Bulletin of the Society for Near Eastern Studies in Japan
Online ISSN : 1884-1406
Print ISSN : 0030-5219
ISSN-L : 0030-5219
Volume 55, Issue 2
Displaying 1-7 of 7 articles from this issue
Articles
  • Yoko WATAI
    2013 Volume 55 Issue 2 Pages 1-16
    Published: March 31, 2013
    Released on J-STAGE: April 26, 2016
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The Egibi family is the most eminent “private entrepreneur” of the Neo-Babylonian period. Despite the fact that many studies have been published on this family, nobody has ever studied their urban real-estate properties systematically. In this paper I study a deed (Dar. 379) which divides the properties among the members of the Egibi family and then locate and determine the use of each property that appears in the document as much as possible, by examining the pertinent contracts of land sale involving Egibi family members.The Egibi family owned many houses in Babylon and in other nearby cities. These houses in each city adjoined one another. It is likely that heads of the family acquired neighboring plots and added them to their own property. Their houses functioned as residences of family members, business offices, workshops, loan collateral, etc. However, they do not seem to have made profit by selling these houses.According to one document, the “main house (bītu rabû) of the Egibi was situated in TE.EKI area in the city of Babylon, at least in nabû-aḫḫē-iddin times. In another document, we find that the residence or office of the crown prince (bīt-mār-šarri) was located in the neighborhood of the Egibi’s main house. It is therefore probable that the bīt-mār-šarri was located in the TE.EKI area. In fact, heads of the Egibi family appear in some documents as agents of the crown princes Neriglissar, Belshazzar and Cambyses. The location of the Egibi’s houses close to the bīt-mdr-Eam' was undoubtedly convenient for their partnership relation.Through this study there emerges an interesting picture of the process by which a newcomer to the urban elite through acquiring pieces of urban property was able to develop large residences in the neighborhoods of the administrative centers of big cities during the “long sixth century” of prosperity in Babylonia.
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  • Developing Ibn ‘Arabī’s Metaphysics into the Social Context
    Haruka ENDO
    2013 Volume 55 Issue 2 Pages 17-32
    Published: March 31, 2013
    Released on J-STAGE: April 26, 2016
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    This paper discusses ‘Abd al-Wahhāb al-Sha‘rānī’s theory of the Perfect Man (insān kāmil), and examines his contribution to the history of Islamic thoughts. Sha‘rānī (d. 1565) was a Sufi thinker in Ottoman Egypt who belonged to the school of Ibn ‘Arabī (d. 1240). The focus of this paper is to analyze how Sha‘rānī inherited and developed Ibn ‘Arabī’s theory. The Perfect Man, as it is argued by Ibn ‘Arabī, refers to one who has attained unity with God and thereby attained the supreme state in Sufism. According to Ibn ‘Arabī, man was made in the image of God before the beginning of God’s creation of other creatures and therefore is capable of manifesting each of the names and attributes of God. The Perfect Man as a locus of God’s manifestation can synthesize two truths about God: God’s transcendence (tanzīh) and immanence (tashbīh), and God as the One and the many. The presence of the Perfect Man is important because he unifies the cosmos and keeps it one. This metaphysical theory of the Perfect Man taught by Ibn ‘Arabī was inherited by his followers. Many of them discussed the concept from the ontological point of view. However, Sha‘rānī, besides explicating the Perfect Man from the ontological aspect, developed it further by translating it into the social context. He developed the idea of the Perfect One (al-kāmil), who, according to Sha‘rānī, witnessed the source of the law (‘ayn al-sharī‘a) through a mystic experience. The various opinions of various people were originally derived from this source of the law. Thus, according to Sha‘rānī, the Perfect One can solve tensions that exist in society, since the Perfect One realizes the source of the law, into which opposing opinions can be ultimately resolved. Sha‘rānī thought that the splits of society into various parties can be unified through such a person. As this paper shows through its analysis, the Perfect Man and the Perfect One are the same concepts. Both hold within them the plane of God’s names and attributes and unify various dichotomies in the world. However, while the Perfect Man unifies the cosmos, the Perfect One unifies the society. attempted to contextualize the metaphysical-ontological concept of the Perfect Man in order to meet the needs of the society of his time. This paper concludes that, by applying Ibn ‘Arabī’s theory to this world, Sha‘rānī played an important role in further spreading Ibn ‘Arabī’s thoughts among the people of the Arab world.
