Ritual, Performance, and Politics in the Ancient near East
Publisher: University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations; Cambridge University Press
Published: 2014
Language: eng
Number of pages: 331
ISBN-13: 9781107065215
Subjects: Middle east, social life and customs; Middle east, politics and government; Middle east, civilization
Description: "In this book, Lauren Ristvet rethinks the narratives of state formation by investigating the interconnections between ritual, performance, and politics in the ancient Near East. She draws on a wide range of archaeological, iconographic, and cuneiform sources to show how ritual performance was not set apart from the real practice of politics; it was politics. Rituals provided an opportunity for elites and ordinary people to negotiate political authority. Descriptions of rituals from three periods explore the networks of signification that informed different societies."--Provided by publisher.