OS 137 - The Oldest Dreams

Is Assurnasirpal II, king of Assyria, a relentless narcicisstic psychopath? Or is he a profoundly competant, ruthless tyrant? Can he be both, and does it really matter? Today we begin the first set of great conquest narratives of the Assyrian empire, unrivalled in their detail and shock value by any previous Mesopotamian king. We are deep into the Royal Inscriptions today, with a look at his listing of titles, and then a long tour as we see the Assyrian army really at work. There are a lot of place names today that aren't really that important, but we want to cover all of them because we really see how the empire grew from month to month in these many details. If you like the show, consider sharing with your friends, leaving a like, subscribing, or even supporting financially: Buy the Oldest Stories books: https://a.co/d/7Wn4jhS Donate here: https://oldeststories.net/ or on patreon: https://patreon.com/JamesBleckley or on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCG2tPxnHNNvMd0VrInekaA/join --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oldeststories/message

King Tukulti-Ninurta II slows down the pace of conquest for a crucial decade. Conquest still happens, and at a breakneck pace, but compared to what we have seen and will see, it is much slower. More importantly, Tukulti-Ninurta spends a lot of his time focused on really establishing what has already been built, constructing more buildings, conducting diplomacy, building out the administration, and that sort of groundwork that will keep the empire stable and strong going forward. Also, Tukulti-Ninurta goes camping, and seems to have a great time doing it. Being an Assyrian king, his version of camping involves razing towns, but cheerfully razing towns rather than being all mean about it. Razing towns and raising spirits, if you like. If you like the show, consider sharing with your friends, leaving a like, subscribing, or even supporting financially: Buy the Oldest Stories books: https://a.co/d/7Wn4jhS Donate here: https://oldeststories.net/ or on patreon: https://patreon.com/JamesBleckley or on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCG2tPxnHNNvMd0VrInekaA/join --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oldeststories/message

Today we see Adad-Nirari bring huge quantities of Arameans into the Assyrian empire. This will change the linguistic fabric of the entire near east in time, but as we will see, at the time it just seemed like a set of good decisions, or at least imperialistic decisions. We also discuss what it is to be an Assyrian, and why no one was overly concerned about the sort of ethnic conflicts that seem to dominate nowadays. The main feature today is the Temannu war, which spanned perhaps 6 to 8 years and shows Adad-Nirari's strategic flexibility, as well as the full range from brutality to generosity in victory. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oldeststories/message

The king today is Adad-Nirari II, but we have a lot to discuss in the background as well. The Nairi get their spotlight right before they get destroyed, and we look at the dating system for the Neo-Assyrian period and why it is so reliable, compared to the earlier parts of ancient history. And we also ask what an Empire is and whether or not the Neo-Assyrian Empire counts as one, which it does. Adad-Nirari is a conquering king, and though we know little about the army at this point, we know it is doing quite well under his leadership. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oldeststories/message

Today we talk about iron working, economics and climate change. Then we watch Assur-Dan II flay his enemies alive and hang their skins from the city wall. The doldrums of the Bronze Age Collapse are now officially over and a new age is rising - an age of iron and an age of empire. The most exciting and historically important period of Mesopotamian history begins now. Also, check out the spin off channel by searching Christ and Questions, or going here: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/entirelyalive5/episodes/Gods-Theory-of-Government-e2h21t3 or seeing it on youtube here: https://youtube.com/@ChristandQuestions --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oldeststories/message

Most of our modern end of the world literature is set in the future, but the Babylonians, in the midst of a dark age, set their end of the world literature right in their own times, since for them it may have seemed like the world itself was ending. Erra, also called Nergal, wants to destroy a bunch of stuff because that is his nature. He tries protecting the universe, but gets frustrated with that, so he destroys the universe instead. Interestingly, this story may have become extremely popular in Babylonia because it predicted that Babylon would rise again, and in due course of the centuries is sure enough did, in fashion similar to that predicted in the text. I have books! About Ancient Mesopotamia! And more on the way! Check them out here! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oldeststories/message

Do dreams count as literature, are the dream records we have an accurate depiction of ancient dreams, and does reading a dream account from a man 3000 years dead give us any insight into his state of mind? Today, we read through a bunch of dreams, read about dreams, and just generally ponder some of this stuff. I have books! About Ancient Mesopotamia! And more on the way! Check them out here! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oldeststories/message

The thrilling conclusion of the Enuma Elish is an extended hagiographical top-50 list extolling the virtues of Babylon's patron god. As we are now well into the period where Marduk is unquestionably supreme within Babylon's walls, it is high time that we focused out attention a bit more on just who this Marduk fellow truly is. We look at the context of the naming, the fact that by some counts Marduk has more than 50 names, and then look through the canonical listing itself, including commentary by later ancient scholars on the Enuma Elish as an etymological text, which is not a perspective we would usually approach it from. I have books! About Ancient Mesopotamia! And more on the way! Check them out here! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oldeststories/message

Today we look at Pazuzu, Lamashtu, Samanu, Mushussu, and Lamassu. These are not the great gods of myth, nor are they the personal gods that would have absorbed the majority of the average Mesopotamian's attention and worship. They exist somewhere in the middle, in the realm of magic, of diseases, of charms, and of the middle spirit realms. This means there isn't a good place to talk about them - they don't come up much in the main narratives of history or myth, and when talking about magic it is usually the rituals and systems that grab the attention more than the demonic actors, at least among those who nowadays don't believe in the existance of these beings. But today we will correct that with a dedicated episode just for them. I have books! About Ancient Mesopotamia! And more on the way! Check them out here! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oldeststories/message

Today we read through the Dialogue of Pessimism and the Poor Man of Nippur. Both are comedies with a bit of edge to them, though in very different formats, showing the richness of ancient literature. Dialogue of Pessimism is basically a two-man standup routine, with a fair amount of philosophical ideas thrown in as part of the comedy. Poor Man of Nippur is a farce mixed with a revenge tale, grounded with a perspective we rarely see in ancient literature, the common man viewing the wealthy and powerful. It is also the subject of the world's first movie made in the Babylonian language which can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/pxYoFlnJLoE?si=jr4O7CGWpls6ulzU Also, The first Oldest Stories book, covering Sumer and Akkad, is available for purchase: https://a.co/d/64mxp6w --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oldeststories/message