Provisional Abstract. For Mesopotamia, the beginning of the 2nd Millennium is distinctive for its great changes taking place on all political, social as well as religious levels. Initially, West-Semitic Amurrean dynasties took over political power in central Babylonia, subsequently establishing their own basically “Akkadian” heritage. Throughout this process, former Sumerian traditions were either maintained overlapped, or dismissed. Conspicuous are innovations in poetry and music under King Hammurabi and his successors. This paper analyzes literary as well as iconographic data aiming to distinguish changing processes with effects on court as well as temple music in regards of song lyrics, instrumental and vocal sound concepts. It further asks for possible political motivations of single individuals as well as groups of elites and their direct influence on music support and formation.
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King Hammurabi’s influence on Babylonian music and poetry traditions
Dr. Dahlia Shehata