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  • Poetic Techniques and the Functions of the Refrain in Ahmad Shāmlū’s Poetry and in “In this Blind Alley” (1979)
    Kimie MAEDA
    2013 Volume 55 Issue 2 Pages 33-52
    Published: March 31, 2013
    Released on J-STAGE: April 26, 2016
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The purpose of this paper is to analyze the refrain patterns and their poetic functions in Ahmad Shāmlū’s (1925-2000) “In this Blind Alley” (1979) and his other poems.The refrain patterns found in poetry can be classified into five types: 1) perfect refrain, 2) incremental refrain, 3) mixed refrain, 4) refrain by another “voice,” and 5) double refrain. Incremental refrain involves the repetition of the same phrase, with one or a few words substituted, while mixed refrain is the repetition of perfect refrain along with a one-time repetition of its incremental version. The fourth type is not based on the repetition of a phrase, but rather on the inclusion of a voice that can be distinguished from the voice of main text of the poem. Finally, double refrain refers to the double use of perfect refrain and incremental refrain. This final type is the type found in “In this Blind Alley.”Arguably, three factors make it possible for the fear and warning that the poem expressed in the days of its creation to maintain a contemporary reading that addresses the situations we may be facing at any given moment.The first factor is its multiple levels of meaning. In his early works, we can see that Shāmlū’s refrain derives from his techniques of repetition. Each time the poetic phrase is repeated, it evokes deeper metaphors or makes another allusion.The second factor is ambiguity of the voice of the refrain. The refrain, with its high musicality and rhythm, is repeated in a symmetrical structure evocative of a chorus. This dissociates the voice of the refrain from the voice of narrator of the main text, who is often regarded as the poet himself.The third factor is the poetic function of the substitution of words in incremental refrains, and the interaction between these substitutions and the main text.
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Notes
  • Matahisa KOITABASHI
    2013 Volume 55 Issue 2 Pages 53-62
    Published: March 31, 2013
    Released on J-STAGE: April 26, 2016
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The goddess Ashtart is mentioned several times in the Ugaritic texts, but appears relatively rarely in the mythological texts. A. Caquot and M. Sznycer say that at Ugarit, Asthtart was a “colourless deity”. On the other side, “the singer of Ashtart” (šr. ‘ṯtrt), whom We can find in the administrative text (KTU2 4.168: 4) , is very unique in the ancient Near East. Why does the “colorless deity” in the mythological texts need her professional singer?We can find the entry ritual of Ashtart in several ritual texts (KTU2 1.43: 1-2 ; 1.91: 10; 1.148: 18). The goddess’s entry into the royal palace suggests the royal attention paid to her. It appears likely, from a comparison of the Ugaritic texts with the Mari evidence, that the entry ritual of Ashtart is a kind of kispu-festival. We can see that Ashtart is invoked in some incantational texts related to vanquishing venomous serpents (KTU2 1.100; 19b—20a; 1.107; 39b—40a).The Keret epic (KTU2 1.14: III: 41-42 ; VI: 26-28) and a mythical text (KTU2 1.92) show that Ashtart is beautiful but powerful, and she is a good skilled huntress. The Baal myth (KTU2 1.2: IV: 28-30) and a song to Ashtart (RIH 98/02) indicate that Ashtart has the overwhelming power to subdue hostile forces. We can also see that Ashtart is called together with the god Horon in the king Keret’s curse (KTU2 1.16: VI: 54-57).Ashtart is the protective goddess to kings of Ugarit, because of her power of breaking enemies. Ashtart is important for the protection of Ugaritic kings against their hostile forces. Because of her physical and magical power, the singer of Ashtart might be necessary for the rituals related to the protection of Ugaritic kings against their enemies and fears.
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  • Toshiki YAGYU
    2013 Volume 55 Issue 2 Pages 63-75
    Published: March 31, 2013
    Released on J-STAGE: April 26, 2016
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    On a number of reliefs, sculptures and wall paintings in ancient Eurasia, there occur representations of horses with crenelated manes. These represents a characteristic way of trimming of the horse’s mane, which leaves the hair uncut at one, two or three places. This was “crenelation” by Otto Manchen Helfen. This paper focuses on this Way of trimming in the eastern Eurasian steppes.Some archaeological remains of the eastern Eurasian steppessuggest that crenelation of the horse’s rnane was widely distributed before the 2nd century B. C. However, it is clear that crenelation disappeared in the 2nd century B. C. as there are no materials of that period showing the existence of crenelated mane, while there and are representations of horses without crenelated manes. The author believes that the disappearance of crenelation is a very important fact to consider when reconstructing the history of the eastern Eurasian steppes.It seems that disappearance of crenelation occurred simultaneously with the following phenomena in the eastern Eurasian steppes of Znd-lst centuries B. C.: 1. Appearance of a composite bow covered with bone laths at the grip and ears, which was longer and more powerful than that of before the 2nd century B. C.2. Appearance of copper cauldrons cast in a multi-piece mold, a casting method different from that of before the 2nd century B. C. These cauldrons were usually buried with a dead person, a custom is not confirmed before this time.3. Disappearance of the motif of an animal whose hindquarters are twisted 180 degrees.The author considers the disappearance of crenelation to be related to these phenomena. It is possible to say that changes dated to the 2nd century B. C. are related to rise of the Xiongnu and the subsequent unification of nomadic tribes in the eastern Eurasian steppes. Therefore, the disappearance of crenelation is very a useful fact to consider when reconstructing the early history of the Xiongnu, a period for which there are few material remains.
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