Chair Ryckmans: History and Culture of Ancient Arabia

Teacher(s)

Tavernier Jan;

Language

French

Prerequisites

None, but knowledge of either the basics of Near Eastern archaeology or one or more Semitic languages will be helpful.

Main themes

An introduction to the history and culture of the Arabian Peninsula in the pre-Islamic period (roughly, from the 3rd millennium BCE to the 7th century CE), with a focus on the extant archaeological and textual sources.
The conceptual framework consists of the chronology, the religious practices, the historical geography and the main archaeological site of the Peninsula.
The attested writing systems and languages will also be discussed. If time permits it, one or more inscriptions in one of the Ancient North Arabian and/or Ancient South Arabian languages will be analysed and translated.
The themes will be determined more precisely in accordance with the availability of guest lecturers, and, when possible, with the interests and specialisations of the students.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	will have acquired a profound understanding of the historical, religious and archaeological developments of the region, including the main research in research on Ancient Arabia.
will also have acquired a basic knowledge of the main characteristics of one or more languages of North and/or South Arabia (Lihyanite, Safaitic, Thamudic; Sabaean, Minaeic, Qatabanic, Hadramitic).

Content

An introduction to the history and culture of the Arabian Peninsula in the pre-Islamic period (roughly, from the 3rd millennium BCE to the 7th century CE), with a focus on the extant archaeological and textual sources. The conceptual framework consists of the chronology, the religious practices, the historical geography and the main archaeological site of the Peninsula.
The attested writing systems and languages will also be discussed. If time permits it, one or more inscriptions in one of the Ancient North Arabian and/or Ancient South Arabian languages will be analysed and translated.

Teaching methods

This course comes in the format of occasional sessions sustained by the Moodle virtual teaching environment, and the own input of the students. Students are required to prepare an intervention based on the knowledge obtained in the introduction as well as on their own reading of published sources and studies.

Evaluation methods

Evaluation of an intervention, to be submitted in writing and to be presented orally and pertaining to a relevant subject, e.g., a corpus of texts or an archeological site in its historical context.

Other information

English-friendly course: course taught in French but offering facilities in English.

Online resources

http://dasi.cnr.it/ (Digital Archive for the Study of pre-Islamic Arabian Inscriptions).
https://krc.web.ox.ac.uk/article/ociana#/ (Online Corpus of the Inscriptions of Ancient North Arabia).

Bibliography

• Revue: Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy
• ‘Abd al Qadir Bafaqih, M. (1990), L’unification du Yémen antique. La lutte entre Saba’, Ḥimyar et le Ḥadramawt du Ier au IIIème siècle de l’ère chrétienne (Bibliothèque de Raydan 1), Paris.
• Beeston, A.F.L. (1984), Sabaic Grammar (Journal of Semitic Studies. Monograph 6), Manchester.
• Beeston, A.F.L., Ghul, M.A., Müller, W.W. & Ryckmans, J. (1982), Dictionnaire sabéen (anglais – français – arabe) (Publications of the University of Sanaa), Leuven.
• Hoyland, R.G. (2001), Arabia and the Arabs from the Bronze Age to the Coming of Islam, London – New York.
• Al-Jallad, A. (2015), An outline of the grammar of the Safaitic inscriptions (Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics 80), Leiden.
• Al-Jallad, A. & Jaworska, K. (2015), A Dictionary of the Safaitic inscriptions (Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics 98), Leiden.
• Kitchen, K.A. (1994), Documentation for Ancient Arabia. 1, chronological framework and historical sources, Liverpool.
• Kogan, L.E. & Korotayev, A.V. (1997), « Sayhadic (Epigraphic South Arabian) », R. Hetzron (ed.), The Semitic Languages, London, 220-241.
• Lombard, P. (2016), Qal’at al-Bahrain, Ancient Capital and Harbour of Dilmun. The Site Museum, Bahrain.
• Macdonald, M.C.A. (2000), « Reflections on the linguistic map of pre-Islamic Arabia », Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 11, 28-79.
• Macdonald, M.C.A. (2010), « Ancient Arabia and the written word », M.C.A. Macdonald (ed.), The development of Arabic as a written language (Supplement to the Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 40), Oxford, 5-28.
• Robin, C. (2004), « Himyar et Israel », CRAIBL 148, 831-908.
• Al-Shahri, A.A.M. (1991): « Recent Epigraphic Discoveries in Dhofar », Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 21, 173-191.
• Von Wissman, H. (1982), Die Geschichte von Saba'II.: das Grossreich der Sabäer bis zu seinem Ende im Frühen 4. Jh. v. Chr. (SÖAW 402), Wien.

Teaching materials

• Portefeuille de lectures/textes

Faculty or entity

EHAC