Early Neo-Assyrian State Ideology
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Early Neo-Assyrian State Ideology Early Neo-Assyrian State Ideology Relations of Power in the Inscriptions and Iconography of Ashurnasirpal II (883–859) and Shalmaneser III (858–824) Mattias Karlsson Dissertation presented at Uppsala University to be publicly examined in Ihresalen, Thunbergsvägen 3H, Uppsala, Saturday, September 28, 2013 at 10:00 for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. The examination will be conducted in English. Abstract Karlsson, M. 2013. Early Neo-Assyrian State Ideology: Relations of Power in the Inscriptions and Iconography of Ashurnasirpal II (883–859) and Shalmaneser III (858–824). Institutionen för lingvistik och filologi. 404 pp. Uppsala. ISBN 978-91-506-2363-5. This study aimed at identifying and discussing Early Neo-Assyrian state ideology through focusing on relations of power in the inscriptions and iconography of Ashurnasirpal II and Shalmaneser III. The relationship between the Mesopotamian deities (“the great gods”), the Assyrian king, and the foreign lands was highlighted in this analysis. Through a close reading of all the epigraphic and iconographic sources of the two kings, i.e. the “major primary sources”, using basic philological and art historical methods as well as theories such as critical theory and post-colonial theory, the results of the study were reached, presented mainly in chapters 3-5. In chapters 6-9, the below described results of the analysis formed the basis of discussions on ideological development within the reigns, local state ideology and regional politics, ideological comparison between the two kings, and a historical-ideological contextualization of the identified Early Neo-Assyrian state ideology. The great gods were imagined as the masters and the conquerors of the foreign lands. The Assyrian king presented himself as the representative, priest, servant, master builder, and warrior of the great gods. The great gods had ordered the Assyrian king to implement their world dominion. On this divine mission, the Assyrian king was confronted by various hinderances such as the wild foreign landscape and its wild animals. By the act of conquering, the named chaotic elements of Otherness became a part of Order. The relationship between the Assyrian king and the foreign deities was portrayed as characterized by mutual respect. The religious imperialism of the two kings was not of an iconoclastic character. The foreign elites and people had the choice to submit and pay tribute and then be shepherded, or to resist and then be annihilated or enslaved. In times of confrontation, polarizations and dichotomies centred social classes (“elites”) and not nations or nationalities. Mattias Karlsson, Uppsala University, Department of Linguistics and Philology, Box 635, SE-751 26 Uppsala, Sweden. © Mattias Karlsson 2013 ISBN 978-91-506-2363-5 urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-203612 (http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-203612) Table of contents List of figures .............................................................................................. viii Abbreviations .................................................................................................ix Bibliographical abbreviations .....................................................................ix Symbols and other abbreviations ................................................................xi 1. Introduction .................................................................................................1 1.1 Topic and background of the study...........................................................1 1.2 Aims of the study ......................................................................................5 1.3 Earlier research..........................................................................................6 1.4 General notes on the primary sources .......................................................9 1.4.1 Assyrian royal inscriptions and iconography......................................9 1.4.2 State ideology and propaganda .........................................................10 1.5 Method ....................................................................................................16 1.6 Theory .....................................................................................................24 1.7 Relations of power “in real life” .............................................................27 1.7.1 The geopolitical setting .....................................................................27 1.7.2 The socio-economic setting...............................................................31 2. Presentation of the primary sources of the study ......................................36 2.1 The major primary sources: iconography................................................36 2.2 The major primary sources: inscriptions.................................................45 2.3 The minor primary sources .....................................................................53 3. The relationship between the great gods and the foreign lands ................58 3.1 Owners and masters of the world............................................................58 3.2 Conqueror of the foreign lands................................................................64 3.3 Summary .................................................................................................68 4. The relationship between the great gods and the king of Assyria.............70 4.1 Representative of the great gods .............................................................70 4.2 Priest and servant of the great gods.........................................................85 4.3 Master builder of the great gods..............................................................94 4.4 Warrior of the great gods ......................................................................102 4.5 Summary ...............................................................................................111 5. The relationship between the king of Assyria and the foreign lands ......113 5.1 Overcoming the foreign landscapes ......................................................113 5.2 Pacifying the foreign animals................................................................120 5.3 Honouring the foreign deities................................................................126 5.4 Confronting the foreign elites and people.............................................132 5.4.1 Status and hierarchy ........................................................................132 5.4.2 Function and reciprocity..................................................................142 5.4.3 Realized reciprocity: tribute............................................................155 5.4.4 Realized reciprocity: paternalism....................................................162 5.4.5 Differentiation of the foreign lands and people ..............................168 5.4.6 Alleged roles of ethnicity and nationalism......................................178 5.4.7 Emphasis on the king and the ruling class ......................................186 5.5 Summary ...............................................................................................197 6. Ideological development within the reigns .............................................200 6.1 Introduction ...........................................................................................200 6.2 Ideology and regnal phases of Ashurnasirpal II....................................202 6.3 Ideology and regnal phases of Shalmaneser III ....................................208 6.4 Summary and reflections.......................................................................214 7. Local state ideologies and regional politics ............................................216 7.1 Introduction ...........................................................................................216 7.2 Ashurnasirpal II and local ideology ......................................................219 7.3 Shalmaneser III and local ideology.......................................................224 7.4 Summary and reflections.......................................................................229 8. Ideological comparison Ashurnasirpal II-Shalmaneser III .....................232 8.1 Introduction ...........................................................................................232 8.2 General comparison...............................................................................234 8.3 Strategic comparison.............................................................................241 8.4 Summary and reflections.......................................................................246 9. Historical-ideological context of Early Neo-Assyrian state ideology.....248 9.1 Introduction ...........................................................................................248 9.2 Early Neo-Assyrian propaganda in history: iconography & titulary ....251 9.3 Early Neo-Assyrian propaganda in history: textual narrative...............255 9.4 Summary and reflections.......................................................................261 10. Conclusion of the study.........................................................................264 10.1 General summary ................................................................................264 10.2 Further research...................................................................................270 Appendices and indices...............................................................................272