Projects by Natalie Naomi May
May, N. N. 2022 Women in Cult in First Millennium BCE Mesopotamia. In K. Graef, et al. (eds.): The Mummy Under the Bed. Essays on Gender and Methodology in the Ancient Near East. Münster, 125-156, 2022
Why colophons?
The scribal system was the primary vehicle for transmitting and preserving knowled... more Why colophons?
The scribal system was the primary vehicle for transmitting and preserving knowledge in Mesopotamia in the first millennium BCE. Writing and copying literary and scientific compositions was part of education in scribal schools. Ideally, the entire career of a scribe, from his apprenticeship to becoming an “experienced scribe, who neglects nothing,” can be traced thanks to the colophons that he appended at the bottom of his works throughout his lifetime. Although they called themselves “scribes”, they were in fact scholars and scientists, the keepers of scribal lore, legal tradition and historical records. Many were affiliated to temples and royal courts, but others practised privately.
Their colophons contain a wealth of information on the transfer of knowledge. Firstly, by giving us the name of the scribe, his master, and the tablet’s owner, they shed light on the genealogies (whether real or imagined) of scholars and on the networks of patronage in which they worked. Secondly, by giving the date and place of a tablet’s production, they enable us to trace the transmission of knowledge through space and time. Ca. 2100 colophons we know of come from all major Assyrian and Babylonian libraries, royal, institutional and private, that range in time from the beginning of the Assyrian domination of Mesopotamia (9th century BCE) until the collapse of the Empire in the late 7th century. The potential for ground-breaking research into the social contexts of one of mankind’s longest-living traditions of learning is beyond doubt, but until now, this wealth of information has remained untapped. My project is intended to change this situation. By analysing the colophon data I expect to come to a better understanding of the social and cultural process of transmitting knowledge in the ancient Near East. I shall compile a complete digital database of all known Assyrian and Babylonian colophons to establish an infrastructure for future research.
Ancient Near Eastern societies provide us with numerous examples of the highest religious authori... more Ancient Near Eastern societies provide us with numerous examples of the highest religious authority being held by the ruler. The divine entity of kingship, which descended from heaven, according to the Sumerian King List and the Etana myth, was ingrained in Mesopotamian consciousness from earliest times. Assyrian kings were high priests of Aššur, the state tutelary deity. The king as mediator between his subjects and the divine realm was responsible for the well-being of the land and the correct conduct of religious ceremonies.
Although there is no evidence of formal deification of the Neo-Assyrian kings, their “special relationship” with the gods and sacral character of their power must be taken into consideration. The differences and similarities with the phenomenon of deification of the ruler in the Akkadian and Ur III periods, as well as diachronic analysis of king-gods relations in other periods of Mesopotamian history provide us with clearer understanding of the divine aspects of Assyrian kingship and specific forms of adoration of royalty in the Neo-Assyrian Empire, which constitute the Assyrian “theology of royalty.” This “theology of royalty” substituted the direct deification of a mortal ruler by introducing the cognition of the king’s superhuman nature into the consciousness of his subjects using metaphoric allusions, both textual and visual.
The main objective of the project Metaphors of Divinity is to explore the place and role of the king in religious cults and ceremonies of the Neo-Assyrian period through the parallel exploration of visual and written sources. I will further investigate the impact of the Assyrian concept of kingship on the formation of state and royal ideology of Judah as reflected in the Hebrew Bible.
Books by Natalie Naomi May
Edited Books by Natalie Naomi May
Since Max Weber who denied that the Oriental cities were "real" cities , effforts of many scholar... more Since Max Weber who denied that the Oriental cities were "real" cities , effforts of many scholars have been aimed at establishing a connection between the city form and its socio-political structure.1 It has often been claimed that the city plan mirrors a city's political organisation.2 The lack of preconceived public spaces in the Near Eastern cities as opposite to the city-states of the Classical Antiquity was one of the focuses of these discussions (Liverani 1997, 91-93; May / Steinert, Introduction, this volume).
