The Politics of Ritual Change

John Tracy Thames, Jr., Ph.D. (2016), Johns Hopkins University, is Assistant Professor of Religion at Clemson University. His publications include articles on ritual and religion in the ancient Near East and the Hebrew Bible.

Contents

Preface and Acknowledgements

List of Abbreviations

List of Abbreviations for Texts from Emar and its Vicinity

List of Tables



part 1: The City of Emar and Its zukru Rituals

1 Introduction to the City of Emar

 1 Archaeological Excavations at Tell Meskeneh

 2 The Archives of Emar

 3 Emar’s Scribal Distinctions



2 The zukru Ritual: The City’s Offering to Dagan

 1 Texts and Translations: Emar 375+ 397 + 401 + 428 + 448* + 449*

 2 The zukru Ritual of the City of Emar

 3 Gods and Men in the zukru Ritual

 4 The Performance of the zukru Ritual



3 The zukru Festival: Expansion of Local Traditions

 1 Texts and Translations: Emar 373 + 374 + 376 + 424 + 425 + Dercksen Kaskal No. 3

 2 Textual and Philological Notes

 3 The zukru Ritual in its Festival Version

 4 zukru Festival Divinity

 5 The Ritual Transaction: Donations to the Gods

 6 The Sponsors of the zukru Festival

 7 The Provisioning of the zukru Festival

 8 The Performance of the zukru in Its Festival Form



4 Part 1 Conclusion: The zukru Traditions

 1 The Meaning of the Word “zukru”

 2 The zukru Rituals: A Synthetic View



part 2: Politics and Rituals

5 Emar in the Late Bronze Age: History, Politics, and Chronology

 1 The Question of Emar’s Relationship to Mittani

 2 Local Politics of Emar: The Conventional Format Documentation

 3 The Hittite Conquest of North Syria

 4 The Role of Hittite Karkamiš in Emar Politics: Evidence of the Free Format Documentation

 5 The Relationship between Local and Foreign Authorities: Chronological Considerations and Political Change



6 Politics, Power, and the zukru Festival

 1 The King and the zukru Festival

 2 zukru Practice under Hittite Aegis

 3 Hittite Involvement in Emar’s Cults

 4 Cults of Anatolian Deities at Emar

 5 The Hittite Interest in Emar’s Cults

 6 Historical Context and the Dating of the zukru Texts



7 Conclusion: Power, Politics, and Change in the zukru Rituals



Bibliography



Index of Ancient Texts



Index of Authors