The Essence of Urban Civilization:
An Interdisciplinary Study of the Origin and Transformation of Ancient West Asian Cities

Symposium:Cities and Urbanization in West Asia and Egypt－Shapes, Functions, and Ideology－
June 2nd to 4th, 2023, Tsukuba International Congress Center (Convention Hall 200）

Program
DAY 1: Friday, June 2
Opening

Opening, Prehistory & Environment(Chair: T. Hogue)

9:30

Yamada, S.

Opening Address

9:45

Novák, M. Opening Lecture (50 min followed by 10 min Q&A)
Cities and urban landscapes in Ancient Mesopotamia. Different traditions and diverging concepts inBabylonia, Assyria and Upper Mesopotamia(Break)Prehistory(30 min talk followed by 15 min Q&A. Chair: T. Hogue)

11:15

Karul, N.
Karahantepe: a new Pre-Pottery Neolithic site in Şanlıurfa–Turkey

12:00

Miyake, Y.
Communal buildings and social complexity in the Neolithic Southwest Asia

(12: 45–14:15 Lunch)

Environment (30 min talk followed by 15 min Q&A. Chair: Y. Miyake)
14:15

Nazari, H., Ritz, J.F., Fathian, A., Fazeli Nashli, H., Mahan, Sh., Vaezi, A., Avagyan, A.
The myth of Lake Saveh, Central Iranian Plateau: a new synthesis of geological, archaeological andhistorical data

15:00

Anma, R., Jotheri, J., Wakasa, S., Shitaoka, Y., Shin, K., Sano, T., Yokoo, Y.
Late Quaternary climate changes and sedimentation in the Tigris-Euphrates watersheds: implicationin the changing watercourses and early cities(Break)16:00

Watanabe, C.E.
Water in Mesopotamia: its dual aspects in creation and destruction

16:45

Nishiyama, S., Kurosawa, M., Ikehata, K.
Archaeometrical analyses on the Iron Age material remains excavated from the eastern border zone of
the Assyrian Empire: results from Yasin Tepe, Iraqi Kurdistan

18：00

Reception party at the restaurant in the Congress Center

DAY 2: Saturday, June 3 Mesopotamia & Egypt
Mesopotamia(30 min talk followed by 15 min Q&A. Chair: S. Yamada)

9:30

Baker, H.D.
Circulation in the Babylonian cities: streets and the urban fabric

10:15

Shibata, D.
Patron deities in Ancient Mesopotamian cities(Break)11:15

Hogue, T.
The cityscape of Carchemish: a historical investigation of urban organization in Syro-Anatolia

12:00

Konstantopoulos, G.
Both real and imagined: borders and boundaries in Mesopotamia(12:45–14:15 Lunch)

Egypt(30 min talk followed by 15 min Q&A. Chair: N. Kawai)

14:15

Moeller, N.
Challenges and new approaches for studying ancient Egyptian urbanism

15:00

Moreno Garcia, J.C.
Towns, royal estates and harbours: settlement organization and flows of wealth in the third and earlysecond millennium BC(Break)
16:00

Kondo, J.
The layout of the monuments in the city of Thebes, Egypt

16:45

Suto, Y.
Cities, villages, and countryside in Egypt under the Ptolemies

DAY 3: Sunday, June 4 Medieval & Modern West Asia and North Africa
Medieval West Asia

(30 min talk followed by 15 min Q&A. Chair: N. Nakamachi)

9:30

Rante, R.
The origin of Rayy and its evolution until Islamic time

10:15

Guirguis, M.
bani suef, a new urban Ottoman center in Middle Egypt, 16th century: the position of non-Muslims
inhabitants

11:00

Yamaguchi, A.
Urbanization in Kurdistan under Early Modern empires: the transition from mountain fortresses toflatland cities(11：45–13:30 Lunch)Modern West Asia and North Africa(20 min talk followed by 10 min Q&A. Chair: R. Burns)

13:30

Moaz, A.
The preservation of historical natural and urban landscape

14:00

Matsubara, K.
Ancient heritage and modern urban planning: the urban project for Old Damascus in 1968 by Gyoji
Banshoya

14:30

Taniguchi, Y.
Conservation of a medieval religious area around St. Simeon Church in Paşabağ, Cappadocia(Turkey)(Break)15:15

Burns, R. Closing Lecture (50 min followed by 10 min Q&A. Chair: K. Matsubara)
Notes for closing presentation at Tsukuba seminar, June 2023

16:30

Panel Discussion: Essence of City
(Chair: S. Yamada; Panelists: M. Novák, H.D. Baker, N. Moeller, J.C. Moreno Garcia, R. Burns)
Questions to be discussed: (60 min)1. How to define a city ? (size, population, social complexity, wall, great architecture, etc.)
2. How cities reflect human societies and how human societies influence the shape of cities?