Bronze and Iron Ages cannot be overstated but while major excavations have taken place at well-known sites like Megiddo, Jezreel, and Taanach.
Before Highway 79 was widened, drivers are likely to have noticed a long series of tents on the north side of the road just before the entrance to the Sepphoris National Park. Few suspected that they were driving across one of the largest and most important late prehistoric sites in the Galilee.
Dura-Europos, on the Syrian Euphrates, is one of the best preserved and most extensively excavated sites of the Roman world. It is justly famous for its elaborately painted synagogue, early church, and Mithraeum, inscriptions in many languages, and the first evidence of chemical warfare. To judge from the range of languages present, the multicultural world of Dura-Europos included Greeks, Romans, Jews, Christians, Arabs, Persians, and many more.
[/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”10″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]The Ancient Near East Today features contributions from diverse academics, a forum featuring debates of current developments from the field, and links to news and resources. The ANE Today covers the entire Near East, and each issue presents discussions ranging from the state of biblical archaeology to archaeology after the Arab Spring.
There is always crime and sometimes there is punishment. But where do policemen come from?
The exceptionally abundant cuneiform documentation from Babylonia dating to the period of the Neo-Babylonian (626-539 BCE) and Achaemenid Empires (539-331 BCE) yields, among others, tens of thousands of legal and administrative tablets. In addition to the archives of the large temple households, mainly the Eanna temple in Uruk and the Ebabbar temple in Sippar, we also have the opportunity to study the business archives of individual families. These come from both the ranks of the traditional urban notables affiliated with the temples, and ‘new men’ such as the Egibi and Murašû families, who rose to wealth due to their entrepreneurial skills and their connections to the crown and its representatives.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner css=”.vc_custom_1548468589825{padding-right: 10px !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”43561″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” onclick=”img_link_large”][vc_single_image image=”43562″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” onclick=”img_link_large”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]But the appearance of new offices, that is, the institutionalization of tasks previously carried out on an ad hoc basis, is not confined to the highest echelons of the imperial administration. A particularly instructive case is the emergence of the paqūdu, which can be translated as a kind of ‘policeman.’
The activities of these officials are best attested in the Uruk Eanna temple archives, whereas for example in the Murašû archive, they only appear as witnesses to transactions. But paqūdus are also documented throughout Babylonia, for example in the cities of Sippar, Babylon and Nippur.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner css=”.vc_custom_1548468589825{padding-right: 10px !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”43563″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” onclick=”img_link_large”][vc_single_image image=”43564″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” onclick=”img_link_large”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]A peculiar aspect of this office which deserves to be highlighted is the fact paqūdus are not only encountered in the larger Babylonian cities but that they are often associated with small rural villages (possibly hamlets), places such as Šahrīnu, Nuhānu and Ālu-ša-admu. The pertinent texts offer thus glimpses into rural life that often lies well beyond the reach of our urban and temple based sources.
The available evidence suggests paqūdus were charged with all sorts of on-site investigations regarding what we would define as petty crimes. For example, there are several references to theft of livestock from the herds of Ištar of Uruk, the city’s (and the Eanna temple’s) principal deity. A court protocol from Uruk describes in detail the proceedings regarding a cow that had gone missing: It fell upon Ea-kurbanni, paqūdu of the city of Uruk, to search the suspect’s house for evidence. He did indeed manage to procure a corpus delicti, a chunk of beef that was presented to the temple court.
The arrest of offenders was another task of the paqūdu. According to a particularly suggestive text, a certain Balātu, another paqūdu of Uruk, arrested a group of persons (mainly males but also two female singers) in front of a tavern because of a (possibly drunken) nighttime noise violation. The case was then again brought before the temple assembly, as was customary in first millennium BC Babylonia. Considering their activities, it is hardly a surprise that paqūdus appear also as victims of criminal assault and even of murder.
Somewhat anachronistically, the paqūdus may be defined as the executive branch of the Neo-Babylonian system of justice. It was their groundwork on which the judiciary, most frequently the temple courts, based their decisions. But their range of competences and their position vis-à-vis other state or temple officials are indicative of a rather low rank in the city’s bureaucratic hierarchy.
The precise relationship between them and the temple administration can be grasped only imperfectly with the sources at our disposal. Although paqūdus were not regular part of the temple households, they are occasionally found carrying out work in the service of a temple, such as safeguarding property. According to one text (again from Uruk), the paqūdus were in these instances personally liable for remuneration to the administration if theft occurred during their watch.
