Planet Project

🌲On 29 April I had the pleasure of giving a lecture at the 𝐔𝐂𝐈 𝐉𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬, Irvine 🌴

The lecture 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒆𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒁𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒔 𝑴𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔? 𝑹𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒑𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑬𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑰𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒖 is now available online:

Watch the lecture on YouTube, on the channel of the UCI Jordan Center for Persian Studies:

The Cedars of the Zagros Mountains? The Cedars of the Zagros Mountains? Rethinking the Mesopotamian Evidence and its Connections with the Iranian Plateau.A talk by Gioele ZisaUCI Jordan Center ...

🌿 I am pleased to share my contribution to the volume 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑯𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑵𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝑬𝒂𝒔𝒕. 𝑹𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑴𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 (wEdge 6, Zaphon):

𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬: 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭-𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐮𝐦 𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐢-𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐭 𝐁𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐲
by Gioele Zisa

The article explores the role of plants in first-millennium BCE Mesopotamian anti-witchcraft rituals and incantations, with particular attention to the so-called "Heilmittel incantations". Rather than treating vegetal substances as passive materia medica et magica, the study investigates how plants were conceptualized as living, intelligent, and agentive beings actively participating in ritual performances.
Through the analysis of poetic language, etymologies, metaphorical associations, and performative invocations, the article shows how plants acquired therapeutic efficacy within Mesopotamian ritual practice. It argues that anti-witchcraft botany in ancient Mesopotamia must be understood within a broader relational ontology in which plants possessed agency, intentionality, and cosmological significance. 🌱

This contribution reflects my broader interest in multispecies relationships, Environmental Humanities, and the intersections between Assyriology, Ritual Studies, and Critical Plant Studies.

Link to the pubblication: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20384981

🌿 We are delighted to announce that 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑯𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑵𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝑬𝒂𝒔𝒕. 𝑹𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑴𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, edited by 𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐃𝐢 𝐏𝐚𝐨𝐥𝐨 and 𝐆𝐢𝐨𝐞𝐥𝐞 𝐙𝐢𝐬𝐚, is now in press as volume 6 of the wEdge series (Zaphon).

This collective work brings together scholars from archaeology and art history, Assyriology, archaeobotany and paleoecology, history of religions, and Environmental Humanities to explore the many ways plants shaped — and were shaped by — ancient Near Eastern societies.

Rather than considering plants merely as passive resources, the volume investigates their active participation in the co-production of landscapes, symbolic systems, religious practices, and artistic representations, highlighting the complexity of multispecies relationships in the ancient world.

The volume emerges at the intersection of the 𝐁𝐢𝐨𝐀𝐍𝐄 project (𝐵𝑖𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐴𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑁𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝐸𝑎𝑠𝑡), directed by Silvana Di Paolo and Gioele Zisa, and the MSCA project 𝐏𝐥𝐀𝐍𝐄𝐓 (𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐴𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑁𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝐸𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛 𝑇𝑒𝑥𝑡𝑠), coordinated by Gioele Zisa. It reflects the growing dialogue between Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Environmental Humanities, and Critical Plant Studies.

A heartfelt thank you to all the contributors for their inspiring chapters, intellectual generosity, and enthusiasm throughout this collaborative journey. 🌱

Contributors:
Jason L.B. Walton (University of Manchester), Silvana Di Paolo, Nicola Macchioni (CNR Rome), Ali Binandeh (Bu-Ali Sina University), Licia Romano (University of Melbourne), Alessandra Celant, Mary Anne Tafuri, Franco D’Agostino, Angela Greco, Lorenzo Verderame, Marinella Ceravolo, Davide Nadali (Sapienza University of Rome), Gioele Zisa (Sapienza University of Rome and University of Pennsylvania), Davide D'Amico (University of Lorraine), Laura Battini (CNRS Paris), Dlshad Aziz Marf (University of Sulaimani), Thomas Staubli (University of Fribourg), Federica Giardini, Zohreh Hosseini, and Flavia Bartoli (Roma Tre University).

More information about the volume:
https://www.zaphon.de/plants-and-humans-in-the-ancient.../en

🌲 Last night I had the pleasure of giving my lecture at the 𝐔𝐂𝐈 𝐉𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬, Irvine 🌴

My sincere thanks to Prof. 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐨 𝐂𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐢 and Prof. 𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐣 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐲𝐚𝐞𝐞 for their kind invitation and warm hospitality.

I presented my talk 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒆𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒁𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒔 𝑴𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔? 𝑹𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒑𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑬𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑰𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒖, in which I explored the complex question of the location of the “Cedar Forest” in Sumerian traditions, drawing on textual evidence, ecological data, and the symbolic construction of space in the ancient Near East and Iranian Plateau.
After the lecture, the evening continued in the best possible way with an excellent Iranian dinner in great company.

Many thanks to everyone who attended and contributed to the discussion!

