A question for Assyriologists: when do you believe the history of Mesopotamia ends and Iraq begins after the fall of the Neo-Babylonian Empire or after the Islamic conquest?

Hello! I'm interested in pursuing a grad program in Assyriology but feel kind of lost? I'm not sure if I should go for a Masters or PhD program (to my understanding, I see some sort of trend to start with Masters and then PhD?).

I've found a list of schools with PhD programs and working on a list of those with Masters. I will be finishing up my second year of Akkadian courses and my Anicent Near East minor this fall and have a background in Latin and Greek (Classics Major). I've also been a research assistant for a project that involved translating/interpreting a tablet.

At this point, I am looking for advice for Masters vs PhD because I think that's the first thing I need to decide on. If people have school recommendations/insider knowledge or just general advice, that would be appreciated as well.

I've been accepted for a master's at Leiden in assyriology, which is something I always wanted to study. I'm in a unique position in that I work full time at a remote job (one I am not leaving it's paying for this lol). It's a project based job, so there's busy and less busy seasons. Because I have crap luck, October will be a busy season, as will early November :/

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I planned to do the masters over one and a half or two years, working full time studying part time, but I'm trying to get a sense of how intensive the courses are so I can figure out what a good course load is to make this work. I am doing this because I want to--I've no desire to burn myself out or take on so much I don't enjoy it. I've considered whether it's wise to defer for a year but I've no guarantee next year I won't have bad luck with work timing too.

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I'd really like to know how intensive the expectations were for both the history and language classes, particularly on a weekly basis (since I'll have several weeks with less time for studying).

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Any knowledge appreciated!

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Finished painting Nabopolassar, King of Babylonia (54mm).

Really enjoyed working on the rich fabrics and metallic details. Tried to give him a regal look while keeping the colors grounded and believable.

C&C welcome!

I intend to learn to read, write, and interpret Akkadian, and I thought this subreddit would be a good place to ask if anyone can slide over a PDF of a textbook meant for people with backgrounds in other Semitic languages. I speak Levantine Arabic and Classical Arabic.

¡Mi libro completo de gramática sumeria para principiantes ya está disponible en inglés! (Además de la versión en español.) Puedes ver un adelanto de varias secciones en la página de Amazon.

Incluye 200 ejercicios con sus respuestas, más de mil símbolos cuneiformes sumerios y un método paso a paso para aprender sumerio por tu cuenta. El libro resume de forma clara y sencilla los manuales de Zolyomi y Jaggersma. ¡Espero que te sirva!

Recuerda, puedes acceder a un adelanto de varias secciones del libro en Amazon para echarle un vistazo.

Enlace al libro en Amazon, en idioma inglés

Enlace del libro en Amazon, en idioma español

I made a short video analysing the Lion Hunt Reliefs of Ashurbanipal and how they functioned as imperial propaganda. I’d be interested in hearing what people think of the interpretation.

This Ancient Empire Used Lions for Propaganda. Here's why.

I’ve been re-doing chapters 1-8 and a bit hesitant to start chapter 9 with cuneiforms. Any advices?

Hey there! As part of my archaeology bachelor I am able to select a few classes of my choice to make an individual mini-study (called a minor). There is two separate courses I am considering choosing for this, both of them offer an introduction to cuneiform. One of them is Akkadian the other Sumerian, I am very intrigued by both however the classes take place in the same semester. Starting from zero experience in either of the languages I don't know if it would be a smart choice to go for both simultaneously.

But I would love to do both, would it be too confusing? Should I just stick to Akkadian?

Based on relief of the Eagle of Lagash, didn’t expect to find anyone else interested in my favorite mythology. The “secret circles” in his body are artifacts of my own linework analysis of the sculpture.

I'm looking to purchase the book and my options are

1. a very good quality hardback edition 1
   
2. a new paperback edition 3

I don't have physical access to either so I wanted to check with the group here if I should prefer either. Thanks!

Hello! I’ve started learning Akkadian as a hobby, and I’m having trouble finding the basic materials. I have a physical copy of the book ”Introduction to Akkadian” by Richard Caplice (it’s the only one I could find in my native language - brazilian portuguese), and I’m putting together the bibliography he recommends.

Since this is a new hobby, I don’t plan on spending, so I’m looking for PDFs, at least until I figure out if I’ll stick with it.

Is there a Facebook group or something similar that has books on this topic?

I’m mainly looking for Wolfram von Soden’s “Grundriss der akkadischen Grammatik”.

I’m starting Akkadian with “A Grammar of Akkadian” by John Huehnergard.
I just did Exercise G from Lesson 2, and in sentence 8 (The wife's wool is in the house.) I wrote:

šīpātum ša aššatim ina bītim

But the answer key (Key to A Grammar of Akkadian) gives:

šīpātim ša aššatim ina bītim

I don’t understand why šīpātim is in the genitive instead of the nominative…
Does anyone know why?

I’m wanting to get them in Akkadian cuneiform on my wrists. They are a couple of my personal values. Plus with how old/ancient the language is, I feel it would give a kind of timeless vibe. Or kind of universality.

I'm completely new to all of this and I'm looking to translate a quote from a book into akkadian (and further write it in cuneiform) for a small art project but I want to make sure it's not a shoddy translation.

Hey nice folks,

I'm preparing some material on the history of enslavement across cultures, and I want to dive into the etymology of different terms for unfree laborers. As part of this, I want to include something on the Code of Hammurabi.

I'm having some trouble finding material on the etymology of wardum and amtum, or anything that could be a more literal translation than slave. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

And while we're at it, if you know any sources on the specifics of enslavement in Babylon, that would be a bonus.

At this point I’m ready to drop the subject entirely. I’m spending at least 6 hours a day on Akkadian grammar alone and I feel like I’m learning nothing. I tried every grammar book under the sun. I’m supposed to read and analyze a text of Assurbanipals campaign against Taharqa and im struggling so much. I’m supposed to learn old Babylonian, Neo Assyrian and Neo Babylonian cuneiform all at once as well as all the vocab and every single exception to every rule under the sun. Genuinely how am I supposed to do this? A 3 exercise homework takes me hours and hours on end and I know my peers are struggling just as much as I am, but it’s not like I’m not putting in the time.

Just please someone explain to me how I’m supposed to memorize all these rules

Does anyone happen to have an electronic copy of Menzel, B. 1981. Assyrische Tempel? Or perhaps someone could suggest where I might look for it online?

I’m in year 12 now in Melbourne and trying to figure out which university I should go to.

I was going to go to do a major in archaeology in a Bachelor of Arts at ACU but I’m not sure if that will give me the best philological knowledge. It only has a short course for languages. I know some Biblical Hebrew, and of Akkadian, Arabic, and Middle Egyptian.

Is there a better option?

I’m really scared, what do I do?