Making Pictures of War: Realia et Imaginaria in the Iconology of the Ancient Near East (Archaeopress Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology)

This book brings together the main discussions that took place at an international conference on the iconology of war in the ancient Near East, a subject never addressed at an international meeting before. The articles span the 3rd to the 1st millennium with a special stress on the Neo-Assyrian period. They try to respond to many questions about representations of war: what is ‘warrior’ iconography and on what basis it can be defined? Did the war scenes follow a specific directory whereby they adopted the most varied forms? Can we determine the most usual conditions for the creation of pictures of wartime (such as periods of great change)? Were the war scenes referring to specific historical events or were they generic representations? What can a society accept from the representations of war? What did war images silence and why? What is a ‘just’ punishment for enemies and thus the ‘just’ representation of it? Who has control of the representation and therefore also the memory of war? Who is the real subject of war representations? What emerges from all the articles published here is the relevance of textual data in any analysis of iconological material. And this is not only true for iconology, but for all the archaeological material discovered at historical sites. Front Cover 1 Title Page 3 Copyright Page 4 Contents 5 List of Figures 7 Abbreviations and General References 11 Abbreviations 11 References 13 Acknowledgments 14 Dedications 15 Introduction: the War and its Representations 17 References 19 Some Observations on the War Scenes on the Seals from Mari City II 21 Dominique Beyer* 21 The seals of King Ishqi-Mari 21 References 28 The seal of Shakkanakku Iddin-Eshtar 28 Some Observations on the War Scenes on the Seals from Mari City II 21 Figure 1.1: Schematic Diagram of the North Part of P-1 with the Positions of the Sigillographic Finds. 22 Figure 1.2: Door Seal with Imprints of Version a of Ishqi-Mari’s Seal. 23 Figure 1.4: Graphic Reconstruction of the Imprint of Version a. 23 Figure 1.5: Door Seal with Fragmentary Imprints of Version b of Ishqi-Mari’s Seal. 24 Figure 1.7: Fragmentary Imprint: Upper Section of Version b. 24 Figure 1.8: Fragmentary Imprint: King Ishqi-Mari (Version b) . 25 Figure 1.9: Graphic Reconstruction of the Imprint of Version b (2007) . 25 Figure 1.10: Graphic Reconstruction of the Imprint of Version b: New Version. 26 Figure 1.11: Door Seal with Fragmentary Imprints of Iddin-Eshtar’s Seal. 27 Figure 1.13: Graphic Reconstruction of the Imprint of Iddin-Eshtar’s Seal. 27 Elements Of War Iconography At Mari 29 Costumes and weapons 29 Costumes and weapons from City II (DA III-b) 29 Costumes and weapons from City III 31 Heavy equipment: harnesses 32 Frame 33 The figure of the vanquished enemy 35 Graphic vocabulary: components of the military apparatus 29 by Béatrice Muller* 29 Elements of iconographic syntax 35 Soldier and prisoner 35 Clues about a military hierarchy from shell inlays 36 The axe, the javelin and the bow 38 Warriors and the image of the victorious King in the Old Babylonian period 38 Overall compositions and significance – the place of Mari in war iconography 41 Overall composition of the mosaic shell panels: new paths 41 Mari and the modalities of the royal victory iconography in the Old Babylonian period 41 Conclusion 42 References 43 Elements Of War Iconography At Mari 29 Figure 2.1: Inlaid mother-of-pearl from the Temple of Ninni-zaza (Mari, City II) : helmeted soldiers. H. average 4.5-5cm. a - Parrot 1952: fig. 66. b - Drawing of a selection of parts. Parrot 1967: 209-214, fig. 252-254 (cf. pl. LXIII). 