Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The focus of this study is to investigate the role that horses played in the Ancient Near East, specifically during the reign of the Neo-Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II (883-859BC). By studying nine of the reliefs from the North-West Palace at Nimrud, the function of horses with regard to warfare during that time was explored. The analysis included an examination of all horses and equine tack, which consists of chariots, bridles, bits, breastplates and decorations. The reliefs are studied by using Erwin Panofsky’s Theoretical Scheme, which allows for three stages of analysis. Each of the reliefs is examined as a whole, in order to place the relief in context, followed by a detailed breakdown of the horses, specifically their body language, as well as their tack and the function thereof. It was found that the Assyrians used the horses’ body language to help set the tone of the relief, as the horses would display aggressive body language when under attack and relaxed body language when not under attack, for example reliefs showing parades or military camps. It was also noted that the horses of the enemies were illustrated in such a way as to show the prowess of the victorious Neo-Assyrian army. It was found that horses were instrumental in warfare as well as depicting status and rank within the military structures. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die fokus van hierdie studie is om die rol wat perde in die Ou Nabye Ooste gespeel het, te ondersoek, spesifiek tydens die bewind van die Neo-Assiriese koning Ashurnasirpal II (883-859 v.C.). Deur nege van die reliëfs van die Noordwes-Paleis by Nimrud te bestudeer, is die funksie van perde met betrekking tot oorlogvoering gedurende daardie tyd ondersoek. Die analise sluit ’n ondersoek van alle perde en perdetuig in, wat uit waens, tome, stange, borsplate en versierings bestaan. Die reliëfs word bestudeer deur Erwin Panofsky se Teoretiese Skema, wat vir drie fases van ontleding voorsiening maak, te gebruik. Elkeen van die reliëfs word as ’n geheel ondersoek, ten einde die reliëf in konteks te plaas, gevolg deur ’n volledige uiteensetting van die perde, spesifiek hul lyftaal, asook hul tuie en die funksie daarvan. Daar is gevind dat die Assiriërs die perde se lyftaal gebruik het om die toon van die reliëf te help stel. Die perde sou aggressiewe lyftaal vertoon wanneer hulle aangeval word en ontspanne lyftaal wanneer hulle nie aangeval word nie, byvoorbeeld reliëfs wat parades of militêre kampe wys. Daar is ook opgemerk dat die perde van die vyande op so ’n wyse geïllustreer is om die dapperheid/vaardigheid van die oorwinnende Neo-Assiriese leër te toon. Daar is gevind dat perde instrumenteel in oorlogvoering was asook dat hulle status en rang binne die militêre strukture uitgebeeld het.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 1989. / Master copies of 5 1/2 inch (Floppy) disks kept separately by library. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Iraqi State Department of Antiquities and the Polish expedition under the late Janusz Meuszynski and Richard Sobolewski, assisted later by Samuel Paley (Buffalo), set themselves the goal to locate, identify and to reconstruct the original arrangement of the reliefs from the Northwest Palace of Ashurnasirpal II. The majority of the reliefs are scattered all over the world in museums and institutions from Leningrad to Los Angeles, mainly due to the style of archaeologists and opportunists from the previous century who removed these reliefs from the Nimrud Mound. Section A of the dissertation attempted to complement the achievements of the combined Iraqi-Polish-American effort through the study of the "Standard" Inscription which was carved across and in between the reliefs of Ashurnasirpal. Subsequently, this somewhat audacious and time-consuming project was launched to trace the present whereabouts of those reliefs outside Iraq in a bid to study each text seperately. This was achieved in the end in that the inscriptions were studied from the original sculptures or from photos provided by the institutions in whose care the reliefs are at present. Each exemplar was eventually copied, transliterated and reproduced in its original room setting of the North-Vest Palace. In order to reproduce each text as an entity in its own right and in an accessible way (in direct opposition to previous attempts whereby a myriad of text-critical data was simply reduced to footnotes), available computer software initially had to be experimented with before a suitable program could be decided upon. Eventually T 3 of TOI Software Research was selected on mainly user-friendly and font-adaptability grounds. The interested scholar is now in a position to see at a glance how the texts, which were originally engraved onto sculptured slabs in the close proximity of one room, vary from one another. The remainder of Ashurnasirpal's textual corpus was treated in Section B. These inscriptions were studied and collated on the original monuments in London and New York. The texts were finally collated, revised and transliterated in a standardized form from photographs, provided by the institutions in whose care they are at present. In order to facilitate the progress of research on the Ashurnasirpal inscriptions, it was decided to make all the textual material available in the electronic medium of two 2.1 megabyte floppy disks (cf. the envelope attached to the back cover). The