🌲 A few snapshots from my talk, 𝑻𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑨𝒍𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚: 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝑳𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑪𝒆𝒅𝒂𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝑺𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑻𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒔 presented at the 𝟐𝟑𝟔𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐀𝐬𝐢𝐚, Los Angeles.

The paper explores the symbolic role of cedar in Sumerian texts. The term erin denotes not only “cedar” in a botanical sense, but also serves as a marker of alterity, distance, and prestige, often associated with remote landscapes and exotic resources.

Many thanks to colleagues for the engaging discussion and thoughtful questions.

It was also a pleasure to see Prof. Peter Machinist (Harvard University) in the audience. From Munich to Venice to Los Angeles—a thread that continues to weave encounters and paths over time.

Next stop: UCI Jordan Center for Persian Studies!

See you in Irvine!

Join us for The Cedars of the Zagros Mountains? Rethinking the Mesopotamian Evidence and Its Connections with the Iranian Plateau, a lecture by Gioele Zisa.

Wednesday, April 29th, 6:00 PM
Humanities Gateway Room 1341

🌿 We have come to the end of 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑨𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑴𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒑𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒂: 𝑨 𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝑨𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉, a course that Prof. Stephen Tinney and I taught at the 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐬𝐲𝐥𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐚 as part of the PlANET project.

Throughout the course, we addressed a wide range of topics: from plants in literature and mythology to their roles in divination, magic, and medicine; from agricultural practices and landscape management to the economic importance of wood, reeds, and other plant-based materials; from vegetal gender and sexual metaphors in love literature to representations of mountain forests. We also examined iconographic evidence and archaeobotanical data, building a nuanced and layered understanding of the vegetal world in the ancient Near East.

A key feature of the course was its interdisciplinary approach. By bringing together philology, history of art anf archaeology, archaeobotany, and theoretical frameworks (Critical Plant Studies, Environmental Humanities, Gender Studies, Ecological Anthropology, and the History of Religions), we moved beyond traditional boundaries and explored plants not only as resources, but as cultural and symbolic agents.

The course concluded with student presentations, which highlighted the diversity of approaches and the richness of the research developed throughout the semester.

Many thanks to all participants for their engagement and for contributing to such a stimulating learning experience 🌱

We are pleased to announce the workshop:

𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑴𝒆𝒏, 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅𝒔: 𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑨𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑾𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏 𝑨𝒔𝒊𝒂
𝟐𝟕–𝟐𝟖 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭 2026
𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢 (hybrid format)

This two-day event will bring together an international group of scholars to examine the construction and negotiation of masculinities across ancient Western Asia. It aims to foster interdisciplinary dialogue among researchers working in Ancient Western Asia Studies, Egyptology, Biblical Studies and, Gender Studies.

The workshop is organised within the framework of the 𝑪𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑬𝒙𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝑨𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑵𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝑬𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏 𝑬𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒔 (ANEE) at the University of Helsinki, and the project 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑵𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝑬𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏 𝑻𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒔 (PlANET) at Sapienza University of Rome and the University of Pennsylvania.

Participation is open both in person and online.
👉 Registration details are available via the QR code on the poster.

For more info see:
https://www.helsinki.fi/en/researchgroups/ancient-near-eastern-empires/events/shaping-men-shaping-worlds-masculinities-in-ancient-western-asia #:~:text=We%20are%20delighted%20to%20invite,for%20those%20unable%20to%20travel.

I would like to warmly thank Dr. 𝐎𝐦𝐚𝐫 𝐍’𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐚 (University of Malta) for his fascinating and thought-provoking seminar on 𝑷𝒉𝒚𝒕𝒐-𝒊𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒉𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝑴𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒑𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒂, delivered as part of the course 𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝐴𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑀𝑒𝑠𝑜𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑎, which Prof. Steve Tinney and I are teaching this semester at the University of Pennsylvania.

Omar’s talk offered a rich and engaging perspective on the representation of plants and their symbolic, gendered, and political roles in ancient Mesopotamia, while also opening up stimulating connections with the theoretical framework of Critical Plant Studies, including the work of Giovanni Aloi—significantly deepening and expanding our students’ understanding of the subject.

Many thanks, Omar!

Happy to share that I will be giving a lecture at UCI Jordan Center for Persian Studies & Culture on Wednesday, 29 April.

I will be in California for the American Society for Premodern Asia Meeting in Los Angeles, but PlANET (Plants in the Ancient Near Eastern Texts) doesn’t stop in LA, it keeps moving south to Irvine.

My talk will explore the long-debated Mesopotamian traditions around the so-called “Cedar Forest” and the ways in which 3rd millennium Sumerian texts construct distant mountain forest landscapes, between geography and ideology. In particular, it will focus on the role of cedars (eren) as both real, highly valued timber and powerful cultural symbols, and on how their presence (or absence) shapes Mesopotamian ways of mapping the world beyond the alluvial plain, with a particular connection to the Zagros Mountains and Iranian plateau. 🌲

Looking forward to seeing many of you in California!