The Position of the Intellectual in Mesopotamian Society

THE ROLE & FUNCTION OF THE SCRIBE AS INTELLECTUAL IS OUTLINED, CONCENTRATING ON TYPICAL SITUATIONS IN WHICH SCRIBES' ACTIVITIES RELATE THEM TO THOSE IN POWER. THE BUREAUCRAT-SCRIBE INHABITED THE TEMPLE & THE PALACE--THE ECONOMIC INTEGRATION SYSTEMS. THE INVENTION OF WRITING OWED ITS EXI...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Daedalus (Cambridge, Mass.) Mass.), 1975-04, Vol.104 (2), p.37-46
Main Author: Oppenheim, A. Leo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cuneiform
Divination
Diviners
Intellectual/Intellectuals/ Intellectualism (see also Intelligentsia)
Kings
Mesopotamia/Mesopotamian/ Mesopotamians
Orthographies
Palaces
Poetry
Scribes
Sumer
Writing tablets
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Summary:THE ROLE & FUNCTION OF THE SCRIBE AS INTELLECTUAL IS OUTLINED, CONCENTRATING ON TYPICAL SITUATIONS IN WHICH SCRIBES' ACTIVITIES RELATE THEM TO THOSE IN POWER. THE BUREAUCRAT-SCRIBE INHABITED THE TEMPLE & THE PALACE--THE ECONOMIC INTEGRATION SYSTEMS. THE INVENTION OF WRITING OWED ITS EXISTENCE & CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES TO THE NEEDS OF THE BUREAUCRACY. THE POET-SCRIBE WROTE COMPOSITIONS THAT REPRESENTED ROYAL PRONOUNCEMENTS JUSTIFYING THE KING'S POLICIES, SETTING FORTH HIS RESPONSIBILITIES, LISTING HIS ACHIEVEMENTS & PLANS, ETC; THEY REFLECTED THE POLITICAL CLIMATE OF THE COURT. THE SCHOLAR-SCRIBES' SPECIAL CONCERN WAS DIVINATION, WHICH THEY PERFORMED WITH THE AID OF ELABORATE TEXTBOOKS. THESE BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN TEXTS, SOMETIMES INCLUDING VARIANT READINGS & EXPLANATIONS OF RARE WORDS, CONSTITUTE THE MAIN ACHIEVEMENT OF MESOPOTAMIA'S SCRIBE-ORIENTED SCHOLARSHIP. THERE WERE ONLY 2 WAYS IN WHICH THE INTELLECTUAL COULD FUNCTION IN MESOPOTAMIAN SOCIETY: AS PART OF THE PALACE ORGANIZATION OR AS AN INDEPENDENT EXPERT. IN THE FORMER ROLE HIS ACTIVITIES WERE ESSENTIAL FOR THE PROPER FUNCTIONING OF THE BUREAUCRATIC SYSTEM. EVENTUALLY, HIS WORK TRANSCENDED ITS UTILITARIAN RANGE & HE PROVIDED THE KING WITH TOPICS & FORMULATIONS FOR HIS WRITTEN PRONOUNCEMENTS. "THE IMAGE OF THE KING CREATED IN SUCH INSCRIPTIONS WAS BOUND DEEPLY TO AFFECT ROYAL DECISIONS...' IN THIS ROLE HE ALSO FUNCTIONED AS AN ARTIST & CRAFTSMAN, CONTRIBUTING TO THE PRESTIGE OF PALACE. A NEW ECONOMIC SITUATION ARISING IN THE 1ST MILLENNIUM PRODUCED A NEW HABITAT FOR THE SCHOLAR-SCRIBE AS AN INDEPENDENT EXPERT. H. DORIAN.
ISSN:0011-5266
1548-6192