International Association for Assyriology (IAA)
The International Association for Assyriology (IAA) was founded in July 2003 in order to promote the fields of Cuneiform Studies, ancient Near Eastern History and Archaeology on an international basis and to act as a representative body for these fields in relationship to national, international, and private institutions, as well as the general public (Rules and Regulations).
The IAA manages the regular organization of an annual congress, the Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale that assembles scholars from all over the world at centers of Near Eastern research. The traditional title of the Rencontre Assyriologique also determined the original designation as “International Association for Assyriology (IAA)”. This name was confirmed by a majority of its members in an electronic vote in April 2018. The IAA is greatly indebted to all organizers of a Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale, as they offer unique occasions for scholarly discussions and personal meetings – central institutions for a dynamic and multi-faceted field of research!
In our association, the old-fashioned term “Assyriology” covers all scholarly fields related to the study of the ancient Near East in the time of the cuneiform cultures, from the fourth millennium BCE to the first century CE in the historical regions of Mesopotamia, Syria, and the Levant, Iran, and Anatolia, including periods and regions of influence and contact. Our understanding of “Assyriology” covers philological disciplines dealing with texts written in Akkadian, i. e. Babylonian and Assyrian, Sumerian, Hittite, Elamite, Hurrian, and other languages, linguistics of these languages, the history of the ancient Near East, and the archaeology and art history of the respective regions and periods.
In response to concerns raised about the role IAA members play within their own societies, and in the countries in which they work, the IAA has published a guideline “For an ethical practice in our disciplines”.
IAA takes the development of its scholarly fields seriously and therefore awards various prizes and subsidies. The prizes acknowledge two doctoral dissertations and the first published article, and the winners typify the high quality and the scope of research stemming from the next generation. A subsidy supports project work for a doctoral student or early-career scholar, and subsidies also support recent PhDs to attend the Rencontre Assyriologique.
Everybody interested to promote the fields of Ancient Near Eastern research is invited to become a member of the IAA; special fees apply for student membership. You can support our activities, foremost the prizes and subsidies for early career scholars, and further activities, by donation to the association.