Voodoo

The treatment of the statues and how they abduct and damage them reminds me of voodoo dolls. Whatever it is that they do to the statues is like an exact representation of what will happen in real life. With the voodoo dolls, whoever has possession of it is in control of it. So they could do whatever they want and whoever the doll represents is under that person’s control. The same idea I think applies to the war strategy of taking monuments and ruining royal images. To the Assyrians and having possession of the booty (including the people) it allowed them feel control over the land they had conquered it was as Bahrani had put it “physical evidence” or “proof”. By having that proof it was an assurance that they full control and unless someone took that away there was no way of someone else getting that. This could explain why wars were created over the taking of a monument because if the enemy could take back what was stolen from them then they would get control back.

Another advantage of this war strategy that I do not think Bahanri mentioned was that it was a good propaganda for the king. As they bring the booty, king’s head and/monument to their city it communicates to everyone of what they have done. Soon people will take of this and word will get around reaching other cities. And even by the armies that are jut leaving from battle as they pass by cities on the way back they probably ranted to others of their success and showed off their booty, the monument or the king’s head.