Animals as Foes and Foes as Animals in Mesopotamian Royal Ideology
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22432023 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sebastian Fink (0000-0002-6270-8368, Universität Innsbruck), Johannes Bach (0000-0002-8872-9562, Trinity College) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 168-181 |
| Publication date | 2026-07-02 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology & Heritage Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2166-3548 • E-ISSN: 2166-3556 |
| Publisher | The Pennsylvania State University Press (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.14.2.0168 |
| OpenAlex | W7168245935 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 6 |
This article discusses the likening of foes to animals in Mesopotamian texts related to royal ideology. From the third millennium BCE, enemies were likened to swarms of locusts, snakes, apes, and dogs. While diachronically persistent, it is especially the Neo-Assyrian period that provides an abundance of corresponding examples. The analysis of such instances allows us to see developments and continuities in this practice and to identify underlying ideological traits of the texts they appear in.
Context (archaeology) · Ideology · Inheritance (genetic algorithm) · Period (music) · Ancient Near East History · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · Eurasian Exchange Networks
| Highly cited | No |
|---|