Nation and Empire As Two Trends of Political Organization in the Iron Age Levant / / Mei Hualong.

• Superior document: Culture and History of the Ancient near East Series ; Volume 136
• VerfasserIn: Mei, Hualong,
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden, The Netherlands : : Koninklijke Brill nv,, [2024]; ©2024
• Year of Publication: 2024
• Edition: First edition.
• Language: English
• Series: Culture and history of the ancient Near East ; Volume 136.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (513 pages)

"In Nation and Empire as Two Trends of Political Organization in the Iron Age Levant MEI Hualong offers an analysis of national and imperial ideologies--two political principles that influenced the establishment, consolidation and expansion of trans-local/trans-tribal polities in the Iron Age Levant. By examining key terminologies, historical accounts and literary sources, MEI argues that the elites of ancient nations may attempt to reshape their political and cultural identity in imperial terms (vice versa, but to a lesser extent). The conceptual transformation from the one to the other is closely related to the political entity's consciousness and understanding of limits and boundaries: political and cultural, real and imagined"-- Provided by publisher.

Table of Contents

Intro -- ‎Contents -- ‎Acknowledgements -- ‎Figures and Tables -- ‎Abbreviations -- ‎Introduction. New Trends in Iron Age Levantine Polities and Politics -- ‎1. Setting Up the Problem -- ‎2. Nation, Empire and the Formation of Trans-Local Polities -- ‎3. A Note on the Term "Polity" -- ‎4. Structure of the Book -- ‎Part 1. -- ‎Chapter 1. Nation and the Impact of Ethnocultural Elements on Politics: A Survey of Native Terminology -- ‎1. Introduction -- ‎2. Kinship Terminology and Social Institutions in Biblical and Other Northwest Semitic Traditions: An Overview -- ‎3. ‮עם‬‎ and ‮גוי‬‎: Ethnocultural Features and Collective Political Identity in Biblical Sources -- ‎4. An Overview of ‮לאום‬‎ and ‮אומה‬‎ -- ‎5. Terms of "National" Groups and the Category of the Polity -- ‎6. Conclusion -- ‎Chapter 2. Ethnocultural Elements and Political Identity in the Iron Age Levant (1): The Role of (Self-)Designation and Kinship Ideology -- ‎1. Introduction -- ‎2. Transjordanian Polities -- ‎3. Israel and Judah -- ‎4. The Arameans -- ‎5. Philistia and the Philistines: Viewed from the outside -- ‎6. Conclusion -- ‎Chapter 3. Ethnocultural Elements and Political Identity in the Iron Age Levant (2): The Role of "National Gods" and Religion -- ‎1. Introduction -- ‎2. "National Gods" and Religion in Transjordan -- ‎3. Yahweh as the "National" God in Both Israel and Judah: Onomastic Evidence -- ‎4. Divine Message and an Israelite-Judean "National" Identity -- ‎5. The Pan-Israelite Passover and a Pan-Israelite Identity -- ‎6. Conclusion -- ‎Chapter 4. Ethnocultural Elements and Political Identity in the Iron Age Levant (3): The Role of Language and Script -- ‎1. Introduction -- ‎2. Language and Script in the Transjordan: "The Difference Is in the Detail" -- ‎3. Language and Script of the Israel and Judah.

‎4. The Question of a Common Aramean Identity from the Linguistic Perspective -- ‎5. Conclusion -- ‎Chapter 5. Cultural Elements and Political Identity: A Summary of Different Scenarios in the Iron Age Levant -- ‎1. Introduction -- ‎2. Cultural Elements on the Construction of Political Identity in Moab through the Lens of the Mesha Stele -- ‎3. Israel and Judah in the Iron Age: Cultural Unity and Political Division? -- ‎4. The Arameans: What's in a Name? -- ‎5. The Neo-Hittites, the Phoenicians and the Arabs: Limited Cultural Commonality without Impact on Political Organization -- ‎6. Conclusion -- ‎Part 2. -- ‎Chapter 6. Empire, Universal Empire and Imperial Ideology: Theoretical Concerns and Case Studies -- ‎1. Introduction to Part II and the Present Chapter -- ‎2. Issues of Definitions and Criteria -- ‎3. The Universal Empire? -- ‎4. The Mesopotamian Universal Empire and Its Limits -- ‎5. Assyria and Other Large States: From a Terminological Perspective -- ‎6. Conclusion -- ‎Chapter 7. The Impact of External Imperialism in the Levant and Mutual Perception of the Center and the Periphery -- ‎1. Introduction -- ‎2. Non-Mesopotamian Imperial Intervention in the Iron Age Levant -- ‎3. The Mesopotamian Empire and the Levantine Periphery: Expansion and Limits -- ‎4. The Imperial Order and Its Limits: A Survey of Selected Terms in Imperial Sources Related to the Levant -- ‎5. From the Evil Enemy to the Benefactor: Universal Empires in the Eyes of Levantine Polities -- ‎6. Conclusion -- ‎Chapter 8. When the Two Trends Meet: Imperialism of "Nations" vs. The Universal Empire as a "Nation"-Possibilities and Uncertainties -- ‎1. Introduction -- ‎2. Aramean Imperialism? A Debate on Facts and Definition -- ‎3. The "Great Kings" of Neo-Hittite Kingdoms -- ‎4. Israel, Moab and Judah: Expansionist Policy of Small Levantine "Nation States".

‎5. The Imperialization of the "United Monarchy" in Biblical Historiography -- ‎6. "Yahwistic Imperialism" in the Hebrew Bible -- ‎7. The Assyrian Empire and an Assyrian Identity -- ‎8. Conclusion -- ‎Concluding Remarks -- ‎Works Cited -- ‎Index of Selected Names and Subjects -- ‎Index of Primary Sources.