The Role of Rituals in Warfare during the Neo-Assyrian Period

In imperial Assyria during the first millennium BCE, ritual pervaded every aspect of life. As the link between the divine realm and the earthly one, the king's primary duty was to discover the gods' will and enact it. To this end, an array of ritual experts in the art of reading and reacti...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Religion compass 2016-09, Vol.10 (9), p.219-229
Main Author: Melville, Sarah C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ancient civilizations
Religious history
War
Citations: Items that this one cites
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Summary:In imperial Assyria during the first millennium BCE, ritual pervaded every aspect of life. As the link between the divine realm and the earthly one, the king's primary duty was to discover the gods' will and enact it. To this end, an array of ritual experts in the art of reading and reacting to divine signs aided the king. Due to the risk involved, warfare required particular attention from the experts during every phase of operations. Based on evidence from cuneiform sources (ritual texts, royal inscriptions, and letters) and monumental art (narrative sculptured reliefs), this article focuses on how ritual activity at each campaign stage affected different audiences, including the enemy, the king's officials, and the Assyrian army.
ISSN:1749-8171
1749-8171
DOI:10.1111/rec3.12206