Cette recherche porte sur la définition des mécanismes qui ont amené à la mise en place du système proto-urbain en Mésopotamie du Nord au début du 4ème millénaire. Grâce à l'analyse de l'assemblage céramique et des ateliers de potiers de Tell Feres al-Sharqi, des chaînes opératoires traditionnelles ont été identifiées en tant que marqueurs de l'identité technique des artisans et des relations sous-jacentes aux systèmes de production entre l'Obeid récent, le LC1 et le LC2. La pertinence chrono-culturelle des dynamiques de compétition et coopération entre les différents groupes de producteurs - mises en lumière grâce à l'évolution des chaînes opératoires céramiques et à leur répartition spatiale a été vérifiée sur la base des transformations des habitats, des architectures et des provinces céramiques. L'émergence des institutions proto-urbaines apparaît ainsi comme l'effet d'une transition entre un système obeidien, où de grandes maisonnées encadraient une production à base familiale dans des réseaux hétérarchiques mésa-régionaux, à une organisation lignagère des activités céramiques et des pratiques redistributives. L'essor des premières productions en série (telles les Coba bols), l'apparition éphémère d'une architecture proprement monumentale et l'introduction du tour pour des récipients fins constituent des étapes du parcours par lequel de grands lignages se structurent en institutions hiérarchiques proto-urbaines et instaurent, vers le début du 4ème millénaire, une forte homogénéisation de la culture matérielle dans tout le monde nord­-mésopotamien, entre le Levant septentrional, la Mésopotamie centrale, le Zagros et le Caucase du Sud. / This study focuses on defining the mechanisms that led to the proto-urban system in the early 4th millennium northern Mesopotamia. Through the analysis of the ceramic assemblage and pottery workshops of Tell Feres al-Sharqi, traditional chaînes opératoires have been identified as markers of the technical identity of the craftsmen, as well as of the relationships underlying Late Ubaid, LC1 and LC2 production systems. Cooperation and competition dynamics amongst different groups of producers have been highlighted through a synchronic and diachronic study of the ceramic chaînes opératoires and of their spatial distribution. Then, the chrono-cultural rhythms of this process have been verified on the basis of the evolution of architectural traditions and ceramic provinces in northern Mesopotamia. The emergence of proto-urban institutions appears as the effect of a transition between the Ubaid system -where large families arranged a domestic-based production in meso-regional heterarchical networks -to a lineage organization of ceramic activities and redistributive practices. The spread of the first serial productions (such as Coba bowls), the ephemeral appearance of a truly monumental architecture and the introduction of the potter's wheel for some rare refined vessels are some hallmarks on the path whereby major lineages became hierarchical and centralized proto-urban institutions. Thus, they had a central role in the early 4th millennium B.C. material-cultural homogenization throughout northern Mesopotamian world, between northern Levant, central Mesopotamia, Zagros and southern Caucasus.

Body is a biological system, but also a medium, through which an individual as well as their culture are actualized in the world. Both the individual and culture conceptualize the body in notions that, together with physical perceptions, constitute bodily experience. In studying ancient cultures, such as Mesopotamia, the actual bodily experience is lost for us, but the cultural notions can be reconstructed. The present thesis focuses on the notions of body and disease in Mesopotamian healing practice recorded in professional medical literature that was being canonized and copied since the late second millennium BCE. The collections of prescriptions called "therapeutic texts" are of main interest, since they present the healing procedure itself. In these texts, I analyzed the verbal descriptions of disease and healing as well as the physical treatment of the body with regard to general context and with focus on cases of fever. The thesis concludes, that the texts present the interaction between the body and the disease as spatial and physical, in their metaphors as well as in the prescribed treatment of the body and of surrounding space. Fever entered from outer space, attached itself to the body, it "seized" or "took hold" of the person, and needed to be removed. Its independent agency, the way...

This study discusses the rise of mythological thinking, focusing on ancient Near Eastern creation myths and creation accounts in mythological works in particular, with additional material drawn from lists of gods and other sources. The similarities and differences between several creation myths are analyzed by means of a diachronic and comparative method, tracing the development of mythological thinking about creation over thousands of years. The study departs in the main from six ancient creation myths and accounts of creation from ancient Mesopotamia: three Sumerian compositions to form the vestiges of a Sumerian creation myth, and three Babylonian myths which contain accounts of creation. A comparison of similarities and differences between these compositions is performed. In a final section, a comparison is made with the Old Testament and the Quran’s creation account, where phrases from the latter two texts are compared to the earlier myths and accounts of creation to produce an understanding of which elements of creation in religions with modern day followers rest upon ancient Mesopotamian foundations.

