Olof Pedersén
Professor in Assyriology.
Studies at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm (Architecture), University of Stockholm (History, Classical archaeology), Uppsala University (Arabic, Hebrew, Theology), and University of Copenhagen (Assyriology). Doctor in Semitic languages with specialization in Assyriology at Uppsala University 1985.
Assistant Researcher in Assyriology at Uppsala University 1987. Docent in Assyriology at Uppsala University 1989. Position as Researcher in Assyriology at HSFR 1992. University lecturer in Assyriology at Uppsala University 1998.
Professor in Assyriology at Uppsala University 2000 with research grants from the Swedish Research Council. Granted support as “Leading scholar” from the Swedish Research Council from 2005.
The research has for a number of years treated different central aspects of the use of written documentation within the older cultures in the Ancient Near East, where during the first half of human history people wrote with cuneiform script on clay tablets.
Present research projects deal with the archives and libraries with cuneiform texts excavated in Babylon. As a first step, a monograph with a preliminary reconstruction of all archives in their archaeological and historical context has been finished. The next step will be a detailed reconstruction and publication of the texts found in the palace archive of Nebuchadnezzar II (For details see Research).
Publications
Monographs
1 Archives and Libraries in the City of Assur, A Survey of the Material from the German Excavations, Part I (=Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, Studia Semitica Upsaliensia 6), Uppsala 1985, Diss., 125 pp.
Reviews:
W. Röllig, Welt des Orients 17 (1986) 160-161
A. R. George, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 1987, 99-101
H. Freydank, Orientalistische Literaturzeitung 82 (1987) 142-144
K. R. Veenhof, Zeitschrift der Assyriologie 77 (1987) 283-287
J. Pecirkova, Archiv Orientalni 56 (1988) 275-276
R. D. Biggs, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 47 (1988) 217-218
J. N. Postgate, Bibliotheca Orientalis 45 (1988) 355-357
P. Negri-Scafa, Oriens Antiquus 29 (1990) 135-137
S. Dalley, Journal of Semitic Studies 36 (1991) 147-149
J. A. Brinkman, Journal of the American Oriental Society 111 (1991) 372-374
H. Hirsch, Archiv für Orientforschung 38-39 (1991-1992) 193-194
2 Archives and Libraries in the City of Assur, A Survey of the Material from the German Excavations, Part II (=Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, Studia Semitica Upsaliensia 8), Uppsala 1986, 179 pp.
Reviews:
J. Pecirkova, Archiv Orientalni 57 (1989) 285-286
J. N. Postgate, Bibliotheca Orientalis 45 (1988) 355-357
P. Negri-Scafa, Oriens Antiquus 29 (1990) 135-137
S. Dalley, Journal of Semitic Studies 36 (1991) 147-149
J. A. Brinkman, Journal of the American Oriental Society 111 (1991) 372-374
H. Hirsch, Archiv für Orientforschung 38-39 (1991-1992) 193-194
3 Katalog der beschrifteten Objekte aus Assur, Die Schriftträger mit Ausnahme der Tontafeln und ähnlicher Archivtexte (=Abhandlungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft 23), Saarbrücken 1997, XXXVII+345 pp.
Reviews:
S. Ponchia, Bibliotheca Orientalis 56 (1999) 135-137
G. Kryszat, Orientalistische Literaturzeitung 94 (1999) 660-662
M. Jursa, Archiv für Orientforschung 46-47 (1999-2000) 443
R. D. Biggs, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 59 (2000) 73-74
4 Archives and Libraries in the Ancient Near East 1500-300 B.C., Bethesda, MD 1998, XXII+291 pp.
Reviews:
J. du Toit, Arc: the Journal of the Faculty of Religious Studies, McGuill University, Montreal 27 (1999) 223-225
A. Invernizzi, Mesopotamica 34-35 (1999-2000) 233
V. A. Hurowitz, Library History 16 (2000) 71-74
V. A. Hurowitz, Biblical Archaeology Society, Archaeology Odyssey (2000); http://bib-arch.org/aojf00/reviewpp.html
C. Bonnet, Studi Epigrafici E Linguistici sul Vicino Oriente antico 17 (2000) 132-133
C. Castel, Journal of the American Oriental Society 120 (2000) 480-481
R. D. Biggs, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 60 (2001) 226-227
H. B. Baker, Bibliotheca Orientalis 60 (2003) 279-283
C. E. Jones, Libraries & Culture 39/3 (2004) 323-324
5 Archive und Bibliotheken in Babylon: Die Tontafeln der Grabung Robert Koldeweys 1899-1917, (=Abhandlungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft 25), Saarbrücken 2005, XVIII+349 pp.
