Thesis--Copenhagen. / Summary in Danish. Includes index. "Abkürzungen (bibliographical): p. 261-262.

The editor's Thesis (doctoral)--Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Berlin. / Vita.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 1989. / Master copies of 5 1/2 inch (Floppy) disks kept separately by library. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Iraqi State Department of Antiquities and the Polish expedition under the late Janusz Meuszynski and Richard Sobolewski, assisted later by Samuel Paley (Buffalo), set themselves the goal to locate, identify and to reconstruct the original arrangement of the reliefs from the Northwest Palace of Ashurnasirpal II. The majority of the reliefs are scattered all over the world in museums and institutions from Leningrad to Los Angeles, mainly due to the style of archaeologists and opportunists from the previous century who removed these reliefs from the Nimrud Mound. Section A of the dissertation attempted to complement the achievements of the combined Iraqi-Polish-American effort through the study of the "Standard" Inscription which was carved across and in between the reliefs of Ashurnasirpal. Subsequently, this somewhat audacious and time-consuming project was launched to trace the present whereabouts of those reliefs outside Iraq in a bid to study each text seperately. This was achieved in the end in that the inscriptions were studied from the original sculptures or from photos provided by the institutions in whose care the reliefs are at present. Each exemplar was eventually copied, transliterated and reproduced in its original room setting of the North-Vest Palace. In order to reproduce each text as an entity in its own right and in an accessible way (in direct opposition to previous attempts whereby a myriad of text-critical data was simply reduced to footnotes), available computer software initially had to be experimented with before a suitable program could be decided upon. Eventually T 3 of TOI Software Research was selected on mainly user-friendly and font-adaptability grounds. The interested scholar is now in a position to see at a glance how the texts, which were originally engraved onto sculptured slabs in the close proximity of one room, vary from one another. The remainder of Ashurnasirpal's textual corpus was treated in Section B. These inscriptions were studied and collated on the original monuments in London and New York. The texts were finally collated, revised and transliterated in a standardized form from photographs, provided by the institutions in whose care they are at present. In order to facilitate the progress of research on the Ashurnasirpal inscriptions, it was decided to make all the textual material available in the electronic medium of two 2.1 megabyte floppy disks (cf. the envelope attached to the back cover). The data is stored in T 3 volumes (73VOLS). The latest T 3 version (2.3) has a conversion program for converting T 3 documents to YordPerfect 5.0, making the material of this research more accessible to non T 3 users. Thanks to the initiatives of the Tubinger Atlas des Vorderen Orients Project which provides the critical historian with a much needed historico-geographical footing, the unique summary of conquests or so-called standard titulary sections in the royal inscriptions of Ashurnasirpal were examined in search of a historically verifiable methodology. These passages were collected not only from the Calah inscriptions, but especially from other provenances like Ashur and Nineveh on the assumption that a definite correlation exists between geographic references and the chronological sequences of events in the Ashurnasirpal II royal inscriptions. These "summary" sections provide a useful summary in titular form of the king's conquests comprising essentially geographic material. They emanated stylistically from the preceding sections on the king's genealogy, titulary, filiation and theological legitimation. They were in a constant state of editorial flux impending on the successes of the king's expansionist policies. The modern historian can now utilize these summaries, or historico-political titles, not only as a fixed point of departure, historically speaking, but also as a normative tool to unravel biased military reports of the king's military activities in both the annalistic and display type of inscriptions. A new approach on the historical reconstruction of the reign of Ashurnasirpal II (883-859 B.C.) with its implications for the study of the Old Testament can now be anticipated. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die Irakse Direktoraat van Rultuursake en 'n Poole ekspedisie onder aanvoering van wyle Janusz Meuszynski en Ryszard Sobolewski, later bygestaan deur Samuel Paley (Buffalo), het hulle dit ten doel gestel om al Assurnasirpal II se reliefs, wat sedert die vorige eeu deur skattejagters en argeoloe van die Nimrud Tel (naby Mosul in die noorde van Irak) verwyder is en na museums en instellings van Leningrad tot in Los Angeles versprei is, op te spoor. Met behulp van hoof saaklik die ikonografie-is die reliefs se oorspronklike plekke in die beroemde Noordwes-Paleis vasgestel en grafies gerekonstrueer. Afdeling A van hierdie dissertasie poog om hierdie projek aan te vul deur al die II "Standaard" Inskripsies wat bo-oor en tussen die reliefs aangebring was, te bestudeer. 11 Yervolgens is die moeisame proses aangepak om hierdie reliefs in museums oor die hele wereld op te spoor, die inskripsies direk of vanaf foto's te kollasioneer, te kopieer, te translitereer en in hul oorspronklike vertrekskonteks weer te gee. Die formaat waarin die transliterasies van die inskripsies uiteindelik weergegee moes word, is uiteindelik deur middel van TCI Software Research se T 3 bemeester. Die formaat waarin die tekste weergegee is in hierdie dissertasie, vergemaklik die bestudering van individuele tekste sowel as die vergelyking van die teksvariante in die groter paleiskonteks, deurdat die tekste gegroepeer is ooreenkomstig die oorspronklike posisies van die reliefs teen die mure van die onderskeie vertrekke van die paleis. In Afdeling B is die oorblywende tekskorpus van Assurnasirpal behandel. Die inskripsies is op die oorspronklike monumente, stelas en tablette in hoof saaklik Londen en New York bestudeer, gekollasioneer en die transliterasies is hersien en gestandaardiseer. Dit bring vervolgens mee dat die tekskorpus van Assurnasirpal II in die elektronies-toeganklike formaat van T S -volumes beskikbaar is vir Assirioloe, wat met behulp van die rekenaartegnologie navorsing op die Assurnasirpal tekste wil doen. Die nuwe 2.3 weergawe van 7 3 beskik oor die moontlikheid om 3 -volumes en -leers om te skakel in YordPerfect 5.0 dokumente, wat dus_inligtingsherwinning, data-onttrekking en ander dergelike funksies van die rekenaartegnologie op spykerskriftekste verder vergemaklik. Al die teksmateriaal is vir die doel op twee 2.1 megagreep slapskywe gestoor in 73-volumes en is beskikbaar in die koevert, wat aan die agterblad van die dissertasie vasgeheg is. Ten slotte is 'n nuwe metodologie, gebore uit die inisiatiewe van en blootstelling aan die Tubinger Atlas des Vorderen Orients Projek, op die proef gestel. Kortliks berus hierdie benadering op die aanname dat daar 'n histories-verifieerbare korrelasie tussen geografiese gegewens en kronologiese ordening in die Assiriese Koningsgeskrifte bestaan. Die betrokke gedeelte in die koningsgeskrifte, waarin 'n opsomming van die koning se verowerde gebiede (en dus geografiese data) stilisties voortvloei uit die voorafgaande genealogie, titulatuur en teologiese legitimasie, is vervolgens versamel en gegroepeer uit tekste wat Assur, Nineve en Nimrud insluit. Hierdie opsommende titulatuur is op 'n gereelde basis deur die amptelike Assiriese skrywers geredigeer ooreenkomstig die welslae van die koning se buitelandse beleid van ekspansionisme. Vervolgens kan die moderne historikus hierdie beknopte historiese gegewens in die opsommende titulatiqr, gesuiwer van tipiese Assiriese propaganda, as 'n vaste normatiewe basis aanwend om die breedvoerige annalistiese beskrywings van die koning se veldtogte krities te bestudeer. 'n Betroubare rekonstruksie van die regeringstyd van Assurnasirpal II (883-859 v.C.) en die implikasies wat dit vir die flu Testament inhou, kan vervolgens in die vooruitsig gestel word.

