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I am interested in the languages and civilizations of the Ancient Near East. In particular, I am interested in the surprisingly modern economic institutions that start to appear 5000 years ago at the very dawn of civilization. From incentive contracts upheld by courts to competing chains of pubs, economic life reveals a surprisingly modern edge centered on competition.
Sumerian and Akkadian
Sumerian is the language spoken in Ancient Mespotamia in the 3rd millennium BC. It is the oldest written language in the world and seems not to be related to any other language. Over the centuries pictographic representations evolved into stylized cuneiform signs, imprinted with a sharp stylus in wet clay. The script is syllabic with over 600 known signs.
Akkadian is the language spoken in Assyria and Babylon from 2000-600 BC and is an early member of the Semitic language group. Sumerian signs were adapted and used to write down the language. I am particularly interested in the the Old Babylonian dialect spoken at the time of the first dynasty of Babylon in southern Mesopotamia.
Phoenician
The Phoenicians adopted an early Canaanite linear script in the Middle Bronze Age (2000-1500 BC). Over the centuries this evolved into numerous other scripts such as Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic and Greek. The Phoenician language evolved from the local dialects of the cities of Tyre and Sidon. The colonization of the Mediterranean spread the language as far West as North Africa and Southern Spain where it became known as Punic. This was adopted as the official language of the Carthaginian Empire.
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