Admission requirements
Regular MA admission.
Description
Urartian is the language that was spoken in the mountainous areas to the north of Assyria. Already in the Middle Assyrian period royal inscriptions inform us about Urartian tribes and from the 9th century there existed an Urartian empire that had its center between the Lake Van and Lake Urmia. The empire posed a serious threat to the Assyrian empire, but also to the west and the north the Urartians conquered much land and they founded many new cities that were usually called after their royal founder. The texts that we have are almost all royal inscriptions that tell us about expeditions and the construction of temples and fortresses. We will first study the grammar and then we will read a selection of royal inscriptions.
Course objectives
To give an overview of a proto-science in the Ancient Near East that reached a high level and was borrowed by many other cultures, including the Greeks and the Egyptians. The student will become familiar with science as it was understood and practiced in ancient Mesopotamia.
Timetable
See Timetable Classics and Ancient Civilizations: Assyriology
Mode of instruction
- Seminar
Course Load
10 EC = 280 hours
Contact hours: 24 h
Course preparation: ## h
Paper: ## h
Assessment method
Active course participation: ## %
Paper: ## %
Blackboard
Blackboard will be used for delivery of relevant reading materials and submission of assignments.
Reading list
To be announced
Registration
Students are required to register for this course via uSis, the course registration system of Leiden University. General information about uSis is available in English and Dutch.