Babylonian Priesthood during the Third Millennium BCE: Between Sacred and Profane
This article offers an overview of the early Babylonian priesthood, as it was organized and operated during the third millennium BCE. It is emphasized that the priests and priestesses proper, i.e., individuals who were specifically concerned with cultic matters, represented a relatively small segmen...
| Publié dans: | Journal of ancient Near Eastern religions |
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| Auteur principal: | |
| Type de support: | Électronique Article |
| Langue: | Anglais |
| Vérifier la disponibilité: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | En cours de chargement...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Publié: |
Brill
[2019]
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| Dans: |
Journal of ancient Near Eastern religions
Année: 2019, Volume: 19, Numéro: 1/2, Pages: 112-151 |
| Sujets / Chaînes de mots-clés standardisés: | B
Histoire 3000 avant J.-C.-2400 avant J.-C.
/ Sumer
/ Lagasch
/ Religion
/ Temple
/ Prêtre
/ Pouvoir
/ Fonctionnaire
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| RelBib Classification: | AD Sociologie des religions AG Vie religieuse BC Religions du Proche-Orient ancien |
| Sujets non-standardisés: | B
palace
B managerial class B early Sumerian kingship B purification priests B Sanga B Lu A List B temple household B Ensik B Lugal B Nam-šita |
| Accès en ligne: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Résumé: | This article offers an overview of the early Babylonian priesthood, as it was organized and operated during the third millennium BCE. It is emphasized that the priests and priestesses proper, i.e., individuals who were specifically concerned with cultic matters, represented a relatively small segment of the employees of temple households. Much more numerous within these institutions (which might more appropriately be termed “temple communities”) were the individuals whose roles were of either administrative or economic character. Focusing on the administrators of temple households, and identifying them as “Managerial Class,” the article argues that, during Pre-Sargonic times, this social group wielded great economic and political power, which at times even exceeded that of the emerging secular leaders (such as ensiks and lugals). To demonstrate this point, an interaction between these two competing centers of powers (particularly in the city-state of Lagaš) is studied in detail.In memory of Itamar Singer |
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| ISSN: | 1569-2124 |
| Contient: | Enthalten in: Journal of ancient Near Eastern religions
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/15692124-12341307 |