Ritual, performance, and politics in the ancient Near East [Texte imprimé] / Lauren Ristvet

"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. From circa 2600 to 2200 BC, pilgrimage made kingdoms out of previously isolated villages. Similarly, from circa 1900 to 1700 BC, commemorative ceremonies legitimated new political dynasties by connecting them to a shared past. Finally, in the Hellenistic period, the traditional Babylonian Akitu festival was an occasion for Greek-speaking kings to show that they were Babylonian and for Babylonian priests to gain significant power"--Provided by publisher

I. Performing politics -- Politics and ritual in the past and present -- The 2500 year celebration at Persepolis -- French Revolution -- Royal processions in Majapahit -- The Fiesta de Santa Fe -- Maya ancestors and patron deities -- Ritual, religion, and practice -- Performative traces -- Movement, history, and tradition -- II. Movement -- An event that models : the Ebla coronation ritual -- Movement and perception -- Kingdoms, cities, artisans, and officials -- Borders, city walls, and open spaces -- Limiting access -- Inclusive spaces -- Beyond the city -- Collective representations: pilgrimages and political power -- Pilgrimages and sacred journeys at Ebla -- The archaeology of pilgrimage at Ebla -- The Syrian ritual -- Materialized symbols : cult centers in the countryside -- Gre Virike -- Hazna -- Jebelet al-Beda -- Tell Banat -- Actors, audience, and mise-en-scene : pilgrimage centers? -- Constructing kingdoms -- Death, ancestors, and power -- Conclusion: Urban spaces, pilgrimage networks and the rise of political complexity -- III. Memory -- An event that presents : the Feast of Istar and the Kispum ritual -- Memory, mourning, and legitimacy -- Political instability -- Tribal politics -- The dynamics of resettlement -- History and the politics of emplacement -- Middle Bronze Age economics -- Collective representations : the past in the past -- Literature, history, and the ancestors -- Divine will and divinationtoc-entry -- Materialized symbols : death, ritual and the authority of the past in daily life -- The archaeology of death and ritual -- Ancestors, monuments and politics -- The past, heirlooms and legitimacy -- Actors, audience, and mise-en-scene : ancestors, tribes and politics -- Kings and the politics of commemoration -- Tribes, towns, councils, and ancestors -- Conclusion: Mourning and memory -- IV. Tradition -- An event that re-presents : the Akitu Festival -- Invented traditions -- Hellenistic Babylonia -- The city and countryside -- Settlement, irrigation, and trade -- Seleucid urbanism -- Domestic practices -- Consuming empire? : pottery and foodways -- Figurines and domestic life -- Coins, debt, and payment -- Collective representations : scholarly texts, history, and the transmission of knowledge -- Preserving scholarly knowledge -- Astrology, astronomy, and history -- Materialized symbols : temples and tradition -- Rebuilding the temple -- The temple, the assembly, and civil authority -- Archives, administration, and community -- Actors, audience, and mise-en-scene : kings, priests, and festivals -- Conclusion: Performing tradition -- Community -- Performance and public events in the ancient Near East -- Performing community -- States and instability -- Political strategies -- Continuity