Chapter 2 Entangled Images: Royal Memory, Posthumous Presence, and the Afterlives of Assyrian Rock Reliefs
In: Afterlives of Ancient Rock-cut Monuments in the Near EastSearch for other papers by Karen Sonik in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by David Kertai in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Purchase instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Abstract
The study explores the lives and afterlives of royal representations carved into living stone (rock reliefs). It emphasizes their entanglement with the representations—in the form of images or names—of earlier kings. It considers also the nature of images in Mesopotamia, particularly royal images; issues of presence and absence, bound up in the composite nature of identity; and the materiality and location of the rock reliefs, which permitted the distribution of royal presence and identity not only beyond a king’s immediate body but also beyond his lifetime. The rock reliefs and stelae of the Neo-Assyrian king Shalmaneser III are explored as the primary case study, with references to the monuments of Anum-hirbe, Tiglath-pileser I, and Tiglath-pileser III. Briefly examined, too, are literary references to setting up one’s name for posterity, as in Gilgamesh and Huwawa A and the SB Cuthean Legend.