Book Chapters by Natalie Naomi May
The Synagogue of Korazim. The 1962–1964, 1980–1987. Jerusalem, Israel Antiquities Authority (with Z. Yeivin and D.T. Ariel; in Hebrew)., 2000
The Synagogue of Korazim. The 1962–1964, 1980–1987. Jerusalem, Israel Antiquities Authority (with Z. Yeivin and D.T. Ariel; in Hebrew)., 2000
The Synagogue of Korazim. The 1962–1964, 1980–1987. Jerusalem, Israel Antiquities Authority (with Z. Yeivin and D.T. Ariel; in Hebrew)., 2000
Papers by Natalie Naomi May
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Sep 17, 2018
that appear in them. All the available evidence that refers to these individuals, including lette... more that appear in them. All the available evidence that refers to these individuals, including letters and documents, is assessed. Associating colophons with the type and genre of texts in which they appear is very important since through the duplicates and similar texts copied by different scholars one can detect common interests of certain individuals and relations between scribal families and their members. Some training methods and features in the curriculum of apprentice exorcists and physicians in the Haus des Beschwörungspriesters library are explored. Mapping the results of the research is another important methodological approach for it highlights connections between groups of scholars in various Assyrian metropoleis and the relations between scholarly groups inside each city as well as the family ties of exorcists to the scholarship of the court. The library of the Haus des Beschwörungspriesters at Assur, N4 in Pedersén's nomenclature, was found in the courtyard 10 of this house (fig. ).2 The layout of long rectangular hall 3 with symmetrical entrances on both long sides3, which terminates with broad room 4 at its short
The Fabric of Cities, 2014
This is the introductory chapter of the book The Fabric of Cities: Aspects of Urbanism, Urban Top... more This is the introductory chapter of the book The Fabric of Cities: Aspects of Urbanism, Urban Topography and Society in Mesopotamia, Greece and Rome , which presents a collection of articles which address interconnections between aspects of the topographical structure of ancient cities and the social-political organisation of ancient cities and states, as well as cultural perceptions of urban spaces. One presumed contrast between eastern and western cities of antiquity concerns the idea that city planning began with Hippodamus of Miletus. The main contrast between the ancient Near East and Greece has been the notion that Mesopotamian cities lack public open spaces for assemblies like the agora and special purpose buildings for communal or leisure activities like the stadium, theatre, gymnasium. Sterbenc Erker's contribution, in examining the meaning of the Aventine within Rome's religious topography, opens up another horizon for intercultural comparisons. Keywords: Sterbenc Erker'; antiquity; Aventine; Greece; Hippodamus of Miletus; Rome's religious topography; urban spaces
Time and History in the Ancient Near East, 2013
Conference proceedings In all periods of human history, the profession of an architect demanded a... more Conference proceedings In all periods of human history, the profession of an architect demanded a wide range of knowledge and abilities: the inspired vision of the artist and expertise in various materials, proficiency in mathematics and organisational skills. Are there cuneiform texts that can be associated with architects and their professional training? After analysing the list of coefficients YBC 5022 and the famous tablet of geometrical problems BM 15285 against the background of archaeological and pictorial evidence, I can show that these texts served as an "architect's manual." It has already been suggested based on textual and mathematical grounds that the origins of Babylonian mathematics go back to the Ur III period. I shall argue that this was also the period when the training of architects in exact science started.
this is the preprint of an article submitted for publication in K. de Graef et al. (eds.) <em&... more this is the preprint of an article submitted for publication in K. de Graef et al. (eds.) <em>Gender and Methodology in the Ancient Near East 3, wEdge series</em>, Münster. Zaphon Verlag.
