FINAL PRIMARY SOURCES

Balfour Declaration

Date: 1917

Location: Britain / Palestine

Two facts: Britain supported creating a “national home for the Jewish people.” It also claimed existing communities would not be harmed.

Lecture significance: We used it to show how European powers shaped the modern Middle East and set the stage for later conflict.

Battle of Verdun (Yegishé's account)

Date: 1916

Location: France

Two facts: Yegishé describes the violence and loss of WWI; shows the emotional impact on ordinary soldiers.

Lecture significance: Helped us understand WWI as a turning point that reshaped the Ottoman Empire and nationalism.

Bevel-rimmed bowls

Date: 3500–3000 BCE

Location: Mesopotamia

Two facts: Mass-produced bowls used for rations; show early organized labor.

Lecture significance: Connected to early state formation and how grain and labor were controlled.

Bullae and tokens

Date: around 3500 BCE

Location: Mesopotamia

Two facts: Clay envelopes holding small tokens; used for accounting.

Lecture significance: Showed how writing began through simple record-keeping.

Bundahishn

Date: Early Islamic period (preserving older Zoroastrian ideas)

Location: Iran

Two facts: Explains creation and the structure of the world; preserves pre-Islamic belief.

Lecture significance: Helped explain Sasanian religious life and Iranian cultural memory.

Cairo Geniza documents

Date: 10th–13th centuries

Location: Cairo, Egypt

Two facts: Everyday letters, contracts, and notes; show Jewish, Muslim, and Christian interaction.

Lecture significance: Used to show how historians study daily life and trade in the medieval Middle East.

Coins of Abd al-Malik

Date: 690s CE

Location: Umayyad Caliphate

Two facts: Introduced Qur’anic text on coins; removed images of rulers.

Lecture significance: Showed the creation of a distinct Islamic political and religious identity.

Cyrus Cylinder

Date: 6th century BCE

Location: Babylon

Two facts: Cyrus claimed he restored temples; presented himself as a just ruler.

Lecture significance: Example of universal kingship and how modern Iran uses this past.

Dome of the Rock inscriptions

Date: 691 CE

Location: Jerusalem

Two facts: Long Qur’anic texts; highlight monotheism and Muhammad’s role.

Lecture significance: Showed early Islamic identity and political messaging through architecture.

Hammurabi's Stele

Date: c. 1750 BCE

Location: Babylon

Two facts: Contains law code; shows Hammurabi receiving authority from a god.

Lecture significance: Key example of state power, law, and early universal claims.

"I Wanted to Sing," Shushanik Kurghinian

Date: Early 1900s

Location: Armenia

Two facts: Poem about a working woman’s struggle; expresses resistance.

Lecture significance: Linked to modern nationalism, gender, and class in collapsing empires.

Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela

Date: 12th century

Location: Mediterranean and Middle East

Two facts: Jewish traveler describes cities and communities; notes trade and religion.

Lecture significance: Used to show movement, shared practices, and cross-cultural contact.

Kerma elite tomb

Date: 2000–1600 BCE

Location: Nubia (Sudan)

Two facts: Large tombs with rich goods; proves Nubia had strong independent rulers.

Lecture significance: Countered old stereotypes about Africa and highlighted Nubian power.

Khufu's Great Pyramid

Date: c. 2500 BCE

Location: Giza, Egypt

Two facts: Built with huge organized labor; largest pyramid.

Lecture significance: Showed early state organization, surplus, and centralized power.

Lord Byron, "The Isles of Greece"

Date: 1823

Location: During the Greek War of Independence

Two facts: Romantic poem praising ancient Greece; supports Greek revolt.

Lecture significance: Helped explain nationalism and European views of the Ottoman Empire.

Magic Bowls

Date: 5th–7th centuries CE

Location: Mesopotamia

Two facts: Bowls with protective writing; used by different religious groups.

Lecture significance: Showed shared religious practices across Jewish, Christian, and local communities.

McMahon-Hussein Correspondence

Date: 1915–1916

Location: Britain and the Arab world

Two facts: Britain promised Arab independence; wording was unclear.

Lecture significance: Explained Arab expectations in WWI and the roots of later disputes.

Napoleon’s Description de l’Égypte

Date: 1809–1829

Location: France / Egypt

Two facts: Huge study of Egypt’s monuments; written by French scholars.

Lecture significance: Example of Orientalist knowledge used to support colonial power.

Jabartī's Chronicle

Date: 1798–1801

Location: Cairo

Two facts: Egyptian scholar’s view of French invasion; challenges French self-presentation.

Lecture significance: Gave a local perspective on Orientalism and colonialism.

Painting of Shah Abbas I and his Cupbearer

Date: 1600s

Location: Safavid Iran

Two facts: Shows Abbas with a young male attendant; reflects court culture.

Lecture significance: Used to discuss gender, homosociality, and royal image.

Tribute reliefs from Ashurnasirpal II's Palace

Date: 9th century BCE

Location: Nimrud, Assyria

Two facts: Show foreign rulers bringing tribute; emphasize Assyrian dominance.

Lecture significance: Clear example of universal empire and how the Assyrians displayed power.

Rumi's poem "Love Resides"

Date: 13th century

Location: Anatolia

Two facts: Mystical poem about divine love; emphasizes the inner spiritual journey.

Lecture significance: Helped explain Sufism and different forms of Islamic devotion.

Shahnameh

Date: 10th–11th century

Location: Iran

Two facts: Epic of Persian kings; preserves pre-Islamic stories.

Lecture significance: Key for understanding Iranian identity and how the past shapes nationalism.

Shu'ubiya Debates (Ibn Qutayba & Bashshar ibn Burd)

Date: 8th–9th centuries

Location: Abbasid Empire

Two facts: Writers argued about Arab vs. non-Arab superiority; expressed cultural pride.

Lecture significance: Showed ethnic tension and diversity in early Islam.

Süleyman I with four-tiered helmet (Veneziano)

Date: 16th century

Location: Ottoman Empire / Italy

Two facts: European print exaggerating Suleyman’s crown; shows European fascination and fear.

Lecture significance: Helped us study Ottoman-European relations and Orientalist imagery.

Umma Document

Date: around 622 CE

Location: Medina

Two facts: Agreement defining the early Muslim community’s responsibilities; includes Jews and tribes.

Lecture significance: Supports Donner’s argument about the early Believers movement and shared community.

Uruk Vase

Date: c. 3000 BCE

Location: Uruk, Mesopotamia

Two facts: Shows a procession of offerings; one of the earliest narrative artworks.

Lecture significance: Used to explain early temple rituals and connections between religion and state.