Teacher
About the language
Akkadian is the general designation for the Babylonian and Assyrian dialects written and spoken in the region of Iraq and its neighboring countries from the third until the first millennium BCE. It belongs to the family of Semitic languages, and as such is related to Hebrew and Arabic amongst other languages. Using the cuneiform system invented by the Sumerians, it was inscribed on clay tablets for about 3,000 years. An impressive body of texts now provides us with testimonies about the daily, economic, legal, and religious life of the Babylonians and Assyrians. Text genres range from divinatory texts, myths, and prayers, to marriage contracts, loans and reports of court cases.
Requirements
None
Course programme
During the course, the students will become familial with the cuneiform writing system, with the main elements of Akkadian grammar, and with various text genres from different periods and regions. Depending on the interest of the students, we will read royal inscriptions, letters, omens, or other genres, partly in cuneiform and partly in transliteration.
References and resources
1. Grammars and Handbooks
– John Huehnergard, Grammar of Akkadian (Third Edition). Brill, Leiden, The Netherlands, 2011.
– Douglas B. Miller – R. Mark Shipp, An Akkadian Handbook (Third Edition) Eisenbrauns, Winona Lake, Indiana.
2. Dictionaries
– CDA: Jeremy Black – Andrew George – Nicholas Postgate, A Concise Dictionary of Akkadian, Wiesbaden, 2000.
– Ahw: Wolfram von Soden, Akkadisches Handwörterbuch, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1965-1981.
– CAD: Chicago Assyrian Dictionary, University of Chicago. Oriental Institute. Chicago 1956-2006.
4. Sign lists
– René Labat et Florence Malbran-Labat, Manuel d’épigraphie akkadienne –Geuthner, Paris, 2002.
– Rykle Borger, Mesopotamisches Zeichenlexikon. Münster: Ugarit, 2004.
5. Useful websites
– CDLI: (Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative; Robert Englund et al.) : https://cdli.earth/.
– eBL (electronic Babylonian Library; Enrique Jiménez et al.) : https://www.ebl.lmu.de/library.
– ORACC (Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus): https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu
– archibab: Archives babyloniennes XXe-XVIIe siècles av. J.-C.: https://archibab.fr/home