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Ancient Near Eastern Royal Rituals

Bibliographic Data

ID4299726
AuthorsClaus Ambos (University of Göttingen, corresponding author)
Year2014
Volume8
Issue11
Pages327-336
Publication date2014-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueReligion Compass (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1749-8171 • E-ISSN: 1749-8171
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/rec3.12138
OpenAlexW1584355925
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited10

This article deals with royal rituals from the Ancient Near East, focusing on the evidence from cuneiform sources from Babylonia and Assyria from the first millennium BCE. I will present rituals of coronation and investiture, which can be reconstructed from various text genres, such as epics, hymns or ritual handbooks. Royal investiture was not performed only at the beginning of the king's reign, but took place regularly during the festivals of the cultic calendar, particularly during the New Year's festivals in Spring and Fall. The king, albeit considered a superhuman being by the Mesopotamians, was nevertheless prone to illness. Illness was caused, according to Ancient Near Eastern ideas, by divine wrath and the alienation of a person from his or her protective deities. Thus, sickness was treated, among other cures, by rituals to bring about the reconciliation of the patient with the divine sphere. The performance of healing rituals for the kings of the Neo-Assyrian empire is well attested from a comprehensive correspondence of kings Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal with their ritual experts, diviners and physicians. An example from this correspondence will be presented in this contribution

Alienation · Ancient history · Assyria · Coronation · Cuneiform · Empire · Political science · Politics · Reign · Ancient Egypt and Archaeology · Ancient Near East History · Classics · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History · Law

  • The Materiality of Assyrian Sacred Kingship

    Open Access•Allison Thomason, Allison Karmel Thomason•Religion Compass•2016

  • The Cults of Uruk and Babylon

    Marc J H Linssen•The Cults of Uruk and Babylon•2004

  • Ancient Mesopotamia

    A Leo Oppenheim, Albin Oppenheim•Ancient Mesopotamia•1977

  • The Cultic Calendars of the Ancient Near East

    Hermann Hunger, Mark E Cohen•Journal of the American Oriental…•1996

Unique citing works1
Citations per year0,1
Citation span2016 - 2016 (1)
Citation velocityhistorical
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 1

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