Relations Of Power In Early Neo-assyrian State Ideology (studies In Ancient Near Eastern Records (saner))

This volume examines the state ideology of Assyria in the Early Neo-Assyrian period (934-745 BCE) focusing on how power relations between the Mesopotamian deities, the Assyrian king, and foreign lands are described and depicted. It undertakes a close reading of delimited royal inscriptions and iconography making use of postcolonial and gender theory, and addresses such topics as royal deification, “religious imperialism”, ethnicity and empire, and gendered imagery. The important contribution of this study lies especially in its identification of patterns of ideological continuity and variation within the reigns of individual rulers, between various localities, and between the different rulers of this period, and in its discussion of the place of Early Neo-Assyrian state ideology in the overall development of Assyrian propaganda. It includes several indexed appendices, which list all primary sources, present all divine and royal epithets, and provide all of the “royal visual representations,” and incorporates numerous illustrations, such as maps, plans, and royal iconography. Contents 7 Preface 5 List of figures 11 Abbreviations 13 Bibliographical abbreviations 13 Symbols and other abbreviations 13 1. Introduction 15 1.1 Topic and background of the study 15 1.2 Aims of the study 18 1.3 Earlier research 19 1.4 General notes on the primary sources 22 1.4.1 Assyrian royal inscriptions and iconography 22 1.4.2 State ideology and propaganda 24 1.5 Method 32 1.6 Theory 41 1.7 Relations of power “in real life” 45 1.7.1 The geopolitical setting 46 1.7.2 The socio-economic setting 51 2. The primary sources of the study 59 2.1 The major primary sources 59 2.2 The minor primary sources 67 3. The relationship between the great gods and the foreign lands 73 3.1 Owners and masters of the world 73 3.2 Conquerors of the foreign lands 80 3.3 Summary 87 4. The relationship between the great gods and the king of Assyria 89 4.1 Representative of the great gods 89 4.2 Priest and servant of the great gods 107 4.3 Master builder of the great gods 117 4.4 Warrior of the great gods 127 4.5 Summary 136 5. The relationship between the king of Assyria and the foreign lands 139 5.1 Overcoming the foreign landscapes 139 5.2 Pacifying the foreign animals 147 5.3 Respecting the foreign deities 154 5.4 Confronting the foreign elites and people 161 5.4.1 Status and hierarchy 161 5.4.2 Function and reciprocity 172 5.4.3 Realized reciprocity: tribute 187 5.4.4 Realized reciprocity: paternalism 195 5.4.5 Differentiation of the foreign people and lands 203 5.4.6 Alleged roles of ethnicity and nationalism 216 5.4.7 Emphasis on the king and the ruling class 225 5.4.8 Self versus Other: identity and alterity 237 5.4.9 Gendered roles and relations 242 5.5 Summary 256 6. Ideological development within the reigns 261 6.1 Introduction 261 6.2 Ideology and regnal phases of Ashurnasirpal II 263 6.3 Ideology and regnal phases of Shalmaneser III 269 6.4 Ideology and regnal phases of the other kings 276 6.5 Summary and reflections 280 7. Local propaganda and regional politics 283 7.1 Introduction 283 7.2 Ashurnasirpal II and local propaganda 286 7.3 Shalmaneser III and local propaganda 292 7.4 The other kings and local propaganda 297 7.5 Summary and reflections 300 8. Ideological comparison between the reigns 305 8.1 Introduction 305 8.2 General comparison Ashurnasirpal II–Shalmaneser III 308 8.3 Strategic comparison Ashurnasirpal II–Shalmaneser III 315 8.4 The other kings and strategic comparisons 320 8.5 Summary and reflections 322 9. The development of Assyrian state ideology 325 9.1 Introduction 325 9.2 Early Neo-Assyrian propaganda in history: royal iconography and titulary 328 9.3 Early Neo-Assyrian propaganda in history: textual narrative 332 9.4 Summary and reflections 339 10. Conclusion of the study 341 10.1 Final conclusions and reflections 341 10.2 Further research 344 Bibliography 345 Figures 373 Appendices and indices 393 1. List of the inscriptions 395 2. List of the iconography 415 3. Spatial distribution of the major primary sources 421 4. Deity hierarchy in the texts 423 5. Divine titles and epithets in the texts of Ashurnasirpal II 427 6. Divine titles and epithets in the texts of Shalmaneser III 439 7. Divine titles and epithets in the texts of the other kings 447 8. Royal titles and epithets of Ashurnasirpal II 461 9. Royal titles and epithets of Shalmaneser III 477 10. Royal titles and epithets of the other kings 487 11. List of the most common royal titles and epithets I 499 12. List of the most common royal titles and epithets II 503 13. Visual representations of Ashurnasirpal II 507 14. Visual representations of Shalmaneser III and the other kings 513 15. List of the most common royal visual representations 517 16. Early Neo-Assyrian state ideology in history 519 "This volume focuses on the state ideology of imperial Assyria in the 9th century BCE, in particular on how power relations among the Mesopotamian deities, the Assyrian king, and the 'foreign lands' are described and depicted. The author also discusses ideological variations among regnal and historical phases, localities, and rulers"--Provided by publisher