Ryckmans Chair of South Semitic Studies and Epigraphy from the Arabian Peninsula [ LGLOR2743 ]

The documents and bibliography can be obtained from the iCampus server.

None, but knowledge of another  or several Semitic languages would be a big advantage

An initiation into South-Semitic languages, especially Sabian and Ancient Arabic, as well as the history and culture of the Arabian peninsula in the pre-Islamic period, as well as the neighbouring regions (especially Ethiopia).

According to the year, the course deals with the following themes:
1. Sabian and an outline of other South Arabian languages such as Minaean (or Madhabian), Qatabanite, and Hadramotic;
2. Ancient Arabic and its inscriptions;
3. An initiation into Classical Ethiopian (ge'ez);
4. Sources for the history of Ancient Arabia and Ethiopia (inscriptions, literature, archaeology).

At the end of this course, the student will be able to decipher, transliterate and translate simple or average texts. To achieve this he will have mastered the alphabet, the different forms of writing and have acquired a basic vocabulary. He will, moreover, have mastered the the principal mechanisms of the language (syntax and morphology). He will also have acquired an outline knowledge of the principal challenges in research into Ancient Arabia  and Ethiopia, in the fields of inscriptions philology and history.

Oral or written exam covering reading transliteration translation and grammatical analysis of a text.

The various elements of the language will exposed and explained with the aid of examples. These  elements as well as a basic vocabulary will be acquired by means of texts and preparation by the student using the tools acquired (reference grammar, dictionary).

This Chair, which is dedicated to the memory of two great pioneers of South-Semitic studies, Gonzague Ryckmans (1887-1969) and Jacques Ryckmans (1924-2005), has as its objective to provide courses on Sabian and other South-Arabic languages, as well as on Ancient Arabic inscriptions and on Classical Ethiopian (ge'ez).

Sabian belongs to the South Semitic group. This language, in different forms, is that of a large number of inscriptions covering the period from the eigth century B.C to the fourth century A.D. The other languages, such Minaean (or Madhabian), Qatabanite, and Hadramotic are all derivatives, as well as the various Ethiopian languages such as ge'ez. As for the corpus of  Ancient Arabic inscriptions, these are mostly in Lihyanite or Thamoudian.

Studies in all these variants can be undertaken under the aegis of this Chair, with an approach that is both linguistic and philological, as well as developing the relevant historical and cultural contexts.

A bibliography will be supplied.

The theme will be clearly defined each year that the course is given.