Images of time : analysis of stele of Vultures and Victory stele of Naram-Sin

Abstract

Commemorative monuments were created in Mesopotamia for the first time. They were carved in relief and inscribed withs texts and recorded historical events with name of the ruler. This thesis investigates the connections between the image and text on the Stele of Vultures from the Early Dynastic Period and the Victory Stele of Naram-Sin from the Akkadian Period to understand the use of the text to complement and strengthen the layers of meaning through its relation to the image. This study aims to explore the multiple layers of meaning that are present on the plane of composition of the steles through an understanding of polysemic nature of the cuneiform script and its role in creating Deleuzian time-images on the world of imagery on the steles. Because cuneiform scripts are not meant for the spoken language but rather reflects a visual mode of expression, its relation to the image necessitates a visual analysis that also accounts for the materiality of writing. For this reason, Deleuzian analysis of the images concerning relations of images to the time will be used for uncovering the layers of meaning that concerns the epistemological and ontological aspects of the writing. Through this understanding, this thesis will argue the change in the royal ideology and how its representation through the monuments of war was changed through time. This analysis will present the close relationship of the political ideals and ontological placement of the ruler is affected by the visual representation.