Open AccessImperial and Local: Audience and Identity in the Idrimi Inscription
Author(s) -
Jacob Lauinger
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
studia orientalia electronica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2323-5209
DOI - 10.23993/store.88220
Subject(s) - hero , akkadian , identity (music) , empire , order (exchange) , code (set theory) , literature , semitic languages , history , art , aesthetics , philosophy , ancient history , linguistics , arabic , computer science , set (abstract data type) , finance , economics , programming language
This article studies the Idrimi inscription from ancient Alalah, modern Tell Atchana, in order to explore how and to what effect manifestations of empire may have been socially consequential to local populations ruled by Mittani. Specifically, the article argues that Idrimi is presented as a Mittani hero, but the story of his life is told in a Northwest Semitic-Akkadian code; an imperial vision receives a local expression. From this conclusion, the article ends by trying to infer something about the inscription’s intended audience.