Includes bibliographical references (p. (222)--225) and index.

The earliest, but scarce, evidence of cuneiform signs being used syllabically to write Akkadian words and proper nouns is at Fara and Tell Abu Salabikh between 2600 BC and 2500 BC. Between around 2350 BC and 1800 BC, there is an increase in the development and use of signs with syllabic values across Mesopotamia and Syria, but these syllabic values (together called 'syllabaries') are still very local in nature with significant and observable differences in sign usage and values between sites. Starting around 1800 BC, reforms to the system begin to be enforced that standardise these signs and their values, which essentially ends any major variability in the script within specific periods. This provides us with a period of almost 600 years, spanning the second half of the third millennium and early second millennium BC, during which there is a wealth of textual data documenting the first full adaptation of the cuneiform script to syllabically write Semitic words and proper nouns. This thesis investigates the attestations and usage of syllabic values to write Semitic lexemes in the cuneiform text corpora from Ebla, Mari, Nabada, Tuttul, Adab, Eshnunna, Kish, Tutub, Assur, and Gasur - with a particular focus on the Syrian sites - during the second half of the third millennium BC and early second millennium BC in order to answer the following two research questions: 1. Did each third millennium site in Mesopotamia and Syria have its own unique syllabary? 2. What were the primary factors that influenced the differences between the syllabaries? This research uses a series of three interdependent techniques to determine and understand the use and distribution of syllabic values within the cuneiform writing system during the second half of the third millennium BC and early second millennium BC. The results suggest that during this period cuneiform syllabaries are variable, and that variation can further inform us about the regional, temporal, and dialectical contexts in which they existed. The addition of this research to the wider literature on the early adaptation of cuneiform will enhance the field's understanding of how cuneiform syllabic values began to develop and emerge across the ancient Near East, and demonstrates how scientific and computational methods of analysis can be applied to research questions in humanities subjects.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 1977. / No Abstract Available

