The Neo-Assyrian Empire
The Neo-Assyrian Empire

Author: Simonetta Ponchia

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2024-06-04

Total Pages: 757

ISBN-13: 3110690799

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The ancient historians considered the Assyrian empire the crucial starting point of a new political system which was adopted by later empires. In modern historical research, this problem still needs to be investigated in a global perspective that studies the development of the imperial model through ages. Abundant epigraphical and archaeological sources can be used in investigating the expansionistic tacticts, the control structures, and the administrative procedures implemented by the Assyrians through a continuous effort of adaptation to evolving situations and changing needs. The book provides an updated outline of the history of the Assyrian empire and its neighbours, a detailed analysis of the technical and ideological aspects of the construction of the Assyrian empire, and of its long-lasting legacy in the Near East and in the West. For its broad theoretical framework, which includes the reference to studies of ancient and modern empires and imperialism, the book is intended not only for the specialists of Ancient Near Eastern history, but also for a wider public of Classical and Medieval historians and of historians interested in world and global history.

The Mythology of Kingship in Neo-Assyrian Art
The Mythology of Kingship in Neo-Assyrian Art

Author: Mehmet-Ali Ataç

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2010-02-08

Total Pages: 305

ISBN-13: 0521517907

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In this book, Mehmet-Ali Ataç argues that the palace reliefs of the Neo-Assyrian Empire hold a meaning deeper than simple imperial propaganda.

Assyria to Iberia at the Dawn of the Classical Age
Assyria to Iberia at the Dawn of the Classical Age

Author: Joan Aruz

Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art

Published: 2014-09-15

Total Pages: 452

ISBN-13: 0300208081

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Bringing together the research of internationally renowned scholars, Assyria to Iberia at the Dawn of the Classical Age contributes significantly to our understanding of the epoch-making artistic and cultural exchanges that took place across the Near East and Mediterranean in the early first millennium B.C. This was the world of Odysseus, in which seafaring Phoenician merchants charted new nautical trade routes and established prosperous trading posts and colonies on the shores of three continents; of kings Midas and Croesus, legendary for their wealth; and of the Hebrew Bible, whose stories are brought vividly to life by archaeological discoveries. Objects drawn from collections in the Middle East, Europe, North Africa, and the United States, reproduced here in sumptuous detail, reflect the cultural encounters of diverse populations interacting through trade, travel, and migration as well as war and displacement. Together, they tell a compelling story of the origins and development of Western artistic traditions that trace their roots to the ancient Near East and across the Mediterranean world. Among the masterpieces brought together in this volume are stone reliefs that adorned the majestic palaces of ancient Assyria; expertly crafted Phonecian and Syrian bronzes and worked ivories that were stored in the treasuries of Assyria and deposited in tombs and sanctuaries in regions far to the west; and lavish personal adornments and other luxury goods, some imported and others inspired by Near Eastern craftsmanship. Accompanying texts by leading scholars position each object in cultural and historical context, weaving a narrative of crisis and conquest, worship and warfare, and epic and empire that spans both continents and millennia. Writing another chapter in the story begun in Art of the First Cities (2003) and Beyond Babylon (2008), Assyria to Iberia offers a comprehensive overview of art, diplomacy, and cultural exchange in an age of imperial and mercantile expansion in the ancient Near East and across the Mediterranean in the first millennium B.C.—the dawn of the Classical age.

The Syro-Anatolian City-States
The Syro-Anatolian City-States

Author: James F. Osborne

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2020-11-06

Total Pages: 368

ISBN-13: 0199315841

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This book presents a new model for understanding the collection of ancient kingdoms that surrounded the northeast corner of the Mediterranean Sea from the Cilician Plain in the west to the upper Tigris River in the east, and from Cappadocia in the north to western Syria in the south, during the Iron Age of the ancient Near East (ca. 1200 to 600 BCE). Rather than presenting them as homogenous ethnolinguistic communities like "the Aramaeans" or "the Luwians" living in neatly bounded territories, this book sees these polities as being fundamentally diverse and variable, distinguished by demographic fluidity and cultural mobility. The Syro-Anatolian City-States sheds new light via an examination of a host of evidentiary sources, including archaeological site plans, settlement patterns, visual arts, and historical sources. Together, these lines of evidence reveal a complex fusion of cultural traditions that is nevertheless distinctly recognizable unto itself. This book is the first to specifically characterize the Iron Age city-states of southeastern Turkey and northern Syria, arguing for a unified cultural formation characterized above all by diversity and mobility and that can be referred to as the "Syro-Anatolian Culture Complex."