The fact that law enforcement was entrusted to a permanent office marks a telling difference with the Old Babylonian period, when policing tasks were often conferred upon individuals with a background in the military or recruited from the retinue of imperial magnates. Instead it seems to be that Babylonia in the first millennium BC was closer to Roman Egypt as regards the organization of the maintenance of public order, where rather low- ranking civic officials such as the nyktostrategoi and the eirenarchai are found in capacities similar to the Babylonian paqūdus.
This development is indicative of the distinctiveness of Iron Age Babylonia compared to earlier periods. In that period, not only did empires stretch over significantly vaster areas than ever before. This development was also accompanied by a process of demographic growth and economic expansion, which in turn led to greater social stratification. Importantly, this process also entailed an unprecedented sophistication of and a much higher degree of specialization in the bureaucratic apparatuses of these empires, as reflected by the emergence of the office of paqūdu.
Reinhard Pirngruber is post-doctoral researcher at the University of Vienna.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”0″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]Welcome to The Ancient Near East Today, Vol. II, No. 6! This month, travel the Near East from the Biblical period to today. We are delighted to feature a contribution from author Nina Burleigh on the Amanda Knox case and some lessons to be learned for students on digs.
Thomas Petter takes on the questions, were there Israelites in Transjordan and how can we tell? Two pieces discuss World War I: Tom Davis and Suzanne Marchand, on how the Great War shaped Cypriot and German Archaeology. Abbas Alizadeh, one of the few Americans working in Iran, looks at challenges faced by Iranian archaeologists before and after the 1979 revolution. Finally, in the FOA podcast we ask Shalom Holtz whether this is the best or worst of times for Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies.
As always, we encourage you to send The Ancient Near East Today articles to family and friends, post links to Facebook and Twitter, and to be in touch with the editor. Remember, being a Friend of ASOR is free, so please spread the news![/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”0″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]
On the night after Halloween, 2007, in Perugia, Italy, someone murdered British exchange student Meredith Kercher in her bedroom. Four days later, the Perugia authorities announced they had solved the case, accusing Kercher’s American roommate, Amanda Knox and two young men.
By Thomas Petter, Associate Professor at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
Were there Israelites in Transjordan in the early Iron Age? How would we know from archaeology? Or if not Israelites (and Moabites), whom should we be looking for? The task of plotting identities in the past is tricky business.
By Abbas Alizadeh, Senior Research Associate, Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago
Iran is one of the most important regions in the archaeology of ancient Near East. The country consists of lowlands (Khuzestan, ancient Susiana), highland plateau, high and vast chains of the Zagros and Alborz Mountains (in the west and north), large and small intermountain valleys, and vast deserts.
By Thomas Davis, Professor of Archaeology, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
The weakness of the Ottoman Empire in the nineteenth century attracted the covetous eyes of the Great Powers. Cyprus, as an ‘offshore’ possession, was particularly attractive in a time of enhanced naval rivalry. Britain acquired de facto rule over the island in 1878 from the Ottomans primarily to prevent Russia or France from absorbing it.
By Suzanne Marchand, Professor at Louisiana State University
The Great War marks an enormous watershed in the history of German archaeology, a kind of golden age. The two decades before its outbreak saw the opening or expansion of state sponsored investigations. In Mesopotamia, Assur, Babylon, Samarra, and Warka.
[/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”10″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]The Ancient Near East Today features contributions from diverse academics, a forum featuring debates of current developments from the field, and links to news and resources. The ANE Today covers the entire Near East, and each issue presents discussions ranging from the state of biblical archaeology to archaeology after the Arab Spring.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”0″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]Welcome to The Ancient Near East Today, Vol. II, No. 7! This month we move from the fall of the Bronze Age to today’s crisis in Syria, and points in between. Bill T. Arnold asks if we really need another Introduction to the Old Testament, while Assyriologist Diana Stein looks at the use of drugs in the ancient Near East.
Disaster is a theme for this issue. Syrian archaeologist Michel al-Maqdisi looks at the catastrophe befalling Syria’s archaeological sites and monuments, while Lamia Al-Gailani Werr reviews the impact of World War I on Iraqi archaeology. Rachel Hallote goes back to the collapse of the Bronze Age with a review of Eric Cline’s recent book, 1177 BC, while Michael Danti brings some good news from the Kurdish Regional Government. Finally, in our Friends of ASOR podcasts, we talk to two scholars about a new fragment of the Epic of Gilgamesh which changes our view of this ancient hero.
As always, we encourage you to send The Ancient Near East Today articles to family and friends, post links to Facebook and Twitter, and to be in touch with the editor. Remember, being a Friend of ASOR is free, so please spread the news![/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”0″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]
Cambridge University Press just released my new book, Introduction to the Old Testament. I am grateful to the editor of The ANE Today for the invitation to reflect on the question, “Why another Introduction to the Hebrew Bible?” With so many introductory textbooks available today, why add another now?
