History & Geography

Abstract

History & Geography Christopher T. Begg, Thomas Hieke, Victor H. Matthews, and Brian J. Meldrum Christopher T. Begg Catholic University of America Thomas Hieke Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz Victor H. Matthews Missouri State University Brian J. Meldrum Catholic University of America 1271. [Susiana in the 4th Millennium b.c.] Abbas Alizadeh, "Susiana in the 4th Millennium bc: Who Was in Charge?" Uruk, 1-25 [see #1690]. In this article, I seek, contra the current scholarly consensus, to show that the societal order in Susiana, situated in today's southwestern Iran, in the late 4th millennium was neither dominated by southern Mesopotamia nor collaborated with it. On the contrary, the changes in the settlement system were the result of an indigenous process, which began at the start of the 5th millennium b.c. and continued down to the emergence of the historically well-known Elamite dynasties. This thesis cannot, however, be based only on data from the 4th millennium b.c. nor ought it be limited to deep levels, given that the developments in question were part of a lengthy inter-regional process, which I present in this essay. [Translated and adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] [End Page 463] Google Scholar 1272. [Elamite War Chariots and Military Equipment at Kabnak] Javier Álvarez-Mon and Yasmina Wicks, "Elamite War Chariots and Military Equipment at Ancient Kabnak (ca. 1400 bce)," JCS 73 (2021) 121-34. After having entered the 2nd millennium b.c.e. as a military superpower, Elam faded into historical obscurity upon its withdrawal from the broader ANE political scene in 1763 b.c.e. and only re-emerged much later as a major military player with a series of incursions into Mesopotamia in the 13th cent. culminating with the overthrow of the Kassites in 1155 b.c.e. During the intervening centuries between these periods of Elamite international activity, neither written nor archaeological sources offer clear indications that Elamite territory had come under the rule of any foreign power. Here we note that a reexamination of the evidence from the ancient settlement of Kabnak (modern Haft-Tepe), located some 17 km. southeast of the Elamite lowland capital of Susa, brought to light a mid-15 to mid-14th cent. b.c.e. state-controlled arsenal of war chariots and weaponry that may hold the key to understanding Elam's apparent continued resistance to outside forces during this period and its re-emergence as a military superpower in the 13th cent. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] Google Scholar 1273. [Current State of Samaritan Studies] Silvio Barbaglia, "Lo stato attuale degli studi: tendenze metodologiche e nodi da sciogliere," RSB 33 (1, 2021) 11-46. My article seeks to summarize the essential features of current scholarship on the "Samaritanism" phenomenon in its genetic relationship to Judaism in the Second Temple period in particular. In addition, the article also examines two elements of relevance for the current discussion, i.e., terminological questions concerning designations for the Samaritans, both by themselves and by others, with special attention to the phrase "Sidoni of Shechem" and the dating of the defining moment at some point during the reign of John Hyrcanus I, of the process of "Judaization" in the former territory of the kingdom of Israel. See also ##1030, 1274, 1279, 1305, 1624, 1624, 1635. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] Google Scholar 1274. [Material Culture and Sources concerning Samaria in the Persian and Hellenistic Periods] Francesco Bianchi, "Cultura materiale e fonte scritte nella Samaria achemendide ed ellenistica (539–110 a.C.)," RSB 33 (1, 2021) 47-89. This paper surveys the material culture of Samaria in the Achaemenid and Hellenistic periods. The extant archaeological evidence for the former period gives evidence of an increase in population and the development of a more specialized agriculture involving the cultivation of olive trees and vineyards. The Aramaic Samaria papyri dating to the years 400–353 b.c. witness to an elaborate administrative network and a slave trade conducted in accordance with Neo-Babylonian law. The most interesting feature of this period is the existence of a large numismatic corpus with its echoes of the...