Alterity in Ancient Assyrian Propaganda

This book is a comprehensive analysis of the image of ”enemy” in Assyrian state ideology, based on royal titles attested in Assyrian documents from Old Assyrian through Neo-Assyrian times, the narratives of Assyrian royal inscriptions, and Assyrian palace art. The main focus of the study is the creation of enemy images as a timeless and universal ruling technique embodied in postcolonial concepts such as "alterity" and "the Other." The data collected by the author make it possible to make interesting comparisons between the Old, Middle, and Neo-Assyrian periods and to isolate continuities and new trends in the development of Assyrian state propaganda over a period of more than 1400 years.

“A welcome contribution to the study of propaganda and political identity in Assyriology, and offers a good starting point for the exploration of these subjects in the vast textual records produced by the Assyrian polities.”—Ivo dos Santos Martins, Bibliotheca Orientalis

Acknowledgements

List of Illustrations

Abbreviations

IntroductionEnemies, Alterity, and Ancient Assyria

Aims, Material, and Method of the Study

An Outline of Assyrian State Ideology

Some Notes on Postcolonial Theory

Part I: The Evidence

Part II: Alterity in Assyrian Royal EpithetsOld Assyrian Sources

Middle Assyrian Sources

Early Neo-Assyrian Sources

Late Neo-Assyrian Sources

Part III: Conclusions

Bibliography

Illustrations

Indices

Ancient Near East

           Biblical Studies

Assyria

           Culture

           Government

           History