Assyriology as a field of study has long been dominated by the ideas and values of the white, Western men who, during the 19th century, were responsible for the development and growth of all scientific research. This has resulted in a resilient androcentric bias in the discipline, which to this day continues to influence scholarly perceptions of Ancient Mesopotamian society - and particularly of Mesopotamian women. Amongst many other things this includes the application of modern, misogynistic prejudice regarding the female body onto Akkadian women; one such modern concept which, despite recent criticism, is still widely accepted as true, is the notion of ‘menstrual impurity’. By the implementation of standpoint theory - an epistemology which emphasises the influence of a scholar’s own experiences on their perception and interpretation of their field of study - this paper examines the translations of three Akkadian terms which have been used to support the alleged existence of the concept of menstrual impurity in Mesopotamia. The terms are reexamined through an analysis of their etymological and contextual semantics, the results of which are then used comparatively in order to determine the validity of their current translations. The results of this analysis reveal a thoroughly biassed and unscientific interpretation process, which perpetuates the androcentric perspective within the discipline and contributes to the spread of a false image of Ancient Mesopotamian women and their lives. Not only is it highly unlikely that any of the analysed terms actually signify menstruation, but the very notion of ‘impurity’, which is indeed a significant part of the words’ meaning, is interpreted in a modern, stereotypically negative sense that most certainly is not reflective of the Mesopotamian perception of the concept.

This thesis explored the potential patterns and connections which could be uncovered through careful analysis of the royal inscriptions mentioning horses as a form of plunder or tribute, dedicated to the kings of the Neo-Assyrian empire. This was accomplished by analysing all royal inscriptions attributed to Neo-Assyrian kings found within the RINAP and RIAo projects for passages that meet said criterium. Once all the relevant texts had been tabulated, the results were sorted into larger categories and then compared to each other. This resulted in certain patterns emerging. It became clear that during the first half Neo-Assyrian period, before the great expansion of the empire started under Tiglath-Pileser III, the mountains to the north of Assyria, which for the purposes of this thesis have been designated ‘the Caucasus’, was a major source of horses through looting and extracting tribute. It was not the region which was attacked the most, that honour falls to the mountains to the east, designated as ‘Persia’ for the purposes of this thesis. Towards the end of the Neo-Assyrian period, the importance of the Caucasus as a source of horses was severely diminished, while the importance of Persia grew. Exact numbers of horses are very rarely given, making the few instances they are mentioned stand out. Because of this, no reliable numbers or estimates can be given.

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 the historical tapestry of the development of the Goddess, from 10,000 - 330 BCE one golden thread shines through. Despite the vicissitudes of differing status, she remained essentially the same, namely divine. She was continuously sought in the many mysteries, mystic ideologies and through the manifestations that she inspired. In all the countries of the Ancient Near East, the mother goddess was the life giving creatrix and regenerator of the world and the essence of the generating force that seeds new life. While her name may have altered in the various areas, along with that of her consort/lover/child, the myths and rituals which formed a major force in forming the ancient cultures would become manifest in a consciousness and a spiritual awareness. / Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies / M.A. (Language and Culture)

Thesis (D. Litt. et Phil. (Biblical Studies)) / The Fertile Crescent, due to its geographical characteristics, has always been an area troubled with conflict and warfare. The men who participated in these wars, from ca 2000 BCE to 1000 BCE operated from an ethos which was governed by a system of rules, all which were conceived to be the creation of divine will, to which kings and their warriors (keymen) were subject. The cuneiform texts from Mari, Ugarit, Ebla, Amarna and others, have not only thrown light on the political, social, religious and military aspects of those turbulent times, but have also given insight into the formation of armies as well as the commanders who led those armies and the royal officials who governed cities and provinces, all appointed by the monarch in order to effect the smooth running of his kingdom. They also shed light on the formation of coalitions and alliances in order to promote peace, arrange marriages to the daughters of other ruling powers and to promote trade relations. These were no easy tasks, considering the diversity of peoples, the birth and fall of kingdoms and empires, and the ever shifting and changes of loyalties of greedy kings and their men, to attain power and conquest for themselves.. However, these texts also give glimpses of the human side of the king and the close relationships between himself and his men of authority, whilst the women of the court also played their role in some areas of the social field. The responses, of these people towards matters and events, whether they were confrontations, marriage alliances, trade ventures or hunting expeditions, occurred within an ever changing world yet, it was also a world with an ethos of ancient traditions, which did not disappear but instead remained, albeit in adapted or altered form, to be a part of their contextual reality. / Biblical Studies