Tales of Royalty
Tales of Royalty

Author: Elisabeth Wagner-Durand

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2020-07-20

Total Pages: 334

ISBN-13: 1501506897

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The volume sheds light on Ancient Near Eastern kingship by focusing on its constant urge for legitimation. Thus, it highlights specific aspects like royal building activities, warfare and wisdom and frames these into material and textual expressions that take the powerful form of narratives. The contributions made in this volume look for specific topoi of kingship and examine which shapes they took and why. The publication determines which narrative topoi have once been selected to legitimize kingship, which media have been chosen to transmit these narratives, and what kind of narrative strategies have been applied. To consider both, texts and images, in the same margin, the book is based on a dual approach: referring to certain narrative themes both philological and archaeological material will be presented. By joining diverse perspectives of scholars of material culture and texts and their various approaches the publication promises new and special insight into the connection of narration and legitimation in Mesopotamia. It reflects Ancient Near Eastern kingship and its narrative strategies from a interdisciplinary and transmedial point of view and gives new insights into the matter of royal legitimation.

The Ancient Israelite World
The Ancient Israelite World

Author: Kyle H. Keimer

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2022-11-21

Total Pages: 823

ISBN-13: 1000773248

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This volume presents a collection of studies by international experts on various aspects of ancient Israel’s society, economy, religion, language, culture, and history, synthesizing archaeological remains and integrating them with discussions of ancient Near Eastern and biblical texts. Driven by theoretically and methodologically informed discussions of the archaeology of the Iron Age Levant, the 47 chapters in The Ancient Israelite World provide foundational, accessible, and detailed studies in their respective topics. The volume considers the history of interpretation of ancient Israel, studies on various aspects of ancient Israel’s society and history, and avenues for present and future approaches to the ancient Israelite world. Accompanied by over 150 maps and figures, it allows the reader to gain an understanding of key issues that archaeologists, historians and biblical scholars have faced and are currently facing as they attempt to better understand ancient Israelite society. The Ancient Israelite World is an essential reference work for students and scholars of ancient Israel and its history, culture, and society, whether they are historians, archaeologists or biblical scholars.

The Book of Samuel and Its Response to Monarchy
The Book of Samuel and Its Response to Monarchy

Author: Sara Kipfer

Publisher: Kohlhammer Verlag

Published: 2021-01-27

Total Pages: 345

ISBN-13: 3170370413

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Power comprises one of the key topics of the book of Samuel. This theme encompasses tribal contentions, power differentials between religious authorities and kings, fathers and sons, men and women. The articles assembled here explore Israel's search for political identity and Samuel's critique of monarchy, the book's constructions of power and powerlessness, and the editors' and early audiences' postmonarchic reflections. Historical and social-scientific approaches to the book of Samuel find ancient Near Eastern parallels for the political organization of Israel and describe the social conditions under authoritarian regimes. Redactional approaches examine the diachronic development of Samuel's varying perceptions of monarchy, from that institution's inception through its entrenchment in Israelite and Judahite society, until it underwent a sudden, cataclysmic failure. And literary and theological approaches advocate for contemporary reconsideration and application of the book's more noble principles.

Sibyls, Scriptures, and Scrolls
Sibyls, Scriptures, and Scrolls

Author: Joel Baden

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2016-10-11

Total Pages: 1538

ISBN-13: 9004324747

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This volume, a tribute to John J. Collins by his friends, colleagues, and students, includes essays on the wide range of interests that have occupied John Collins’s distinguished career. Topics range from the ancient Near East and the Hebrew Bible to the Dead Sea Scrolls and Second Temple Judaism and beyond into early Christianity and rabbinic Judaism. The contributions deal with issues of text and interpretation, history and historiography, philology and archaeology, and more. The breadth of the volume is matched only by the breadth of John Collins’s own work.

Historical Biblical Archaeology and the Future
Historical Biblical Archaeology and the Future

Author: Thomas Evan Levy

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-04-08

Total Pages: 392

ISBN-13: 1134937466

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Joint winner of the 2011 Biblical Archaeology Society Publication Award in the category "Best Scholarly Book on Archaeology" The archaeology of the Holy Land is undergoing major change. 'Historical Biblical Archaeology and the Future' describes the paradigm shift brought about by objective science-based dating methods, geographic information systems, anthropological models, and digital technology tools. The book serves as a model for how researchers can investigate the relationship between ancient texts (both sacred and profane) and the archaeological record. Influential archaeologists and biblical scholars examine a range of texts, materials and cultures: the Vedas and India; the Homeric legends and Greek Classical Archaeology; the Sagas and Icelandic archaeology; Islamic Archaeology; and the Umayyad, Abbasid, and Ayyubid periods. The groundbreaking essays offer a foundation for future research in biblical archaeology, ancient Jewish history and biblical studies.