Near Eastern Studies Trivia Quizzes

What Semitic language, derived from medieval Arabic with Romance superstrata, is unique in so far as its written in the Latin script rather than an indigenous Semitic script?

Lived 1836-1930, which German Semitist studied at the University of Göttingen (under Heinrich Ewald) and conducted research in Leipzig, Vienna, Leiden, and Berlin before going on to teach at the Universities of Göttingen, Kiel, and Strasbourg? In addition to writing grammars of Classical Arabic, Syriac, and Mandaic as well as seminal works on Islamic history, he trained a generation of scholars including Carl Brockelmann, Louis Ginzberg, Friedrich Schwally, and Charles C. Torrey; he was succeeded at Strasbourg by L. R. Enno Littmann. In 1931, the year after his death, Duncan Macdonald wrote of him, "[This person], Nestor of Orientalists was, by all odds, the leading Semitic scholar in the West for two generations."

Lived 1926-2019, this scholar of Sumerian language and linguistics was described "as understanding Sumerian better than anyone since the beginning of the second millennium B.C.," according to a statement from the University of Chicago's Division of the Humanities. According to his obituary in the Chicago Tribune, his colleague at the University of Chicago, Christopher Woods, said, "No one has known Sumerian better than him since the time the language was spoken." Among his many contributions to Sumerian grammar is his elucidation of the deontic and epistemic functions of the modal prefixes in the verbal chain.

In 1857, what four men met in London to take part in a famous experiment testing the accuracy of the decipherment of Akkadian cuneiform? {Select four}

The Edward Ullendorff Medal, commemorating Professor Ullendorff (1920-2011), is awarded annually for scholarly distinction and achievements in the field of Semitic languages and Ethiopian studies. Who was the first scholar to receive the award in 2012?

Which famous Griffith, the namesake of The Griffith Institute at the University of Oxford, worked with Williams Matthew Flinders Petrie and Edouard Neville as a student for The Egypt Exploration Fund (EEF) before going on to teach at Oxford? (The Griffith Institute is the heart of Egyptology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at Oxford and is responsible for, inter alia, two major projects: The Digital Topographical Bibliography and the Oxford Egyptological Bibliography.)

Lived 1550-1616, who was the popular Flemish Orientalist and Christian exegete who taught at the Universities of Oxford, Leiden, and Franeker? He was especially prolific in ancient languages and wrote/communicated in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin among the modern vernaculars. He was also a friend of Jacobus Arminius.

Founded in 1897, the Department of Semitics at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. has a long history of studying the languages and literature of both the Ancient and Christian Near East. Its past faculty boasts luminaries such as Romain François Butin (1871-1937), Fr. Albert Jamme (1916-2004), Joseph Fitzmyer (1920-2016), and Michael Patrick O'Connor (1950-2007), among many others. Who was the first professor appointed to the university and first director of the department?

Who wrote what is probably the most widely known and used reference grammar of Akkadian, Grundriss der Akkadischen Grammatik?

Which former Johns Hopkins professor of Semitics, known for surviving significant hardships during World War II, including fleeing the Nazi invasion of Poland and enduring captivity under Japanese forces, later studied under William F. Albright and taught at Hopkins?

Which famous Sumerian literary composition begins in the following way: "After kingship descended from heaven, kingship was in Eridug. In Eridug, Alulim became king; he ruled for 28,800 years." It goes on to provide a quasi-chronological list of kings who ruled various city-states in southern Mesopotamia from the mythical beginnings of kingship to the early historical period. It also mentions a flood, after which the length of the reigns of the kings is significantly diminished: "After the flood had swept over, and kingship had descended from heaven, kingship was in Kiš. In Kiš, Jušur became king; he ruled for 1,200 years." Among the many kings mentioned are Dumuzid, Lugalbanda, and Gilgameš--all of whom become deified individuals in later Sumerian mythology and literature.

Which Sumerian narrative/poem about Gilgameš describes a conflict between two Mesopotamian cities, Kiš and Uruk. Composed in Sumerian during the Old Babylonian period, the narrative is summarized as follows: Envoys of the king of Kiš arrive to Uruk with a message. When Gilgameš wanted to wage war/rebel against the ruler of Kiš, the assembly of elders of Uruk rejected his decision, but Gilgameš precedes with his plan anyway. The army of Kiš besieges Uruk, but Gilgameš defeats them and takes the king of Kiš captive. When the king of Kiš endorses the independence of Uruk with Gilgameš as its ruler, Gilgameš sets the Kišite king free. The poem ends, "Gilgameš, lord of Kulaba, Praising you is sweet."

Lived 1926-2019, this scholar of Sumerian language and linguistics was described "as understanding Sumerian better than anyone since the beginning of the second millennium B.C.," according to a statement from the University of Chicago's Division of the Humanities. According to his obituary in the Chicago Tribune, his colleague at the University of Chicago, Christopher Woods, said, "No one has known Sumerian better than him since the time the language was spoken." Among his many contributions to Sumerian grammar is his elucidation of the deontic and epistemic functions of the modal prefixes in the verbal chain.

Of the many myths and hymns to the goddess Inanna, which Sumerian poem famously begins "From the great heaven toward the great Underworld, she set her mind. From the great heaven toward the great Underworld, the deity set her mind. From the great heaven toward the great Underworld, Inanna set her mind! The Lady abandoned heaven; she abandoned earth; she descended into the Underworld!" It goes on to chronicle the journey of Inanna, the Queen of Heaven, to the underworld.