The Libraries of Babylon

• Applicants: Dr. Greta Van Buylaere; Professorin Dr. Kristin Kleber
• Subject Area: Egyptology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 540544922

The first main objective of the project “Die Bibliotheken von Babylon” ("The Libraries of Babylon") is to create scholarly editions of approximately 300 library and school texts that were discovered in Neo- and Late Babylonian contexts within the city of Babylon during the German excavations led by Robert Koldewey over a century ago. These tablets, which are primarily housed in the Vorderasiatisches Museum in Berlin, plus some that are lost as tablets but their texts are preserved by photographs of the excavators, have not been edited until now. We can anticipate that among these tablets are hitherto unknown literary and religious compositions, along with new fragments from already known works. The editions will be made available in both printed book form and online, as they will be fed into the “Fragmentarium” of the electronic Babylonian Library (eBL) website. Taking advantage of the fact that many of these tablets have a documented archaeological context, the project seeks to explore the social environment of those who possessed these libraries. Thus, as the second main goal, we want to gain insights into how the intellectual landscape evolved following the Persian conquest and the loss of indigenous Babylonian kingship. The project aims to pinpoint locations of educational activities, and compare the textual inventory of the tablet collections predating the 5th century BC to works of "Late Babylonian Priestly Literature" from Babylon. We will juxtapose the inventories with the better-documented Hellenistic libraries, particularly those from Uruk. This comparative approach will yield deeper insights into the intellectual and societal changes that shaped the post-5th century period.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants