Banquets, Power, and Identity - Mediation of Power and Identity through Royal Feasts and Banquets in Persia

2021 ◽  
pp. 183-192
Author(s):  
Sahereh Astaneh
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Western Province ◽  
Ancient Persia

Feasting and banquets played a significant role in defining and strengthening cultural identity. Archaeological-historical studies demonstrated that feasting and banquets were more than a time for celebration and consuming food and wine, they could be of political importance and they have played a major role in the negotiation of power and identity. Indeed, they have contributed to historical transformations. The richest source of banquets in ancient Persia dates back to ‘Chogha Mish’, the largest pre-Sassanian site in the Susiana area, in the western province of Khuzestan, a state located in today’s Iran. Artifacts from ancient Persia, especially from the Achaemenid (539–330 BC) and its successor the Sassanid Empire, have proven to contain extremely valuable information to shine light on the nature of the royal banquets. This paper examines artefacts and a mural from different Persian eras depicting such royal banquets. It focuses on these remnants of culture which allow a glimpse into the Persian past.

The Libyan Fazzān: a crossroads of routes and a thoroughfare of Arab and Berber tribes historically connected with the Murābiṭūn (Almoravids). A historical and tribal reassessment in the light of what is discoverable in the historical literature, both oral and recorded, of the Tuareg peoples of the Central Sahara and the Libyan Fazzān

2003 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 101-120
Author(s):  
H. T. Nortis
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Entire Region ◽  
Historical Literature ◽  
Ancient City ◽  
Central Sahara ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The City

AbstractThe subject of this paper is the presentation and argument of a case for the millennium old record of an apparent steady migration of Berber Saharan nomads, who, at a later stage in their history, have came to be recognized as the principal tribes, federations and Sultanates of the Tuareg people whom we know today. These Berber speakers, who are variosly mentioned as the Lamṭa, Lamtūna, Ilemtin, Dag Elemtei and Azgar (Ifoghas), were the acknowledged ancestors of the so-called ‘Sanhaja’ peoples in the Western, the Central and the Eastern Sahara.The Fazzān contains the remains of the ancient city of Jarma (Garama) and from the evidence which has been found from Tifinagh inscriptions which have been discovered at that site, this ‘capital of the Garamantes’ played a significant role in shaping the linguistic and cultural identity of the Tuareg peoples. This identity is especially centered around the city of Ghāt, which borders both the Algerian and Libyan Sahara. This entire region, the Tassili -n- Ajjer and including Akakus, would appear to correspond to Jabal Ṭanṭāna, a toponym which finds a mention in the writings of a number of Arab geographers and historians. Its location made it pivotal for trans-Saharan trade.

Expressing Political Legitimacy and Cultural Identity Through the Use of Spolia On the Ambo of Henry II

1999 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 156-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Rose Mathews
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Political Legitimacy ◽  
The Political ◽  
Ancient Rome ◽  
Artistic Production ◽  
Symbolic Value ◽  
Political Economic

AbstractThis paper will explore the significant role appropriated objects played in Ottonian artistic production through a close examination of the Ambo of Henry II. Created by the last Ottonian emperor for the Palace Chapel at Aachen between 1002 and 1014, the Ambo of Henry II abounds with spolia. I will argue that the spolia reused on the Ambo of Henry II presented an innovative statement of Henry II's political, economic, and cultural agenda. The spolia from ancient Rome and contemporary Byzantium portrayed Henry II as the political successor to an illustrious Roman past, and as an equal to the Byzantine emperors in the East. The luxury objects reused on the Ambo also served as commodities whose symbolic value increased dramatically when they were taken out of economic circulation and used on this precious artwork. Finally, the Islamic and Byzantine spolia on the Ambo allowed Henry II to define himself and his Western Roman Empire in terms of an Other, associating his rule with the power, prestige, and sophistication of contemporary and competitive foreign cultures.

scholarly journals „Dziki Zachód” Państwa Środka – bezpieczeństwo i gospodarka w chińskiej polityce wobec prowincji Xinjiang

2018 ◽  
pp. 47-59
Author(s):  
Szymon Mikołajczyk
Keyword(s):  
Economic Policy ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Minority Rights ◽  
Living Standards ◽  
War On Terrorism ◽  
Western Province ◽  
Chinese Policy ◽  
The Government

The main purpose of the article is to present the key elements of Chinese policy in Xinjiang. This western province represents 1/6 of China’s landmass and plays a significant role in Chinese security and economic policy. This study tries to show the complexity of challenges that Chinese have to face in their attitude to Xinjiang. For years, Xinjiang was known as a primary front in Chinese war on terrorism. That is why, a question whether the government uses the threat of terrorism as an excuse to violate minority rights is raised. Recently, China has been implementing a new policy, which is more concerned on economic development and improvement of living standards and could be a first step in a long way to stabilize the situation in the province.

