Ideology and Strategy Behind the Act of Decapitation

In Chapter one “The king’s Head” Zainab Bahrani analyzes the relief from Ushurpanibal’s at Nineveh that is also referred as the Battle of Til-Tuba. This chapter explores the importance of art that portrays the decapitation of the Elamite king as a ritual of war. According to Bahrani, the act of decapitation was considered sacred and it was part of the Assyrian ideology (Bahrani 17). In this case, the decapitation of the king’s head not only represents the defeat and submission of Elam but also demonstrates the ideology of war and violence as being part of the “art civilization.”(Bahrani). While the decapitation of the king represents the ideological aspect of the “art civilization,” as Bahrani has argued, the relief was also used for the glorification of the Assyrian king.

The decapitation of the Elamite king portrays the ideology of the Assyrian reign. In other words, Bahnari asserts that decapitation served for the justification and victory that was predicted by the omens (41). In addition, she argues that the head becomes the sign of just and inevitable war (41). Bahnari’s analysis focuses mainly on the ideology that founded the works of art. Even though she argues that the king’s head is not “merely a display of violence for the sake of coercive propaganda,” one can argue the opposite.

On the other hand, one can also argue that the relief served for the purpose of glorification. In this case, the king’s head is perhaps linked to the idea of kingship because he is the leader of the nation and army. The killing of the king demonstrated the defeat of the enemy. The head can also represent the political status. A defeated king that was captured and decapitated had huge consequences for both the nation and the army. In times of war, the killing of a king lowers the morale of the nation. However, in the Assyrian perspective, the decapitation of the enemy brings victory and glorification. In page 32, Bahnari mentions that the relief shows an Assyrian victory since “there is no Assyrians are ever shown being killed or wounded.” Based on this observation, it seems that the use of images helped the kings establish a reputation that ultimately enabled them to obtain power.