Culture of defeat: the submission in written sources and the Archaeological record of the Ancient Ne

War and conquest figures prominently in all disciplines of ancient Near Eastern studies. They are usually reflected in textual sources as military campaigns and/or narratives of victory, and preserved in the archaeological record most commonly as destruction layers. In general, the successful agent in a conflict, his motivations, strategies and method is often the focus of the analysis.

To date, little attention has been given to the defeated party in conflicts. This can be ascribed both to a bias or ambivalence of both historical and archaeological records, where the response to defeat rarely constitutes the focus of the respective source, as well as to an intrinsically human preference to focus on ‘successful’ events, such as conquest, innovation, growth and expansion, thus reinforcing, or even skewing the historical account towards the successful party. However, the defeated entity often experiences a much more significant, often traumatic, and enduring impact. Different response mechanisms emerge, depending on the magnitude and type of defeat, and the cultural context in which this event is in embedded.

This workshop aims to focus on conflicts from the Late Bronze, the Iron Age Near East up to the Babylonian period, exploring (cultural) responses of defeated parties. Participants are asked to examine major sources of their field of expertise, such as the Biblical narrative, Assyrian administrative records, royal inscriptions and iconographic representations, as well as the archaeological record in light of accounts on conflict, focusing on the responses of the defeated party. This seminar intends shedding new light on the consequences and reactions to defeat and gaining a more nuanced and complete picture of conflicts. It further aims to initiate a more in-depth dialogue between interconnected disciplines, from Archaeology, Assyriology and Bible Studies, which far too often remain isolated.

FECHA/DATE/DATA: 22-23/10/2017

LUGAR/LOCATION/LUOGO: Room 521, Mandel Building, Mt. Scopus, Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Jerusalem, Israel)

ORGANIZADOR/ORGANIZER/ORGANIZZATORE: Dr. Katharina Streit (Hebrew University of Jerusalem); Dr. Uri Gabbay (Hebrew University of Jerusalem); Prof. Marianne Grohmann (University of Vienna)

INFO: web

INSCRIPCIÓN/REGISTRATION/REGISTRAZIONE: gratis / free / gratuito

PROGRAMA/PROGRAM/PROGRAMMA:

SUNDAY, 22ND OF OCTOBER

9:00 – 10:00 Opening KATHARINA STREIT – The Culture of Defeat – Submission in Written Sources and the Archaeological Record of the Ancient Near East 10:00 – 10:45 URI GABBAY – Defeat as Ritual: Laments in the Regular Cult of Ancient Mesopotamia Temples 10:45 – 11:15 Coffee break 11:15 – 12:00 CÉLINE DEBOURSE – Royal Rituals without the King 12:00 – 12:45 MARIANNE GROHMANN – The Biblical Book of Lamentations as Response to Defeat 12:45 – 14:30 Lunch 14:30 – 15:15 YAIR ZAKOVITCH – O God, Heathens Have Entered Your Domain" - Why was Psalm 79 Written? 15:15 – 16:00 NILI WAZANA – In the Shadow of Babylon: Processing the Loss of Temple and Kingship 16:00 – 16:30 Coffee break 16:30 – 17:30 AMITAI BARUHI-UNNA – "My Oath": The Subjugation Oath in a Subject's View

MONDAY, 23ND OF OCTOBER

9:00 – 9:45 IGOR KREIMERMAN – Defeat as a Dialogue between the Conqueror and the Conquered – An Archaeological View from the Southern Levant 9:45 – 10:30 ILAN SHARON – Surrender and Ignominy: The Case of the “Zero-Chambered” Gate at Dor 10:30 – 11:00 Coffee break 11:00 – 11:45 FELIX HÖFLMAYER – Egypt: A Country without Defeat? 11:45 – 12:30 Discussion 13:00 – 15:00 Lunch