Abstract
AbstractThis article proposes to read theBabylonian Chronicleas historical literature. It argues that the text was composed in response to Babylonia’s integration in the Persian Empire. The text presents itself as a self-conscious departure from the chronographic tradition by tracing the roots of Babylon’s fate to the mid-eighth century, when a triangle of power is said to have emerged between Assyria, Babylonia and Elam—a configuration that reduced the Babylonian monarch to inaction and incompetence from the very start.
Highlights
This article proposes to read the Babylonian Chronicle as historical literature
The text presents itself as a self-conscious departure from the chronographic tradition by tracing the roots of Babylon’s fate to the mideighth century, when a triangle of power is said to have emerged between Assyria, Babylonia and Elam—a configuration that reduced the Babylonian monarch to inaction and incompetence from the very start
This article argues that the text written down by Eaiddin—the text presently known as the “Babylonian Chronicle”—fulfilled such a function
Summary
The text under consideration is often read by modern (academic) readers as a list of facts. Glassner called for a close(r) critical analysis of the Babylonian Chronicle because it renders the outcome of certain battles differently than royal inscriptions (2004, 50) Despite these warnings little or no effort has been made to study possible ideologies at work in chronicles. A fruitful approach to the chronicles consists of evaluating what Glassner called their paradox of reality and discourse (2004, 49) These texts use historical facts but shape these into a narrative. Following the work done in recent decades on other chronographic traditions—from Biblical to Medieval and beyond—we may explore Babylonian chronicles as literatures of fact.10 This implies paying attention to how language shapes the history told in these texts. I will show that the Babylonian Chronicle is an erudite composition that uses various techniques to create meaning beyond enumeration, through language, style, form, and content
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