Prof. Steinkeller Confirms Historical Identity Of PG

Bandar Abbas, May 2, IRNA – Harvard University professor Piotr Steinkeller said on Tuesday that the name of the Persian Gulf has been confirmed by major US and European text books. Professor Steinkeller carries out research at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. His scholarly work deals broadly with the history, culture, and languages of early Mesopotamia (3000-1500 BC), its particular focus being the socioeconomic history of Babylonia during the 3rd millenium BC and, most recently, the early history of Sumero-Akkadian religion. He is also interested in Mesopotamian archaeology, as evidenced in his present involvement in an archaeological project at the site of Tell Arbid in north-west Syria. Among his ongoing projects is a study of the population density and settlement patterns in Babylonia at ca. 2900 BC, which utilizes both textual and archaeological data, and an investigation of the economic organization of the Ur III state (2900-2000 BC). He has written or co-authored three books and over eighty articles and book reviews. He teaches a wide range of courses and seminars on the Sumerian and Akkadian languages, Mesopotamian religion, and history of ancient Mesopotamia. He told IRNA on the sidelines of Third International Conference on the Persian Gulf at Hormuzgan University that the Persian Gulf has strong historical identity and its name must remain forever. He presented a lecture on ‘Trade Routes of the Persian Gulf in the Third Millennium’ and said that international trade in the Persian Gulf dates back to Sargun period. He said that the Persian Gulf is significant both in terms of international trade relations and cultural exchanges./end