January Lectures

January 8, Wednesday, 7:00 pm

The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago presents a lecture by Hartmut Kühn on “The Collapse of the Assyrian Empire and the Evidence of Dur-Katlimmu.” The event begins at 7:00pm. Registration is free and can be completed here.

The collapse of the Assyrian Empire was the prelude to the end of the Mesopotamian domination of the Ancient Near East in 539 BC to be followed by the Persian hegemony. The metropolitan core region of Assyria laid waste, as is known from extensive excavations in the Assyrian capitals; neither the Babylonian nor the Median successors cared for a reconstruction program. But how did the Assyrian home provinces survive the collapse? This poorly known chapter of history is now elucidated by the long term excavations at Tell Sheikh Hamad (Syria), the Assyrian provincial centre of Dur-Katlimmu. In historiography long thought to have vanished, the Assyrians prove to have lived on, as the archaeological evidence unmistakably demonstrates.

January 18, Saturday, 7:00 pm

The Lanier Theological Library is hosting a lecture by James K. Hoffmeier and Stephen O. Moshier on “Moses Did Not Sleep Here! A Critical Look at Some Sensational Exodus and Mt. Sinai Theories.” Go here for more information and to register for the free event.

Over the past 10-15 years there have been a number of sensational ideas advanced for where and how the Red Sea crossing occurred as the Hebrews departed Egypt and where Mt. Sinai is located. Many of these are known from popular TV programs on the History, Learning, Discovery and National Geographic Channels. Some of these theories, such as the one that has the Israelites crossing the Gulf of Aqaba and landing in Saudi Arabia will be examined biblically, archaeologically (Hoffmeier) and geologically (Moshier). Was Mt. Sinai a volcano? Is there any basis for identifying Mt. Sinai with the traditional site, Gebel Musa? These and other questions will be treated, using film clips, slides and maps.