Time and History in the Ancient Near East : Proceedings of the 56th Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale, Barcelona, July 26th-30th, 2010

In July, 2010, the International Association for Assyriology met in Barcelona, Spain, for 5 days to deliver and listen to papers on the theme “Time and History in the Ancient Near East.” This volume, the proceedings of the conference, contains 70 of the papers read at the 56th annual Rencontre, including the papers from several workshop sessions on “architecture and archaeology,” “early Akkadian and its Semitic context,” “ Hurrian language,” “law in the ancient Near East,” “Middle Assyrian texts and studies,” and a variety of additional papers not directly related to the conference theme. The photo on the back cover shows only a representative portion of the attendees, who were warmly hosted by faculty and students from the University of Barcelona. Opening lectures. Time before time: primeval narrative in Early Mesopotamian literature The extent of literacy in Syria and Palestine during the Second Millennium B.C.E. Time and history in the ancient Near East. Tim "pulled up" in Ashurnasirpal's reliefs Akkadian and Aramaic terms for a 'favorable time' Masters of time: Old Babylonian kings and calendars Notes on the Neo-Assyrian siege-shield and chariot Changing space, time and meaning: the seal of Yaqaru of aqaru from Ugarit a reconversion? Time in Neo-Assyrian letters The historical preamble of the Talmi-Šarruma treaty (CTH 75) and some chronoligcal problems of the History of Halap Magie et historie: les rituels en temps de guerre Time and again: Marduk's travels Time in death and afterlife: the concept of time and the belief in afterlife Concepts and perception of time in Mesopotamian divination Temps, mémoire et évolution des cultures aux époques archaïques: écriture de passé et listes lexicales Time in ancient Israel: Hebrew ʻôlām, past and future "Lange Jahre" und Lebenszeit bei den Hethitern The Heuristic value of E. de Martino's Concept of Metahistory and related topics in research into Meopotamian cultural history "I read the inscriptions from before the Flood ..." Neo-Sumerian influences in Ashurbanipal'sroyal self-image Mesopotamian idea of time through modern eyes (disruption and continuity) Temporalité et spatialité dans les rites de passage de l'Anatolie hittite Reconsidering the categories of time in ancient Iraq "Internal" and "external" evidence for a reconstruction of Nuzi chronology The other face of the moon: some hints on the visual representation of the moon on Third-Millenniaum B.C.E. Mesopotamian Glyptic The Tuleilat al-Ghassul star painting: a hypothesis regarding a solar calendar from the Fourth Millennium B.C. The Monster's gaze: vision as mediator between time and space in the art of Mesopotamia A time to rejoice: the Egalkura rituals and the Mirth of Iyyar Der Kalendar von Adab im 3. Jahrtausend Divine or human creation of time? The issue of time as a factor determinging the relationship of man to God Workshops. Architecture and archaeology. Modern architecture and archaeology: the case of the hypothetical reconstruction of the Neo-Assyrian palace at Tell Massaikh (Syria), 2007-2009 Idea and image: how what we know determines what we want to know Architecture and ancient Near East in dreawings, buildings, and virtual reality: issues in imagining and designing ancient and modern space Invented space: discovering Near Eastern architecture through imaginary representations and constructions Fragments d'arts Mesopotamiens: aux orgines des empires Reception of ancient Near Eastern architecture in Europe and North America in the 20th century Ancient wall paintingsw and modern reconstructions Early Akkadian and its Semitic context. Form und Datierung früher semitischer Lehwörter im Sumerischen Stativatät und Perfektivität in den Ost- und Westsemitischen Sprachen Hurrian Languge. A Hurro-Akkadian Expression for changing one's tesimony attested in Nuzi trial records Hurrian personal names in the kingdom of Ḫatti Gedanken zu den Textstellen I:90 und III:30 in dem Mittanni-brief Law in the ancient Near East. Historical context and Social theories: it's influence on the study of Mesopotamian juridical phenomena The improtance of time in Old Babylonian juridiacal texts Middle Assyrian texts and studies. Sag mir quando, sa mir wann Contractual formalism an Zukunftsbewältigung in mddle Assyrian agricultural accouting The Eponym Bēr-nādin-apli and the documents referring to the expeditions to the City of Tille in the reign of Tukultī-Ninura I (1233-1197 B.C.E.) Die Tägliche Speisung des Assur (gināʼu) und deren politische Bedeutung Imperial culture: some reflections on middle Assyrian settlement Varia. Tugdamme and the Cimmerians: a test of piety in Assyrian royal inscriptions The changing approaches to history in the Neo-Assyrian palace reliefs Genres meet: Assurbanipal's prayer in the Inscription L4 and the bilingual communal lamentations L'incorruptible et l'éphémère: le miel et la glace, composants sacrés des boissons royales Three kings of the Orient in archaic Ur Ilum-išar et Apil-kīn: deux nouvelles incriptions de Mari A few thoughts about late Chalcolithic architecture and the Uruk Expansion in the middle Euphrates area Further considerations on the Ankara silver bowl The evolution of the side court house in the late MB central and southewestern Anatolia The role of the Saĝĝa in Ur III based on the Puzriš-Dagān texts Life extension: secondary burial and the making and unmaking of self in EB IA The offering for the ritual of King Seleucus III and his offspring Some new light on Pre-Sargonic Umma Settlemnet patterns and interactions in the West Bank Highlands in the Iron Age I period: a new approach Conputational and spatial approaches to the commericial landscapes and political geography of the old Assyrian colony period Eunuchs in Hatti and Assria: a reassessmetn Eridu texts Les particularités d'emploi des signes cunéiformes à différents pérides de la langue hittite Recent researches in the Erbil Region: 2010 excavations in Kilik Mishik (Iraqi Kurdistan) Wer war Großkönig I (a)+ra/i-Tonitrus der Karahöyük-Inschrift? Identification of an unfinished statue found in a quarry at Karakiz, Yozgat, Turkey.