War and Peace of the Hammu-rabi's Time 2900-MK1-WPHR-OG
The core part of the lecture will be devoted to the international relations of the Old Babylonian era (particularly, the rule of the Babylonian king Hammurabi). Students will see and study examples of diplomatic practices, wars, peaceful initiatives, intelligence, and the role of merchants in the political life of Amorite kingdoms. This part of the lecture will use as its key source the unique collection of Mari letters which present the problems mentioned as the subject of the study. Most of those letters were sent to Zimri-Lim, the then ruler of Mari, by his functionaries (diplomats, envoys, spies, and governors) and also by the rulers ofother states. The first lectures will introduce the students into that era in Mesopotamian history by comparing the political, ethnic, social and political situation of that time with the earlier period of the 3rd Dynasty Ur. They will also describe the development of a new (Amorite) order on the ruins of the Sumerian monarchy.
Course coordinators
Type of course
elective courses
Learning outcomes
After completing the course, students are expected to know the political history of Old-Babylonian Mesopotamia, diplomatic correspondence and international
relations at the time of Hammu-rabi and understand political and cultural ties between countries of the Ancient Near East in the Old-Babylonian Period.
Assessment criteria
The assessment is based on the lecture attendance and, in some cases, passing a short written test