The Syrian crisis has recently become noticeably more serious, and has turned into one of the most alarming situations in the Near East since the end of the Iraq War. The consequences to archaeology will be seen in the short and long term.
It is ironic that I am writing this article on the centenary of the First World War, while Iraq today is suffering from turbulence that is partly the consequence of that war. Iraq was created by Britain out of the remains of three Ottoman provinces.
Following decades of quiescence, these are exciting times for archaeology in the KRG (Kurdistan Regional Government). And over the last four years, American archaeologists and cultural heritage experts have witnessed firsthand the rapid development of the cultural heritage situation in Iraqi Kurdistan.
As courts today debate whether to legalize or regulate the use of drugs like cannabis, it is interesting to look at the history of man’s relationship with mind-altering substances. Several books, exhibits, and catalogues have recently explored the topic.
[/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”10″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]The Ancient Near East Today features contributions from diverse academics, a forum featuring debates of current developments from the field, and links to news and resources. The ANE Today covers the entire Near East, and each issue presents discussions ranging from the state of biblical archaeology to archaeology after the Arab Spring.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”0″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]Welcome to The Ancient Near East Today Vol. II, No. 8! This month we travel from Jerusalem to Istanbul, and from London to Manchuria, with stops in Washington, D.C. and Tucson, Arizona.
Cities are a leading theme. Daniel Pioske reviews the history of settlement in Jerusalem for clues to its central place in the Biblical narratives. In contrast, Ömür Harmanshah looks at the ways ancient and modern rulers claim to have built cities, even when they haven’t.
We also take a look behind the scenes. Gareth Brereton describes the British Museum’s efforts to put all the finds from the Ur excavations online, and Elizabeth Wheat describes what it was like teaching Assyriology in northeast China. TheAncient Near East Today editor Alex Joffe looks back at what it was like studying Syro-Palestinian (not Biblical!) archaeology at the University of Arizona, and ASOR describes a major new project to protect Syrian antiquities.
Finally, in our Friends of ASOR podcasts, we talk to J.J.M. Roberts about a new fragment of the Epic of Gilgamesh that has changed our view of this ancient hero.
As always, we encourage you to send The Ancient Near East Today articles to family and friends, post links to Facebook and Twitter, and to be in touch with the editor. Remember, being a Friend of ASOR is free, so please spread the news![/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”0″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]
In a letter sent to Charlemagne sometime just prior to 800 CE, Alcuin of York praised his “David,” as Charlemagne wished to be called later in life, for the benevolence with which he “ruled and governed” over Jerusalem.
In his Invisible Cities, the Italian writer Italo Calvino wrote that “cities, like dreams, are made of desires and fears, even if the thread of their discourse is secret, their rules are absurd, their perspectives deceitful, and everything conceals something else.”
Tell al-Muqayyar – better known as the ancient city of Ur – is one of the most remarkable archaeological sites discovered in the Middle East. The remains of this ancient settlement form a mound rising to a height of more than twenty meters above the southwestern flood plain of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in southern Iraq, near the modern city of Nasiriyah.
Birmingham, in the West Midlands, is 5000 miles from Manchuria. After graduating with a Ph.D. in Assyriology from the University of Birmingham in July 2013, I left the UK to travel to China, undertaking a position as Foreign Expert at the Institute for the History of Ancient Civilizations (IHAC) at Northeast Normal University in the city of Changchun in Jilin Province.
Tucson in August is predictably hot. But no one had told us that the center lanes on the major east-west roads change direction at rush hour, or that at 4 p.m. the skies erupt with a biblical deluge. The steam rose off the streets as we arrived at the apartment, foretelling the next few years of graduate school, the predictable, the unknown, and the deluge.
[/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”10″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]The Ancient Near East Today features contributions from diverse academics, a forum featuring debates of current developments from the field, and links to news and resources. The ANE Today covers the entire Near East, and each issue presents discussions ranging from the state of biblical archaeology to archaeology after the Arab Spring.
Did Jesus Celebrate Passover in Sepphoris?
Friends of ASOR Podcast: Reviews of the Movie Noah
Friends of ASOR Podcast: Reviews of the Movie Noah
The Ancient Near East Today features contributions from diverse academics, a forum featuring debates of current developments from the field, and links to news and resources. The ANE Today covers the entire Near East, and each issue presents discussions ranging from the state of biblical archaeology to archaeology after the Arab Spring.
