LITERATURE OF THE ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA

The course on the Literatures of Ancient Mesopotamia [FM0660] is part of various study paths.

Archaeology Curriculum
Path "Western Asia and Eastern Mediterranean": a) Among the core disciplines, in combination with the History of Ancient Mesopotamia, forming the single 12 CFU exam called History and Literatures of the Ancient Near East [FM0670] b) Among the related disciplines or as elective credits for the student, as a 6 CFU exam
Path "Europe and Mediterranean": Among the elective credits for the student (as a 6 CFU exam)

Philology, Literature, and History of Antiquity Curriculum

Philological-Literary Path: Among the elective credits for the student (as a 6 CFU exam)
Historical Path: Among the related disciplines, as a 6 CFU exam; or among the elective credits for the student (as a 6 CFU exam)

The course contributes to developing the student's methodological and epistemological skills in the field of philology and the literatures of the ancient world with a focus on the Near East. Specifically, it aims to offer in-depth knowledge of the themes of the literatures of ancient Mesopotamia, particularly the cuneiform sources in Akkadian, promoting the student's ability to read them in the original, translate them, and use them critically and consciously (refining the cross-disciplinary problem-solving skill), acquiring a thorough theoretical mastery (philological and literary analysis) in their treatment, and the ability to appropriately apply the methodological and operational tools for their study and contextualization (analysis and interpretation of cuneiform texts, use of tools and methods, including digital ones).

At the end of the course the student will have an in-depht knowledge of the tools and methods for the philological, grammatical, and historical analyis of the cuneiform text and will be able to apply it to the production of an original piece of research.

No prerequisite is required to access the course.
Students whit no previous knowledge of the Akkadian language are nevertheless welcome to the course and will be able to benefit from a tailored program designed according to their specific needs and competencies

Title: "Literature in the palace: the Library of Ashurbanipal"
0) Introduction to Ancient Mesopotamian Literature
1) The Library of Ashurbanipal
2) The Library: structure, formation and make-up
4) The contribution of rulers and scribes
5) Reconstructing the library through the colophons
6) Libraries and digital projects ((Liber; eBL, Ashurbanipal Library Project)
Students are required to prepare the cuneiform texts at home on a regular basis and prepare selected readings for the classes if they know Akkadian; students who do not have previous knowledge of Akkadian will be asked to develop small research papers on the main topics of the course.


Students are required to prepare the cuneiform texts at home on a regular basis and prepare selected readings for the classes if they know Akkadian; students who do not have previous knowledge of Akkadian will be asked to develop small research papers on the main topics of the course.

A. Lenzi, An Introduction to Akkadian Literature: Contexts and Content, Eisenbrauns 2019.
E. Robson, "Reading the Libraries of Assyria and Babylonia", in J. König, K. Oikonomopolou, G. Woolf, Ancient Libraries, Cambridge, 2013: 38-56.
E. Robson, Ancient Knowledge Networks, London 2019 (pp. 1-148): open access: https://www.uclpress.co.uk/products/125022
E. Frahm, "Keeping company with men of learning: the king as scholar", in K. Radner, E. Robson (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Cuneiform Culture. Oxford, 2011: 508-532.
I. Finkel, "Ashurbanipal's Library: an overview" in K. Ryholt - G. Barjamovic, Libraries before Alexandria: Ancient Near Eastern Traditions, Oxford 2019: 367-389.
Corò, P. and S. Ermidoro, Copying from Wooden Originals? Investigating the Materiality and Rationale for Holes in the Tablets from the Library of Ashurbanipal, in Kaskal, nuova serie, vol. 1( 2024), 241-264. http://doi.org/10.30687/KASKAL/5235-1939/2024/01/016
S. Cohen, The Scribe’s Imprint: Ištar-šumu-ēreš and the Formation of Ashurbanipal’s Library, Kaskal, nuova serie, vol. 1( 2024), 2Kaskal, nuova serie, vol. 1( 2024), Kaskal, nuova serie, vol. 1( 2024), 265-282. http://doi.org/10.30687/KASKAL/5235-1939/2024/01/017
B. Schnitzlein, J. Taylor, Typological Aspects of Scholarly Tablets in the Library of Ashurbanipal, in Kaskal, nuova serie, vol. 1( 2024), 205-240. http://doi.org/10.30687/KASKAL/5235-1939/2024/01/015
Further readings and sources discussed during the course.

Tools and grammars:
W. Von Soden, Grundriss der Akkadischen Grammatik, Roma 1995 (3rd ed)
J. Huehnergard, A Grammar of Akkadian, Winona Lake 2011 (3rd ed)
Fl. Malbran Labat, Manuel de langue akkadienne, Louvain-La Neuve 2001
The Chicago Assyrian Dictionary ( https://oi.uchicago.edu/research/publications/assyrian-dictionary-oriental-institute-university-chicago-cad )

The evaluation process will take into account:
- students' proficiency in doing their homework and class participation
- f2f exam on the main course topics

oral

The lecturer has a duty to ensure that the rules regarding the authenticity and originality of exam tests and papers are respected. Therefore, if there is suspicion of irregular conduct, an additional assessment may be conducted, which could differ from the original exam description.

28-30L: excellent command of the topics; excellent ability to prioritize information; appropriate use of the technical terminology of the subject. 26-27: good knowledge of the topics covered in class and in the textbooks; good ability to organize and present information; generally correct use of the technical terminology of the subject; 24-25: fair knowledge of the topics; fair ability to organize information; not always correct use of the technical terminology of the subject; 22-23: superficial and/or incomplete knowledge of the topics; presentation not always clear and/or lacking in the technical terminology of the subject; 18-21: incomplete knowledge of the topics, but still sufficient; unclear presentation and/or lacking and/or with little use of the technical terminology of the subject.

Classes will consist in seminars where the main topics and texts of the course will be discussed jointly by teacher and students.
Flipped classroom.