E-Book Overview
It is too often forgotten that every Assyrian "historical" inscription functioned in a very specific context. This context influenced its content and the way in which it was perceived by ancient viewers and readers. Russell's goal is to address the reconstruction of the context of these inscriptions in order to elucidate their original impact. In the past, the palace inscriptions, including Assyrian palace inscriptions, have been published in composite editions with little or no reference to the provenience of the individual exemplars; in addition, the original excavation reports often were more interested in the content of the inscriptions than in their locations. To achieve the objective of placing these inscriptions in their original contexts and thereby provide a base for further study of them, and stimulated by two seasons of renewed excavations at Nineveh during which he studied many inscriptions in situ, Russell returned to the British Museum and Layard's original, handwritten notes from the 19th century excavations at Nineveh--the goal being to catalogue fully and as completely as possible the individual inscriptions and their locations. The results of Russell's labors are here published, including the first publication of several shorter inscriptions. The book is lavishly illustrated, both with museum photos and with photos by the author of many of the inscriptions in situ. The book will no doubt be the basis of all further study of the relationship between inscription and context in the palaces of the Assyrian kings.
E-Book Content
The Writing on the Wall
General Editor Jerrold S. Cooper, Johns Hopkins University
Editorial Board Walter Farber, University of Chicago Marvin Powell, Northern Illinois University Jean-Pierre Grégoire, C.N.R.S. Jack Sasson, University of North Carolina Piotr Michalowski, University of Michigan Piotr Steinkeller, Harvard University Simo Parpola, University of Helsinki Marten Stol, Free University of Amsterdam Irene Winter, Harvard University
1. The Lamentation over the Destruction of Sumer and Ur Piotr Michalowski 2. Schlaf, Kindchen, Schlaf! Mesopotamische Baby-Beschwörungen und -Rituale Walter Farber 3. Adoption in Old Babylonian Nippur and the Archive of Mannum-mesu-lißßur Elizabeth C. Stone and David I. Owen 4. Third-Millennium Legal and Administrative Texts in the Iraq Museum, Baghdad Piotr Steinkeller and J. N. Postgate 5. House Most High: The Temples of Ancient Mesopotamia A. R. George 6. Textes culinaires Mésopotamiens / Mesopotamian Culinary Texts Jean Bottéro 7. Legends of the Kings of Akkade: The Texts Joan Goodnick Westenholz 8. Mesopotamian Cosmic Geography Wayne Horowitz
The Writing on the Wall Studies in the Architectural Context of Late Assyrian Palace Inscriptions
John Malcolm Russell
Eisenbrauns Winona Lake, Indiana 1999
ç Copyright 1999 by Eisenbrauns. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Russell, John Malcolm. The writing on the wall : studies in the architectural context of late Assyrian palace inscriptions / John Malcolm Russell. p. cm. — (Mesopotamian civilizations ; 9) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-931464-95-1 (alk. paper) 1. Cuneiform inscriptions, Akkadian. 2. Palaces—Iraq—Assyria. I. Title. II. Series. PJ3835.R87 1999 492u.1—dc21 99-14100 CIP
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. †‘
to Irene Winter who made this possible
Contents
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .