Articles

Takács, G. — Questions of Egyptian historical Phonology and Afro-Asiatic

The new monograph on Egyptian historical grammar by J. P. Allen appeared merely some two decades after A. Loprieno’s (1995) book with similar scope and aims. In this review article, the reviewer is investigating whether the author has managed to yield a new synthesis in the swampy domain of historical phonology, by determining to what extent his material reflects and matches our knowledge on the subject hitherto accumulated on the one hand and how convincing the new solutions are on the other hand.

Hense, M. and Kaper, O.E., with a contribution by R.C.A. Geerts — A Stela of Amenemhet IV from the Main Temple at Berenike

Two fragments of a hieroglyphic stela were found in 2015 in the main temple at Berenike that may be dated to the reign of Amenemhet IV (c. 1786-1777 BC). In 1818, Belzoni had discovered another fragment of the same stela in the temple, which is now lost. The Belzoni fragment allows the stela to be reconstructed on paper, and it completes the titles of a court official and expedition leader Ptahhotep. Even though few other pre-Ptolemaic remains are known from the site, this Middle Kingdom stela suggests a relation of the natural harbour at Berenike with the maritime trade with Punt, which was based at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis.

Wasserman, N. — Piercing the Eyes. An Old Babylonian Love Incantation and the Preparation of Kohl

VS 17, 23, a short Old Babylonian incantation dealing with love, first published by J. van Dijk (1971, 11; without translation), stands at the heart of this article. A brief introduction (§ I) is followed by a discussion of the intricate literary construction of the incantation (§ II). The possibility of its containing information about the preparation of cosmetics in Old Babylonian times ends this paper (§ III).

Stol, M., und U. Seidl — Waffen im alten Mesopotamien

Für das Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie (RlA) war das Stichwort “Waffen” als Überblicksartikel vorgesehen, mit Erörterungen zu Waffen im Allgemeinen und zusätzlicher Literatur zu schon früher behandelten Waffen. Als Autoren wurden M. Stol (Waffen, philologisch) und U. Seidl (Waffen: Dolch, archäologisch) eingeladen. Sie haben die Arbeit gemacht und es stellte sich heraus, dass es aus technischen Gründen nicht möglich war, ihre Manuskripte abzudrucken. Das wird jetzt hier in der Zeitschrift Bibliotheca Orientalis geschehen. Wir folgen der Organisationsweise, Stil und sonstigen Gepflogenheiten des RlA. Ein Sternchen* nach einem Wort verweist auf das Stichwort im RlA. Wir danken der Redaktion des Reallexikons dafür, dass sie die Manuskripte schon bearbeitet hatte.

Book reviews and announcements

Faraonisch Egypte, Grieks-Romeins Egypte, Christelijk Egypte, Assyriologie, Hettitologie, Semitica, Oude Testament, Judaica, Oosters Christendom, Archeologie, Arabica, Turcica, Midden-Oosten.

General information on BiOr

For authors, reviewers, and publishers

The publication schedule, guidelines for reviews and articles, and more, is found on our BiOr guidelines page. Publishers of books to be reviewed will also find useful information there.

Indexes on BiOr

Looking for a review of a specific book? All book reviews, articles, and In Memoriams published in BiOr from start to present are listed in the digitised indexes. Download BiOr indexes 1943-2022 (pdf, ca. 30 MB) and use the search function in your pdf viewer.