Studies in Egyptology and the Ancient Near East – serie

This novel work uses case studies of both familiar and unfamiliar materials, expanding consideration of ancient Egyptian elite culture to encompass lived experience and exploitation of the natural environment. The opening chapter sets out the conceptual ground for the analyses that follow, arguing that the relatively ephemeral activities under investigation were centrally important to the actors. The first and largest study treats human organization of the landscape and its use to create and transmit elite meanings, especially through pictorial and encyclopaedic forms, and to mobilize emotional values. Next, a treatment of the planning of primarily third millennium settlements on the floodplain argues that Egypt offers a partly rural perspective that provides an alternative to the urban focus of many early civilizations but has parallels in elite culture in much of the world. The third study discusses how a single year's events were orchestrated to culminate in a celebratory hunt in which the king, his court, and high officials participated. The concluding chapter presents an initial synthesis of Egyptian treatments of elite experience, drawing in particular upon additional evidence from literary texts and attitudes to travel.

This comprehensive study explores the pivotal role of divination in ancient Mesopotamian society as a mechanism for collective decision-making and a means to alleviate anxiety amid uncertainty. Drawing on an extensive array of textual evidence, including letters, reports, and omen collections, Daneshmand argues that divination was integral to the decision-making processes of both individuals and state officials.The book delves into various divinatory methods, such as extispicy, prophecy, oil divination, and dream interpretation, illustrating how these practices provided divine legitimacy to critical decisions. By examining the social contexts, practitioners, and clients involved in divination, it reveals how these practices helped ease the burden of responsibility and reduce the stress associated with making significant choices.By applying existentialist philosophy and anthropological studies, this book demonstrates how divination and collective decision-making reflected fundamental human concerns with freedom, choice, and anxiety. By involving external factors, such as the gods or a collective, individuals found solace in shared decision-making processes, distributing accountability and offering a communal buffer against the uncertainties inherent in making choices.This innovative approach provides fresh insights into the practical functions of divination in ancient Mesopotamia, making it essential reading for scholars and students of Near Eastern history, religion, and anthropology, as well as those interested in the historical intersections of belief, decision-making, and societal structure.

In this pathbreaking study of local power structures in Old Babylonian Mesopotamia (c.2000-1595 BCE) Seri shows that far from being a monolithic entity that unilaterally made decisions concerning people, water, land, and other resources, the Babylonian state had to deal with local institutions that were not always willing to accept royal decisions passively. He demonstrates that the state was often unable to penetrate deeply into traditional social and economic practices that were controlled by local leaders, as is most apparent in the conflict of jurisdiction related to land distribution. However, the state did surreptitiously co-opt local leaders into the royal domain. The methodology and conclusions of this case study of local authorities in Old Babylonian Mesopotamia will also be useful for those studying other ancient states and complex societies.

The essays collected in this volume represent a selection of studies, previously published mainly in Italian, that make explicit use of anthropological and semiological tools in order to analyze important texts of historical nature from various regions of the Ancient Near East. They suggest that these historiographical texts were of a ‘true’ historical nature, and that the literary forms and mental models employed were very apt at accomplishing the intended results. Two different aspects are especially emphasized: myth and politics.

This novel work uses case studies of both familiar and unfamiliar materials, expanding consideration of ancient Egyptian elite culture to encompass lived experience and exploitation of the natural environment. The opening chapter sets out the conceptual ground for the analyses that follow, arguing that the relatively ephemeral activities under investigation were centrally important to the actors. The first and largest study treats human organization of the landscape and its use to create and transmit elite meanings, especially through pictorial and encyclopaedic forms, and to mobilize emotional values. Next, a treatment of the planning of primarily third millennium settlements on the floodplain argues that Egypt offers a partly rural perspective that provides an alternative to the urban focus of many early civilizations but has parallels in elite culture in much of the world. The third study discusses how a single year's events were orchestrated to culminate in a celebratory hunt in which the king, his court, and high officials participated. The concluding chapter presents an initial synthesis of Egyptian treatments of elite experience, drawing in particular upon additional evidence from literary texts and attitudes to travel.

The Middle Kingdom (c.1940-1640 BC) was a golden age of Ancient Egyptian writing. This pioneering book is the first comprehensive study of this literary legacy. The status of literature is controversial in many ancient civilizations, and Middle Kingdom poems have often been regarded as propaganda for the ruling dynasty. This study radically reassesses their cultural role, drawing on recent studies of the individual texts, some by the author, and on general developments in literary criticism, to argue that they were entertainments that voiced potentially dissident views while also being integral to elite culture. The book explores literature's status as a differentiated form of discourse, suggesting what social practices made its role possible and offering an innovative model for the reader's engagement with these subtle and complex ancient works. The book also surveys the social and ideological context of literature and proposes readings of the main tales, discourses, and teachings. The conclusion sets the readings in a broad context, while an appendix surveys the entire range of surviving texts.

In this pathbreaking study of local power structures in Old Babylonian Mesopotamia (c.2000-1595 BCE) Seri shows that far from being a monolithic entity that unilaterally made decisions concerning people, water, land, and other resources, the Babylonian state had to deal with local institutions that were not always willing to accept royal decisions passively. He demonstrates that the state was often unable to penetrate deeply into traditional social and economic practices that were controlled by local leaders, as is most apparent in the conflict of jurisdiction related to land distribution. However, the state did surreptitiously co-opt local leaders into the royal domain. The methodology and conclusions of this case study of local authorities in Old Babylonian Mesopotamia will also be useful for those studying other ancient states and complex societies.