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Assyrian royal monuments on the periphery: Ritual and the making of imperial space

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... Further, both local iconographic and monumental depictions, as well the creation of imperial forts and administrative centers, reflect the actualities of foreign rule to frontier communities (see, e.g., Morris 2004). If performative ritual occurs at a location, it further reinforces particular power dynamics such as the high status of the king (see, e.g., Shafer 2007;Ornan 2007;Harmanşah 2007;Gilibert 2011). Most interesting are the attempts by powers to seamlessly insert themselves into the history and traditions of particular sites (note, e.g., the reliefs at Nahr el-Kalb). ...
... The study of commemorative practices comes with dichotomies of its own. On the one hand, commemorative monuments are frequently considered as ideological statements of the ruling elite, thereby as vehicles for securing social prestige and political power (compare this to Shafer 2007; Marcus 1995). On the other hand, Peter Holliday (2002, pp. ...
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