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Features of Monarchical Rules and Succession in the Ancient Near East

Received: 21 June 2023     Accepted: 14 July 2023     Published: 13 March 2024
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Abstract

Features of kingship in the Ancient Near East manifested in the use of titles which expressed the relationship between the King and the Divine. The titles in later usage were developed, formulated, promulgated and finally became the royal ideology. The features, therefore, revealed that the concept of Kingship in the Ancient Near East is of divine origin. This paper argues that those features were conceived and nurtured by the Kings, the royal court and palace traditions in order to subject and subdue the opposing voices among their followers especially the opposition group who might had contested for the throne during the succession. The features were used to benefit the rulers and their palace officials. The approaches used in this research to arrive at this argument include historical, descriptive and comparative. Historical approach had been used because the terms ‘features’ and ‘monarchy’ seems to be historical terms. Descriptive approach had been used because grammatical relationship of words were examined. Thirdly, comparative approach had been used to point out how the two kingdoms though years apart but had similarities in terms of their royal ideologies. This research concludes that the features as used by the kings were an oppressive means used by the rulers over their subjects through exaggerating the powers of gods to manipulate the minds of their followers even though the King’s ruthlessness can be seen in the open, especially in enacting decrees and harsh policies on taxations and corveer.

Published in History Research (Volume 12, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.history.20241201.13
Page(s) 25-33
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Features, Kingship, Near East, Titles, Divine and Ideology

References
[1] Aster, Shawn Zelig. Unbeatable Light AOAT 384 Melammu and its Biblical Parallels, 2012.
[2] Cogan, Mordechai. The Raging Torrent: Historical Inscriptions from Assyria and Babylonia Relating to Ancient Israel. Jerusalem: A Carta HandBook, 2008.
[3] Chamaza-Luzern, Vera G. W “Sargon II’s Ascent to the Throne: The Political Situation” SAAB 6/1 (1992), 25ff.
[4] Dangin, Threau. TCL 3 (1912). K. 1349.
[5] Driel, Van G. The Cult of Aššur. Netherlands: Assen, 1969.
[6] Fales, F. M and J. N. Postgate, Imperial Administrative Records, Part 2, SAA 11. Finland: University of Helsinki Press, 1995.
[7] Grayson, A. K. Assyrian Royal Inscriptions ARI 1. Harrassowitz; Wiesbaden, 1972.
[8] Grayson, A. K. “The Early Development of Assyrian Monarchy”, in UF 3 (1971), 311-319.
[9] Grayson, A. K. Assyrian Rulers of the Early First Millennium B. C 1: 1114-859 BC; {The Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia-Assyrian periods 2}. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1991.
[10] Grayson, A. K. Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles (Texts from Cuneiform Sources 5), Locust Valley, 1970. Chro.1.
[11] Grayson, A. K. “Assyria and Babylonia” in Orientalia 49 (Rome, 1980), 140-184.
[12] Hunger, Hermann. SAA 8 (1992).
[13] Ishida, Tomoo. History and Historical Writings in Ancient Israel: Studies in Biblical Historiography. Boston: Leiden, kow, 1999.
[14] Ishida, Tomoo. The Royal Dynasties in Ancient Israel: A Study on the Formation and Development of Royal-Dynastic Ideology. Berlin, New York: Walt de Gruyter, 1977.
[15] Knapp, Andrew. Royal Apologetic in Ancient Near East; Amelie Kuhrt, ed. Atlanta, Georgia: SBL Press, 2015.
[16] Leichty, Erle. RINAP 4 (2001).
[17] Livingstone, Alasdair. SAA 3 (1989).
[18] Luckenbill, D. D. The Annals of Sennacherib.
[19] Machinist, Peter. “Kingship and Divinity in Imperial Assyria” In Harrassowitz Verlag. Wiesbaden Colloquien de Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft 5 (2011), 405-430.
[20] Machinist, 406; James B. Pritchard ed. Ancient Near Eastern Texts (New Jersey: Princeton University press, 1969), 274, 564.
[21] Melville, Sarah C.“Neo-Assyrian Royal Women and Male Identity: Status as a Social Tool”, Journal of The American Oriental Society, 124 (2004), 37-57.
[22] Mieroop, Marc Van De. A History of the Ancient Near East ca. 3000-323 BC 2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2007.
[23] Millard, Allan. The Eponyms of the Assyrian Empire, 910-612 BC. Finland: University of Helsinki Press, 1994.
[24] Parpola, Simon. Assyrian Prophecies, SAA 9. Finland: Helsinki University Press, 1997, Melville, 56.
[25] Parpola, Simon. Neo-Assyrian Treaties and Loyalty Oats. SAA 2. Finland: University of Helsinki Press, 1988.
[26] Pritchard, James B. ed. Ancient Near Eastern Texts. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1969.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Umar, E. (2024). Features of Monarchical Rules and Succession in the Ancient Near East. History Research, 12(1), 25-33. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.history.20241201.13

