INTRODUCTION

In the French novel Notre-Dame of Paris, Hugo digresses from the main plot in a chapter titled (in English translation) “This Will Kill That” to reflect on the words of the archdeacon of Notre-Dame, “‘This will kill that. The book will kill the building.’”[1] As a text that lauds the magnificence of the iconic Gothic cathedral, the emergence of the printing-press and the rise of widespread literacy posed a threat to the expressive visual and spatial natures of architecture, resulting in its dethronement. This succession of writing over visual (and physical) modes of expression, however, was not a concern for the primarily illiterate societies of the ancient world, despite the prevalence of public displays of writing, as exhibited in the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Although the palaces of the Neo-Assyrian kings were filled (sometimes wall-to-wall) with writing and stelae of themselves with text were erected in various locations, these writings, which can be classified as elite display inscriptions, were not typically read, but involved writing for purposes other than verbal communication, particularly to enhance their visual nature. Not only was writing used for its visual qualities, but it was important that elite display inscriptions were in Akkadian, despite the growing popularity and utility of Aramaic. Thus, the visual triumphed over the verbal as well as the use of Akkadian over Aramaic in Neo-Assyrian elite display inscriptions. To demonstrate this two-prong argument, this discussion considers (1) preliminary matters, such as, features of elite display inscriptions, propaganda, Neo-Assyrian imperial ideology, and literacy, (2) the visual nature of writing in monumental inscriptions as well as (3) the preference for Akkadian over Aramaic in predominantly Aramaic settings.