Studia Antiqua et Archaeologica 30(2):281-289 Zozan TARHAN DOI: 10.47743/saa-2024-30-2-3  ABSTRACT The main element of the Assyrian culture that Urarṭu adopted was the Neo-Assyrian cuneiform writing system. Along with the writing system various aspects of Assyrian culture were taken over as well. The Urarṭian royal titulary and epithets, both of which were strongly connected to the royal ideology, were taken over from the Assyrians. Aside from them, other ideological motifs were borrowed as well. The present paper investigates the Assyrian patterns and ideological motifs, which were adopted and adapted in Urarṭian royal inscriptions. Additionally it discusses the toponyms Nai’ri, Urarṭu and Bia (the latter often referred to as Biainili in modern studies) in the Assyrian and Urarṭian sources, the relationship between these toponyms, and their development over time. REZUMAT Principalul element al culturii asiriene pe care Urarṭu l-a adoptat a fost sistemul de scriere cuneiform neoasirian. Împreună cu sistemul de scriere(…)

Studia Antiqua et Archaeologica 30(2):243-279 Joanna TÖYRÄÄNVUORI DOI: 10.47743/saa-2024-30-2-2  ABSTRACT The cuneiform alphabetic script from Ugarit was in use during the Late Bronze Age. The origins of the script remain shrouded in mystery but it is generally assumed that the script was an invention of local scribes, as the majority of text finds are from the kingdom. The cuneiform alphabetic texts found outside of the kingdom of Ugarit make up a small percentage of the overall text corpus. These finds, spanning the Eastern Mediterranean and consisting altogether of ten inscriptions on a variety of objects, may shed light on Ugarit’s role in the commercial network of the LBA in which the kingdom seems to have been an important node, especially in examining the overland trade connections from the maritime powerhouse that remain largely unexplored. The cuneiform alphabetic script, an artefact characterizing the entire Ugaritian culture in its unique combination of(…)