The purpose of the present thesis is to analyse a particular ritual treatment, the so-called mouth- washing, appearing in diverse rituals of ancient Mesopotamia and its implications for the status of the ritual object treated in this way. Instead of generalizing the function of this element as known from the eponymous Mouth washing ritual for induction of cult images, this thesis considers its employment in all its attested occurrences. The author assumes a strongly metaphorical character of mouth-washing and analyses the concept of purity underlying it. Its shifting significance in different rituals is observed and a typology of these is outlined. A following case study is devoted to the Ritual for covering a kettledrum. A close examination of the sources reveals a possible development of the tradition as well as the ritual's interconnectedness with the Mouth washing ritual. This relation is treated as a case of interrituality, a concept introduced by Burkhard Gladigow. The divine status of the kettledrum is achieved through the ritual for its covering which intentionally employs elements used in the ritual induction of cult images. A special emphasis laid on the kettledrum's status in Seleucid Uruk corresponds with wider socio-historical changes. Methodologically, the offered interpretation rests...

« Histoire et sagesse d’Aḥiqar l’Assyrien » est un texte d’exception puisqu’il plonge ses racines dans les temps lointains de la Mésopotamie antique. Son héros, Aḥiqar, est un Sage, un Ummānu, conseiller des rois d’Assyrie ; il fait l’objet d’une vile machination, ourdie par son neveu que le Sage avait pourtant élevé comme s’il était son propre fils ; après avoir frôlé la mort, Aḥiqar est réhabilité, puis envoyé en Egypte, afin d’affronter les énigmes et défis que le Pharaon a lancés contre son roi, tandis que son neveu est puni de mort. Notre corpus regroupe sept versions de « Histoire et sagesse d’Aḥiqar l’Assyrien », s’échelonnant de 500 avant notre ère jusqu’au XVIIIe siècle, et composées en araméen, syriaque, guèze, arabe et grec. Dans une comparaison menée en traduction française, à travers les versions dont nous disposons et au fil des différents épisodes du récit, nous étudierons tout d’abord la trajectoire dramatique de la vie d’Aḥiqar. Puis nous examinerons les énigmes et défis résolus par ce héros expert en langage face au Pharaon avant d’analyser les deux longues séries de maximes, d’abord éducatives puis punitives, qu’il administre à son neveu. Nous aborderons également les modalités du réemploi, ou comment l’histoire araméenne d’Aḥiqar a pu se trouver refonctionnalisée dans la Bible au « Livre de Tobie », dans la « Vie d’Ésope le Phrygien », célèbre fabuliste grec, et dans l’univers des « Mille et Une Nuits » avec le conte intitulé « Sinkarib et ses deux vizirs ». Enfin nous conclurons sur l’intérêt de cette grande figure de l’Ummānu ou conseiller du roi – héros ni guerrier ni saint mais homme de langage – pour l’histoire de la Rhétorique. / “History and wisdom Aḥiqar the Assyrian” is an exception text since its roots goes in the ancient times of ancient Mesopotamia. His hero, Ahiqar is a Sage, a Ummānu, advise the kings of Assyria, and he is the subject of a vile plot, hatched by his nephew that the Sage had yet raised as if he were her own son ; from the brink of death, Ahiqar is rehabilitated and sent to Egypt to confront the puzzles and the challenges that the Pharaoh launched against his king, while his nephew is punished by death. Our text corpus has seven versions of “History and wisdom Ahiqar the Assyrian,” ranging from 500 BC until the eighteenth century, and composed in Aramaic, in Syriac, in Ge’ez, in Arabic and in Greek. In a comparison conducted in French translation, through the versions we have and all along the different episodes of the story, we first study the dramatic trajectory of life Ahiqar. We then examine the puzzles and challenges addressed by this expert hero of language against Pharaoh before analyzing the two long series of maxims, first educational and punitive, that it administers to his nephew. We also discuss the terms of re-use, or how the history of Aramaic Ahiqar could be re-used, with more or less success, in the Bible, the “Book of Tobit” in the “Life of Aesop the Phrygian” famous Greek fabulist, and the world of “Arabian Nights” with the tale entitled “Sinkarib and two viziers.” Finally, we conclude on the interest of this great figure of Ummānu or advise the king - nor a warrior hero, nor a saint hero, but a language man - for the history of rhetoric.