The “head of the enemy” in the sculptures from the palaces of Nineveh: An example of “cultural migration”?

Abstract

The choice of this subject originates from the fact that the area of research to which I have been devoting myself recently includes the figurative cultures of Mesopotamia and Syria in the Early Dynastic and the Early Syrian periods, specifically in the field of war. Some of the data resulting from this research focus on the representation of the “head of the enemy”, which appears repeatedly in the documentation of the second millennium BC in Syria but so far seems to be absent in contemporary Mesopotamia. Despite the evident difference between the forms of representation from these two areas, I perceived in the figurative cycles of the Neo-Assyrian reliefs not only the recurrence of this theme but also the intentional display of severed heads, which reaches its climax in the numerous examples from the South-West Palace in Nineveh. My first aim is, therefore, to suggest a plausible approach towards identifying the origin of the display of “severed heads”, previously absent from Mesopotamian scenes of warfare, in the visual communication of the Neo-Assyrian period. My second aim is to offer an interpretation which may help shed light on ideological, cultural and anthropological aspects essential to the Neo-Assyrian political programme and its visual representation.

Aspekte des Menschseins im Alten Mesopotamien

“…2400 v. Chr., s. Dolce 2004, fig. 6 und 7 Darstellung von besiegten Gegnern und köpfen, die Soldaten wegtragen; s. auch archi 1998, 393ff.).…”

Imperialist Networks: Ancient Assyria and the United States

“…The imagery that underscores these exploits is equally selective, never showing the deaths of Assyrians but displaying graphically those of enemies. Enemy rulers are skinned alive, put on stakes and beheaded (figure 5; Bahrani, 2008;Crouch, 2009;Fuchs, 2009), while soldiers retrieve the heads of the adversarial army in order to collect remuneration (Dolce, 2003). In contrast to royal annals, letters from administrative offices in the network nodes address shorter-term governmental problems.…”