Rural Modernity in a Time of Crisis: Preservation and Reform in the Books of B. T. Batsford

2018 ◽  
pp. 255-269
Author(s):  
Peter Lowe
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Subject Matter ◽  
First Century ◽  
Graphic Art ◽  
Rural World ◽  
Twenty First Century ◽  
Post War ◽  
Art Marketing ◽  
English Heritage

This chapter examines publisher B. T. Batsford’s popular ‘English Heritage’ and ‘Face of Britain’ series, focusing on their subject matter, the range of authors commissioned to write for them (including such figures as H. J. Massingham, Dorothy Hartley, S. P. B. Mais, and Edmund Vale), the books’ graphic art, marketing, and overall interpretation of the challenges facing the rural world. Peter Lowe describes the transformation of an oppositional view of the rural/modern relationship into a less conservationist, more reformist position by 1945. He argues that the books played a significant role in the construction of an idea of English/British cultural identity that proved vital to the nation’s defence. At the same time, wartime events enabled Batsford authors to adopt a more conciliatory tone on the issue of post-war rebuilding. Ultimately, conflicts over rural modernity were subsumed into larger debates about exactly which ‘Britain’ was to survive into the twenty-first century.

scholarly journals Museum ethnography: Researching punishment museums as environments of narrativity

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 205979911772061
Author(s):  
Hannah Thurston
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
The Public ◽  
Crime And Punishment ◽  
The Past ◽  
Practical Guide ◽  
Data Collection And Analysis ◽  
History Of

Like all museums, punishment museums and sites of penal tourism are inherently political and moral institutions, offering cultural memories of a collective past. As environments of narrativity, these are significant spaces in which the public ‘learn’ about the past and how it continues to inform the present. In line with recent studies about ‘dark’ tourist sites, this article argues that the crime/punishment museum and jail cell tour can – and should – be understood as an ethnographic opportunity for narrative analysis. Rather than focus on just the findings of such an analysis, this article seeks to provide a practical guide to data collection and analysis in the context of criminological museum research. Offering illustrative examples from a study of Texan sites of penal tourism, it demonstrates how the history of punishment – as represented in museums – is an important part of cultural identity more broadly, playing a significant role in how we conceptualise (in)justice, morality and the purpose of punishment. In short, this article discusses how we can evoke the ethnographic tradition within museum spaces in order to interrogate how crime and punishment are expressed through narratives, images, objects and symbols.

scholarly journals Homosexualizing “Boys Love” in China

Prism ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 104-126
Author(s):  
Xi Tian
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Gender Identity ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Cultural Shift ◽  
Chinese Context ◽  
Gay Community ◽  
Sexuality And Gender ◽  
And Gender

Abstract Originating in Japan, “boys love” (BL) manga and fiction that focus on romantic or homoerotic male-male relationships are considered by most of their writers, readers, and scholars to be primarily by women and for women and are purposely differentiated from gay fiction and manga by both commentators and practitioners. However, BL's increasing interweaving with homosexuality and sexual minorities in China requires scholars to reread and redefine BL practice in its Chinese context. This article discusses some of the recent transformations of the BL genre in China, examines the significant role female practitioners have played in indigenizing BL, and ultimately points to the trend of consciously writing and reading BL through a homosexual lens. By reflexively constructing “gayness” in BL works, these practices have also created a peer-led educational space on nonnormative sexuality and gender identity. The author also examines how BL “poaches” official and mainstream cultures, resulting in their considering BL the primary fictional vehicle of homosexuality. She therefore suggests that the trend of conflating BL with homosexuality and the deliberate homosexualization of BL in both texts and real life have ultimately extended the cultural identity of BL, as well as its political meaning, and in practice have created a porous culture that welcomes gender diversity and helps increase the visibility of the gay community, revealing a significant social and cultural shift that cannot be ignored or reversed.

