Abstract
This contribution investigates the role of courtiers in the Neo-Assyrian period. Focussing on the frequently used titles ša-rēši and mazzāz pāni, we aim at reaching a more sophisticated understanding of the rather loosely defined concept of courtiership. The persona of Bēl-ibni, a military commander attested with both titles, serves as a case study. By investigating his career and personal circumstances, and by comparing the results to the overall evidence regarding the two titles, we then examine in how far Bēl-ibni can be considered a representative courtier, or whether he was an exceptional case. The study concludes with an evaluation of the similarities and differences between the overlapping titles ša-rēši und mazzāz pāni, while at the same time providing a more refined account of courtiership in Assyria.
Note
This paper was written within the framework of the research network “Imperium” and “Officium” – Comparative Studies in Ancient Bureaucracy and Officialdom, funded by the FWF – Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung (Vienna). R. Pirngruber, who is responsible for sections 2 and 3.1, is post-doctoral researcher in the sub-project “The Language of Power I: Official Epistolography in Babylonia in the First Millennium BC” led by Michael Jursa (grant 10806–G18). M. Groß, who wrote sections 3.2, 3.3 and 4, is doctoral researcher in the sub-project “Royal Institutional Households in First Millennium BC Mesopotamia” led by Heather D. Baker (grant S 10802–G18).
Acknowledgment
We cordially thank G. Frame for reading the paper and giving helpful suggestions as to contents and language; he is of course not to be held responsible for remaining deficiencies.
Abbreviations and bibliography
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Frontmatter
- Artikel
- Kraftgesetz und Statistik – Anmerkungen zum Thema „Gravitationsmodelle in der historischen Geographie“
- Einige neue hethitische Logogramme
- On Courtiers in the Neo-Assyrian Empire: ša-rēši and mazzāz pāni
- The God Collectors: Hittite Conceptions of the Divine
- mušen ku6: Viel Vogel und wenig Fisch in MS 2110/1
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Frontmatter
- Artikel
- Kraftgesetz und Statistik – Anmerkungen zum Thema „Gravitationsmodelle in der historischen Geographie“
- Einige neue hethitische Logogramme
- On Courtiers in the Neo-Assyrian Empire: ša-rēši and mazzāz pāni
- The God Collectors: Hittite Conceptions of the Divine
- mušen ku6: Viel Vogel und wenig Fisch in MS 2110/1
- Eine sozialtopographische Analyse der Wohngebiete von Nuzi