HITTITE STUDIES

The course is part of the Master Course in Ancient Civilisations: Literature, History and Archaeology (especially Archeaology) and aims at developing the student's abilities in the field of the philology and linguistics of the ancient world, with a focus on the indoeuropean languages of Anatolia.

The student by the end of the course
- will be able to use the right tools and methodologies for the linguistic, philological, historical and literary analysis in the discipline;
- will know how to make independently a bibliographic research in the field and will know how to take advantage of the electronic resources for the discipline available to date;
- will be able to produce an original edition of a text.

Students are required to have knowledge of an ancient, preferably Indo-European language. Knowledge of Hittite and cuneiform is desired, however, if there is interest from students without such knowledge, please contact the teacher in advance to discuss this.

Hittite Texts I. This course is intended for students who have already had the introduction to Hittite and aims at reading Hittite texts in cuneiform. Students will learn to read different genres of Hittite literature, analyse the language written and translate original texts. At the same time, the texts will be contextualized in their historical setting, and students will learn about Hittite society.

Hoffner H.A. − Melchert H.C., A Grammar of the Hittite Language (Second Edition). Part 1: Reference Grammar; Part 2: Tutorial, University Park, PA 2024.
The Hittite dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, Chicago
Tischler J., Hethitisches Handwörterbuch, Mit dem Wortschatz der Nachbarsprachen
Friedrich J. − Kammenhuber A. − Hoffmann I., Hethitisches Wörterbuch, Zweite, völlig neubearbeitete Auflage auf der Grundlage der edierten hethitischen Texte.

Written exam. The preparation of course work on a regular basis by the students qualifies for taking the exam.

written

Scoring based on the presence of the following knowledge/abilities/skills:
- 18-22: sufficient knowledge of contents; sufficient ability to recognize sites/classes of materials; sufficient ability to interpret and connect events; sufficient communication skills, related to the use of specific language.
- 23-26: fair/reasonable knowledge of contects; fair/reasonable ability to recognize sites/classes of materials; fair/reasonable ability to interpret and connect events; fair/reasonable communication skills, in relation to the use of specific language.
- Band 27-29: good/very good knowledge of contects; good/very good ability to recognize sites/classes of materials; good/very good ability to interpret and connect events; good/very good communication skills, related to the use of specific language.
- 30: very good knowledge of contents; very good ability to recognize sites/classes of materials; very good ability to interpret and connect events; very good communication skills, related to use of specific language.
- 30 cum laude: excellent content knowledge; excellent ability to recognize sites/classes of materials; excellent ability to interpret and connect events; excellent communication skills.

The lessons are held entirely in the classroom but in a seminar style; students are expected to prepare at home in advance, from week to week, the texts and sources that will be examined and discussed in class. In agreement with participants, intensive workshops omm specific topics may compliment lessons. Active participation in class and the preparation of the texts assigned for the individual lessons is highly recommended.