Reviews:
W. Meinhold, Journal of the American Oriental Society 127 (2007) 563-566
H. D. Baker, ‘Babylon in 484 BC: the Excavated Archival Tablets as a Source for Urban History’, Zeitschrift der Assyriologie 98 (2008) 100-116
A. R. George, Bibliotheca Orientalis 65 (2008) 712-717
R. D. Biggs, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 68 (2009) 111-113
Articles and reviews
1 ‘Catalogue of Objects’ in: Uch Tepe I, The Chicago-Copenhagen Expedition to Hamrin, ed. Mc Guire Gibson, Chicago & Copenhagen 1981, pp. 179-197.
2 ‘The Libraries in the City of Assur’ in: Keilschriftliche Literaturen, Ausgewählte Vorträge der XXXII. Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale Münster, 8.-12.7.1985, eds. K. Hecker & W. Sommerfeld (=Berliner Beiträge zum Vorderen Orient, Band 2), Berlin 1986, pp. 143-147.
3 ‘The Reading of the Neo-Assyrian Logogram U.U’ in: On the Dignity of Man, Oriental and Classical Studies in Honour of Frithiof Rundgren (=Orientalia Suecana 33-35), Uppsala 1986, pp. 313-315.
4 ‘Private Archives in Assur compared with some other Sites’ in: State Archives of Assyria Bulletin I/1, Padova 1987, pp. 43-52.
5 Review of: V. Donbaz & A. K. Grayson, Royal Inscriptions on Clay Cones from Ashur now in Istanbul (=The Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia, Supplements 1), Toronto 1984, in: Orientalistische Literaturzeitung 83, Berlin 1988, pp. 546-549.
6 ‘Remains of a Possible Old Assyrian Archive (‘O 2’) in the “Schotterhofbau”’ in: Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft 121, Berlin 1989, pp. 135-138.
7 ‘Die Assur-Texte in ihren archäologischen Zusammenhängen’ in: Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft 121, Berlin 1989, pp. 153-167.
8 ‘Some Morphological Aspects of Sumerian and Akkadian Linguistic Areas’ (misprint, should have been: ‘... as a Linguistic Area’) in: DUMU-E2-DUB-BA-A, Studies in Honor of Åke W. Sjöberg, eds. H. Behrens et al., Philadelphia 1989, pp. 429-438. Corrections of misprints can be downloaded here (preferably right-click or ctrl-click).
9 ‘One more Text from Nanunu’s archive (ALA II, N 22)’ in: State Archives of Assyria Bulletin III/2, Padova 1989, pp. 69-74.
10 Review of: S. Dalley & J. N. Postgate, The Tablets from Fort Shalmaneser (=Cuneiform Texts from Nimrud III), Oxford 1984, in: Archiv für Orientforschung 35, Wien 1988 (1990), pp. 169-173.
11 ‘Written and Oral Tradition: Mesopotamia compared with some other Cultures’ in: Festskrift till Gösta Vitestam (=Orientalia Suecana 38-39), Uppsala 1989-1990, pp. 120-124.
12 Review of: A. Westenholz, Old Sumerian and Old Akkadian Texts in Philadelphia, Part Two: The ‘Akkadian’ Texts, the Enlilemaba Texts, and the Onion Archive (=CNI Publications 3), Copenhagen 1987, in: Acta Orientalia 51, Copenhagen 1990, pp. 272-275.
13 Review of: A. Kirk Grayson, Assyrian Rulers of the Third and Second Millennia BC (to 1115 BC) (=The Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia, Assyrian Periods 1), Toronto 1987, in: Bibliotheca Orientalis 47, Leiden 1990 (1991), pp. 686-707.
14 ‘The structure of VS 19, 47’ in: N.A.B.U. 1991/51.
15 Review of: J. N. Postgate, The archive of Urad-Serua and his family, A Middle Assyrian household in government service (=Pubblicazioni del Progetto “Analisi elettronica del cuneiforme”, diretto da C. Saporetti, Corpus Medio-Assiro), Rom 1988, in: Orientalistische Literaturzeitung 86, Berlin 1991, pp. 162-165.
16 ‘Gräber und Archive in mesopotamischen Wohnhäusern - besonders Gruft 45 in Assur und das Archiv des Babu-aha-iddina’ in: Von Uruk nach Tuttul, eine Festschrift für Eva Strommenger, Studien und Aufsätze von Kollegen und Freunden, eds. B. Hrouda et al., München & Wien 1992, pp. 163-169.
17 ‘Ancient Near Eastern Objects with Cuneiform Inscriptions, Part I, Sumerian and Old Babylonian Royal Inscriptions’ in: Medelhavsmuseet Bulletin 26-27, Stockholm 1991-1992, pp. 3-16.
