NES 6414

Akkadian Language IV: Assyrian Language

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2016-2017.

Assyrian is a dialect of the Akkadian language spoken and written in northern Mesopotamia from roughly 2000 to 600 B.C.  It is the language used by the traders of Karum Kanesh and the rulers of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.  There is no continuous linguistic record of Assyrian, but scholars have identified three significant dialects (Old, Middle, and Neo-Assyrian) during the two millennia that it was used.  The primary goal of this course is to analyze each of these dialects, the ways that Assyrian differs from the other major branch of Akkadian, Babylonian, and the manners in which the language and script changed over time.  Students are expected to show progress in reading cuneiform script and competence in utilizing reference materials.  We will read the Middle Assyrian Laws, harem edicts, Assyrian letters from Anatolia, a coronation ritual, omen queries to the sun god, letters from the Assyrian state department, and texts involving Urartu, the Levant, and Iran.

When Offered Spring.

Prerequisites/Corequisites Prerequisite: NES 6411, NES 6412, previous Akkadian language instruction, or permission of instructor.

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