Indo-Aryan words in Hurrian

[Bjarte Kaldhol]

Dear listmembers,

I have had a very busy day and need some more time before I can respond to
all the issues raised, but Harmatta's red herring (or is it an old canard?)
needs a short comment: Hurrian names in -$en (not -sen) are common in
earlier periods. Ari$en means "The brother gave", and Saum$en (probably
pronounced Tsaom-then) is made from a root sa- plus the verbal suffix
-um/-om plus -$en, an abbreviated form of $enni, "brother". These names
from Samarra were published by Thureau-Dangin in RA IX 1-4. See Gelb et
al., NUZI PERSONAL NAMES, Chicago 1963, p. 255, a very valuable book, but
outdated in many respects, especially as regards IE speculations.

Michael: I would also like to know where you have found the forms mazda and
vaz'hana. How are these words spelled in cuneiform?

Best wishes,
Bjarte Kaldhol

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From: Michael Witzel <witzel at FAS.HARVARD.EDU>
To: INDOLOGY at LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK
Subject: Re: Indo-Aryan words in Hurrian
Date: 6. november 2000 14:38

To continue our interesting discussion on the Mit(t)an(n)i:

Some early IA immigrants may be recorded in a tablet of the Dynasty of
Agade, at the end of the third millennium BCE:  A-ri-si( <sa')-en  =
Arisaina and Sa-um-si( < sa')-en = Saumasena, which Harmatta  (1992: 374)
takes as a sign of  early Indo-Aryan spread towards Mesopotamia at c.
2300-2100 BCE.

This & the spelling is from Harmatta who deals with IIr materials (in :
Dani, A. H. and V. M. Masson (eds.), History of civilisations of Central
Asia, Vol. I. The dawn of civilisation: earliest times to 700 BCE. Paris
1992; Harmatta's paper is not reliable, has many wrong dates and forms), an
earlier version of it has been used, more or less uncritically, by the late
SS Mira (Aryan Problem 1992).

Bjarte, any comments?
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