In June 1882, the biblical scholar and Ethiopianist August Dillmann, professor at Berlin's Humboldt University, completed the foreword to the first part of the Proceedings of the Fifth Congress of Orientalists held in Berlin in September 1881 , which was devoted to the publication of the Semitic and African sections. The contribution bearing number XIV was by J. N. Strassmaier, entitled " Les contrats paléo-babyloniens de Warka ". Comprising 50 pages and no fewer than 144 plates, it was the first publication of Paleo-Babylonian archival documents.
140 years later, where do we stand ? The number of texts has soared to over 35, ,000, with an average of 250, published per year. But the pace has quickened : over the last ten years, it has risen to an average of 320 texts per year - almost one new text per day ! Over and above these raw figures, the quality of the data available must be emphasized. The genres attested are extremely varied, with texts that are sometimes very explicit (letters, trials, etc.), but also significant series for more laconic texts such as accounting documents. Many tablets have been found in a documented archaeological context ; many others can be grouped into files, thanks to prosopography, the study of collections, etc. From these archives, numerous studies have been carried out, covering all aspects of Mesopotamian Civilization in the first half of the second millennium BC.
This symbolic anniversary should not only be an opportunity to take stock, but also to open up new perspectives. To this end, a colloquium is being organized by the Mesopotamian Civilization chair at the Collège de France on May 25 and 26 2023, at which the new PCEHM project (" Power and written culture in Upper Mesopotamia, 18thcentury BC ") funded by the ANR (2022-2026) will be presented.