The Summer School offers basic knowledge in the field of Ancient Near Eastern Studies, a scholarly field that is also known as Assyriology. Participants will receive introduction to the basics of the Akkadian and Sumerian languages, knowledge how to work with cuneiform texts, and introduction to the history, culture and religion of ancient Mesopotamia. The programme comprises the following intensive courses:
- Introduction to Ancient Near Eastern Studies ( Fink / Z. Tarhan)
- Introduction to Akkadian (Z. Tarhan)
- Introduction to Sumerian ( Fink)
- Religion in Ancient Mesopotamia ( Fink / Z. Tarhan)
- Archaeology of the Ancient Near East (Z. Tarhan)
The language of instruction is English. There are no required fees. Materials will be provided for free. However, participants should cover their own expenses.
Application documents:
- CV
- Letter of motivation (up to 500 words)
The application documents should be submitted to at the following email address: tarhan.zozan@gmail.com
Submission deadline: 31 May 2025. Applicants will be notified in June 2025.
Venue: Regional Museum of History Sofia Sofia (28 July – 1 August 2025)
The first Summer School of Ancient Near Eastern Studies (26–30 August 2024) attracted great interests. More than 20 participants from different countries attended the classes in Sofia to learn Sumerian and Akkadian. The programme was held at the Regional History Museum Sofia and supervised by Dr. Zozan Tarhan. Guest lecturer was Priv.-Doz. Dr. Sebastian Fink (University of Innsbruck). The Summer School resulted from Z. Tarhan’s endeavours to develop a centre for Assyriology in Bulgaria, both for study and research. Following the model of other international intensive and/or summer programmes, Dr. Tarhan held the first intensive course in Akkadian in 2023 (21–25 August), hosted by the Regional History Museum Sofia. Due to the success of the intensive course in 2023, Zozan Tarhan and the Regional History Museum Sofia began preparations for a larger programme, namely the first Summer School of Ancient Near Eastern Studies. After its great results, they decided to organise another Summer School of Ancient Near Eastern Studies in 2025.
Zozan Tarhan (Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski) is an Assyriologist with experience in philological work on cuneiform texts, mainly in Akkadian. Her research interests are primarily focused on the Neo-Assyrian Empire and Mesopotamian scholarship.
Sebastian Fink (University of Innsbruck) is an Assyriologist focusing on Sumerian texts and is one of the leading specialists of Emesal. He has studied various aspects of Mesopotamian history and culture, as well as the intelectual history of the Ancient Near East.
