The Expression “Non-Lord of a Throne” in Assyrian Royal Inscriptions

The phenomenon of creating enemy images is timeless and universal. 1 In this activity, an abnormal " Other " is negatively juxtaposed in relation to a normal " Self " , not the least in political discourse. In various situations-notably ones that involve the topic of colonialism-a " subaltern " is constructed, that is an agent who is both inferior (thus " sub ") and different in an essence-based, negative way (thus " altern "). Through the developing of images of " alterity " , various oppressive systems can be justified. In this way, a colonial power can legitimate its possession of foreign lands and resources. 2 Enemy images are expressed not the least in Assyrian royal inscriptions in which Assyrian kings seek to legitimate their coercion and imperialist wars and ambitions. As a doctoral student, focusing on this text corpus, I became highly aware of this. One enemy image that I encountered, and which I decided to come back to when I had more time, was the curious term or epithet " non-royal person " (or literally " non-lord of a throne ") 3 (lā bēl kussî), applied to some foreign rulers in Early Neo-Assyrian royal inscriptions. 4 As far as I know, the relevant epithet has not been the object of a special study before. I went on to explore the meanings of this presumably negatively-laden term, 5 and in this paper I present the results of the ensuing investigation. The contexts of the relevant expression, more precisely the textual passages in which the expression occurs, was highlighted in my analysis and search for meanings. 6 In my investigation process, I searched for further attestations by surveying the preserved Assyrian royal inscriptions (as defined in Grayson 1987: 4), as these are conveyed in up-to-date publications. 7 I did this both through reading the relevant books and through using the developed, digitalized search tools in the field. 8 As for the books, I naturally refer to the RIMA-volumes (RIMA 1-3) concerning the Old, Middle, and Early Neo-Assyrian royal inscriptions and to the RINAP-volumes (RINAP 1, 3-4) regarding the Late Neo-Assyrian royal inscriptions. Regarding the inscriptions of Sargon II (RINAP 2 is not yet published), I looked at the publications of his inscriptions from Dur-Sharrukin (Fuchs 1994) as well as at those (prism fragments) from Assur and Nineveh (SAAS 8). I also examined Sargon II's " letter to a god …