Abstract
The programme aims at investigating the multidirectional effects of forced and voluntary forms of migration in the ancient Near East by means of three case studies involving foreign population groups under different political and social conditions. Cases one and two deal with foreigners that come in contact with the Assyrian-Babylonian culture: the Amorite migration to Mesopotamia and its consequences (2000-1600 BC), and the role of non-Assyrian populations in the expanding Neo-Assyrian Empire (9th-7th centuries BC). The third case contrasts this by investigating the impact exercised by Assyrian merchant colonies on Anatolia (19th-18th centuries BC). All three cases are documented by a sizeable corpus of written texts.