Religion, Empire, and Torture: The Case of Achaemenian Persia, with a Postscript on Abu Ghraib

195 Pages·2007·1.32 MB·English

by  Bruce Lincoln

Religion, Empire, and Torture

RELIGION,
The Case of Achaemenian Persia
EMPIRE,
With a Postscript on Abu Ghraib
AND TORTURE
Bruce Lincoln
The University of Chicago Press
Chicago & London
Bruce Lincoln is the Caroline E. Haskell Professor of Divinity at the University of Chicago.
His most recent book is Holy Terrors: Thinking about Religion after September 11,also published
by the University of Chicago Press.
Title page illustration: Bas-relief from the Apadana (audience hall), Persepolis (fifth century
BCE). (Photo: Stierlin.)
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
© 2007 by The University of Chicago
All rights reserved. Published 2007
Printed in the United States of America
16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 1 2 3 4 5
ISBN-13: 978-0-226-48196-8 (cloth)
ISBN-10: 0-226-48196-4 (cloth)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lincoln, Bruce.
Religion, empire, and torture : the case of Achaemenian Persia, with a postscript on Abu
Ghraib / Bruce Lincoln.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-226-48196-8 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-226-48196-4 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Religion and politics. 2. Religion and politics—Iran—Case studies. 3. Achaemenid
dynasty, 559–330 B.C. 4. Iran—History—To 640. I. Title.
BL65.P7L56 2007
935'.05—dc22
2006037841
oThe paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American
National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library
Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992.
For Clarisse Herrenschmidt
in admiration and gratitude

Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Preface xi
1 Introduction 1
2 Center and Periphery 17
3 God’s Chosen 33
4 Creation 51
5 Microcosms, Wonders, Paradise 67
6 The Dark Side of Paradise 83
Postscript: On Abu Ghraib and Some
Related Contemporary Matters 97
Notes 109
Bibliography 143
Index 169
vii

Illustrations
FIGURES
Figure 1 (Con)fusion of two lineages, as accomplished by Darius in
DB§§1–4 5
Figure 2 Rock relief at Bisitun representing Darius the Great 18
Figure 3 Detail from the Bisitun relief: the Wise Lord gestures to
Darius 19
Figure 4 Detail from the Bisitun relief: Darius plants his foot on the fallen
Gaumata 20
Figure 5 Bisitun relief, compositional structure 21
Figure 6 Lands and peoples listed as part of the Achaemenian Empire
byDarius at DB§6 24
Figure 7 Dual nature of Cyrus’s claim to kingship 34
Figure 8 Events of 539, as narrated by the Cyrus Cylinder 39
Figure 9 Narratives legitimating Cambyses as king of Egypt 44
Figure 10 Correlation of cosmogony and royal titles in seventeen
inscriptions 54
Figure 11 Achaemenian and Zoroastrian accounts of creation 58
Figure 12 Relief sculpture at Darius’s tomb, Naqsˇ-i Rustam 72
Figure 13 Relief sculptures on the steps approaching the Apadana at
Persepolis 77
Figure 14 George W. Bush at North Island Naval Station, 1 May 2003 101
Figure 15 Photograph that creates the impression of U.S. soldiers
watchingIraqi civilians topple a statue of Saddam Hussein,
9April 2003 102
Figure 16 Captured Saddam Hussein undergoes medical examinations,
14December 2003 103
Figure 17 Pfc. Lynndie England holding a leash attached to an unnamed
Iraqi prisoner 104
ix