Search results for ""Author Mario Liverani""

In ancient traditions, Assyria was the first world empire in a series that continued with Persia, Macedonia, and Rome. After Rome, we imagine the series bifurcating into a Western trajectory (from Charlemagne to Napoleon and the Third Reich) and an Oriental trajectory (from the Parthians and Sasanians to the Abbasids until the modern Caliphate). Assyria, often overlooked or slighted by modern studies of empire, still maintains our interest because it provides an example of the “simple form” of empire and imperialism, before subsequent developments resulted in structures of greater complexity.Most important among basic features of “empire” is the “imperial mission”—the mandate given by the gods or God to the emperor to extend, through conquest or persuasion, annexation or hegemony, the only legitimate power of the central state to the entire (known) world. This accomplishment can only be ideological, since in practice no empire, ancient or modern, could actually conquer the world. Nonetheless, ancient empires could come closer to the target, because their known world, the mental map of their oikoumene, was limited to their close surroundings. Assyria, by bringing the most populated and civilized countries of its time (surrounded by mountains, seas, deserts) into submission came close to fulfilling its mission. In our modern, Western perspective, however, the term empire is usually applied to alien and despotic (mainly Oriental) polities, while we in the West prefer to belong to more democratic “alliances.”Nevertheless, ancient Assyria still retains its value as a prototype of the “empire of evil” against which democracy fights and must resist. This book outlines the basic features of Assyrian imperialism within the framework of the general development of the imperial idea, all the while insisting on noting comparative material.The intent is twofold: (1) to better understand Assyria through comparison with later empires, and (2) to underscore the relevance of the “Assyrian model” and its influence on later history. Although the first intention profits ancient historians, the second goal is addressed to modern and contemporary historians, who too often ignore (or at least disregard) the long historical background lying behind more recent developments. The world in general, in the present climate of globalization, deserves to be better informed about pre-modern and non-Western trajectories of world history.

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En este libro se reúne una selección de ensayos que a lo largo de los años setenta y ochenta dedicó el autor a la historiografía del Próximo Oriente antiguo. La mayoría de ellos son reconstrucciones históricas basadas en antiguos mitos y leyendas. Todos son investigaciones rigurosas e innovadoras sobre la forma de abordar los documentos antiguos por parte del historiador. Una de las principales aportaciones metodológicas es la aplicación del análisis estructural a estos mitos. Es el caso del mito babilónico de Adapa, una saga antidiluviana vinculada al ciclo de la vegetación y de la muerte, cuyas claves están en la lectura antropológica de la hospitalidad y de la reciprocidad. O el carácter propagandístico de los edictos reales hititas, su manipulación política y retórica, donde la paridad, la simetría y la igualdad de rango entre reyes enmascaran situaciones de sumisión y subordinación, o bien la forma en que reyes usurpadores, como Idrimi de Alalah, Sargón de Akkad o Hattushili III,

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In ancient traditions, Assyria was the first world empire in a series that continued with Persia, Macedonia, and Rome. After Rome, we imagine the series bifurcating into a Western trajectory (from Charlemagne to Napoleon and the Third Reich) and an Oriental trajectory (from the Parthians and Sasanians to the Abbasids until the modern Caliphate). Assyria, often overlooked or slighted by modern studies of empire, still maintains our interest because it provides an example of the “simple form” of empire and imperialism, before subsequent developments resulted in structures of greater complexity.Most important among basic features of “empire” is the “imperial mission”—the mandate given by the gods or God to the emperor to extend, through conquest or persuasion, annexation or hegemony, the only legitimate power of the central state to the entire (known) world. This accomplishment can only be ideological, since in practice no empire, ancient or modern, could actually conquer the world. Nonetheless, ancient empires could come closer to the target, because their known world, the mental map of their oikoumene, was limited to their close surroundings. Assyria, by bringing the most populated and civilized countries of its time (surrounded by mountains, seas, deserts) into submission came close to fulfilling its mission. In our modern, Western perspective, however, the term empire is usually applied to alien and despotic (mainly Oriental) polities, while we in the West prefer to belong to more democratic “alliances.”Nevertheless, ancient Assyria still retains its value as a prototype of the “empire of evil” against which democracy fights and must resist. This book outlines the basic features of Assyrian imperialism within the framework of the general development of the imperial idea, all the while insisting on noting comparative material.The intent is twofold: (1) to better understand Assyria through comparison with later empires, and (2) to underscore the relevance of the “Assyrian model” and its influence on later history. Although the first intention profits ancient historians, the second goal is addressed to modern and contemporary historians, who too often ignore (or at least disregard) the long historical background lying behind more recent developments. The world in general, in the present climate of globalization, deserves to be better informed about pre-modern and non-Western trajectories of world history.

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'Mario Liverani's work is among the most original and penetrating in the discipline of ancient Near Eastern studies. I recommend this brilliant and fascinating book with high enthusiasm.' Benjamin R. Foster, Laffan Professor of Assyriology and Babylonian Literature and Curator of the Yale Babylonian Collection, Yale University 'This collection of his classic essays, selected by Liverani himself, and presented in English for the first time, displays Liverani's brilliance in dissecting a variety of myths, treaties, royal inscriptions, letters and Biblical narratives. Liverani's influence on the interpretation of history is generously acknowledged by professional historians of the Ancient Near East and by the Italian reading public. This collection will bring his substantive contributions and his method to a wider audience of historians, anthropologists, and literary critics. The editors have done a splendid job introducing the essays, revising Liverani's own translations and providing handy references to studies that have appeared since Liverani's original work.' Norman Yoffee, Professor of Near Eastern Studies, University of Michigan The essays collected in this volume represent a selection of studies, previously published mainly in Italian, that make explicit use of anthropological and semiological tools in order to analyze important texts of historical nature from various regions of the Ancient Near East. They suggest that these historiographical texts were of a 'true' historical nature, and that the literary forms and mental models employed were very apt at accomplishing the intended results. Two different aspects are especially emphasized: myth and politics.

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