It is debated which language or languages may have been spoken in the northwestern part of Anatolia – including the area where Troy was situated – during the second millennium BCE. This article... Show moreIt is debated which language or languages may have been spoken in the northwestern part of Anatolia – including the area where Troy was situated – during the second millennium BCE. This article will argue that at the end of the Bronze Age (the second half of the second millennium BCE) the eastern part of this region, the land of Māša, was home to speakers of an early version of Lydian, whereas in its western part, the land of Wiluša, the main language was Proto-Tyrsenic, the ancestor of Etruscan. Show less
The location of Persepolis remained lost for about eighteen centuries. During the 17th century CE, the attitude of European travellers towards the monumental complex and its inscriptions changed.... Show moreThe location of Persepolis remained lost for about eighteen centuries. During the 17th century CE, the attitude of European travellers towards the monumental complex and its inscriptions changed. António de Gouveia visits Persepolis in 1602 CE and published his travel account in 1611. His account describes in detail the architectural features, mentions the cuneiform inscriptions. Supporting his interpretations upon classical and biblical sources, Gouveia's account distinguishes itself from previous ones and provides the pattern for following travel reports. The present paper compares Gouveia's description with other accounts of the 17th century, and clarifies its influence on later travel accounts on Persepolis.Destruída em 330 BCE, Persépolis esteve perdida cerca de dezoito séculos. No séc. XVII, dá-se uma alteração na relação dos viajantes europeus com o complexo e as suas inscrições. António de Gouveia visita Persépolis em 1602. Publicado em 1611, o seu relato descreve as estruturas arquitetónicas e menciona inscrições cuneiformes, suportando as interpretações em fontes clássicas e bíblicas. O relato de Gouveia distingue-se dos anteriores e inaugura o padrão dos relatos sucessores. Esta artigo compara a descrição de Gouveia com outros relatos do século XVII (Silva e Figueroa (1619), Valle (1621), Chardain (1666), Struys (1672)) e analisando o teor, o contexto e o impacto de cada relato, procura clarificar a influência de António de Gouveia nos relatos posteriores. Show less
The Safaitic rock art of the North Arabian basalt desert is a unique and understudied material, one of the few surviving traces of the elusive herding societies that inhabited this region in... Show moreThe Safaitic rock art of the North Arabian basalt desert is a unique and understudied material, one of the few surviving traces of the elusive herding societies that inhabited this region in antiquity. Yet little is known about this rock art and its role in the desert societies. Why did these peoples make carvings in the desert and what was the significance of this cultural practice? What can the rock art tell us about the relationship between the nomads and their desert landscape? This book investigates these questions through a comprehensive study of over 4500 petroglyphs from the Jebel Qurma region of the Black Desert in north-eastern Jordan. It explores the content of the rock art, how it was produced and consumed by its makers and audience, and its relationship with the landscape. This is the first-ever systematic study of the Safaitic petroglyphs from the Black Desert and it is unique for the study of Arabian rock art. It demonstrates the value of a material approach to rock art and the unique insights that rock art can provide into the relationship between nomadic herders and the wild and domestic landscape. Show less
The Amorites are known throughout the history of the Ancient Near East: they occur in texts from the Ur III empire (2100–2000 bc), but also in the Bible. In the Old Babylonian period (2000–1600 bc)... Show moreThe Amorites are known throughout the history of the Ancient Near East: they occur in texts from the Ur III empire (2100–2000 bc), but also in the Bible. In the Old Babylonian period (2000–1600 bc), several dynasties of Amorite kings ruled all over the Middle East. They came to power in the early Old Babylonian period (ca. 2000–1800 bc).This thesis explores several aspects of these Early Old Babylonian Amorites. A philological and bibliographical chapter shows the state of research up until now. The role that ‘Amorites’ had in texts from the period is explored, as well as the matter of Amorite ethnicity and their distribution among the local population.The main part of this thesis is in the last chapters where the role of the Amorites and Amorite rulers in the early Old Babylonian period is reappraised Show less
Hittite was the language of the Hittite Empire that ruled over vast parts of Turkey from 1650 - 1180 BC. It was written in the cuneiform script on clay tablets. Linguistically, it belongs to the... Show moreHittite was the language of the Hittite Empire that ruled over vast parts of Turkey from 1650 - 1180 BC. It was written in the cuneiform script on clay tablets. Linguistically, it belongs to the Anatolian language group, which is one of the twelve branches of the large Indo-European language family. Within the Indo-European language family, Hittite is the oldest attested language. In over 1200 pages this dissertation describes the history of Hittite in the light of its Indo-European origin. It consists of two parts. Part One, 'Towards a Hittite Historical Grammar', contains a description of the Hittite phoneme inventory and a discussion of the sound laws and morphological changes that have taken place between the Proto-Indo-European and the Hittite language stage. Part Two, 'An Etymological Dictionary of the Hittite Inherited Lexicon', contains etymological treatments of all Hittite words of Indo-European origin. One of the most important conclusions of this dissertation is that the Anatolian language group was the first one to split off from Proto-Indo-European and that all other Indo-European branches have undergone a period of common innovations. Therewith Anatolian, and especially Hittite, occupies a very important position within comparative Indo-European linguistics as it sometimes has retained linguistic information that has been lost in all other Indo-European languages Show less
