Tales of Royalty : : Notions of Kingship in Visual and Textual Narration in the Ancient Near East / / ed. by Elisabeth Wagner-Durand, Julia Linke.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter DG Ebook Package English 2020
• MitwirkendeR: Ambos, Claus,; Bonatz, Dominik,; Brisch, Nicole,; Couturaud, Barbara,; Heinz, Marlies,; Langa-Morales, Carlos,; Linke, Julia,; May, Natalie N.,; Niehr, Herbert,; Richardson, Seth,; Wagner-Durand, Elisabeth,; Weiershäuser, Frauke,
• HerausgeberIn: Linke, Julia,; Wagner-Durand, Elisabeth,
• Place / Publishing House: Berlin ;, Boston : : De Gruyter, , [2020]; ©2020
• Year of Publication: 2020
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (325 p.)

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.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Acknowledgments -- Table of Contents -- Part I: Introduction -- Bound by Stories?! Narration as a Strategy of Royal Legitimation: An Introduction -- Part II: The Righteous Guided King: Tales of the Wise, the Pious, and the Lawful One -- “Pious Shepherd” and “Guardian of Truth”: In Search of the Narrative Visualization of the Kings’ Piety and Righteousness -- The Literate King Reconsidered: Self-representation, Wisdom, and Learnedness -- Response: Das Narrativ vom guten König -- Part III: Tell Me How to Live – Narrating Royal Building Activities in the Ancient Near East -- Building, Arts, and Politics: Narrative Elements in the Depiction of “Building Kings” -- Narratives of Building Activities as an Element of Royal Legitimation -- Response -- Part IV: Warrior Tales: The Royal Hero in the Ancient Near East -- Kings or Soldiers? Representations of Fighting Heroes at the End of the Early Bronze Age -- Der Feldzugsbericht in Šū-Sîns Königsinschriften im Vergleich zu Verwaltungsurkunden: Die Grenze zwischen Erzählung und Geschichte im Rahmen der Königsdarstellung -- Response: Two Tales of Royalty, Or the Intermediality of Image and Text in the Third millennium BCE -- Part V: Case Studies -- Strategies of Legitimation of the Aramaean Kings in Ancient Syria: Three Case Studies on Damascus, Hamath and Yādiya/Samʾal -- “The True Image of the God…:” Adoration of the King’s Image, Assyrian Imperial Cult and Territorial Control -- Part VI: Categories and Concepts: Legitimacy and Narration Put to Test -- Down with “Legitimacy”: On “Validity” and Narrative in Royal Tales -- Narratology: Selected Terms and Concepts with a Focus on the Ancient Near East -- Part VII: Conclusion -- Why Study “Narration” in Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology and Assyriology? – Potentials and Limitations -- List of Contributors -- Indices