Rising moon at Tell eŝ-Ŝerīʿa/Tel Seraʿ: a neo-assyrian bronze crescent standard and the iconography of the moon god Sîn of Ḫarrān in Southern Levant : ritual paraphernalia and military insignia?
Neo-Assyrian influences over southern Levant had been long debated and criticised. During the 8th and 7th centuries BC the veneration of the moon god Sîn of Ḫarrān experienced a remarkable international reputation, possibly linked to the deity’s peculiar status as a protective and legitimating autho...
Main Author: | |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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Published: |
Akademie
[2018]
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In: |
Ägypten und Levante
Year: 2018, Volume: 28, Pages: 409-418 |
Further subjects: | B
Bronze
B Keels B Iron Age B Symbolism B Altars B Divinity B Neo Assyrian B Tel Seraʿ B Bronze crescent standards B Iconography B Seals B Stelae B 7th century B Cylinders B Southern Levant |
Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) Volltext (Verlag) |
Summary: | Neo-Assyrian influences over southern Levant had been long debated and criticised. During the 8th and 7th centuries BC the veneration of the moon god Sîn of Ḫarrān experienced a remarkable international reputation, possibly linked to the deity’s peculiar status as a protective and legitimating authority for the Neo-Assyrian westward imperialism under the Sargonid kings. As Stratum V at Tel Seraʿ shows a meaningful Neo-Assyrian milieu pertaining architectural and material records, this paper dedicates a closer focus to a very rare bronze crescent standard, one of the three only records thus far known for this special item, which can be considered the threedimensional counterpart to both tasseled and pendants- equipped lunar crescent standards portrayed on western royal stelae as well as on glyptic records. Since the crescent represents a meaningful religious emblem into the Levantine cultural framework during the Iron Age, the aim of this paper is to investigate a specific dimension of the Neo-Assyrian cultural impact over southern Levant, focusing on the symbolism and meaning conveyed by the bronze lunar crescent standard unearthed at Tel Seraʿ, and on its possible use as a ritual paraphernalia and/or military emblem. |
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ISSN: | 1813-5145 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Ägypten und Levante
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1553/AEundL28s409 |