3 - 4 pm (CET)

Dr. Marta Pallavidini

It is common in the scholar community to define specific times in the history of a culture as times of crisis. Yet sometimes our perception of these times of crisis as scholars does not coincide with the perception of the culture who was going through those times. Also, the opposite statement holds true: the textual and/or archaeological documentation may not provide evident signs of what can be defined as a crisis though it was perceived as such by the culture itself.

Starting with these premises, the aim of my talk is to show three case study from the Hittite culture (Anatolia, 17th to 12th Century BCE): the transition between the Old and the Middle Kingdom, the transfer of the Hittite capital from Hattusa to Tarhuntassa (and back), and the transition to the Iron Age with the end of the Hittite civilization.

Furthermore, I will show how not all these three periods - usually described as times of crisis - can indeed be defined as such, so that a specific asynchronicity in the perception of the Hittite and that of the historians will be stressed out.

Participants can join the online Chronoi Talk by clicking on the following link:

https://fu-berlin.webex.com/fu-berlin-en/j.php?MTID=m4db419c861581c77c0c83b0efebbe18f

The conference room can be accessed using the following methods:

• Joining directly in your browser; simply click the link above, and look for a button with this option near the bottom of the webpage.

• Downloading the program to your computer (instructions can be found by following the meeting link)

• Using the smartphone app called “Cisco Webex Meetings."

You are welcome to enter the online conference room up to 15 minutes in advance of the start time.