Mesopotamian Monday: Coronation Prayer of Assurbanipal (2/2)

Part 2: When the Scripts are Enacted

*This week, Mesopotamian Monday is divided into two parts. In order to fully understand Part 2, click here to first read Part 1. 

When scripts are embodied and performed on stage, certain physical aspects, not present before, become apparent. In this case, what does it mean for the officiant to “make a blessing toward the ‘Censer Gate’, that is, toward Shamash”?

First, we must identify the location of these documents. Then, based on the location of the text, we can infer the location where the ritual was enacted. Finally, by looking at the architecture of the Shamash temple, we may be able to identify ways in which the physical space makes the Coronation Prayer more understandable.

The Coronation Prayer of Assurbanipal was discovered in Assur at the house of an incantation priest, just 300 meters south of the great Ziggurat [5]. In proximity of the Ziggurat were a variety of temples dedicated to other deities, Shamash’s temple being among them [6]. This suggests that the giving of a blessing towards Shamash, towards the ‘Censer Gate’, may have occurred within Shamash’s temple.

Now that we have identified the location in which this ritual may have been enacted, how can the ritual space can help us to get a better sense of the performance of the Coronation Prayer? For this, two points should be addressed. First, it is difficult to identify what the ‘Censer Gate’ exactly was. For sure, we know that it marked a particular gate within the temple [7]. Second, whereas the temple entrance during the Old Assyrian and Middle Assyrian periods was on the northwestern front, the cult direction during the Neo-Assyrian period is re-oriented towards the East [8].

This shift in the direction is notable because the sun rises in the East. Seeing that the sun rises in the East, this means the sun would have had maximum access to the temple. Moreover, recall that the officiant turns towards Shamash. Thus, on the basis of the (a) eastern oriented Shamash temple and (b) the officiant of the Coronation Prayer turning towards Shamash, I would like to suggest that the Coronation Prayer would have been accomplished in the morning, when the temple would have received maximum sunlight.

Receiving maximum sunlight is extremely significant. Throughout Mesopotamian literature and history, reference is made to prayers, rituals, and judgment occurring at sunrise [9]. So, Mary Shepperson suggests that “these temple gateways where judgements were given and oaths taken may be connected to solar phenomena. If the presence of light is understood as the presence of the god of justice, then it seems desirable that judgement should be performed in sunlight” [10].

Therefore, performance of the Coronation Prayer was not a simply a religious prayer. Instead, the Coronation Prayer should be understood as a ritual performed in a physical space, one which was performed before Shamash. This reading is important because it suggests that the Coronation Prayer has legal overtones [11]. The ritual moves an individual from one legal status to another social status by means of religious language and actions. And, as I have demonstrated, this can be observed by considering the special and ritual aspects of the text [12].

At base, then, this should challenge our understandings of the relationship between “legal” and “religion.” Especially in the 21^st century, people enjoy speaking about the separation between Church and state, often times viewing them entirely distinct entities. I propose, though, that this distinction did not exist in ancient Mesopotamia. Instead, the king’s new legal, social and religious status was invoked through rituals employing religious language and legal symbolism.

So, is this really a ‘Coronation Prayer’ or is it a ‘Coronation Prayer Employed in a Legal Ritual’? I suggest the latter.

[5] Weidner (1939-1941), pg. 210. Moreover, Weidner (1939-1941), pg. 210n30, notes that temple documents were often stored this house during the late period of the Assyrian empire. So, see also Ernst F. Weidner, „Neue Bruchstücke des Berichtes über Sargons achten Feldyug“, in Archiv für Orientforschung Bd. 12 (1937-1939), pp. 144-148.

[6] http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/nimrud/ancientkalhu/thepeople/ashur/index.html

[7] CAD B Babu A, 1C 2´.

[8] Adrndt Haller and Walter Andrae, Dei Heiligtumer des Gottes Assur und der Sin-Shamash-Tempel in Assur (Berlin: Verlag Gebr, 1955), 82.

[9] Mary Shepperson, “The Ray of Shamash: Light in Mesopotamian Architecture and Legal Practice”, in Iraq Vol. 74 (2012), pp. 51-64.

[10] Shepperson (2012), pg. 58. She continues by noting that, when temples were oriented Southeast, they would maximize the duration of the morning sun. Perhaps this is why the Sin-Shamash temple is not exactly East; rather, it is oriented between 73 and 103 degrees. Furthermore, though Shepperson is focused on the Ur III period, the same principle appears to be at place in later Mesopotamian history and literature, as is evident by her citations of NB texts. For a more broad overview of the influence of the sun on ancient architecture, see Ezequiel Uson Guardiola, Joan Lluis Fumado Alsina, and Josep Vives Rego, “The Influence of Religious and Cosmological Beliefs on the Solar Architecture of the Ancient World”, in International Journal of Architectural Engineering Technology no. 1 (2014), pp. 3-11.