18 Together with L. Troy, ‘Egyptians in Nineveh’ in: N.A.B.U. 1993/48.
19 Review of: A. Kirk Grayson, Assyrian Rulers of the Early First Millennium BC (1114-859 BC) (=The Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia, Assyrian Periods 2), Toronto 1991, in: Bibliotheca Orientalis 51, Leiden 1994, pp. 365-372.
20 Review of: Jesper Eidem, The Shemshara Archives 2, The Administrative Texts (=Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernas Selskab, Historisk-filosofiske Skrifter 15), Copenhagen 1992, in: Acta Orientalia 55, Copenhagen 1994, pp. 197-200.
21 ‘Ancient Near Eastern Objects with Cuneiform Inscriptions, Part II, Elamite and Neo-Babylonian Royal Inscriptions’, in: Medelhavsmuseet Bulletin 29, Stockholm 1994, pp. 3-10.
22 Review of: Silvin Kosak, Konkordanz der Keilschrifttafeln I, Die Texte der Grabung 1931, Mit einer Einleitung von Heinrich Otten (=Studien zu den Bogazköy-Texten, Heft 34), Wiesbaden 1992, in: Orientalistische Literaturzeitung 90, Berlin 1995, pp. 278-282.
23 ‘Myhrman, David Wilhelm’, in: Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie, Vol. 8, ed. Dietz Otto Edzard, Berlin & New York (1993-)1997, p. 528.
24 ‘The Use of Writing among the Assyrians’, in: Assyrien im Wandel der Zeiten, XXXIXe Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale, Heidelberg 6.-10. Juli 1992, eds. H. Waetzoldt & H. Hauptmann, Heidelberg 1997, pp. 139-152.
25 ‘Eine mittelassyrische Tontafel aus Assur im British Museum’ in: Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft 129, Berlin 1997, pp. 171-172.
26 ‘Zu den altbabylonischen Archiven aus Babylon’, in: FS H. Klengel 4. Teil, Altorientalische Forschungen 25, Berlin 1998.
27 ‘A Problematic King in the Assyrian King List’, in: Munuscula Mesopotamica: Festschrift für Johannes Renger (=Alter Orient und Altes Testament 267), eds. B. Böck et al., Münster 1999, pp. 369-373.
28 ‘Archive und Bibliotheken in Babylon’, in: Babylon: Focus mesopotamischer Geschichte, Wiege früher Gelehrsamkeit, Mythos in der Moderne, (=Colloquien der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft 2), Saarbrücken 1999, pp. 307-321.
29 Together with Sverrir Olafsson, ‘The Cuneiform Tablet in Carolina Rediviva’, in: Orientalia Suecana 49, Uppsala 2000, pp. 107-110.
30 Together with Sverrir Olafsson, ‘Cuneiform Texts from Neo-Babylonian Sippar in the Gothenburg City Museum’, in: Orientalia Suecana 50, Uppsala 2001 (2002), pp. 75-130.
31 Review of: E. C. Cancik-Kirschbaum, Die mittelassyrischen Briefe aus tall Seh Hamad (=Berichte der Ausgrabung Tall Seh Hamad / Dur-katlimmu, Band 4), Berlin 1996, in: Orientalistische Literaturzeitung 97, Berlin 2002, pp. 530-534.
32 Review of: V. Donbaz & S. Parpola, Neo-Assyrian Legal Texts in Istanbul (=Studien zu den Assurtexten, 2), Saarbrücken 2001, in: Orientalistische Literaturzeitung 98, Berlin 2003, pp. 354-361.
33 ‘A Fish on a Tablet from Babylon’ in: Assyria and Beyond: Studies Presented to Mogens Trolle Larsen, ed. J. G. Dercksen (=Publication de l'Institut historique-archéologique néerlandais de Stamboul 100), Leiden 2004, pp. 451-454.
34 ‘Foreign Professionals in Babylon: Evidence from the Archive in the Palace of Nebuchadnezzar II’, in: Ethnicity in Ancient Mesopotamia, Papers Read at the 48th Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale, Leiden, 1-4 July 2002", eds. W.H. van Soldt, R. Kalvelagen och D. Katz (=Publication de l'Institut historique-archéologique néerlandais de Stamboul 102), 2005, pp. 267-272.
35 Review of: Marc J. H. Linssen, The Cults of Uruk and Babylon: The Temple Ritual Texts as Evidence for Hellenistic Cult Practice (= Cuneiform Monographs 25), Leiden & Boston 2004, in: Orientalistische Literaturzeitung 102, Berlin 2007, pp. 424-429.
