Kings, Priests, and Power in the Neo-Assyrian Period
Despite a relative dearth of information in the surviving corpus about Assyrian priests’ more routine concerns, the Assyrian state correspondence contains some details that can improve our knowledge of priests’ daily lives, rights, and responsibilities. Using four case studies, this paper analyzes s...
| Published in: | Journal of ancient Near Eastern religions |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
[2019]
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| In: |
Journal of ancient Near Eastern religions
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Assyria
/ History 912 BC-627 BC
/ King
/ Power
/ Priest
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| RelBib Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy BC Ancient Orient; religion ZC Politics in general |
| Further subjects: | B
Administration
B Crime B daily life B Clergy B Temples |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | Despite a relative dearth of information in the surviving corpus about Assyrian priests’ more routine concerns, the Assyrian state correspondence contains some details that can improve our knowledge of priests’ daily lives, rights, and responsibilities. Using four case studies, this paper analyzes situations in which priests are accused of misconduct or crimes to better understand the powers and expectations of individual priestly offices as well as the realities of everyday life that might have rendered these boundaries more flexible or surmountable. These cases of irregularities reveal that cultic personnel had distinct economic, legal, and judicial roles and were sometimes able to extend their powers when necessary to manage issues such as crime and shortages in resources, only requesting royal intervention as a last resort. |
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| ISSN: | 1569-2124 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of ancient Near Eastern religions
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/15692124-12341308 |