30 Figure 2.3: Terracotta stamped plaques from the Great Royal Palace (Mari, City III) : soldier with a long weapon (spear?) and an axe. a - M. 768, room 62 (near the Throne Room 65, official sector M). Parrot 1959: fig. 55 et cf. pl. XXIX. b - M. 1073, cour 31 Figure 2.4: Fragments of mural painting from room 220’ (sector F: royal private apartments on the first floor) of Great Royal Palace (Mari, City III). a - M. 4596 : archer standing at rest. H. 31cm. Gouache J. Depauw, © MAM, slide A. Parrot. b - M. 4592 : 32 Figure 2.5: Fragments of mural painting from the West wall of the Court 106 (official sector M) of the Great Royal Palace (Mari, City III) : figure of victorious King (module 1, restored h. c.1.60m). Parrot 1958: fig. 35 and 36. a - Elements of garment wi 33 Figure 2.6: Graffiti engraved with a point on plaster (juss) of a wall of room 52 (sector H, chambers of the staff belonging to the Women’s House) of the Great Royal Palace (Mari, City III) : soldiers. Parrot 1958: fig. 13 and 14. a - Bearded and helmete 34 Figure 2.7: Piece of inlaid mother-of-pearl from space 4 of the pseudo-Palace (Mari, City II) : deck tank showing a pair of engraved reins in its upper indentation ; the lower edge curved leaves room for the installation of a wheel. H. 6.8cm. Never publis 34 Figure 2.8: Piece of inlaid mother-of-pearl from space 20 (square) south of the Temple of Ishtar (Mari, City II) and belonging to the Standard: fragmentary wheel associated with the box of a chariot on whose step the legs of a soldier brace themselves. To 34 Figure 2.9: Miniature registry of fragmentary mural paintings from room 220’ (sector F: royal private apartments on first floor) of Great Royal Palace (Mari, City III). a – Head caped with a polos blue and white striped. (M. 4587) at the corner of a brick 35 Figure 2.10: Piece of inlaid mother-of-pearl M. 2477 from room 13 of the temple of Ninni-zaza (Mari, City II) : Kneeling prisoner. H. 7cm. Parrot 1952: fig. 67. 36 Figure 2.11: Pieces of Standard from space 20 (square) south of the temple of Ishtar (Mari, City II). A - bust of the military dignitary M. 474 in situ, yet in connection with the background and border, while the bottom of the garment is visible above on 37 Figure 2.12: Fragment of the panel inlaid from the passage 52/49 of the pseudo-Palace of City II, level P-1: helmeted soldier pushing a prisoner (M. 4785 and M. 4793) and wearing clothes of this one on the top of his javelin which is pointed downward. H. 38 Beyer in Margueron 2004: fig. 506-2 and cf. Amiet 1960: fig. 12; Parrot 1959: 189-191. 39 Figure 2.13: Contour of warrior M. 471 (temple of Ishtar, Standard) by comparison with the previous figure. 39 Figure 2.15: Restitution drawing of the impression of a seal known from different clay door-lock sealings from the Great Royal Palace (Mari, City III) inscribed with the name of Mukannishum, intendant of the palace: the King hits a standing enemy with his 39 Figure 2.16: Modern impression of the seal of Ana-Sin-taklâku. A lot of his sealings (especially of jars) were found in the Great Royal Palace (Mari, City III): the King, surrounded by deities and holding an harpè tramples an enemy. H. 2.7cm. Louvre AO 21 40 Figure 2.17: Iconographic and architectural restitution of paintings of room 220’, south wall, of the Great Royal Palace (Mari, City III). H. 3.50m c., L. 14.75m. Margueron et al. 1990: fig. 11. 