Alice Mandell lecture
William Foxwell Albright Chair in Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Department of Near Eastern Studies – Johns Hopkins University
Canaanite Cuneiform Culture in the Amarna Age
During the Amarna Age (the mid-14th century BCE), kings in the ancient Middle East corresponded with the Egyptian pharaoh. The largest group of cuneiform letters recovered from Tell el-‘Amarna, Egypt are communications from Canaanite elites. While much of past scholarship has focused on the elites sending these letters, the letters also offer insight into the scribal communities that wrote them. Key developments in the study of the Canaanite Amarna letters enable scholars to track the movement of scribes, and their connections with local elites and Egyptian officials. The letters also offer insight into Canaanite scribal education and their innovative uses of cuneiform to communicate to the scribes working for Egypt.
Johns Hopkins Homewood campus, , Clark Hall Room 110