Time and Urgency in Old Assyrian Letters

Aktivität: VorträgeVortragScience to Science

Beschreibung

To facilitate the trade that reaches across a distance of some 1,000km from Assur to Anatolia, in the early 2nd mill. BC, letters became for the Assyrians the most important type of document. Of the c. 24,000 Old Assyrian tablets, about 40% can be estimated to be letters. Thus, in letters we have an incredible wealth of insights into the Old Assyrian world. One aspect to be gleaned is how well the aphorism “time is money” is applicable to Old Assyrian society. Time is one of the most important factors in the argumentative strategies when the Assyrian traders request (urgent) aid from their colleagues. I would propose to
investigate the rhetorical conventions to convey such urgency, what they imply about the relations the traders had to one another, and in what way such expressions relate to the real-world means of transport and the possible speed of communication. To what degree are they simply rhetorical conventions or reflect a real historical background?
Zeitraum5 März 2022
Ereignistitel4th Graduate Symposium in Ancient Near Eastern Studies: Communication
VeranstaltungstypKonferenz
OrtNew Haven, USA / Vereinigte Staaten, ConnecticutAuf Karte anzeigen
BekanntheitsgradInternational