SCHWEICH LECTURES ON BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY
Professor André Lemaire, École Pratique des Hautes Études
Tuesday 25 June, Wednesday 26 June and Thursday 27 June 2013, 6.00pm
The British Academy, 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AH
The
Achaemenid period in the Levant is generally considered an obscure part
of history. However, since 1980, epigraphic discoveries and research
have thrown new light on this period. A variety of aspects will be
presented across three evening lectures on this subject.
Tuesday 25 June 2013
Levantine Epigraphy and Phoenicia: the kingdoms of Byblos, Sidon and Tyre during the Achaemenid period
The
Persian “king of kings” had to rely on the Phoenician navy in his wars
against Greece in the Eastern Mediterranean and Phoenicia played the
most important part in the satrapy of ‘Avar-Nahara. Since 1980, the
dates of important royal Sidonian inscriptions have been revised and
various new inscriptions from Byblos, Sidon and Tyre as well as new
numismatic studies have been published. They shed new light on the
history and extent of the Phoenician kingdoms, especially on their
relations with Palestine.
Wednesday 26 June 2013West Semitic Epigraphy and the Judean Diaspora during the Achaemenid Period: Babylonia, Egypt, Cyprus
According
to the Biblical texts Kings and Jeremiah, after the fall of Jerusalem,
King Nebuchadnezzar deported part of the Judean population to Babylonia
while other Judeans took refuge in Egypt. Apart from in the book of
Ezekiel, the Bible does not tell us much about their life there. New
epigraphic data can now reveal how the Judean refugees’ lived.
Thursday 27 June 2013
Levantine epigraphy and Samaria, Judaea and Idumaea during the Achaemenid period
The
historical interpretation of the Biblical books of Ezra and Nehemiah is
much debated and these books essentially concern Jerusalem and Judea.
The publication of various – mainly Aramaic – contemporary inscriptions
(papyri, ostraca, seals, seal-impressions, coins etc) sheds new light on
the daily life and religion of the Persian provinces of Samaria, Judaea
and Idumaea, especially during the 4th c. BCE. They help us to
understand several Biblical texts in their historical and economical
context.
Posts
Stumble It!
No comments:
Post a Comment