[11] Martin Arneth, „“Möge Shamash dich das Hirtenamt über die vier Weltgegenden einsetyen” Der „Krönungshymnus Assurbanipals“ (SAA III, 11) und die Solarisierung des neuassyrischen Königtums”, in  Zeitschrift für altorientalische und biblische Rechtsgeschichte no. 4-5 (1998-99), pp. 28-53, provides an excellent form-critical analysis of o. 1 – r. 2, along with some fascinating work showing how the form matches on king rituals from the MA period and before. This work highlights the centrality of Shamash. However, Arneth does not deal with the stage instructions found in r. 3. My analysis, then, contributes to Arneth’s argument for the centrality of Shamash and the prayer as being legal in nature.

[12] Mapping out the way that a text imagines itself to be enacted in a physical space, and how that changes our reading of the text, was inspired by Jeremy Smoak, “Inscribing Temple Space: The Ekron Dedication as Monumental Text,” in JNES 76 no. 2 (2017), pp. 319-336.

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Continued: Notes on “Civilizations of the Ancient Near East”

This is a continuation of my current project. Click here for the first post which outlines the project.

Palaces and Temples in Canaan and Ancient Israel (Vol. 1-2, William G. Dever, 605-614).

• Utilizes the terms “Syria” and “Palestine” to avoid ethnic and time-bound terms (605).
• For my purposes, I am not too interested in palaces.
• Temples
  • Easier to identify because they held to a stereotypical style (607).
  • Smaller sanctuaries and private shrines often remain enigmatic (607).
  • Main ways to think of this region’s temples:
    • Houses for the gods
    • consecrated for sacred usage
    • run by priests
    • worship consisted of offering gifts, like food and drink.
      • Often times, the gods were related to aspects of fertility.
  • Chalcolithic-Early Bronze Age (c. 4000-2000)
    • Temple at En-gedi on a hill top with pits for offerings and an open area.
    • Later temples were constructed atop this site.
  • Middle Bronze Age (c. 2000-1500)
    • Four basic types
      • Two long room types
        • In these, they may have served both a religious and administrative function.
      • A threeroom type, which became the standard Phoenician and Israelite
      • Smaller temples or shrines which do not fit with the preceeding categories (609-610).
  • Late Bronze Age (c. 1500-1200)
    • Three-room, tripartite temple became standard.
      • I should look up pictures of these Temples and show this aspect of religion visually. Material culture is good.
    • Area H temple at Hazor best fits with this tripartite structure (Stratum XV)
    • There were also “bench temples”
      • Small sanctuaries with one or two rooms, plus a side room.
      • Bench around wall; central altar on back wall for worshippers.
      • See for reference Amenhotep III Stratum VII and Sety I Stratum VI temples at Beth She’an, Tel Mevorakh Stratum VIII temple, and three temples at Lachish “Faosse Temples”
      • At Hazor, the “Stelae Temple” of Area C has ten basalt standing stones. See also “Summit Temple at Lachish and Dayr ‘Alla in the Jordan valley.
    • Iron Age (c. 1200-600)
      • This is the most relevant for my writing. The previous data offers the historical and archaeological heritage of ancient Israelite temples.
      • Best preserved Philistine temple is Strata XII-X, 12th-10th century, at Tell Qasile.
      • Similar to bench temples in the Late Bronze Age; however, these ones had Aegean features, like votive offerings in large storeroom behind the altar. Also, a large outer court.
      • Israelite temples
        • Dan on the border of Palestine
          • Open air sacrificial podium
          • adjacent two room temple with altars.
          • Among finds were male and female figurines, incense stands, miniature altars, incense offering shovels.
          • Dates to 10th to 8th century and reflects 1 Kings 12:31, the period in which Jereboam ruled.
        • Arad, near Beer-Sheba
          • Same period as the Dan temple
          • tripartite structure
          • large sacrificial altar in open forecourt
          • smaller altars in inner chambers
          • Incense stands
          • bronze lion
          • “two shallow plate sinscribed with an abbreviated Hebrew formula that probably means “sanctificed for the priests” (1-2.611).
        • Smaller Israelite cultic installations
          • These were not temples; rather, ‘private shrines for family use” (611).
          • Short list
            • Shrine 2081 at Megiddo, “cult building” at Taanach, Tell al-Far’a gateway shrine, “Cult Room 49” at Lachish.
            • The aforementioned are all dated to the 10th century BCE.
          • Kuntillet ‘Ajrud, in eastern Sinai wilderness
            • Dever says 8th century; however, I have an article which, based on Carbon Dating, suggests that Kuntillet Ajrud can be dated back to the 10th century BCE. Thus, it would match with the Short list provided.
            • Inscribed stone votive bowl
              • What does this mean and what was inscribed on it?
            • “painted cultic scenes familiar from Canaanite and Phoeneician art
            • Hebrew graffiti
              • Blessing formulas relate to El, Baal, Yahweh, and Aherah.
            • ‘Ajrud shrine for “caravans traversing the desert region.
              • Still, though, it is primarily Israelite-Judean.
          • Temple-sanctuary at Qitmit, east of Beer-sheba in eastern Negev Desrt
            • Dated the seventh century.
            • Edomite
              • Many terra-cottta deity representations.
          • Most famous is Solomon’s Temple, but we only see this directly in 1 Kings 6-7.
            • My thought: Based on the existence of many other temples through Palestine in the 10th century, Solomon’s Temple is not implausible to imagine. Although, it may not have been as grand as 1 Kings 6-7 describes it.
      • Palace-Temple combinations existed:
        • palace-temple combinations from the 9th-8th centuries
          • Zincirli and Tell Halaf in Syria
          • These complexes support the possibility of a palace-temple complex constructed by Solomon.
        • Canaanite palace-temple complexes remind us of the lack of distinction between state and religion.
          • King appointed priests, at least for the main place of worship
          • King also acted as a religious official.
          • Offerings to gods were often claimed by the kings.
          • “royal and priestly structures served a crucial social role in both centralizing and legitimizing national ideology” (612).
            • While I completely agree with this, I do think that it needs to be nuanced. What distinguishes palace-temple complexes, and the god-king-priest relationship therein, in a West Semitic context from an East Semitic context? While there is overlap, I think that Sanders’ book may help to clarify this issue. It will help me to localize Israelite-Judean religion.
        • Temples and Everyday Life
          • Temples indicated signs of wealth among Canaanite, Judean, and Israelite rulers.
            • Less than Egypt or Mesopotamia, of course.
          • Highly stratified society (speculative).
          • What can we learn from these temples, though?
            • For actual religious practice, it is tough.
            • By looking at what was offered, though, we can understand what sort of things were given as offering to the gods, or god.
            • Object recovered at Tel Mevorakh (Strata XI-X, c. 1400-1200) were divided into three categories
              • votives or costly gifts
              • vessels for food and drink offerings.
                • Like stone cup, mortar, mini libation table.
              • impliments for liturgical function
                • Like snake figure, dagger, arrowheads
            • Other stuffs, like seals, bead, pendant, game pieces, jar, pots, bowls, platters, chalices, cups, etc. all seem to be evidence of what was offered at a public shrine.
              • Likely to El, Asherah, Ball, or ‘Anat; by this period Yahweh is not a deity in the region.
              • Still, these offerings from a LBA help us to understand what constituted religious worship in the heritage of ancient Judean-Israel religion.

