Kings, Priests, and Power in the Neo-Assyrian Period

Bibliographic Data

ID12838050
AuthorsShana Zaia (0000-0002-3862-261X, University of Vienna, corresponding author)
Year2019
Volume19
Issue1-2
Pages152-169
Publication date2019-12-10
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1569-2116 • E-ISSN: 1569-2124
PublisherBrill (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1163/15692124-12341308
OpenAlexW2995155425
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited1

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

Aesthetics · Archaeology · Art · Biblical studies · Criminology · Economic shortage · Hebrew Bible · Intervention (counseling · Misconduct · Period (music · Political science · Power (physics · Power of attorney · Sociology · State (computer science · Ancient Egypt and Archaeology · Ancient Near East History · History · Law · Linguistics and language evolution · Philosophy · Psychology

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