Slavery in Achaemenid-Period Babylonia: The Social World of Rībat, Son of Bēl-erība

This paper argues for a historically grounded view of slavery in Achaemenid-period Babylonia by examining the life of one particular individual, Rībat son of Bēl-erība, an ardu of the Murašû family (whose archive spans c. 454–404 BCE). In contrast to other studies which focus on the terminology or legal aspects of slavery, we examine the lived experience of Rībat. We do this in two ways. First, we study all of Rībat’s attested business ventures and demonstrate that, although Rībat occasionally acted under the direct orders of his masters, he more often pursued activities ancillary to those of the core Murašû business. Secondly, we use social network analysis of over 700 Murašû texts to demonstrate that, although Rībat was crucial in linking distinct individuals to the Murašû business, he lay outside his masters’ group of core associates. We then compare Rībat’s social position to that of other known Murašû subordinates to argue that Rībat’s experience was representative of that of other Murašû subordinates. We conclude by arguing for more social-historical studies of Babylonian servitude in the future.

Stellar Scientists: The Egyptian Temple Astrologers

The paper aims to collect and discuss evidence for astrologers in Egyptian temples during the Graeco-Roman period from several kinds of data, including astrological and astronomical texts, inscriptions, and documentary sources. Material evidence is also considered. It attempts to answer questions of who could act as an astrologer and what knowledge was required to become one. In addition, the paper discusses the position of astrologers in the temple hierarchy and other areas of knowledge in which astrologers were involved.

The Political History of Megiddo in the Early Iron Age and the Ambiguities of Evidence

This article reviews the major problems in the political history of Megiddo during the early Iron Age (Iron Age I–IIA), at the time of the early monarchic period in Israel (eleventh–ninth centuries BCE). Megiddo has been central to an ongoing debate over the nature of the early monarchic period in Israel and the exact chronology of the Iron Age I–IIA periods. This importance derives both from the extensive excavations of the relevant strata at Megiddo (VIA, VB and VA-IVB) as well as Megiddo’s appearance in relevant historical sources, namely the Hebrew Bible, which claims that Solomon “built” Megiddo, and its appearance in the campaign list of pharaoh Sheshonq I. Though the fragment of a stela of Sheshonq I was found at Megiddo, it was only found after having been discarded and so its stratigraphic attribution is unclear. Radiocarbon dating from these strata has assisted to some degree but still left dating and historical questions quite open. This article will demonstrate that the political history of Megiddo during the early Iron Age is beset with ambiguities in the evidence, which have been divided into seven ambiguities for the purpose of the discussion here. When these ambiguities are taken into account, it becomes clear that the interpreter has much latitude in making their reconstruction, specifically in how they date strata and associate them with putative historical developments. Different cases can be made for associating particular strata and their termination with Solomon, Sheshonq or even later kings, but none can claim to objectively be the correct or superior reconstruction.

Scholars, Priests, and Temples: Babylonian and Egyptian Science in Context. Introduction

This article introduces a double issue comprising 11 papers about Babylonian and Egyptian priests and scholarship between ca. 600 bce and 200 ce. They constitute the proceedings of the workshop “Scholars, Priests, and Temples: Babylonian and Egyptian Science in Context”, which was held at the Humboldt University Berlin, 12–14 May 2016, with support of the Excellence Cluster TOPOI. The workshop brought together Assyriologists and Egyptologists with expertise in Babylonian and Egyptian scholarship, priesthoods and temple institutions. All contributions have been revised and updated since then. The present contribution offers a brief introduction on previous research, cross-cultural interactions, economic aspects, royal patronage, and internal developments of Babylonian and Egyptian temple scholarship, followed by short summaries of the papers.

The Religious Sciences in Ancient Egypt

Within the Ancient Egyptian temple, science was an important occupation for certain specialized priests. Two fields particularly well documented are astronomy and astrology on the one hand, and medicine on the other. For the medical practitioners, namely the Sakhmet priest and the Leader of Serqet, there are even special manuals for their use attested. The paper presents some of the evidence and discusses it within its cultural context.

Writing History Under Empire: The Babylonian Chronicle Reconsidered

This article proposes to read the Babylonian Chronicle as historical literature. It argues that the text was composed in response to Babylonia’s integration in the Persian Empire. The text presents itself as a self-conscious departure from the chronographic tradition by tracing the roots of Babylon’s fate to the mid-eighth century, when a triangle of power is said to have emerged between Assyria, Babylonia and Elam—a configuration that reduced the Babylonian monarch to inaction and incompetence from the very start.

Priestly Scholars in Late Egypt: The Theoretical Side

This study focuses on literary and sub-literary texts which present Egyptian scholars. I first look at outsider’s views (like the church-father Clement of Alexandria), borderline views (like the Egyptian priest Chairemon), and insider’s views. For the latter examination, two compositions are studied in more detail. The first is the Book of the Temple, which is a manual of the ideal Egyptian temple, including sections about the duties of several of its intellectual specialists. The second is the Ritual for Entering the Chamber of Darkness, which is a difficult text about the initiation to arcane religious knowledge and the mysteries of writing.

Berossus and the Creation Story

This article investigates the fragments of the Babyloniaca of Berossus on creation. The following aspects are considered: the narrative structure of the book and how the account of creation is introduced, with broader implications for the cultural claims of Berossus and his peers; the relation between Berossus and previous Mesopotamian traditions, mainly the Babylonian Epic of Creation (Enuma elish), as well as possible evidence of Greek influence; and finally the view of human nature which is implicit in his account of the creation of humankind, notably the elimination of female agency and how his narrative relates to theories of human generation and the body that were current among the Babylonians, the Greeks, and the Egyptians.

Charming Snakes (and Kings), from Egypt to Persia

The war between Assyria and Egypt resulted in the deportation of scholars from the Nile Valley to Mesopotamia. Among them were the so-called “snake charmers.” While it was a well-known profession in Egypt, this was not the case in Assyria or Babylonia, where the treatment of snakebites and scorpion stings was left to exorcist doctors. A number of clues from the late Neo-Assyrian and Achaemenid Persian periods suggest that the “snake charmers” from Egypt enjoyed success with the kings of the great empires in the Middle East. Their presence most likely resulted from the professional structure and visibility of the Egyptian “snake charmers,” which were relatively absent in Mesopotamia.