Empires of the Ancient Near East:
Genesis, Structure, Demise
Beverly and Raymond Sackler
Art and Archaeology Lectures Symposium, 2006
Friday, April 14th, 2006
University of Connecticut

To examine empire in the context of the Ancient Near East is to think critically about the dynamics of power. Comparative study of ANE empires – their emergence, consolidation, expansion, and collapse – furthers historical understanding of diverse imperial polities, and provides crucial insight into the phenomenon of imperialism itself. From the formation of the Akkadian empire’s ideology of economic, ethnic and regional unification; and the modes of military and economic exploitation sustaining Assyrian imperial dominance; to the culturally adaptive hegemony of the Achaemenid Persian empire; or the rival imperial systems of Rome and Parthia, the mechanisms of imperial rule in the Ancient Near East have much to teach us today.

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The 5th annual Beverly and Raymond Sackler Art and Archaeology Symposium investigates the nature of ANE imperial organization. Speakers will address issues such as the various modes of imperial integration, the expansion of rule and its legitimation, rulers and the subjects of imperial address, and the social and cultural contexts of imperialization. The symposium will also explore the structure of imperial economies, and the causes of their decline and fall.

Schedule for Friday April 14th

Dr. David G. Woods, Dean of the School of Fine Arts, University of Connecticut
2 p.m.: Introduction

Dr. Harvey Weiss, Yale University
2:15 p.m.
“Was the Akkadian Empire Imperial?"

Dr. Marc Van de Mieroop, Columbia University
3:00 p.m.
“Building an empire: an Assyrian version"

tea break

Dr. John Curtis, The British Museum
4:00 p.m.
“The Art of Achaemenid Persia: Origins and Influences”

Dr. Susan Downey, University of California, Los Angeles
4:45 p.m.
“Rome and Parthia, Rival Empires in the Near East”

Location
The symposium will be held at the Thomas. J. Dodd Research Center, 405 Babbidge Road, on the Storrs campus of the University of Connecticut.

The Beverly and Raymond Sackler Art and Archaeology Lectures Symposium is open to the University community and the greater public.

Admission is free and a reception follows.

The Beverly and Raymond Sackler Art and Archaeology Lectures
The Beverly and Raymond Sackler Art and Archaeology Lectures, now in their fifth year, provide a unique opportunity to explore critical issues in the fields of Archaeology and Art History on the University of Connecticut campus at Storrs. This annual symposium fosters an exchange of ideas between scholars, faculty, and students across the University of Connecticut campus, and throughout the New England area. Dr. Raymond Sackler and his wife Beverly have generously provided funding to make this event possible.

For more information and directions, please explore this website, or contact Professor Robin Greeley at robin.greeley@uconn.edu.

Beverly and Raymond Sackler
Art and Archaeology Lectures
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2003: Mesopotamia under fire
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2006: Ancient Near East
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