Development of Royal Insignia in Early Mesopotamia

Orientation:



For my fall 2013 course on Mesopotamia archaeology (including focuses on the art and architecture from the ED up until Neo-Assyrian times) I decided to choose a paper topic the themes discussed in the class. In other years I choose to write on my abstract subjects.

This time however I have attempted to plot the development of the royal insignia of the Mesopotamian ruler with particular interest to the royal headwear, which, following Asher-Greve, I term a "circlet." Throughout the course of the paper interesting analogies with the divine horned crown and the ruler's circlet are examined. Distinctions between the royal attire in sacred and secular space are made - I end with an examination of the Stele of Vultures, arguing that the depiction of the figure holding the net and the emblem of Ningirsu on the obverse should be considered none other than the ruler, Eannatum, and not the god.

Throughout the paper special attention has been given to Marchesi and Marchetti's amazing 2011 publication Royal Statuary of Early Dynastic Mesopotamia. While the book has been of great utility as it should be for any research considering this material, my interpretations are often at odds with those in the book.



Class:
NMC 1424 - Archaeology of Mesopotamia II


Subject:
The Development of Royal Insignia in Early Mesopotamia


Problems:

Most observations are based on a limited number of objects - the time alotted for a term paper does not allow for consideration of all relevant material. However perhaps future research will further validate some of the proposals made.








******* To download paper, please see post below.