Losing One's Head in the Ancient Near East: Interpretation and Meaning of Decapitation (Studies in the History of the Ancient Near East)

In the Ancient Near East, cutting off someone's head was a unique act, not comparable to other types of mutilation, and therefore charged with a special symbolic and communicative significance. This book examines representations of decapitation in both images and texts, particularly in the context of war, from a trans-chronological perspective that aims to shed light on some of the conditions, relationships and meanings of this specific act. The severed head is a "coveted object" for the many individuals who interact with it and determine its fate, and the act itself appears to take on the hallmarks of a ritual. Drawing mainly on the evidence from Anatolia, Syria and Mesopotamia between the third and first millennia BC, and with reference to examples from prehistory to the Neo-Assyrian Period, this fascinating study will be of interest not only to art historians, but to anyone interested in the dynamics of war in the ancient world.

• | Author: Rita Dolce
• | Publisher: Routledge
• | Publication Date: Aug 14, 2020
• | Number of Pages: 92 pages
• | Language: English
• | Binding: Paperback
• | ISBN-10: 0367593556
• | ISBN-13: 9780367593551