A New Interpretation of the Hittite Expression Sarā Ar-

Introduction In the last chapter (Débris de fichier) of his invaluable work Catalogue des textes hittites, Emmanuel Laroche included an edition of the texts grouped under CTH 276-282 (Catalogues des tablettes). These catalogues, also called ‘tablet inventories’ or ‘shelf lists’ consist of titles of compositions. Laroche instantly recognized the importance of these texts, which are a great source of information regarding the functioning and organization of the Hittite tablet collections. Altog..

FROM ‘LUGAL.GAL’ TO ‘WANAX’ Kingship and Political Organisation in the Late Bronze Age Aegean

n this book the much-debated problem of political organization in Mycenaean Greece (ca. 1400-1200 BC) is analysed and contextualised through the prism of archaeology and contemporary textual (Linear B, Egyptian and Hittite) evidence. From the early 14th century BC onwards, Hittite texts refer to a land Ahhiya(wa). The exact geographic position of this land has been the focus of academic debate for more than a century, but most specialists nowadays agree that it must have been a Hittite designation for a part, or all of, the Mycenaean world. On at least two occasions, the ruler of Ahhiyawa is designated as LUGAL.GAL –‘Great King’-; a title that was normally reserved for a select group of kings (such as the kings of Egypt, Assyria, Mitanni, Babylon and Hatti itself). The Hittite attribution of this title thus seems to signify the Ahhiyawan King’s supra-regional importance: it indicates his power over other, ‘lesser’ kings, and suggests that his relation to these vassals must have been comparable to the relations between the Hittite King and his own vassal rulers. The apparent Hittite perception of such an important ruler in the Mycenaean world is, however, completely at odds with the prevailing view of the Mycenaean world as a patchwork of independent states, all of which were ruled by a local ‘wanax’ -King. The papers in this volume address this apparent dichotomy and discuss various interpretations of the available evidence, and contextualise the role of the ruler in the Mycenaean world through comparisons with the contemporary Near East

Hittitology today: Studies on Hittite and Neo-Hittite Anatolia in Honor of Emmanuel Laroche’s 100th Birthday

Il y a 100 ans, Emmanuel Laroche voyait le jour. Savant à la fois passionné de linguistique indo-européenne et d’Antiquité, il marqua durablement l’hittitologie par ses nombreuses contributions dans des domaines aussi variés que l’histoire des religions proche-orientales, la philologie cunéiforme ou encore la grammaire du hittite, du louvite et du hourrite. Ce colloque organisé en l’honneur de son centenaire a été l’occasion de faire le point sur les avancées de l’hittitologie actuelle, avancées auxquelles il participa tout au long de sa vie et qui se poursuivent après lui. Les axes thématiques qui sont abordés dans ce volume sont ceux qu’Emmanuel Laroche développa de son vivant, à savoir la linguistique des langues anatoliennes, la philologie et l’épigraphie cunéiforme et hiéroglyphique, les religions de l’Anatolie hittite et néo-hittite, l’histoire et la géographie historique, mais aussi l’archéologie proche-orientale, domaine qu’Emmanuel Laroche côtoya de près. Ajoutons à ces domaines celui de l’historiographie qui illustre, entre autres choses, l’impact des travaux d’Emmanuel Laroche dans l’hittitologie d’aujourd’hui.100 years ago, Emmanuel Laroche was born. As a scholar who was fascinated both by Indo-European Linguistics and Ancient Near Eastern and Classical Studies, he had a durable impact on Hittitology through his numerous contributions. His publications dealt with History of Near Eastern Religions, Cuneiform Philology, and Hittite, Luwian, and Hurrian grammar, among many other topics. This conference was organized in honor of his 100th birthday. Its aim was to discuss the recent developments in Hittitology, the ones to whom Emmanuel Laroche contributed and the ones which occurred after his time. The following themes are dealt with in this volume: Anatolian Linguistics, Cuneiform and Hieroglyphic Philology and Epigraphy, Religions of Bronze and Early Iron Age Anatolia, History and Historical Geography of Asia Minor, but also Near Eastern Archaeology, as Emmanuel Laroche was also very close to this discipline. Let us add to those fields Historiography which illustrates, among other things, the impact of Emmanuel Laroche’s work on today’s Hittitology

Epilogue: Kings and Great Kings in the Aegean and beyond

Epilogue to the volume "From LUGAL.GAL to Wanax", reviewing the various arguments made in favour and against political unity in the Late Bronze Age Aegean, and contextualising archaeological and textual data

Daily intranasal palivizumab to prevent respiratory syncytial virus infection in healthy preterm infants: a phase 1/2b randomized placebo-controlled trialResearch in context

Summary: Background: Mucosal administration of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against respiratory pathogens is a promising alternative for systemic administration because lower doses are required for protection. Clinical development of mucosal mAbs is a highly active field yet clinical proof-of-concept is lacking. Methods: In this investigator-initiated, double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial, we evaluated intranasal palivizumab for the prevention of RSV infection in preterm infants (Dutch Trial Register NTR7378 and NTR7403). We randomized infants 1:1 to receive intranasal palivizumab (1 mg/mL) or placebo once daily during the RSV season. Any RSV infection was the primary outcome and RSV hospitalization was the key secondary outcome. The primary outcome was analyzed with a mixed effect logistic regression on the modified intention-to-treat population. Findings: We recruited 268 infants between Jan 14, 2019 and Jan 28, 2021, after which the trial was stopped for futility following the planned interim analysis. Adverse events were similar in both groups (22/134 (16.4%) palivizumab arm versus 26/134 (19.4%) placebo arm). There were 6 dropouts and 168 infants were excluded from the efficacy analyses due to absent RSV circulation during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Any RSV infection was similar in infants in both groups (18/47 (38.3%) palivizumab arm versus 11/47 (23.4%) placebo arm; aOR 2.2, 95% CI 0.7–6.5). Interpretation: Daily intranasal palivizumab did not prevent RSV infection in late preterm infants. Our findings have important implications for the clinical development of mucosal mAbs, namely the necessity of timely interim analyses and further research to understand mucosal antibody half-life. Funding: Funded by the Department of Pediatrics, University Medical Centre Utrecht, the Netherlands