The role of the past (and its links to the divine) in shaping Neo-Assyrian royal self-representation

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Assyriologists, archaeologists and art historians agree that the kings of the Neo-Assyrian Empire - most notably, Ashurbanipal (668-627 BCE) - engaged in antiquarianism to enhance their royal authority in service of their expansionist ambitions. But how were aspects of the past - especially the visual language and concepts articulated by the "divine" kings of the later part of the third millennium, which were particularly favoured by Esarhaddon (680-669 BCE) and his heirs - selected and accessed by Neo-Assyrian kings and their scholars? Why did the Neo-Assyrians use imagery, in addition to writing, to evoke the past? And, how should we understand the realisation of the past in Neo-Assyrian imagery to relate to rulers' motivations to, first, ensure a smooth succession - concerns about which are otherwise witnessed in texts such as Esarhaddon's succession treaties - and, secondly, integrate Assyria's national god, Assur, considered to be fundamentally different from other Mesopotamian deities, into visual representations?