Royal Statuary of Early Dynastic Mesopotamia

• PrefaceIntroductionChapter 1. Archaeological Contexts and Chronology of Early Dynastic Statuary1.1. The Main Contexts of Stratified Early Dynastic Statues and Other Visual Material1.1.1. Tell Asmar (Ešnunak), Khafajah (Tutub), and Tell Agrab (PA.GAR)1.1.2. Nuffar (Nippur) 1.1.3. Tello (Girsu)1.1.4. Bismaya (Adab) 1.1.5. Tell al-Muqayyar (Ur) 1.1.6. Tell al-ʿUbaid (Nūtur)1.1.7. Tell Hariri (Mari)1.1.8. Qalºat Shergat (Aššur)1.1.9. Tell Ingharra (Kiš) 1.1.10. Shush (Susa) 1.1.11. Some Groups of Sculpted Artifacts from Other Mesopotamian Sites1.2. Early Dynastic Chronology and the Development of Visual and Epigraphic ArtifactsChapter 2. Historical Framework2.1. Political Development in Early Dynastic Mesopotamia: An Outline2.2. Royal Titles and Ideology of Kingship2.3. The Sumerian King List2.4. Early Dynastic RulersChapter 3. Early Dynastic Royal Statuary3.1. Royal Statues Identified on Epigraphic Grounds3.2. Uninscribed Statues Presumably Commissioned by Rulers3.3. The Development and Meaning of Royal Statuary3.4. Catalogue of Early Dynastic Royal StatuaryChapter 4. The Inscriptions on Royal Statues4.1. Preliminary Observations4.2. Definition of the Corpus4.3. Statue Inscriptions (Cat. 1–12) Chapter 5. Kingship and Visual Communication in the Early Dynastic Period5.1. The Protohistoric Era and the Problem of Identifying the “Priest-King”5.2. The Iconography and Themes of Early Dynastic Art5.3. Ebla and Early Syrian CultureChapter 6. Conclusions6.1 Iconographic Details and Visual Significance: The Ruler and the Early State Administration6.2. From Participation to Individualism: The Development of Royal Visual Propaganda in Early Dynastic IIIa–bAppendix A. Remarks on Early Dynastic TemplesA.1. Characteristics of Early Dynastic SanctuariesA.2. Temple Names and Titular DeitiesAppendix B. Royal Statues in Administrative TextsAppendix C. Notes on the Transliteration of Texts and the Transcription of Proper NamesI. Personal NamesII. Divine NamesIII. Geographical and Topographical NamesAbbreviationsBibliographyPhilological IndexSources of IllustrationsPlates

“This book is an important, engaging and multifaceted account that is sure to provoke discussion and debate. It deserves to become a classic interpretation of the archaeology and royal iconography of third millennium BC Mesopotamia and should be the first port of call for anybody interested in a detailed understanding of the period. Marchesi and Marchetti deserve our congratulations and thanks.”—Paul Collins Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies