01721    a2200301   4500001001100000005001700011008004100028020001800069037003600087040000700123041000800130072001500138072001500153072001600168072001500184072001400199072001500213072001600228072002100244072002100265072002300286100001500309245009100324250000600415260003200421300001000453520095600463135165709720250317111620.0250312042017GB        45           eng    a9781351657099  bTaylor & FranciscGBP 42.99fBB  a01  aeng7 aNKD2thema7 aNHC2thema7 a1QBA2bisac7 a1FB2bisac7 aHDDC2bic7 aHBLA12bic7 a1QDA2bisac7 aHIS0020002bisac7 aSOC0030002bisac7 a364.66093942bisac1 aRita Dolce10aLosing One's Head in the Ancient Near EastbInterpretation and Meaning of Decapitation  a1  aOxfordbRoutledgec20171215  a110 p  bIn the Ancient Near East, cutting off someone’s head was a unique act, not comparable to other types of mutilation, and therefore charged with a special symbolic and communicative significance. This book examines representations of decapitation in both images and texts, particularly in the context of war, from a trans-chronological perspective that aims to shed light on some of the conditions, relationships and meanings of this specific act. The severed head is a “coveted object” for the many individuals who interact with it and determine its fate, and the act itself appears to take on the hallmarks of a ritual. Drawing mainly on the evidence from Anatolia, Syria and Mesopotamia between the third and first millennia BC, and with reference to examples from prehistory to the Neo-Assyrian Period, this fascinating study will be of interest not only to art historians, but to anyone interested in the dynamics of war in the ancient world.