This book is a revised version of my doctoral dissertation submitted under a cotutelle agreement to Leiden University and the University of Helsinki in 2017. My work in Leiden was financially supported by the ERC Starting Grant project ‘By the Rivers of Babylon: New Perspectives on Second Temple Judaism from Cuneiform Texts’. In Helsinki, my work has been supported by three projects funded by the Academy of Finland: the Centre of Excellence in Changes in Sacred Texts and Traditions, the Centre of Excellence in Ancient Near Eastern Empires, and the project ‘Semantic Domains in Akkadian Texts’. The open access publication of this book was made possible by a generous grant from OpenAIRE. I want to express my gratitude for all this support.
A large number of people have contributed to the realisation of this book in Leiden and Helsinki. First, I wish to thank the supervisors of my dissertation, Prof. Caroline Waerzeggers in Leiden and Prof. Martti Nissinen in Helsinki. They have trusted in me, provided me with excellent feedback, and supported me through the various stages of my project. This book would not have been realised without them. I thank the examiners of my dissertation in Leiden and Helsinki and the two anonymous reviewers of this book for their careful work and feedback.
In Leiden, I want to express my gratitude to the members of the ERC Starting Grant project ‘By the Rivers of Babylon’, Rieneke Sonnevelt, Bastian Still, Jason Silverman, Anne-Mareike Wetter, and Jonathan Stökl. My dissertation greatly benefitted from their expertise, and their kindness made my four years in Leiden enjoyable. I would also like to express my thanks to Akiko Tsujita, Maarja Seire, Cristina Barcina, and Johan Lundberg for the relaxed and encouraging conversations over lunch and to the LIAS PhD council for many happy moments.
In Helsinki, numerous teachers and colleagues have contributed to my academic education and research projects during the last ten years. I would like to thank Kirsi Valkama for her inspiring teaching and Raija Mattila for guiding me through my studies in Assyriology. I wish to thank the whole research community working within the two Centres of Excellence, especially Katri Antin, Johannes Bach, Heidi and Tommi Jauhiainen, Tuukka Kauhanen, Katja Kujanpää, Sanna Saari, Aleksi Sahala, Tuula Tynjä, Joanna Töyräänvuori, and Hanna Vanonen.
I also wish to thank all those who made it possible to turn my dissertation into this book: Jonathan Stökl for accepting the manuscript to his series, Krister Lindén and Saana Svärd for generously allowing me to finish the manuscript while working as a postdoctoral researcher in Helsinki, and Katelyn Chin at Brill for helping me with the practicalities of the publishing process. I thank Dr. Albion M. Butters for revising the English language of the manuscript. All the remaining shortcomings are my own.
Many colleagues from abroad have provided me with help and support during my research project. I would like to thank Cornelia Wunsch, Laurie E. Pearce, Angelika Berlejung, Sonja Ammann, Reettakaisa Sofia Salo, and the members of the OTSEM and Neo-Babylonian networks for collaboration and feedback.
Finally, I want to express my deepest gratitude to my friends and family who have made this journey enjoyable.