The festschrift "I Passed over Difficult Mountains" is dedicated to the Assyriologist Mario Liverani. Twenty contributions explore a wide range of historical, philological and archaeological topics related to the Ancient Near East. Among others E. von Dassow focusses on "Oriental Despotism, the Enlightenment's Evil Twin". F.M. Fales studies "Assurbanipal's Letters to the Babylonian Citizens". "Hittite Historical Geography" is dealt with by St. de Martino. P. Matthiae is looking for "Adapa at Khorsabad" while Y. Cohen distinguishes scribal hands in Amarna tablets and L. Mori examines "Public Land in Late Bronze Age Ekalte".