The Mesopotamian inscriptions and collections in ancient Mesopotamia consist of different meanings extended over long time-periods and with social, political, economic and ethnic differences. Scholars in determining whether the texts are an authentic source for Mesopotamian law traditions developed different theories and each of these theories has different variations. In a literature study to obtain if the inscriptions and collections are an authentic source, the different theories and methodologies of the inscriptions and collections were mentioned and the inscriptions and collections were tested in accordance with the characteristics of the Mesopotamian law traditions. Until new interpretation of documents of daily activities and legal activities, which can prove, that these texts are an authentic source, the interpretation of the collections and inscriptions on the legal issues of ancient Mesopotamians must be applied with caution and studied together with the greater corpus of cuneiform texts. / Old Testament and Ancient Near East Studies / M.A. (Ancient Near East Studies)

The Mesopotamian inscriptions and collections in ancient Mesopotamia consist of different meanings extended over long time-periods and with social, political, economic and ethnic differences. Scholars in determining whether the texts are an authentic source for Mesopotamian law traditions developed different theories and each of these theories has different variations. In a literature study to obtain if the inscriptions and collections are an authentic source, the different theories and methodologies of the inscriptions and collections were mentioned and the inscriptions and collections were tested in accordance with the characteristics of the Mesopotamian law traditions. Until new interpretation of documents of daily activities and legal activities, which can prove, that these texts are an authentic source, the interpretation of the collections and inscriptions on the legal issues of ancient Mesopotamians must be applied with caution and studied together with the greater corpus of cuneiform texts. / Old Testament and Ancient Near East Studies / M.A. (Ancient Near East Studies)

In most cases in a deceased person’s estate, there are problems with co-ownership where more than one family member inherits the deceased family estate assets. To escape the perils of co-ownership the beneficiaries consensually agree to divide the inherited communallyshared asset/s. This agreement can take place immediately after the death of the family estate owner or some time later regarding some or all of the said assets. On the conclusion of the division agreement, the contractual party who receives the awarded assets enjoys sole ownership and the other contractual parties by agreement retract their ownership. In a jurisprudential content analysis of forty-six recorded family deceased division agreements from Old Babylonian Larsa and Nippur, essential elements are identified which are the framework and qualification requirements for a family deceased division agreement. Within this framework the concepts, terms and elements of the agreement are categorised as natural and incidental elements, which reflect the specific law traditions and choices of contractual parties and show the unique scribal traditions in the different Old Babylonian city-states of Larsa, Nippur and Sippar. The aim of the study is to shed a more focused light on the interpretation of recorded Old Babylonian division agreements and to show that the division agreement was a successful, timeless, estate administration mechanism and tool to obviate any undesirable consequences of co-ownership of the bequeathed property. / Old Testament & Ancient Near Eastern Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Ancient Near Eastern Studies)

In most cases in a deceased person’s estate, there are problems with co-ownership where more than one family member inherits the deceased family estate assets. To escape the perils of co-ownership the beneficiaries consensually agree to divide the inherited communallyshared asset/s. This agreement can take place immediately after the death of the family estate owner or some time later regarding some or all of the said assets. On the conclusion of the division agreement, the contractual party who receives the awarded assets enjoys sole ownership and the other contractual parties by agreement retract their ownership. In a jurisprudential content analysis of forty-six recorded family deceased division agreements from Old Babylonian Larsa and Nippur, essential elements are identified which are the framework and qualification requirements for a family deceased division agreement. Within this framework the concepts, terms and elements of the agreement are categorised as natural and incidental elements, which reflect the specific law traditions and choices of contractual parties and show the unique scribal traditions in the different Old Babylonian city-states of Larsa, Nippur and Sippar. The aim of the study is to shed a more focused light on the interpretation of recorded Old Babylonian division agreements and to show that the division agreement was a successful, timeless, estate administration mechanism and tool to obviate any undesirable consequences of co-ownership of the bequeathed property. / Biblical and Ancient Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Ancient Near Eastern Studies)