Religion and Ideology in Assyria

‘Rei das Quatro Regiões’: Sargão de Akkad e o modelo imperial na Mesopotâmia

“…Enkidu não comeu o pão, mas olhou desconfiado. Como comer pão, Enkidu não sabia; como beber cerveja, nunca lhe havia sido mostrado.» 30 A Enkidu é assim atribuída uma natureza próxima dos animais e não completamente humana -leia-se «humano» como «civilizado» 31 . Ao modus vivendi das comunidades nómadas, que desde cedo se estabeleceram na Mesopotâmia, era associado por estas expressões literárias, produzidas em contexto urbano e letrado, este desconhecimento da agricultura.…”

The Materiality of Assyrian Sacred Kingship

“…As elevated as they were above all other humans, the kings of Assyria had to constantly remind their courts, and visitors to their palaces, as well as possibly the greater population in the Assyrian capital cities and beyond, of their legitimacy as the sole earthly beings chosen by the gods to rule the realm. Many scholars have proposed that the main threat to the king's physical and existential existence would have been those most close to him, and more indirectly, the enemies of his realm (Russell ; Cifarelli ; Fales ; Pongratz‐Leisten ; Collins ). Much of the kings' royal activities and material productions therefore focused on demonstrating to the gods, their court, palatial visitors, and perhaps others, that they were adequately fulfilling the tasks given to them as identified and decreed by the gods.…”

“…Of course, scholars have long acknowledged that the kings of Assyria relied on a number of specialists and scholars to help with their royal duties in adherence to the gods' wishes. This cadre of royal officials probably also were both the chief producers and targets or audience of these royal messages (Pongratz‐Leisten ; Cifarelli ; Fales ). They consisted of a number of courtly advisors, scholars, priests, and logistics administrators who certainly worked in the palace in the Assyrian heartland and its provincial extensions and carried out the king's (really the gods') activities as his designees.…”

“…Perhaps the most direct way to access concepts of sacred kingship in Assyria is through an examination of the material objects used in ceremonies investing the king with his power. These investiture and coronation ceremonies took place at least once during the king's reign but were also performed regularly, most often during the annual New Year's festivals ( Akitu ) dedicated to Aššur, when the king was reinvested as the god's chosen vice‐regent (Ambos ; Pongratz‐Leisten ). The ceremonies, known from texts, involved ritual libations with special vessels, and proclamations of ‘Assur is king!…”

“…Yet he was marked as exceptional, as chosen by the gods – and especially the head of the Assyrian pantheon, Aššur – to be their vice regent ( iššakku ) and to rule the earthly realm (Ambos ). In life, he was the closest thing to the gods on earth, and in some cases, his qualities and behaviors rose to the level of god‐likeness (Ornan ), but he was never considered equal to the gods with respect to omnipotence, omniscience, or immortality (Frankfort ; Machinist ; Ataç ; Scurlock ; Brisch , Pongratz‐Leisten ). This notion of kingship was also reflected in royal inscriptions, in which the kings acquired elaborate titles involving divine names, but only at the behest of the gods, who created the kings in their ‘likeness’ ( tamšilu ) (Ornan , p. 588).…”