Thursday 13th May 2010
Professor John Healey (University of Manchester)
Everyday life in Aramaic Documents and Inscriptions: from Elephantine to Edessa
Prof. John Healey's most recent research has been on Aramaic legal tradition and this interest in the everyday concerns of the writers of Aramaic legal documents and inscriptions is the inspiration for this talk. Jews and pagans shared a common legal tradition in the drawing up of contracts to sell property and for other transactions, with age-old formulae found also among other ancient Near Eastern peoples. The talk will illustrate this material by showing pictures of surviving documents and by discussing the details of some documents written in various dialects of Aramaic: Elephantine Aramaic, Nabataean Aramaic and Syriac (i.e. Edessan Aramaic). The same legal concerns are also frequently reflected in inscriptions designed to establish ownership of tombs and this aspect will be illustrated especially through inscriptions from the Nabataean kingdom (ancient Jordan) and from Palmyra (Syria). Another aspect of everyday life will be covered through discussion of the impressive Palmyrene Tax inscription (137 CE), which is bilingual (Aramaic and Greek) and gives great detail on the way that local taxation operated in Palmyra.
LECTURE COMMENCES AT 7.00 p.m.
(Light refreshments from 6.30 p.m.)
Room A113
All welcome - Admission free
For further information or to indicate your wish to attend, please contact:
Dr Adrian Curtis, Religions and Theology, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL (Tel: 0161 275 3606, email:adrian.curtis@manchester.ac.uk)
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