Continuity and Discontinuity
in the 'Fertile Crescent' during the Bronze to Iron Age Transition – a Liberty Profile Project of the University of Jena
Karte der Levante von Claudius Ptolemaeus in einer Reproduktion von Johann Reger, 1486
Impression of a Neo-Assyrian Stamp seal with divine symbols (MET 74.51.4368)
Graphic: T. TangThe transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age (13th–10th centuries BCE) marked a significant shift in power structures in the Near East. While previous scholarship put much emphasis on the disruption and discontinuity between the Bronze and Iron Ages, there is now an increasing focus on the continuities.
The project examines the Levant—a contact zone between the large empires in Egypt, Asia Minor, and Mesopotamia—during this transition. It aims to explore the continuities and discontinuities across the Fertile Crescent, including connections to the Arabian Peninsula and the Aegean world, at various societal levels.
Specifically, the project investigates the extent of socio-economic continuities in rural hinterland populations, advancing the hypothesis that the resilience of local and regional clan and tribal structures underpinned both late Bronze Age city-states and Iron Age territorial states.
á-jour gearbeitetes Möbelornamente aus Elfenbein mit Darstellung zweier Sphingen, Syrien 9.-8. Jh. v. Z. (MET 57.80.4)
Image: The MET (OA)-
Bezzel, Hannes, Univ.-Prof. Dr Professur Altes Testament
Room 104
Fürstengraben 6
07743 Jena -
Hackl, Johannes, Prof. Dr Lehrstuhl Altorientalistik
Room D 307
Zwätzengasse 4
07743 Jena -
Stein, Juliane Lehrstuhl Altorientalistik
Room D302
Zwätzengasse 4
07743 Jena
Juliane Stein