Feminist scholarship launched a search for women in human history. As soon as one starts looking ... more Feminist scholarship launched a search for women in human history. As soon as one starts looking for women, they are inevitably found. Neither women nor gender were invisible in the past. In terms of the Neo-Assyrian period, the rich textual material collected by Saana Svärd exemplifies how numerous our written sources are on the Neo-Assyrian women. 1 Nonetheless, with the further development of gender studies the following questions arise. 2 What methods should we apply to our sources? What aspects of gender were chosen for representation? Which were consciously suppressed and why? Svärd examines the rich evidence she has assembled from the important aspect of its relation to power, and there is no doubt that research should be continued in this direction. The interdisciplinary comparative investigation into the diachronic changes in the status of women over the entire course of Mesopotamian history is definitely a promising direction of investigation. The correct evaluation of sources concerning women is an essential methodological concern, and here comparison is useful not only when applied interdisciplinary. Tallay Ornan writes: "Assuming that visibility. .. serves as one parameter for the political, social, or cultural status of the depicted figure, one may conclude that royal women in first-millennium Assyria were devoid of official political, social or religious power." 3 This statement is based on Ornan's assumption that "the few 1. Svärd 2015. Svärd has collected, arranged in easily accessible form, and thoroughly analyzed all the Neo-Assyrian sources related to royal women. Svärd's Women and Power in Neo-Assyrian Palaces naturally encompasses only high-ranking women. Numerous sources on women of lower status still await research. There are only two other monographs regarding Neo-Assyrian women (Melville 1999 and Macgregor 2012). However, they do not embrace the entire range of existing sources on Neo-Assyrian royal women, because that was not the focus of their investigation. Valuable information on Neo-Assyrian women can be also found in the monograph by W. Meinhold dedicated to Ištar of Assur (Meinhold 2009). A discussion of Neo-Assyrian women is found also in Melville 2004. 2. See Bahrani 2001: 1-39 for an overview of the role of feminist scholarship, postmodernism, and poststructuralism in gender studies. 3. Ornan 2002: 464. 35. RIMA 3 A.0.104.3, from Pazarğik. 36. RINAP 3/2 40 44″b-46″. 37. RINAP 4 2002 (Ass. 1). This inscription preserves a fragment of the epitaph of this queen. 38. RINAP 4 2010 with related description and references. 39. These are the "eye-stone" of Sammu-rāmat (Seymour 2008: 104), the inscriptions of Naqīʾa-Zaqūtu-all for the life and well-being of Esarhaddon (RINAP 4 2005-8), and a votive text of the queen of Assurbanipal, probably Libbāli-šarrat, dedicating a golden object for the life and security of reign of Assurbanipal and her own life (Deller 1983: 22-24; this is a non-monumental inscription on a clay tablet). The queen also asked the goddess to make the king attentive to her words. Moreover, a stone jar was dedicated by Inūrta-abūni, sister of Assurnaṣirpal II (ASV 615). Remarkably, all of these objects were dedicated to female deities. 40. These are the steles of Nergal-āpil-kūmū'a (no. 50, 673 b.c.e.), Issār-emūqāia (no. 99, 867 b.c.e.),
Abstract<br> The paper treats the concepts of an ideal city from their emergence in Mesopot... more Abstract<br> The paper treats the concepts of an ideal city from their emergence in Mesopotamia and Syria through to Late Antiquity. I will scrutinize the notion of the ideal city analyzing and comparing both written and archaeological sources. The use of mathematics for city construction as well as its esoteric applications such as numerology will be discussed. Possible channels for transcultural conveyance of architectural ideas and skills will be suggested.
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Projects by Natalie Naomi May
The scribal system was the primary vehicle for transmitting and preserving knowledge in Mesopotamia in the first millennium BCE. Writing and copying literary and scientific compositions was part of education in scribal schools. Ideally, the entire career of a scribe, from his apprenticeship to becoming an “experienced scribe, who neglects nothing,” can be traced thanks to the colophons that he appended at the bottom of his works throughout his lifetime. Although they called themselves “scribes”, they were in fact scholars and scientists, the keepers of scribal lore, legal tradition and historical records. Many were affiliated to temples and royal courts, but others practised privately.
Their colophons contain a wealth of information on the transfer of knowledge. Firstly, by giving us the name of the scribe, his master, and the tablet’s owner, they shed light on the genealogies (whether real or imagined) of scholars and on the networks of patronage in which they worked. Secondly, by giving the date and place of a tablet’s production, they enable us to trace the transmission of knowledge through space and time. Ca. 2100 colophons we know of come from all major Assyrian and Babylonian libraries, royal, institutional and private, that range in time from the beginning of the Assyrian domination of Mesopotamia (9th century BCE) until the collapse of the Empire in the late 7th century. The potential for ground-breaking research into the social contexts of one of mankind’s longest-living traditions of learning is beyond doubt, but until now, this wealth of information has remained untapped. My project is intended to change this situation. By analysing the colophon data I expect to come to a better understanding of the social and cultural process of transmitting knowledge in the ancient Near East. I shall compile a complete digital database of all known Assyrian and Babylonian colophons to establish an infrastructure for future research.