scholarly journals Studying Genealogy as a Factor of Cultural Self-Identification of the Person

Discourse ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-71
Author(s):  
M. E. Kudryavtseva
Keyword(s):  
Family History ◽  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Social Role ◽  
Protective Mechanisms ◽  
Self Identity ◽  
History Of ◽  
Internet Study ◽  
Cultural Self ◽  
The Stability

Introduction. The paper considers the problem of cultural identity influenced by the study of ancestry. The scientific novelty of this paper is due to the attention to the psychological aspects of self-identity under the influence of the study of person, her or his ancestry, and, above all, in a situation of detection of undesirable information about his or her family's past. It is hypothesized that motifs associated with the need to rethink its social role in terms of responsibility for the acts of their ancestors, do not play a significant role in the study of family history.Methodology and sources. The paper analyzes the results of the pilot Internet study conducted to determine the motives and methods of the study of person's ancestry, as well as the stability of interest in this activity. The target audience of this study were all who are interested in learning their ancestors, regardless of age or occupational category. The questionnaire used was semi-closed. A total of 154 people were interviewed.Results and discussion. The results showed that 46.8 % of respondents interest in their ancestry has a playful nature; 37.0 % desire through your family history to better understand the history of their country; 33.0 % of respondents are interested in their ancestry in order to better understand the reasons for their behavior (which is a necessary component of self identification); 32.0 % would like to find ancestors, who could be proud of. Nevertheless, in the case of unsolicited information about the life of their ancestors, are ready to make conclusions about his or her own life less than four percent of the respondents.Conclusion. The author believes that the paper put forward the hypothesis that motifs associated with the need to rethink its social role in terms of responsibility for the acts of their ancestors, do not play a significant role in the study of family history is confirmed by the results of the study. In case of detection of unwanted results, mainly protective mechanisms are becoming actual, ensuring the preservation of psychological comfort.

scholarly journals Ko wai au?

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 52-55
Author(s):  
Riki Paniora
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Social Development ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Negative Experiences ◽  
Life Patterns ◽  
Personal Experiences

Ko wai au? He Tane au? He Papa au? He Tungane au? he tama o te atua au, Aye hei aha Ko wai au? All of the above and more.Who I am and what I am are two questions that have brought me to this point of reflection as I determine perhaps, what I am yet to become. Cultural identity is important for people’s sense of self and how they relate to others. A strong cultural identity can contribute to people’s overall wellbeing (Ministry of Social Development, 2007). Does culture play a significant role in my determination of who I am? The purpose of this article is to take stock of who I am so as to understand what I may become. My journey has been filled with both positive and negative experiences, all of which have shaped me into the man that I am today. I wish to share some of what I believe are significant engagement points in my life that have made me the person and the professional that I consider myself to be. From my own myriad of pulsating life patterns, three key personal experiences display who I am.

scholarly journals Henry Corbin’s Oriental Philosophy and Iranian Nativist Ideologies

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 997
Author(s):  
Ahmad Bostani
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Considerable Extent ◽  
General Tendency ◽  
Islamic Revolution ◽  
Specific Interpretation ◽  
Ancient Persia ◽  
East West

This paper aims to explore the roots of the nativist discourse among Iranian intellectuals in the 20th century prior to the Islamic Revolution, a discourse based on Eastern authenticity and the felt need for a return to Islamic, Persian, or Asian traditions. This general tendency took various forms among anti- and even pro-regime intellectuals, including severe anti-modernist evaluations of Al-e-Ahmad, Hossein Nasr, Ahmad Fardid, and Ehsan Naraqi. This nativist movement, as some scholars have shown, played a significant role in the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979. This paper aims to discuss some philosophical origins of these East-based and anti-West ideologies in the specific interpretation of Henry Corbin of the East/West spiritual split. This paper demonstrates that these ideas, to a considerable extent, stemmed from Corbin’s “Eastern scheme,” based on the authenticity of spiritual illumination. This paper explores how this Oriental philosophy, rooted in ancient Persia and medieval Iranian wisdom, has been used for political purposes through the ideologization of tradition in contemporary Iran. Therefore, it discusses Corbin’s theological scheme’s political and social ramifications to demonstrate the traces of his scheme in the works of a few nativist intellectuals in an ideologized form.

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