From Nimrud to Rome: Discovery of the ancient libraries (NimRoD)

The library of Alexandria is undoubtedly the most famous of all of Antiquity. Yet, it is not unique: knowledge centers flourished throughout the Mediterranean Basin and in the Middle East. The best documented were constituted in Egypt and, above all, in Mesopotamia, where more than ten are known. This project seeks to study and evaluate collections regrouping literary and scholarly texts from the classical period. Adopting a comparative and transdisciplinary perspective (Egyptology, Assyriology, Greek history, Roman history), NimRoD will examine the scholarly collection and its authors, over a vast geographical space of interconnected cultures (Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome), from the second millennium  CE to the end of antiquity. The process of constituting the libraries and their rhythms of life will be subject to study. Aimed at researchers, college faculty, university students, school children, and the general public, the project has many components: the development of an Atlas / Internet encyclopedia, with a final version available in bookstores; the 3D modeling of the Nimrud Library; a study of the texts’ canonization or how a corpus of  “classics” led to the emergence of libraries; and the publication of texts from the collections, starting with those of the Achaemenid period.

Project Leader

Philippe CLANCIER , Université Paris 1 - Panthéon-Sorbonne

Internal cluster partners

• Archeologies and Sciences of Antiquity (ArScAn) - UMR 7041
• Maison des Sciences de l'Homme Mondes - USR 3225
• French National Library (BnF)

Associated partners

Centre François Viète (EA 1161), Nantes
http://www.cfv.univ-nantes.fr/

University of Leiden, Belgium
https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en

Duration