The Role of Rituals in Warfare during the Neo-Assyrian Period

In imperial Assyria during the first millennium BCE, ritual pervaded every aspect of life. As the link between the divine realm and the earthly one, the king's primary duty was to discover the gods' will and enact it. To this end, an array of ritual experts in the art of reading and reacti...

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Détails bibliographiques
Auteur principal: Melville, Sarah C. (Auteur)
Type de support: Électronique Article
Langue:Anglais
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Publié: Wiley-Blackwell [2016]
Dans: Religion compass
Année: 2016, Volume: 10, Numéro: 9, Pages: 219-229
Sujets / Chaînes de mots-clés standardisés:B Assyrien / Méthode de guerre / Rituel / Histoire 912 avant J.-C.-627 avant J.-C.
RelBib Classification:AD Sociologie des religions
AG Vie religieuse
BC Religions du Proche-Orient ancien
KBL Proche-Orient et Afrique du Nord
TC Époque pré-chrétienne
Accès en ligne: Volltext (Verlag)
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Description
Résumé:In imperial Assyria during the first millennium BCE, ritual pervaded every aspect of life. As the link between the divine realm and the earthly one, the king's primary duty was to discover the gods' will and enact it. To this end, an array of ritual experts in the art of reading and reacting to divine signs aided the king. Due to the risk involved, warfare required particular attention from the experts during every phase of operations. Based on evidence from cuneiform sources (ritual texts, royal inscriptions, and letters) and monumental art (narrative sculptured reliefs), this article focuses on how ritual activity at each campaign stage affected different audiences, including the enemy, the king's officials, and the Assyrian army.
ISSN:1749-8171
Contient:Enthalten in: Religion compass
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1111/rec3.12206