The Mittani - Middle Assyrian Transition in Northwestern Mesopotamia

虽然对米塔尼和亚述中期(公元前2世纪末)的具体方面都有详细的研究，甚至(主要是对亚述中期)也有一些全面的研究，但缺乏这两个时期以及这两个时期之间的过渡的专题比较。这两个国家在空间和时间上的接近令人惊讶：在最多几十年的时间里，控制Jazirah的政治权力从米塔尼人控制转变为中亚述人控制。在物质文化和领土控制机制方面，这两个国家之间的距离同样令人惊讶。三谷存在的特点是一些纪念性建筑和一些独特的物质文化方面，这些建筑位于一些地区的选定地点，否则就表明了当地传统的连续性。亚述中部的存在在建筑和物质文化方面产生了更大的影响，这在很大程度上是由于用来控制领土的分散的行政制度。在比较这两个州对物质文化的影响时，出现了几个问题。这两个国家的文化影响在多大程度上不同于他们所控制的政治？物质文化表现的多样性是否直接或间接地与政治控制机制有关？物质文化传播的数量和质量在学者将帝国、王国或国家的现代术语应用于此类社会的方式中发挥了作用吗？落入Mittani和/或Assyrian控制下的政体有自己的地方传统和风格；新的风格冲动的到来如何影响这些？这些问题的答案可以在米塔尼和亚述中部国家的物质文化的详细比较中找到；这种比较带来了答案，因为将这两个国家放在一起，他们的相似之处和不同之处就显露出来了。这个项目包括两个政治国家物质文化元素的广度和深度。这个项目的范围是一组遗址，其中有米塔尼时期或亚述中期的出版材料，或两者兼而有之。然后，这些遗址导致了对米塔尼和中亚述物质文化的定义，以及它们在政治控制地区的分布。这两个政治实体之间分配的变化及其与当地传统的关系将构成回答上述问题的基础。该项目还包括Tell Chuera的更深层次的数据样本，包括可以追溯到Mittani和亚述中期的挖掘区域的未发表材料，从而使人们能够详细了解正在调查的过渡。来自三谷州中心城市Tell Fekheriye的材料为定义三谷物质文化提供了坚实的基础。

While there are detailed studies for specific aspects of both the Mittani and middle Assyrian periods (late 2nd Millennium BC), and even (primarily for the middle Assyrian) some comprehensive studies, what is lacking is a monographic comparison between these two periods as well as the transition between the two. The vicinity, in terms of space and time, between these two states is surprising: within a few decades at most the political power controlling the Jazirah changed dramatically from Mittani to middle Assyrian control. The distance, in terms of material culture and mechanisms of territorial control, between these two states is equally surprising. The Mittani presence is marked by a few monumental structures and a few unique aspects of material culture at select sites in areas which otherwise demonstrate a continuity of local traditions. The middle Assyrian presence had a larger impact in terms of architecture as well as material culture, due in large part to the diffuse administrative system used to control territories. In comparing the impact on material culture that the two states had, several questions arise. To what extent is the cultural impact of these two states different in polities under their control? Is the diversity in representation of material culture related, directly or indirectly, to the mechanisms of political control? Does the quantity and quality of the dissemination of material culture play a role in the way scholars apply the modern terms of Empire, Kingdom or State to such societies? The polities which fall under Mittani and/or Assyrian control have their own local traditions and style; how are these affected by the arrival of new stylistic impulses? The answers to these questions can be found in a detailed comparison of the material culture of the Mittani and middle Assyrian states; a comparison which brings answers because by placing the two next to each other their similarities and differences come to the fore. This project includes both breadth and depth of elements of material culture from both political states. The breadth on which this project draws is a set of 64 sites with published material from either the Mittani or middle Assyrian periods, or both. These sites, then, lead both to a definition of Mittani and middle Assyrian material culture as well as their distribution over the areas under political control. The changes in that distribution between the two political entities as well as their relationship with local traditions will form the basis from which the questions above can be answered. The project also includes a deeper sample of data from Tell Chuera, by including unpublished material from excavation areas dating to both the Mittani and the middle Assyrian periods, allowing for a detailed understanding of the transition under investigation. The material from Tell Fekheriye, a city at the heart of the Mittani state, gives a solid foundation from which to define Mittani material culture.