36 ‘Reuther, Oscar’, in: Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie, Vol. 11, ed. Dietz Otto Edzard, Berlin & New York 2007, pp. 338-339.
37 ‘Archives et bibliothèques à l‘époque paléo et médio-babylonienne’, and ‘Archives et bibliothèques à l‘époque néo-babylonienne’ in: Babylone, ed. B. André-Salvini, Musée du Louvre éditions, Paris 2008, pp. 102-103, 176-179.
38 ‘Die Wiedergewinnung der zeitgenössischen schriftlichen Quellen: eine Übersicht des Bestandes’ in: Babylon: Mythos und Wahrheit, eds. J. Marzahn & G. Schauerte, Hirmer Verlag, München 2008, pp. 81-90.
39 ‘Neo-Assyrian Texts from Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon: A Preliminary Report’ in: Of God(s), Trees, Kings, and Scholars: Neo-Assyrian and Related Studies in Honour of Simo Parpola, eds. M. Luukko, S. Svärd, & R. Mattila (= Studia Orientalia 106), Helsinki 2009, pp. 193-199.
40 ‘Archives and Libraries: I. Ancient Near East and Hebrew Bible/Old Testament’ in: Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception, Berlin & New York 2009, pp. 676-683.
Selected works in Swedish
1 ‘De hängande trädgårdarna i Babylon’ in: Antikens sju underverk, eds. P. Hellström & S. Unge, Stockholm 1993, pp. 26-40.
2 ‘Skriftens uppkomst och tidiga utveckling: kilskrift och alfabet’, in: Kultur och samhälle i språkets spegel: En essäsamling från språkvetenskapliga fakulteten, ed. G. Gren-Eklund, Uppsala 1999, pp. 133-140.
3 ‘Appendix, Kilskrift’, in: A. Strindberg, En ny blå bok (August Strindbergs Samlade Verk 66), ed. G. Ollén, Stockholm 1999, pp. 1090-1092.
4 Articles for Nationalencyklopedin, Höganäs 1989-1996, e.g.: Akkad, akkadiska, amoriter, araméer, Assur, Assurbanipal, Assyrien, Babylon, Babylonien, bibliotek (kilskriftsbibliotek), Ebla, Elam (historia, språk och skrift), Enuma elish, Eridu, Gilgamesh-eposet, Gudea, habiru, Hammurabi, Harran, hurriter (historia och språk), Iraq (förhistoria och historia före 637 e.Kr.), Isin, Kalah, kaldéer, Kanesh, kassiter, Khorsabad, kilskrift, kingu, kudurru, Lagash, Larsa, Lugalzagesi, mannéer, Marduk, Mari, me, Meluhha, Mitanni, Nabonid, Naramsin, Nebukadnessar, Nineve, Nippur, Nuzi, Salmanassar, Sam’al, Samarra, Sanherib, Sargon av Akkad, Sargon II, Semiramis, Sumer, Susa, Syrien (förhistoria och historia före 300 f.Kr.), Tiglatpileser I and III, Ubaid, Ugarit, Ur, Urartu, Uruk, zikkurrat.
5 Articles for Nationalencyklopedin, Internet edition (http://www.ne.se) Höganäs 2000: several new and rewritten articles.
6 ‘Alfabet och kilskriften / The Alphabet and the Cuneiform Script’ and ‘Skrift / Writing’, in: Till Österland vill jag fara: Professuren i semitiska språk vid Uppsala universitet 400 år / The Call of the Orient: The Professorship of Semitic languages at Uppsala University 400 years, ed. H. Nordesjö, Uppsala 2005, pp. 31-35.
7 ‘De äldsta biblioteken: lertavlor med kilskriftstext’, in: Tvärsnitt 3:05, Stockholm 2005, pp. 2-6.
8. ‘Babylon: Arkiv och bibliotek i en forntida orientalisk storstad’, in: Annales Societatis Litterarum Humaniorum Regiae Upsaliensis, Kungl. Humanistiska Vetenskapssamfundet i Uppsala, Årsbok 2006, pp. 5-21.
Teaching
Regularly since 1985 until today, I have been teaching ancient languages, especially Akkadian and Sumerian, history, culture and archaeology of the Ancient Near East, trying to integrate the different approaches. The material treated has been from different periods and areas within the Ancient Near East and the texts discussed in teaching represents different dialects, and with different types of texts. The classes have been from introductory until doctorate levels.
Lectures
Lectures presenting new reaseach have regularly been given at international and national conferences. Lectures of interest for the general public have been given at different Swedish institutions. Interviews have been offered for newspapers, radio and television.