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    ACS Style

    Umar, E. Features of Monarchical Rules and Succession in the Ancient Near East. Hist. Res. 2024, 12(1), 25-33. doi: 10.11648/j.history.20241201.13

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    AMA Style

    Umar E. Features of Monarchical Rules and Succession in the Ancient Near East. Hist Res. 2024;12(1):25-33. doi: 10.11648/j.history.20241201.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.history.20241201.13,
      author = {Emmanuel Umar},
      title = {Features of Monarchical Rules and Succession in the Ancient Near East},
      journal = {History Research},
      volume = {12},
      number = {1},
      pages = {25-33},
      doi = {10.11648/j.history.20241201.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.history.20241201.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.history.20241201.13},
      abstract = {Features of kingship in the Ancient Near East manifested in the use of titles which expressed the relationship between the King and the Divine. The titles in later usage were developed, formulated, promulgated and finally became the royal ideology. The features, therefore, revealed that the concept of Kingship in the Ancient Near East is of divine origin. This paper argues that those features were conceived and nurtured by the Kings, the royal court and palace traditions in order to subject and subdue the opposing voices among their followers especially the opposition group who might had contested for the throne during the succession. The features were used to benefit the rulers and their palace officials. The approaches used in this research to arrive at this argument include historical, descriptive and comparative. Historical approach had been used because the terms ‘features’ and ‘monarchy’ seems to be historical terms. Descriptive approach had been used because grammatical relationship of words were examined. Thirdly, comparative approach had been used to point out how the two kingdoms though years apart but had similarities in terms of their royal ideologies. This research concludes that the features as used by the kings were an oppressive means used by the rulers over their subjects through exaggerating the powers of gods to manipulate the minds of their followers even though the King’s ruthlessness can be seen in the open, especially in enacting decrees and harsh policies on taxations and corveer.
    },
     year = {2024}
    }
    

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    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.history.20241201.13
    AB  - Features of kingship in the Ancient Near East manifested in the use of titles which expressed the relationship between the King and the Divine. The titles in later usage were developed, formulated, promulgated and finally became the royal ideology. The features, therefore, revealed that the concept of Kingship in the Ancient Near East is of divine origin. This paper argues that those features were conceived and nurtured by the Kings, the royal court and palace traditions in order to subject and subdue the opposing voices among their followers especially the opposition group who might had contested for the throne during the succession. The features were used to benefit the rulers and their palace officials. The approaches used in this research to arrive at this argument include historical, descriptive and comparative. Historical approach had been used because the terms ‘features’ and ‘monarchy’ seems to be historical terms. Descriptive approach had been used because grammatical relationship of words were examined. Thirdly, comparative approach had been used to point out how the two kingdoms though years apart but had similarities in terms of their royal ideologies. This research concludes that the features as used by the kings were an oppressive means used by the rulers over their subjects through exaggerating the powers of gods to manipulate the minds of their followers even though the King’s ruthlessness can be seen in the open, especially in enacting decrees and harsh policies on taxations and corveer.
    
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Author Information
  • Department of Religious Studies, Faculty of Arts, Adeleke University, Ede, Nigeria

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