Royal Image and Political Thinking in the Letters of Assurbanipal

Royal Image and Political Thinking in the Letters of Assurbanipal SANAE ITO Academic dissertation to be publicly discussed, by due permission of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Helsinki, in Hall 5 on 15 April 2015 at 10 o’clock. University of Helsinki, Department of World Cultures Helsinki 2015 Sanae Ito Royal Image and Political Thinking in the Letters of Assurbanipal Copyright © Sanae Ito 2015 ISBN 978-951-51-0972-9 (Paperback) ISBN 978-951-51-0973-6 (PDF) UNIGRAFIA Helsinki University Print Helsinki 2015 To T. ABSTRACT Assurbanipal, the last great king of the Assyrian Empire (934-609 BC), ruled from 668 BC until at least 630 BC. He had to spend four years suppressing a revolt by Šamaš-šumu-ukīn, his older brother and the king of Babylon (667-648 BC), but his reign was much longer than his predecessors and he controlled almost all the area of the Ancient Near East. One of the essential bodies of research material on his reign is his correspondence, which has never before been studied in detail because much of it has been published in cuneiform copies only. His extant correspondence consists of 359 letters: 72 letters from him (the so-called royal letters) and 287 letters to him. Royal letters are particularly rare in the Assyrian correspondence and Assurbanipal’s royal letters outnumber those of his predecessors, hence this dissertation focuses on them. The letters deal with political, military, and diplomatic matters through the king’s point of view and in his words. The aim of this research has been to find out what image Assurbanipal tried to convey in his letters and how he utilized the image in order to further Assyrian policies. The dissertation uses philological method in a large sense and also takes advantage of the electronic database of the Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project (Helsinki), which contains all Assyrian and a large number of Babylonian texts of the Neo- Assyrian period in transliteration. Most of Assurbanipal’s royal letters were written during the revolt and its aftermath, and sent to Babylonia, Elam, and the Sealand, which were deeply involved in the revolt. Since the most common recipients of the missives were citizens, Assurbanipal clearly considered it particularly important to address the population at large when the revolt shook the foundation of the empire. As the royal letters originate in the state archives in the capital of Assyria, Nineveh, most of them are archival copies or drafts. Two languages and two scripts (Neo-Assyrian, Neo-Babylonian) were used in them, but the drafts would have first been drawn up in Neo-Assyrian, and later translated into Neo-Babylonian, perhaps first in Assyrian script and only later in Babylonian script. Assurbanipal had dialogue with both adversaries and adherents, emphasized the favours he had done, and described himself as a benevolent and merciful king who was capable of establishing justice, peace, and equality in the realm. He involved Nippur and Uruk in Assyrian military activities against rebels and settled a sibling rivalry between the governor of Ur and his predecessor. He continued a conciliatory policy towards Babylon even during the revolt in order to resolve the conflict peacefully. He tried to incorporate foreign countries into Assyrian control by treaties and sometimes exerted direct pressure on them with thinly veiled threats. Some countries came under Assyrian rule at their own initiative in order to acquire military and political gains from Assyria. iv Throughout the royal letters, he stressed his devotion to the gods and their support for his rule. Especially Aššur, supreme god of Assyria, was an important figure in the letters. v ACKOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I am extremely grateful to my supervisors, Professor Emeritus of Assyriology Simo Parpola, Dr. Raija Mattila, and Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies Jaakko Hämeen- Anttila. Without Prof. Parpola, I would not have come to Finland to study Assyriology. They provided access to the research material, gave me copious advice, read my dissertation manuscript with patience, commented on it, made corrections to it, and edited it. I also greatly appreciate the invaluable comments and suggestions on my manuscript that I received from the preliminary examiners, Professor Grant Frame and Professor Giovanni-Battista Lanfranchi. In addition, Prof. Frame provided me with much information on Neo-Babylonian letters and Prof. Lanfranchi kindly agreed to act as my opponent at the defence. I am also grateful to Dr. Robert Whiting for correcting my English text as a proof-reader and also for reading it from the point of view of an Assyriologist. My Assyriological studies started in Japan, and