Reply To: Ruling Mesopotamia

[Kaitlyn]

The different rulers all followed a similar pattern, artwork showing them communicating with the gods, building huge elaborate structures, or engaging in some kind of ceremony or celebration. Examples would include the carved vessel from Uruk, the King-Priest conversing with Inanna, the Stele of Hammurabi receiving the laws from the god to act as an intermediary, Assurbanipal is shown in more than one work either killing the lions in ceremonial show of power, or celebrating in the garden with his queen. The Ishtar gate, and the Nqsh-e Rustam are only two examples of the enormous and dramatic structures that must have taken years to construct. So I think the rulers would show their power with the magnitude of their structures, and somehow include that is was the will of the gods.
Saddam Huessein tried to rebuild Babylon as a power showcase. He had a palace constructed to replicate the one from the time of Nebuchadnezzar.He also partially restored the lower level of the Nanna Ziggurut.