40 Figure 2.18: Fragments of wall painting on coating of juss from the court 106 of the Great Royal Palace (Mari, City III) : presentation panel conceived by B. Muller and realized after restoration by CEPMR/CNRS (Centre d’Etudes de Peintures Murales Romaine 41 Figure 2.19: Restitution drawing of the impression of the seal (n° 1) of Ishqi-Mari from different sealings discovered in room 11 of the pseudo-Palace (Mari, City II) : battle and banquet celebrating victory. Beyer 2007: fig. 17. Scale 2: 1. 42 Visualizing War in the Old Babylonian Period: Drama and Canon 45 Figure 3.1: Victory Stele of Eannatum. From Tello. Early Dynastic period. Louvre Museum (after Forest 1996: 222). 45 Visualizing War in the Old Babylonian Period: Drama and Canon 45 Victories and Defeats: The Sedimentation of War Experiences 45 by Silvana Di Paolo* 45 ‘Inscribing’ the War on the Bodies between Aberrations and Tangible Signs 47 The Power of Symbols: the ‘Canon’ of Naram-Sin 49 References 51 Figure 3.2: Victory Stele of King Dadusha of Eshnunna. From Tell Asmar. Old Babylonian period. Baghdad Museum (after Ismail and Cavigneaux 2003: pl. 34) 47 (after Orthmann 1975: 325, pl. 247) 48 Figure 3.3: Neo-Assyrian bas-relief. From Nineveh. North Palace, Room S. Reign of Ashurbanipal. British Museum 48 Figure 3.4: Cylinder seal. Newell Collection. Old Babylonian period (after von der Osten 1934: pl. 14: 155) 49 Figure 3.5: Cylinder seal. Moore Collection. Old Babylonian period (after Eisen 1940: pl. 7: 60) 49 Figure 3.6: Victory Stele of Naramsin. Akkadian period. Louvre Museum (after Orthmann 1975: 196, pl. 196) 50 Figure 3.7: Terracotta Plaque. From Kish. Old Babylonian Period. Baghdad Museum (after Moorey 1975: pl. 23a) 51 Middle Assyrian Drama in depicting war: a Step towards Neo-Assyrian Art 53 Figure 4.1: Pyxis lid from Assur (Berlin, Vorderasiatische Museum, VA7989), 13th s. BC. Source: Matthiae 1997: 32. 53 Middle Assyrian Drama in depicting war: a Step towards Neo-Assyrian Art 53 The grammar of Middle Assyrian depictions of war 53 by Laura Battini* 53 Outline of a syntax 56 Relationships with the Iron Age 57 References 58 Figure 4.2: stone Cult Pedestal of Tukulti-Ninurta I. Source: Matthiae 1997: 31-32. 54 Figure 4.3: stele from Suse (Louvre, Sb 7). Source: Matthiae 2000: 52. 55 Figure 4.4: Hunt seals Source: Harper et alii 1995: 65-66, fig. 26 ; Invernizzi 1992 : n° 310. 55 Figure 4.5: Broken Obelisk of Assur-bel-kala (11th century BC), from Nineveh. Source: Matthiae 1997: 33. 56 Figure 4.6: Old Babylonian terracotta representing the epiphany of god (Philadelphie, Penn Museum, Y.B.C. 10.035). Source: Opificius 1961: n° 399. 56 Figure 4.7: Urban settings of Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta and Dur-Sharrukin. Source: original setting. 57 “Losing One’s Head”. Some Hints on Procedures and Meanings of Decapitation in the Ancient Near East 61 “Losing One’s Head”. Some Hints on Procedures and Meanings of Decapitation in the Ancient Near EastMeus 61 by Rita Dolce* 61 The act of decapitation 62 The act of displaying 63 Destinations of the SH: some pieces of evidence 66 The moving SH 68 References 70 Abstract 72 Key words: 72 Figure 5.1: Neo-Assyrian bas relief. 62 Figure 5.2: Detail of the Stele of Vultures (IIIrd mill. BC) 63 Figure 5.3: Example of paintings from Catal Höyük 63 Figure 5.4: Heaps of SH piled up next to valuable furnishings and weapons, Neo-Assyrian period. 