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This book contains 44 texts of varying contents: royal inscriptions, legal, and economic documents. For pedagogical reasons literary texts are not included. Some of the texts are accompanied by a transliteration and/or version in Neo-Assyrian so that the students can learn the Neo-Assyrian forms which are of basic importance for the use of the sign list book and for most assyriological sign lists.
An authority on ancient Mesopotamian culture, Jeremy Black here provides an introduction to the world's oldest poetry. Sumer, in southern Iraq, was the first literate civilization, with writing dating back as far as 3100 B.C. Its extensive poetic literature was lost for nearly two millennia; rediscovery and decipherment of the ancient writings began in the nineteenth century. Black is fully aware of the difficulties of applying modern literary methods to the study of ancient literature, emphasizing theoretical problems that arise from contemporary expectations of a unitary text. Looking closely at the imagery in the Lugalbanda poems, Black perceives in them a rich and sophisticated poetic imagination and technique, which, far from being in any sense "primitive," are so complex as to resist modern literary analysis.
“A readable and up-to-date introduction to a most fascinating culture” from a world-renowned Sumerian scholar (American Journal of Archaeology). The Sumerians, the pragmatic and gifted people who preceded the Semites in the land first known as Sumer and later as Babylonia, created what was probably the first high civilization in the history of man, spanning the fifth to the second millenniums B.C. This book is an unparalleled compendium of what is known about them. Professor Kramer communicates his enthusiasm for his subject as he outlines the history of the Sumerian civilization and describes their cities, religion, literature, education, scientific achievements, social structure, and psychology. Finally, he considers the legacy of Sumer to the ancient and modern world. “An uncontested authority on the civilization of Sumer, Professor Kramer writes with grace and urbanity.” —Library Journal
Sumerian is the oldest written language of ancient Iraq, first written down some 5,000 years ago. Its literature, encompassing narrative myths, lyrical hymns, proverbs and love poetry, provides a stimulating insight into the world's first urban civilization. This is a comprehensive collection.
An analysis of the oldest form of poetry. Sumer, in the southern part of Iraq, created the first literary culture in history, as early as 2500BC. The account is structured around a complete English translation of the fragmentary Lugalbanda poems, narrating the adventures of the eponymous hero. The study reveals a work of a rich and sophisticated poetic imagination and technique, which, far from being in any sense 'primitive', are so complex as to resist much modern literary analysis.
A Sumerian Chrestomathy by Konrad Volk has been written for beginners studying Sumerian within the academic curriculum. The volume contains 44 texts of varying contents: royal inscriptions, legal, and economic documents dating from the Early Dynastic (ca. 2500 B.C.) to the Old Babylonian Period (ca. 1750 B.C.) when Sumerian was no longer a spoken language. Some of the autographed texts are accompanied by a version in Neo-Assyrian script so that the student can learn the Neo-Assyrian sign forms which are of fundamental importance for the use of the sign list in this book and, in general, for most Assyriological sign lists. Each inscription can be studied with the help of the sign list, which is intentionally limited to the signs that occur in this book. Reference is given to the most recent works in the field by R. Borger and C. Mittermayer. Also included are individual and detailed glossaries: General Vocabulary; Divine Names; Personal Names; Place Names; Sacred Buildings; Year Dates; Year Names; Festivals. These glossaries not only quote the lexical items found in the inscriptions but also give the Akkadian equivalents for Sumerian words and refer - wherever necessary - to the most recent Sumerological literature.