Brief notes on Legal and Social Institutions in Canaan and Ancient Israeli, by Hector Avalos

• Priests often served as judges (622).
• Priests usually inherited their position (623).
• There were very structured temple hierarchies (623).
  • This is shared in Phoenician and Hebrew texts (623).
  • Each one expresses the hierarchies in a different way (623).

Brief notes on Ahab of Israel and Jehoshaphat of Judah by Joseph Blenkinsopp

• Bethel and Dan were set up by Jereboam to rival Jerusalem (1 Kings 12:26-33), (p. 1315).
• Imagery of a golden, young bull, familiar from Canaanite iconography, “either represented Yahweh or served as his pedestal” (1316).
• Like mentioned to entries ago, there was a large place for sacrifice at Tel Dan, constructed by Jeroboam I – the Omrids expanded it (1317).
• Sanctuary at the fortress of Arad had two incense altars and a sort of holy of holies.
  • Used in the 9th and 8th centuries – abandoned at the end of the 8th century (1317).
• According to HB, Ahab build an Asherah. Likewise, the HB notes four hundred prophets of Asherah (1 Kings 16:33, 18:19). Even with a strong Yahwistic zeal, cult of Asherah still flourished until the destruction of Jerusalem and beyond. It was considered acceptable worship alongside Yahweh.
  • Cf. Kuntillet ‘Ajrud inscriptions and Khirbat al-Qom. These both attest to a strong relation between cult of Yahweh and Asherah.
    • Blenkinsopp translates it as, “I bless you by Yahweh of Samaria and by his Asherah” (1317).
    • May be dated as early as 10th century. Z. Meshel dates it to as early as the second half of the 9th century.
  • In neighboring regions, like Melqart of Tyre and Chemosh of Moab, they were worshiped with a female consort (1318). Thus, for ancient Israelite-Judean religion to do so is not unheard of or surprising.
• Samaria ostraca include elements of Yahweh. They wrote YW, “corresponding to the Judean YHW” (1318), 8 for Baal, some with El, Gad, and Bes.
• In the midst of all this, there were extremist cults dedicated to the cult of Yahweh alone.
  • Of course, this is questionable. Perhaps these cults were monolatry. Eventually, though, they began to turn into an early form of monotheism in order to retain their ethnic identity (Mark Smith and others).
• With the rise of Omri, king of Israelite, sought closer ties with Phoenician cities through marriage and peace.
  • This was not received well because it broke customs and traditions (1318).