Mario Liverani

      M. Liverani offer a review to G. Buccellati's work on the history and archaeology of the Amorites during Ur III period, defined by the reviewer as a key–point for any study on this topic. The author further discusses the problem of Amorites' designation and definition (both as an archaeological and a philological entity, mostly focusing of the equation of Amorites with MAR.TU people), in the light of earlier and more recent onomastic data, archaeological information, and historical interpretations about these ancient people.
      Buccellatis' volume, at the upmost appreciated for its sociological perspective, is described as follows: “L'analisi variegata di Buccellati pone [...] in primo piano il concreto contesto e la concreta ambientazione storica delle attestazioni, che così si rivelano atte ad illuminare aspetti molteplici del problema. È così che una documentazione apparentemente scarna si rivela ricca di una quantità e di una varietà di informazioni quale nessuno – crediamo – avrebbe pensato” (p. 122) [“The varied analysis of Buccellati places [...] in the foreground the concrete context and the concrete historical setting of the attestations, which thus prove to be capable of illuminating multiple aspects of the problem. Thus, a seemingly meagre documentation proves to be rich in a quantity and a variety of information such as no one – I believe – would have thought” English translation by mDP].

[M. De Pietri – November 2019]