I would like to express my gratitude to my Japanese supervisors and teachers: Associate Professor Shuichi Hasegawa, Professor Jun Ikeda, Emeritus Professor Yutaka Ikeda, Professor Fumi Karahashi, Lecturer Yasunori Kawasaki, Emeritus Professor Ichiro Nakata, Associate Professor Daisuke Shibata, Professor Tomotoshi Sugimoto, Professor Akio Tsukimoto, Curator Hidetoshi Tsumoto, Professor Akira Tsuneki, Associate Professor Chikako E. Watanabe, and Lecturer Masamichi Yamada. I am particularly appreciative of the constant help and support from Ms. Keiko Yamada and Professor Shigeo Yamada. I would like to thank my colleagues in Helsinki: Sylvia Akar, Sanna Aro-Valjus, Lotta Aunio, Raisa Asikainen, Patricia Berg, Thera Crane, Leena Eerolainen, Axel Fleisch, Tiina Hyytiäinen, Hannu Juusola, Jonna Katto, Klaus Karttunen, Ilkka Lindstedt, Martti Nissinen, Inka Nokso-Koivisto, Minna Saarnivaara, Yukiko Sasada, Bertil Tikkanen, Jaana Toivari-Viitala, and Riikka Tuori. I am also grateful to my wonderful colleagues who have shared the office space with me: Erik van Dongen, Jouni Harjumäki, Pirjo Lapinkivi, Teemu Naarajärvi, Jouna Pyysalo, Stephan Schulz, Jonas Sivelä, and Christina Tsouparopoulou. Special thanks to Saana Svärd, my Assyriological colleague, who always encourages me, gives me practical advice, and helps me. My warm thanks are due to all the colleagues whom I met at international seminars and conferences, especially Dr. Sebastian Fink, Dr. Melanie Groß, Dr. Mikko Luukko, Dr. Greta Van Buylaere, and Dr. Yoko Watai. vi The grants from the following foundations have made my research in Finland possible: the Ishizaka Foundation, the Centre for International Mobility, the Research Foundation of the University of Helsinki, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, the Tokyo Foundation, the Foundation of the Finnish Institute in the Middle East, and the Foundation for Finnish Assyriological Research. For the last months of the process, the Intellectual Heritage of the Ancient Near East Project at the University of Helsinki, funded by the Academy of Finland and directed by Prof. Hämeen-Anttila and FiDiPro Professor Robert Rollinger, has provided an employment opportunity for me. I would like to thank my friends who always remind me of the fun in life. I am also obliged to my family. My parents gave me a great opportunity to see Assyrian cultural heritage in the British Museum that made me decide to study Assyriology when I was a high school student. Finally, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my fiancé Tuomas Aittomäki for his unwavering belief in my work and his generous support. I wish to dedicate this dissertation to him. vii CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. iv ACKOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................................. vi ABBREVIATIONS ....................................................................................................................... xii INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 0.1. Groundwork ......................................................................................................................... 1 0.2. The Corpus ........................................................................................................................... 2 0.3. The Methodology.................................................................................................................. 2 0.4. The Aims and Scope of the Dissertation ................................................................................ 3 0.5. The Manner of Presentation .................................................................................................. 4 0.6. The Structure ........................................................................................................................ 4 PART I. PROLEGOMENA TO THE LETTERS OF ASSURBANIPAL .......................................... 5 1.1. The Destinations of the Letters.............................................................................................. 5 1.1.1. Babylon .......................................................................................................................... 5 1.1.2. Nippur ............................................................................................................................ 9 1.1.3. Uruk ............................................................................................................................. 12 1.1.4. Ur................................................................................................................................. 15 1.1.5. Kissik ..........................................................................................................................

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