A More Personal Understanding

This reading from Bahrani presented a personal side of the wars in Mesopotamian Antiquity that we have not yet seen in other readings. Bahrani delves into the terror and chaos that these wars caused which reminds us of the human side of war. In describing “the essence of war,” Bahrani opens with the writings of one Kabti-ilani-Marduk, who wrote epic poetry about the damage of war. His poetry describes the conquests of the war god Erra, who boasts of great destruction he laid on war torn cities. Bahrani argues that through his writing, Kabti-ilani-Marduk aims to explain war and its incredible force of violence. The excerpts from Kabti-ilani-Marduk demonstrate the impact of the omnipresent wars on the people around them, and help us to understand the wars on a more personal level.

Another interesting level of the impact of war on people we see is the voyeuristic enjoyment of war art, which makes an unexpected connection between the appreciation of war by ancient Mesopotamians and of contemporary people. Bahrani argues that some of the appeal of pieces like the Victory Stele of Naramsin was due to its thrilling depiction of a graphic scene. That is, the graphic reliefs were in part created to appeal to the voyeuristic nature of those who would see it. This concept presents an interesting connection to modern times, where a ton of media targets this same kind of appeal. Countless movies, images, video games, and novels display violent scenes of war to attract audiences seeking a violent spectacle. I was certainly not expecting to see this connection between the ancient Mesopotamians and modern people, but it forced me to see a part of our culture in theirs, giving me a more personal understanding of these people that usually seem so distant.