Although there is no evidence of formal deification of the Neo-Assyrian kings, their “special relationship” with the gods and sacral character of their power must be taken into consideration. The differences and similarities with the phenomenon of deification of the ruler in the Akkadian and Ur III periods, as well as diachronic analysis of king-gods relations in other periods of Mesopotamian history provide us with clearer understanding of the divine aspects of Assyrian kingship and specific forms of adoration of royalty in the Neo-Assyrian Empire, which constitute the Assyrian “theology of royalty.” This “theology of royalty” substituted the direct deification of a mortal ruler by introducing the cognition of the king’s superhuman nature into the consciousness of his subjects using metaphoric allusions, both textual and visual.
The main objective of the project Metaphors of Divinity is to explore the place and role of the king in religious cults and ceremonies of the Neo-Assyrian period through the parallel exploration of visual and written sources. I will further investigate the impact of the Assyrian concept of kingship on the formation of state and royal ideology of Judah as reflected in the Hebrew Bible.
Books by Natalie Naomi May
Edited Books by Natalie Naomi May
Book Chapters by Natalie Naomi May
Papers by Natalie Naomi May
The scribal system was the primary vehicle for transmitting and preserving knowledge in Mesopotamia in the first millennium BCE. Writing and copying literary and scientific compositions was part of education in scribal schools. Ideally, the entire career of a scribe, from his apprenticeship to becoming an “experienced scribe, who neglects nothing,” can be traced thanks to the colophons that he appended at the bottom of his works throughout his lifetime. Although they called themselves “scribes”, they were in fact scholars and scientists, the keepers of scribal lore, legal tradition and historical records. Many were affiliated to temples and royal courts, but others practised privately.
Their colophons contain a wealth of information on the transfer of knowledge. Firstly, by giving us the name of the scribe, his master, and the tablet’s owner, they shed light on the genealogies (whether real or imagined) of scholars and on the networks of patronage in which they worked. Secondly, by giving the date and place of a tablet’s production, they enable us to trace the transmission of knowledge through space and time. Ca. 2100 colophons we know of come from all major Assyrian and Babylonian libraries, royal, institutional and private, that range in time from the beginning of the Assyrian domination of Mesopotamia (9th century BCE) until the collapse of the Empire in the late 7th century. The potential for ground-breaking research into the social contexts of one of mankind’s longest-living traditions of learning is beyond doubt, but until now, this wealth of information has remained untapped. My project is intended to change this situation. By analysing the colophon data I expect to come to a better understanding of the social and cultural process of transmitting knowledge in the ancient Near East. I shall compile a complete digital database of all known Assyrian and Babylonian colophons to establish an infrastructure for future research.
Although there is no evidence of formal deification of the Neo-Assyrian kings, their “special relationship” with the gods and sacral character of their power must be taken into consideration. The differences and similarities with the phenomenon of deification of the ruler in the Akkadian and Ur III periods, as well as diachronic analysis of king-gods relations in other periods of Mesopotamian history provide us with clearer understanding of the divine aspects of Assyrian kingship and specific forms of adoration of royalty in the Neo-Assyrian Empire, which constitute the Assyrian “theology of royalty.” This “theology of royalty” substituted the direct deification of a mortal ruler by introducing the cognition of the king’s superhuman nature into the consciousness of his subjects using metaphoric allusions, both textual and visual.
The main objective of the project Metaphors of Divinity is to explore the place and role of the king in religious cults and ceremonies of the Neo-Assyrian period through the parallel exploration of visual and written sources. I will further investigate the impact of the Assyrian concept of kingship on the formation of state and royal ideology of Judah as reflected in the Hebrew Bible.