64 Figure 5.5: Soldiers bringing decapitated heads. From Ebla, IIIrd mill. BC 65 Figure 5.6: Soldiers bringing decapitated heads. From Tell Taynat, Ist mill. BC 65 Figure 5.7: Removal of SH and their transportation to the place of “counting”. Neo-Assyrian period. 66 Figure 5.8: Heads became food for birds of prey, example from Uruk glyptic. 67 Figure 5.9: Heads became food for birds of prey, example from Catal Höyük. 67 Figure 5.10: Flying vultures grabbing the heads of enemies, IIIrd mill. BC (Stele of vultures). 68 Figure 5.11: Stele of the king Dadusha, early IInd mill. BC 69 Where is the public? A new look at the brutality scenes in Neo-Assyrian royal inscriptions and art 73 Where is the public? A new look at the brutality scenes in Neo-Assyrian royal inscriptions and art 73 Introduction 73 by Ariel Bagg* 73 Catalogue of atrocities: The written sources 74 Group A: Soldiers 74 Group B: Members of the elite 74 Group C: Civilians 76 The audience of the royal inscriptions 76 Catalogue of atrocities: The iconographic sources 78 Group A: Soldiers 78 Group B: Elite Members 78 Group C: Civilians 79 The audience of the palace reliefs 81 The brutality scenes in their context 84 Conclusions 87 References 87 Appendix: Catalogue of brutality scenes in Neo-Assyrian art 88 Figure 6.1: Atrocities in Neo-Assyrian royal inscriptions 75 Figure 6.2: The addressees of the royal inscriptions. 77 Figure 6.3: Battle of Til-Tuba. A soldier holds Teumman’s cut-off head (second register from the bottom, left side; Cat.-No 44); corpses of defeated Elamites are thrown into the River Ulai (lower half, right side; Cat.-No 45). From Barnett, Bleibtreu and 79 Figure 6.4: Shalmaneser’s Balawat gates as displayed in the British Museum (Cat.-Nos 3–7). Door reconstruction based on Schachner 2007: 24, fig. 6; depictions from Schachner 2007: plates 2, 4, 8, 10 and 13. 79 Figure 6.5: Soldiers carrying severed heads for inventory (Cat.-No 37). From Barnett, Bleibtreu and Turner 1998: pl. 210. 80 Figure 6.6: Grinding the ancestor’s bones (upper register, left side; Cat.-No 40); soldiers carrying severed heads for inventory (second register from the top, right side; Cat.-No 41); a soldier holds Teumman’s cut-off head (second register from the top, 80 Figure 6.7: Siege of Lachish, impalement of three prisoners (Cat.-No 30). From Barnett, Bleibtreu and Turner 1998: pl. 330. 80 Figure 6.8: Flaying of two prisoners (Cat.-No 29). From Barnett, Bleibtreu and Turner 1998: pl. 338. 81 Figure 6.9: Soldiers flay prisoners while another one holds a severed head (second register from the top; Cat.-No 46); soldiers pull out the tongue of prisoners (third register from the top; Cat.-No 47). From Barnett, Bleibtreu and Turner 1998: pl. 300. 81 Figure 6.10: Zincirli Stele. Esarhaddon holds two ropes attached to rings pierced in Uš-Anaḫuru’s and Abdi-Milkūti’s lower lips (Cat.-No 35). From Börker-Klahn 1982: Nr. 218. 82 Figure 6.11: Sargon gouging out the eyes of a prisoner (Cat.-Nr. 13). From Botta and Flandin 1849b: pl. 118. 82 Figure 6.12: Brutality scenes in Neo-Assyrian art 83 Figure 6.13: The addressees of the iconographic sources 83 Figure 6.14: Degrees of accessibility to the palace reliefs 84 Figure 6. 15: Location of the brutality scenes 85 Figure 6.16: Visibility of the brutality scenes 86 Images of War in the Assyrian Period: What They Show and What They Hide 99 by Davide Nadali* 99 References 103 Back Cover 105 Iconography,Iconology,War,Ancient Near East,Neo-Assyrian,Assyrian,Babylonian