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Welcome to the Center for Ancient Near Eastern Studies

The discipline of Ancient Near Eastern Studies explores the ancient cultures of the Near East (the area of today’s states of Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Turkey) from the fourth millennium to the first millennium BC. A degree in Ancient Near Eastern Studies involves decoding and interpreting cuneiform texts originating from various Ancient Near Eastern cultures as well as studying Ancient Near Eastern languages, primarily Sumerian and Akkadian (Babylonian and Assyrian).

In Marburg, Ancient Near Eastern Studies focuses in particular on the intellectual history of Mesopotamia from the 2nd and 1st millenniums BC. Our Research Center is home to traditional texts of the scholar world, which focus on Ancient Near Eastern “magic”, symbol interpretation and science. Here, the collection of unpublished cuneiform texts are being studied and religious and cultural topics are being dealt with from the perspective of the Ancient Near East.

The Near and Middle Eastern Studies program at Marburg aims to provide students with the broadest possible education; this involves studying the Akkadian and Sumerian languages as well as learning cuneiform writing. In addition to developing students’ language skills, in the Master’s program students need to be able to read cuneiform texts, either in original or photo form.

Tradition

The Marburg Ancient Near Eastern Studies department looks back on more than 125 years of history. In 1893, Peter Jensen was appointed the first Ancient Near Eastern Studies specialist. He was followed by Benno Landsberger, Albrecht Götze, Carl Frank, Heinrich Otten, Martin Kümmel and, from 1988 to 2017, Walter Sommerfeld. Heinrich Otten and Walter Sommerfeld worked at the University of Marburg for many years and greatly influenced Marburg’s department of Ancient Near Eastern Studies with his research in Hittite and economic history. Nils Heeßel has held the professorship of Ancient Near Eastern Studies since September 2017.

Surrounding area

The center of Marburg offers excellent places for students of Ancient Near Eastern Studies to work. There are plenty of workspaces available for individuals and groups in the University Library and Departmental Libraries that can be found nearby. This new building was opened in April 2018. The Department of Ancient Near Eastern Studies’ extensive, well-developed portfolios can be found together there. In addition to the extensive literature available from neighboring departments such as Semitic Studies, Iranian Studies, and Theology, these portfolios help students to research beyond the narrow boundaries of Ancient Near Eastern Studies. In Marburg, Ancient Near Eastern Studies is based in two places. One is the Center for Near and Middle Eastern Studies, which explores the Middle East from a diachronic perspective. The other is the Marburg Center for the Ancient World, where the departments of the ancient sciences come together to explore the Middle East to Western Europe from a philological and archaeological perspective. In addition to this, Marburg University offers students the opportunity to minor in subjects that complement a degree in Ancient Near Eastern Studies; subjects such as Semitic Studies, Comparative Linguistics, Religious Studies, History of Pharmacy, History of Medicine, etc. Such courses are difficult to find at other universities.