Volume 3, Issue 2 -

While the terms prison and prisoner are frequently used in translations and studies based on the texts from early Mesopotamia (ca. 3200–1595 B.C., according to Middle Chronology), Although “early Mesopotamia” is not ideal as a descriptor, it is employed here in the same way as Postgate (1992: xxi–xxiii). The term is used to refer to Southern Mesopotamia from Late Uruk until the first fall of Babylon, or circa 3200–1595 B.C. Despite this, the Mari evidence will be summarized and referenced at certain points in the article. While the focus of this study is in on the early Mesopotamian evidence, occasional references are made to select relevant material from other periods to add depth and perspective to the discussion. the contextual evidence relating to these terms has not been assembled and organized to determine the nature of the so-called prisons of the period, together with any points of continuity and discontinuity with the modern terminology. When done, it may be concluded that prisons in early Mesopotamia do not share a one-to-one correspondence with the various manifestations of prisons in the modern Western world. Although prisons in early Mesopotamia functioned in broader ways than modern examples, I argue that significant functional overlap also exists. These similarities directly relate to theoretical and definitional criteria employed in historical discussions about prisons, demonstrating that the Mesopotamian evidence belongs in a world history of prisons.

Aim of the present work is to offer an understanding of the mechanisms informing the making and reproduction of the Hittite Empire (17th-13th BCE) in its diachronic evolution. The analysis focuses on South-Central Anatolia, an area of intense core-periphery interactions within the scope of the Hittite domain and, therefore, of great informative potential about the manifold trajectories of imperial action. Through the combinatory investigation of archaeological and textual data able to account for long- to short-term variables of social change, I will show that South-Central Anatolia evolved from being a loose agglomerate of city-hinterland nuclei into a provincial system. The region thus acquired a pivotal role in the balance of power thanks to its centrality in the communication network, and it became the stage for eventful political revolutions, as well as a new core for Hittite political dynamics. The picture of Hittite imperialism emerging, thus, is that of a set of multi-causal and multi-directional processes, not predicated on the sole centrifugal hegemonic expansion of the empire.

The following examination of the textual evidence for purple dyeing in late Bronze Age Syria and Mesopotamia highlights a disconnect between the written sources and the physical remains for colored textiles recently unearthed at Qaṭnā (Tell Mishrīfe). By charting the relationship between developments in the dyeing industry against wider economic forces in this period, this essay addresses the impact of Bronze Age technologies on the evolution of Akkadian color language.

This article analyzes the main reasons why Soviet historiography developed a theory that the ancient Near East was characterized by an economy based on slavery. It explores the interplay of external and internal factors leading to the special role of Assyriology in that process, particularly through the work of the Russian and Soviet orientalist Vasiliy Struve.