Relaciones internacionales en el próximo Oriente antiguo, 1660-1100 a.C.

by Mario Liverani

Con acierto se ha dicho que en el Próximo Oriente antiguo, el período del Bronce final (1550-1100 a.C.) fue el más intenso en cuanto a relaciones internacionales de todo el mundo antiguo. Gracias a un profundo conocimiento de las fuentes escritas de la época –sin duda un período privilegiado a causa del gran número de tratados políticos entre estados y por la abundante correspondencia que han proporcionado los archivos reales–, el autor traza en este estudio magistral las líneas generales de un período en el que el equilibrio del poder y los distintos rangos de los reyes venían determinados por una estructura fuertemente jerarquizada, dentro de un sistema regional basado en la existencia de «grandes» y «pequeños» reyes. Un uso directo de las fuentes permite al autor buscar el trasfondo ideológico y deliberadamente «irracional» que se esconde detrás del lenguaje diplomático de la época, dirigido sobre todo a destacar el intercambio recíproco de regalos entre monarcas que, en realidad, posee una clara finalidad política de prestigio y propaganda. Entre las fuentes que se manejan, destacan por su importancia las cartas del Amarna –la correspondencia real de los faraones hallada en 1887 en la residencia de Akhenaton y formada por miles de tablillas cuneiformes procedentes de las principales cancillerías de Asiria, Babilonia, Mitanni y Canaán– y los archivos reales de Boghazköy, hallados en 1906 en la capital hitita de Hattusha.

Genres: History

287 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Inés Chamarro · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating book, but not one about History. The angle of approach is the diplomatic relations system, the interplay of the different philosophies or cosmovisions of the different major players and the double talk of each of these powers between "selling" international events to the internal public opinion or to their fellow sovereigns. The era (1600-1100 BC) is particularly interesting because a lot of material has reached us from diplomatic archives in Egypt, Assyria, the Hittite empire, Mittani and Ugarit, and this sometimes allows to compare the retelling of an event from several perspectives, or the arguments applied to similar events by sovereigns with differing styles or philosophies. The book makes abundant use of original texts and has very short and focused chapters covering different topics, making it easy to put it down for long periods and then come back to it without missing a beat.

I never would have thought it, but the Egyptians do come off as rather off-putting in their arrogance and splendid isolation. The Hittites are pragmatists with a much more balanced view and capable of considering fairness rather than simple military force, although they are not above taking advantage when the chance appears. The Assyrians, on the other hand, appear as outsiders trying to force their way into the club of important nations and are both defensive and pushy by turns. The poor minor kings or vassals were clearly jostled around by the major players, but even so they often stood their ground defending what they considered their rights and changed sides with relative ease when unhappy with their existing overlord. There is an almost feudal conception at times as to the rights and obligations of king and vassal in the Hittite empire which must have made the place an interesting one.

[DS25 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bellissimo testo, che racchiude in modo sintetico alcune tematiche nucleo delle società del VOA (con un focus importante sull'esterno, quindi anche sul mondo Egizio). Interessante in particolare il capitolo sul commercio, che include alcuni documenti interessanti sull'ideologia di scambio/tributo, compreso il "commercio" di principesse - che suona malissimo, ma non saprei come altro descriverlo - per lo status e l'influenza nel paese ospitante.

[Sasha Alessandro Volpi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Liverani rappresenta sempre il vertice della Storia del Vicino Oriente in Italia e nel mondo.

[Birch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok.