Program

Research Programs: Awards for Faculty

Period of Performance

1/1/2013 - 8/31/2013

Funding Totals

$33,600.00 (approved)
$33,600.00 (awarded)


Ancient Syrian Kings and their Subjects, 1600-1200 BCE

FAIN: HB-50377-13

Amanda H. Podany
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Pomona, CA 91768-2557)

A key to understanding the nature of government and society in Syria during the era from 1600 to 1200 BCE lies in a number of cuneiform tablets, from many different archaeological sites, which have not previously been studied as a group. These are the focus of this book project. The documents are for the most part legal contracts bearing the impression of a king's seal, often accompanied by the observation that the contract was drawn up "in the presence of" the king. I propose to examine these contracts as a corpus, using historical, philological, and "diplomatic" approaches. Although they were drawn up in different places and at different times, a shared culture and institution underlies them, one that will be elucidated by their examination as a group. Syria's role in the history of this era is increasingly proving to be a pivotal one, as it was the prime force in the creation of the international community of the Late Bronze Age and one of the Great Powers of that era.





Associated Products

The Ancient Near East: A Very Short Introduction (Book)
Title: The Ancient Near East: A Very Short Introduction
Author: Amanda Podany
Abstract: "The Ancient Near East: A Very Short Introduction describes a momentous time in human history and explains why the ancient Near East is known as the ‘cradle of civilization’. Mesopotamia, Syria, and Anatolia were home to an extraordinarily rich and successful culture. Indeed, it was a time and place of earth-shaking changes for humankind: the beginnings of writing and law, kingship and bureaucracy, diplomacy and state-sponsored warfare, mathematics and literature. The three thousand years of this era — from around 3500 bce, with the founding of the first Mesopotamian cities, to the conquest of the Near East by the Persian king Cyrus the Great in 539 bce — represent a period of incredible innovation, from the invention of the wheel to early achievements in astronomy, law, and diplomacy." (from publisher)
Year: 2014
Primary URL: https://academic.oup.com/book/28459
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Type: Single author monograph