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An Italian noble (1586-1652) who undertook numerous travels to the Near East in the 17^th century.

An ancient city in Northern Iraq that is located in present-day Mosul (with the two mounds Kuyunjik and Nebi Yunus). It has been established as the capital of the Neo-Assyrian Empire in the reign of Sennacherib (705-681 BCE).

Born in Friesland (1733-1815) into a poor farmer’s family, he studied at the University of Göttingen and, through his professor, came to be part of the Royal Danish Arab expedition funded by the Danish government. As only survivor of the team he ended up extensively studying the site, monuments and inscriptions of Persepolis. He published several books on his travels including Reisebeschreibung nach Arabien und andern umliegenden Ländern.

Temple of the god Anu in Uruk.

Historical process referring to the growing importance of silver in the context of an economic system.

At its root meaning decree or order, the term refers to a legal instrument, specifically the official decrees issued by a ruler or a government. In this case, a firman refers to the written authorization issued by the Ottoman Empire that granted rights of excavation to Assyriologists and Archaeologists. See also here.

Papyrus was one of the most important writing materials in ancient Egypt. It was made of the papyrus plant and the prepared sheets of papyrus were paper-like.

Parchment was used as one of the writing materials in the ancient Near East, Egypt and beyond. It is made of animal skins (e.g. sheep, calves, goats) which are prepared in a specific manner.

The Babylonian name for a temple tower, which has a terraced layout with pyramid-like levels. See here for an example.

In the ancient Near East writing boards were used to write on in cuneiform or other scripts.
They consist of two or more panels (or leaves) of ivory or wood attached to each other with hinges. These were filled with wax in which one could write with a stylus. Since they were usually made of wood, which perishes easily, not many writing boards have been found.

Image: Neo-Assyrian writing board (ca. 721-705 BCE) from Nimrud (ancient Kalhu). MMA 54.117.12a, b. Source: Metropolitan Museum of arts (CC0).