Reade's Objection
Before fully accepting this argument of Ashurnasirpal’s probable propagandist proclivities, we will explore Julian Reade’s interpretation of the Nimrud reliefs to challenge this assumption. Broadly speaking, Reade argues that the reliefs found in the Northwest Palace should not actually be understood as propaganda for the most part. He points to the distribution of imagery in the reliefs as evidence of this, claiming that most of the images were of peaceful times, having little to do with achievements in war; “The image these public monuments present is plain: a king, devoted to his religious duties, to whom gifts come from the far ends of the earth for the greater glory of the god Ashur and his servants. Military themes were not excluded, and may of course have had a wider circulation on textiles and small objects. The emphasis, however, was on peace, Pax Assyriaca, rather than on war” (Reade 337-338). In pointing to these more peaceful depictions of the king’s life, Reade concludes that the Nimrud reliefs are not the depictions of battle victory that we have come to associate propaganda.
Reade does, however, admit that the throneroom of the Northwest Palace, includes a greater proportion of such images. Though the room included many images of with courtiers and magical figures, “Over half the sculptures, however, were narrative scenes of military expeditions in different lands or occasionally of hunts. Some kings do specifically mention how magnificent their military narrative sculptures were, and they doubtless impressed some foreigners with the irreversible progress of Assyrian arms, but entry to the throneroom must in practice have been largely restricted to men already connected with the Assyrian court” (Reade 338). This notion that the throneroom was inherently a restricted room is compelling insofar as it proves that images were not catered to the masses, yet this begs the question of function of propaganda, which we will revisit in the next section. Nonetheless, he concludes, “Propaganda is better exemplified in the reception-wing of the palace of Sargon” (Reade 338).
Reade uses the artistic representations in the palace of Sargon as a foil for the Nimrud reliefs, which are admittedly rather vanilla by contrast. Here we see a collection of rather brutish depictions of excessive and at times seemingly wanton violence. Reade speaks of a certain room, which “was suitable for the entertainment of guests. They will not have been surprised to find here exactly the same pictures of execution” (Reade 338). Clearly, this represents an attempt to instill fear in the minds of these guests. There is no question about that, but it certainly does represent a very particular and rather primitive form of propaganda. Another example only further illustrates style; “On entering the room (8), they found that the king was depicted presiding over the torture and execution of important rebels, a clear piece of deterrent propaganda” (Reade 338). Reade now provides a name for this kind of primitive propaganda – deterrent propaganda. In this classification, Reade undermines his own argument. The palace of Sargon is not necessarily a better example of propaganda in general but a more obvious form of deterrent propaganda.
Thus, Reade’s argument with respect to this limited utility of the throneroom reliefs should also be questioned, for the other reliefs around the palace, depicting images of peace, are examples of non-deterrent propaganda. The images he referred to earlier that depict the king performing his religious duties and receiving gifts from foreigners, presumably dignitaries, should also be read as propaganda, for they are intended to project a very particular image of Ashurnasirpal as a responsible and respected ruler. Reade’s definition of propaganda is problematic in that it renders all positive imagery as peaceful and harmless when indeed, such imagery can be used to deceive not only the masses but the courtiers of the good will of an otherwise manipulative ruler, interested primarily in consolidating power. By some standards, the latter, more peaceful form of propaganda may actually be far more dangerous, as it has the potential to stir people to action; that is, inspirational imagery of a god-like leader would be more effective in compelling people to fight for him, people who may never realize the folly of serving such a manipulative tyrant. The logical conclusion of such propaganda is the problem of mass delusion we see in highly restrictive societies like North Korea, where the populace has been thoroughly deluded to believe that the supreme leader is actually more akin to god than man. Thus, when dragged out to their logical ends, the effects of this type of subtler propaganda can be just as strong if not stronger than the Reade’s deterrent propaganda. Still, we must address the Reade’s questioning of the Ashurnasirpal’s intention with respect to the throneroom reliefs, which he believes were too isolated to be considered propaganda.