Book contents
- The Cambridge World History of Violence
- The Cambridge History of Violence
- The Cambridge World History of Violence
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Contributors to Volume i
- General Introduction: Violence in World History
- Introduction to Volume I
- Part I The Origins of Conflict
- Part II Prehistoric and Ancient Warfare
- Part III Intimate and Collective Violence
- Part IV Religion, Ritual and Violence
- Part V Violence, Crime and the State
- Part VI Representations and Constructions of Violence
- 29 Kingship, Violence and Non-violence in Indian Thought, c. 500 bce to 500 ce
- 30 Violence and the Bible
- 31 Representations of Violence in Ancient Mesopotamia and Syria
- 32 Representations of War and Violence in Ancient Rome
- 33 Heroism, Military Violence and the State in Ancient India
- Index
- References
31 - Representations of Violence in Ancient Mesopotamia and Syria
from Part VI - Representations and Constructions of Violence
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 March 2020
- The Cambridge World History of Violence
- The Cambridge History of Violence
- The Cambridge World History of Violence
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Contributors to Volume i
- General Introduction: Violence in World History
- Introduction to Volume I
- Part I The Origins of Conflict
- Part II Prehistoric and Ancient Warfare
- Part III Intimate and Collective Violence
- Part IV Religion, Ritual and Violence
- Part V Violence, Crime and the State
- Part VI Representations and Constructions of Violence
- 29 Kingship, Violence and Non-violence in Indian Thought, c. 500 bce to 500 ce
- 30 Violence and the Bible
- 31 Representations of Violence in Ancient Mesopotamia and Syria
- 32 Representations of War and Violence in Ancient Rome
- 33 Heroism, Military Violence and the State in Ancient India
- Index
- References
Summary
The theme of violence is largely represented in the visual media of ancient Mesopotamia and Syria, from ancient times (fourth millennium BCE) up to the periods of the great empires of Assyria and Babylonia in the first millennium CE. Violent scenes, mostly related to war, principally show the punishment and killing of enemies according to recurrent visual topoi – such as beheading, beating, impalement, blinding, cutting and amputation of limbs – on different media, from cylinder seals to inlays and larger reliefs. This chapter seeks to point out the differing nature of the visual documents and contexts where scenes of violence on monuments and pictures were eventually shown, displayed and thus perceived, and will analyse the representation of violence accordingly, taking into consideration the use of violence within the religious and political spheres and pointing to cultural differences across time as a reflection of the political system.Mesopotamia, Syria, ritual, sacred violence, warfare, prisoners of war, rituals of war, visual narrative, visibility, audience
Keywords
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- Information
- The Cambridge World History of Violence , pp. 629 - 653Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020