Assyriology

   The archaeological and historical study of ancient Mesopotamia. The reference to Assyria in this term reflects the fact that most of the earliest scholars in the field spent their careers unearthing Assyrian ruins. However, Assyriology came to incorporate the remnants of the Sumerian and Babylonian civilizations as well as those of other ancient cities, kingdoms, and peoples of the region. Much of what is known about these long-dead cultures comes from surviving writings on clay tablets, stone markers, bas-reliefs, and so forth. Thus, Assyriologists have the daunting task of becoming proficient in several ancient languages, including Hebrew, Aramaic, and Akkadian, which had several dialects. They must also learn to read the hundreds of cuneiform characters used in Mesopotamian writings for thousands of years. In addition, many scholars in the field are trained in archaeological field methods and comparative anthropology so that they can recognize and interpret various Mesopotamian artifacts unearthed over the years. Among the early pioneers of Assyriology were Paul Emile Botta, Georg F. Grotefend, Robert Koldewey, Samuel N. Kramer, Austen Henry Layard, Seton Lloyd, William K. Loftus, Karsten Niebuhr, Hormuzd Rassam, Henry C. Rawlinson, Claudius James Rich, George Smith, and Charles Leonard Woolley. For details on the discoveries these scholars made, see their individual names.

   See also: cuneiform; languages; writing materials