Law Codes
The Code of Hammurabi, Ascribed to Hammurabi
Description: The so-called law code was a political document meant to promote the kingship of Hammurabi. It reveals striking class inequality and was seldom if ever consulted in legal contexts.
Date: Old Babylonian, c. 1800 BCE
Location: Babylon
Keywords: Code of Hammurabi; Law; Kingship
Course codes: ASH3200; ASH3204; EUH2000; WOH2012
Letters
Amarna Letter 1 (EA 1), Amenhotep III
Description: From the world's earliest known diplomatic archive. A letter from the king of Egypt to the king of Babylon discussing a diplomatic marriage.
Date: Late Bronze Age c. 1350 BCE
Location: Tell el-Amarna
Keywords: Diplomacy; letter; letter; diplomatic marriage
Course codes: ASH3200; ASH3204; EUH2000; WOH2012
Amarna Letter 7 (EA 7), Burnaburniash
Description: From the world's earliest known diplomatic archive. A whiny complaint letter from the king of Babylon to the king of Egypt discussing a diplomatic gift.
Date: Late Bronze Age c. 1350 BCE
Location: Tell el-Amarna, Egypt
Keywords: Diplomacy; letter; letter; diplomatic gifts
Course codes: ASH3200; ASH3204; EUH2000; WOH2012
Other
Gilgamesh Flood Story, Tablet XI, Unknown
Description: The world's original epic. The flood story, first known from a Sumerian version, shares traits in common with the beloved tale known from the Hebrew Bible.
Date: Standard Babylonian (c. 600 BCE)
Location: Babylon
Keywords: Gilgamesh; flood; Literary; Epic
Course codes: ASH3200; ASH3204; EUH2000; WOH2012
The Book of the Dead, Unknown
Description: The book of the dead was used to provide information about the perilous journey into the afterlife.
Date: c. 1500 BCE
Location: Egypt
Keywords: Afterlife; Religious text
Course codes: EUH2000; WOH2012; ASH3200; ASH3204
Description: Andrew George's magnum opus, the definitive critical edition on the ancient Epic of Gilgamesh.
Date: Sumerian-Babylonian
Location: Mesopotamia
Keywords: Gilgamesh; critical edition
Course codes: ASH3200; ASH3204; EUH2000; WOH2012
The Hebrew Bible, Anthology
Description: The scholarly NRSV version of the Bible online with ability to cross-reference other translations.
Date: c. 500 BCE
Location: Israel
Keywords: Bible; Historical; Political; Legal; Religious
Course codes: EUH2000; WOH2012; ASH3200; ASH3204
The Story of Sinuhe, Unknown
Description: A classic literary tale of an Egyptian prodigal son who travels north to Syria and returns home once more.
Date: Middle Kingdom, c. 1850
Location: Egypt
Keywords: Sinuhe; literary
Course codes: EUH2000; WOH2012; ASH3200; ASH3204