If I was born a Babylonian: Everyday Life in Ancient Babylonia 2900-L-FAKUL-ZCSB-OG

The classes will begin with two or three introductory lectures, introducing basic historical knowledge about the Third Dynasty of Ur and the Old Babylonian period, with particular emphasis on the organizational and political structure and the characteristics of the social stratification of the state in both eras.
The lectures themselves will be grouped into one- or two-session thematic series, generally corresponding to the presentation of the daily life of selected Babylonian examples representing various social, professional, and age groups.
I plan to cover most of the following topics:
1. If I were a king.
2. If I were a soldier.
3. If I were a royal official or temple official.
4. If I were a farmer (peasant or tenant).
5. If I were a slave.
6. If I married (if I married).
7. If I were a priestess of the naditum.
8. If I were a child or adopted.
Each lecture will be a presentation of thematically selected sources in original translation and their historical analysis with elements of philological analysis.

Type of course

general courses
elective courses

Mode

Classroom

Prerequisites (description)

The main objectives are: - to familiarize students with the political and socio-political history of the Neo-Sumerian and Old Babylonian periods; - to provide basic knowledge of the Sumerian and Babylonian law codes; - to illustrate, using several selected examples of people of varying social and professional status, the daily lives of the inhabitants of Sumero-Akkad in both eras (ca. 2100-1600 BCE);

Course coordinators

Krystyna Stebnicka
Marek Stępień

Learning outcomes

Having completed the classes, students should acquire basic knowledge of:

- the political history of the Neo-Sumerian and Old Babylonian periods;
- Sumerian and Babylonian law codes;
- everyday life in Babylonia during the Third Dynasty of Ur and the period of domination by the Amorite dynasties (ca. 2100-1600 BCE);
- the social structure and customs of the inhabitants of Sumero-Akkad during that period;
- international relationships in Ancient Mesopotamia of the Hammu-rabi epoch
- political geography of Ancient Mesopotamia;
- various collections of cuneiform texts, including Old Babylonian contracts and legal texts, and the collections of the "Letters from Mari" and the "Letters from Larsa".

Assessment criteria

The course is a lecture, so assessment is based on attendance and, if necessary, a written assessment of acquired knowledge in the form of a short test. The test will be administered during the last class. Students with no more than two absences (including one excused absence) will be exempt from the test. These students will receive a grade of 5 (no absences), a grade of 4+ (1 absence), or a grade of 4 (2 absences, including one excused absence). Students who are due a grade of 4 or 4+ due to absences may voluntarily take the test and receive a higher grade.

Bibliography

M. Birot, Correspondance des gouverneurs de Qaţţunân, ARM 27, Paris 1993 (wybór)

D. Charpin – F. Joannès – S. Lackenbacher – B. Lafont, Archives épistolaires de Mari, I/2, ARM 26/2, Paris 1988

D. Charpin - D.O. Edzard - M. Stol, Mesopotamien. Die altbabylonische Zeit. Annäherungen 4, OBO 160/4, Fribourg - Göttingen, 2004

D. Charpin - N. Ziegler, Mari et le Proche-Orient à l’époque amorrite. Essai d’histoire politique, FM 5, Mémoires de N.A.B.U. 6, Paris 2003

E. Dombradi, Die Darstellung des Rechtsaustrags in den altbabylonischen Prozessurkunden, Freiburg, FAOS 20, 1-2, Freiburg - Stuttgart 1996

G.R. Drivers – J.C. Miles, The Babylonian Laws, vol. I-II, Oxford 1952-1955

J.-M. Durand, Archives épistolaires de Mari. I/1, ARM 26/1, Paris 1988

B. Fiette, Le palais, la terre et les hommes. La gestion du domaine royale de Larsa d’après les archives de Šamaš-hazir, Archibab 3, Mémoires de N.A.B.U. 20, Paris 2018

J.D. Fortner, Adjudicating Entities and Levels of Legal Authority in Lawsuit Records of the Old Babylonian Era, Ph.D. Diss. (Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion), UMI Diss., Ann Arbor 1996

A. Goddeeris, Tablets from Kisurra in the collections of the British Musem, SANTAG 9, Wiesbaden 2009

A. Goddeeris, The Old Babylonian Legal and Administrative Texts in the Hilprecht Collection Jena, with a contribution by Ursula Seidl. Part 1: Texts, Seal Imprssions, Studies. Part 2: Indexes, Bibliography, Plates, TMH 10, Wiebaden 2016

W.W. Heimpel, Letters to the King of Mari: A New Translation, with Historical Introduction, Notes, and Commentary. Mesopotamian Civilizations, Winona Lake 2003

C. Kunderewicz, Najstarsze prawa świata, Łódź 1990 (and later editions)

J.-R. Kupper, Lettres royales du temps de Zimri-Lim, ARM 28, Paris 1998

D. Lacambre, La bataille de Hiritum, M.A.R.I. 8, Paris 1997, p. 431-453

B. Lafont, Messagers et ambassadeurs dans les archives de Mari, [w:] La circulation des biens et des idées dans le Proche-Orient ancien, 38 RAI,
Paris 1992, p. 167-183

G. Roux, Mezopotamia, Warszawa 1998 (and later editions)

P. Steinkeller, Sale Documents of the Ur-III-Period, FAOS 17, Stuttgart 1989

M. Stępień, Kodeks Hammu-rabiego, Warszawa 1996 (and later editions)

E.C. Stone – D.I. Owen, Adoption in Old Babylonian Nippur and the Archive of Mannum-mešu-lişşur, Winona Lake, 1991

H. Waetzoldt, Compensation of Craft Workers and Officials in the Ur III Period, AOS 68, New Haven 1987, p. 161-181

R. Westbrook, Old Babylonian Marriage Law, AfO 23 (1988), p. 1-148

R. Westbrook, Old Babylonian Period, HOS 72, Leiden - Boston 2003, p. 361-430

Additional information

Information on level of this course, year of study and semester when the course unit is delivered, types and amount of class hours - can be found in course structure diagrams of apropriate study programmes. This course is related to the following study programmes:

Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system:

Description of 2900-L-FAKUL-ZCSB-OG in USOSweb