Introduction to Old Assyrian
by N. J. C. Kouwenberg
This book is meant as an aid to the reading and interpretation of Old Assyrian texts for students who are already familiar with Akkadian, in particular with Old Babylonian. Accordingly, it focuses on those aspects in which Old Assyrian grammar and lexicon are different from Babylonian and on the specific problems that Old Assyrian texts might pose to students of Babylonian. It comprises a complete grammar (with a focus on phonology and morphology, including a sign list and extensive paradigms), a glossary (with a focus on Old Assyrian peculiarities), and a selection of sample editions of texts. The introduction is supposed to make the Old Assyrian texts more accessiblae to anyone interested, and thus contribute to an increase in the study of the archives of the Assyrian merchants in Anatolia.
This book is meant as an aid to the reading and interpretation of Old Assyrian texts for students who are already familiar with Akkadian, in particular with Old Babylonian. Accordingly, it focuses on those aspects in which Old Assyrian grammar and lexicon are different from Babylonian and on the specific problems that Old Assyrian texts might pose to students of Babylonian. It is essentially a spin-off from N.J.C. Kouwenberg’s long-standing work on the grammar of Old Assyrian, which is reflected in “A Grammar of Old Assyrian” (Leiden: Brill, 2017). It comprises a complete grammar (with a focus on phonology and morphology, including a sign list and extensive paradigms), a glossary (with a focus on Old Assyrian peculiarities), and a selection of sample editions of texts. The introduction is supposed to make the Old Assyrian texts more accessible to anyone interested, and thus contribute to an increase in the study of the archives of the Assyrian merchants in Anatolia. They acquaint us not only with one of the oldest large corpora of any Semitic language, but also with aspects of Ancient Near Eastern history, economy and society that are in many respects unique.
Preface / Abbreviations Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 The Old Assyrian period 1.2 Contents 1.3 Discovery and publication 1.4 Old Assyrian and Akkadian 1.5 Bibliographical tools for the study of Old Assyrian Chapter 2 Syllabary and spelling 2.1 The Old Assyrian Syllabary 2.2 Plene spellings 2.3 Initial plene spellings 2.4 Broken spellings 2.5 Sandhi and crasis 2.6 Ambiguities Chapter 3 Sign list 3.1 General list of signs 3.2 Alphabetical list of the main syllabic values and logograms Chapter 4 Elements of phonology 4.1 Phonemes 4.2 Loss of phonemes 4.3 Assimilation of consonants 4.4 Epenthesis 4.5 Metathesis 4.6 The glottal stop 4.7 The labial glide w 4.8 The palatal glide y 4.9 Vowels Chapter 5 Pronouns and enclitic particles 5.1 Independent personal pronouns 5.2 Enclitic personal pronouns 5.3 Possessive pronouns 5.4 Demonstrative pronouns 5.5 Interrogative pronouns 5.6 Indefinite pronouns 5.7 Enclitic particles Chapter 6 Nouns and adjectives 6.1 The structure of nouns and adjectives 6.2 The gender of nouns 6.3 The inflection of nouns 6.4 The inflection of adjectives 6.5 The syntax of adjectives Chapter 7 Numerals 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Cardinal numbers 7.3 Ordinal numbers 7.4 Multiplicative numbers 7.5 Distributive numbers 7.6 Other numbers Chapter 8 Verbs 8.1 General features 8.2 The inflection of the G-stem 8.3 The function of the primary inflectional forms 8.4 The function of the modal forms 8.5 The function of the ventive and the subjunctive 8.6 The derived verbal stems 8.7 The weak verbs Chapter 9 Elements of syntax 9.1 Cases 9.2 Subordinate clauses 9.3 Oaths Chapter 10 Verbal paradigms Chapter 11 Glossary Chapter 12 Measures, dates, tariffs, etc. 12.1 Measures 12.2 The Old Assyrian calendar 12.3 Tariffs and taxes 12.4 Interest rates 12.5 Prices of the most common commodities Chapter 13 Seals and sealing (by K. R. Veenhof) 13.1 Seals and sealers 13.2 Sealed documents Chapter 14 Personal names Chapter 15 A selection of texts References
- By (author) N. J. C. Kouwenberg
Similar Books
Ḫattušaš utnē išḫameški
Hittite and Other Ancient Near Eastern Studies Presented to Piotr Taracha on the Occasion of His 65th Birthday
Punning in Odd or Elegant Constructions in Jeremiah
The Convergence of Linguistics, Rhetoric, and Textuality in the Hebrew Text of Jeremiah
Shame in the Worlds of the Hebrew Bible and Akkadian Texts
A Linguistic Study and Its Implications
Volume 33
Telling Contexts
Archaeological and Textual Studies in Honor of Elizabeth Bloch-Smith and Mark S. Smith
The Body
Lived, Cultured, Adorned: Essays on Dress and the Body in the Bible and Ancient Near East in Honor of Nili S. Fox
Die Entwicklung erdbebensicherer Bautechniken in der Frühen und Mittleren Eisenzeit in Ostanatolien
Volume 11
Kultur – Kontakt – Kultur
Beiträge anlässlich der 66. Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale in Frankfurt/Main und Mainz, 25.–29. Juli 2022
Volume 35
Sprachwissenschaftliche und kulturhistorische Reflexionen
Festschrift zu Ehren von Jörg Klinger
Volume 31
A Numismatic History of Barikot
Catalogue and Analysis of the Coin Finds from the Excavations at Bir-koṭ-ghwaṇḍai (Barikot), Swat, Pakistan (1984-2022) Pakistan (1984-2022). With a contribution by Luca M. Olivieri
Volume 69
Alexander the Great and the Campaign of Gaugamela
New Research on Topography and Chronology. IAMNI 1 (Italian Archaeological Mission to Northern Iraq)
Volume 53
Archaeology of Eastern Anatolia II: From Prehistoric Times to the End of the Iron Ages
Proceedings of the 2nd Archaeology of Eastern Anatolia Colloquium, 23-25 April 2021, Online (Arkeolojihaber Youtube Channel)
Volume 43
Ash-sharq: Bulletin of the Ancient Near East No 9 1-2 2025
Archaeological, Historical and Societal Studies
Assyria and the West
A Fresh Look at the Unshakeable Pillars of Late Bronze and Iron Age Chronology in the Eastern Mediterranean World
Autocratic Rule in Antiquity
Proceedings of the 14th Melammu Workshop, Krakow, 46 October 2021
Volume 12
Boğazköy Tablets in the Museum of Anatolian Civilisations (Bo 95–Bo 3993)
Anadolu Medeniyetleri Müzesinde Bulunan Boğazköy Tabletleri (Bo 95–Bo 3993)
Volume 3
Bridging the Gap: Disciplines, Times, and Spaces in Dialogue – Volume 2
Sessions 3, 7 and 8 from the Conference Broadening Horizons 6 Held at the Freie Universität Berlin, 24–28 June 2019
Ceramic Finds in Context (Roman to Early Islamic Times)
Final Publications from the Danish-German Jerash Northwest Quarter Project VII
Volume 13