data is stored in T 3 volumes (73VOLS). The latest T 3 version (2.3) has a conversion program for converting T 3 documents to YordPerfect 5.0, making the material of this research more accessible to non T 3 users. Thanks to the initiatives of the Tubinger Atlas des Vorderen Orients Project which provides the critical historian with a much needed historico-geographical footing, the unique summary of conquests or so-called standard titulary sections in the royal inscriptions of Ashurnasirpal were examined in search of a historically verifiable methodology. These passages were collected not only from the Calah inscriptions, but especially from other provenances like Ashur and Nineveh on the assumption that a definite correlation exists between geographic references and the chronological sequences of events in the Ashurnasirpal II royal inscriptions. These "summary" sections provide a useful summary in titular form of the king's conquests comprising essentially geographic material. They emanated stylistically from the preceding sections on the king's genealogy, titulary, filiation and theological legitimation. They were in a constant state of editorial flux impending on the successes of the king's expansionist policies. The modern historian can now utilize these summaries, or historico-political titles, not only as a fixed point of departure, historically speaking, but also as a normative tool to unravel biased military reports of the king's military activities in both the annalistic and display type of inscriptions. A new approach on the historical reconstruction of the reign of Ashurnasirpal II (883-859 B.C.) with its implications for the study of the Old Testament can now be anticipated. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die Irakse Direktoraat van Rultuursake en 'n Poole ekspedisie onder aanvoering van wyle Janusz Meuszynski en Ryszard Sobolewski, later bygestaan deur Samuel Paley (Buffalo), het hulle dit ten doel gestel om al Assurnasirpal II se reliefs, wat sedert die vorige eeu deur skattejagters en argeoloe van die Nimrud Tel (naby Mosul in die noorde van Irak) verwyder is en na museums en instellings van Leningrad tot in Los Angeles versprei is, op te spoor. Met behulp van hoof saaklik die ikonografie-is die reliefs se oorspronklike plekke in die beroemde Noordwes-Paleis vasgestel en grafies gerekonstrueer. Afdeling A van hierdie dissertasie poog om hierdie projek aan te vul deur al die II "Standaard" Inskripsies wat bo-oor en tussen die reliefs aangebring was, te bestudeer. 11 Yervolgens is die moeisame proses aangepak om hierdie reliefs in museums oor die hele wereld op te spoor, die inskripsies direk of vanaf foto's te kollasioneer, te kopieer, te translitereer en in hul oorspronklike vertrekskonteks weer te gee. Die formaat waarin die transliterasies van die inskripsies uiteindelik weergegee moes word, is uiteindelik deur middel van TCI Software Research se T 3 bemeester. Die formaat waarin die tekste weergegee is in hierdie dissertasie, vergemaklik die bestudering van individuele tekste sowel as die vergelyking van die teksvariante in die groter paleiskonteks, deurdat die tekste gegroepeer is ooreenkomstig die oorspronklike posisies van die reliefs teen die mure van die onderskeie vertrekke van die paleis. In Afdeling B is die oorblywende tekskorpus van Assurnasirpal behandel. Die inskripsies is op die oorspronklike monumente, stelas en tablette in hoof saaklik Londen en New York bestudeer, gekollasioneer en die transliterasies is hersien en gestandaardiseer. Dit bring vervolgens mee dat die tekskorpus van Assurnasirpal II in die elektronies-toeganklike formaat van T S -volumes beskikbaar is vir Assirioloe, wat met behulp van die rekenaartegnologie navorsing op die Assurnasirpal tekste wil doen. Die nuwe 2.3 weergawe van 7 3 beskik oor die moontlikheid om 3 -volumes en -leers om te skakel in YordPerfect 5.0 dokumente, wat dus_inligtingsherwinning, data-onttrekking en ander dergelike funksies van die rekenaartegnologie op spykerskriftekste verder vergemaklik. Al die teksmateriaal is vir die doel op twee 2.1 megagreep slapskywe gestoor in 73-volumes en is beskikbaar in die koevert, wat aan die agterblad van die dissertasie vasgeheg is. Ten slotte is 'n nuwe metodologie, gebore uit die inisiatiewe van en blootstelling aan die Tubinger Atlas des Vorderen Orients Projek, op die proef gestel. Kortliks berus hierdie benadering op die aanname dat daar 'n histories-verifieerbare korrelasie tussen geografiese gegewens en kronologiese ordening in die Assiriese Koningsgeskrifte bestaan. Die betrokke gedeelte in die koningsgeskrifte, waarin 'n opsomming van die koning se verowerde gebiede (en dus geografiese data) stilisties voortvloei uit die voorafgaande genealogie, titulatuur en teologiese legitimasie, is vervolgens versamel en gegroepeer uit tekste wat Assur, Nineve en Nimrud insluit. Hierdie opsommende titulatuur is op 'n gereelde basis deur die amptelike Assiriese skrywers geredigeer ooreenkomstig die welslae van die koning se buitelandse beleid van ekspansionisme. Vervolgens kan die moderne historikus hierdie beknopte historiese gegewens in die opsommende titulatiqr, gesuiwer van tipiese Assiriese propaganda, as 'n vaste normatiewe basis aanwend om die breedvoerige annalistiese beskrywings van die koning se veldtogte krities te bestudeer. 'n Betroubare rekonstruksie van die regeringstyd van Assurnasirpal II (883-859 v.C.) en die implikasies wat dit vir die flu Testament inhou, kan vervolgens in die vooruitsig gestel word.