Abstract

The Relationship Between Beauty and Power as an Instrument ofAuthority in Mesopotamian Art
The relationship between beauty as a tool for manifesting authority is an ancient strategy evident in the cultural symbols of various civilizations, including that of Mesopotamia. Examining this subject reveals how Mesopotamian art expressed the dominant ideological concepts of power at the time.
The first chapter of this study is dedicated to the methodological framework, addressing the research problem, its significance, necessity, and objectives. It also outlines the temporal, spatial, and thematic boundaries of the study and provides definitions of key terms in the title.
The second chapter is divided into two main sections:

Beauty: Historical References – exploring the conceptual foundations of beauty in ancient art.
Representations of Power in Mesopotamian Art: Aesthetic and Ideological Dimensions – analyzing how authority was visually encoded within artistic works.

The third chapter presents the research procedures, including the research community and sample, consisting of five artistic examples. It also details the research methodology, which follows a descriptive content analysis approach, and the research tool, structured around five main axes for analyzing the selected artistic models.
The fourth chapter discusses the research findings, including:

In Mesopotamian art, beauty did not solely manifest as visual aesthetics but served as a means of reinforcing power, authority, and legitimacy. This is evident in samples (1, 2, 3, 4, 5), particularly in Sumerian and Akkadian art.
Beauty in Mesopotamian art was not absolute; rather, it was relative and dynamic, changing according to political and cultural contexts. This is apparent in samples (1, 2, 3, 5), such as the reliefs of the Stele of Naram-Sin and Assyrian art.