Abdi 2003 Iranianization of Bes in The A

The Smithsonian Institution
Regents of the University of Michigan
Notes on the Iranianization of Bes in the Achaemenid Empire

Author(s): Kamyar Abdi
Source: Ars Orientalis, Vol. 32, Medes and Persians: Reflections on Elusive Empires (2002), pp.
133-162
Published by: Freer Gallery of Art, The Smithsonian Institution and Department of the
History of Art, University of Michigan
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KAMYAR ABDI
Notes on the Iranianization

of Bes
in the Achaemenid Empire
ABSTRACT
These commentariesfollow up on an article published in Ars

Orientalis(Abdi 1999) entitled"Besin the AchaemenidEmpire."
The earlierstudy catalogued115 depictionsof the Egyptiangod
Bes in the context of the vast western Asiatic reaches of the
Achaemenidempire.As an exercisein empiricalresearch,it raised
a numberof intriguingquestions.Representationsof Bes revealed
themselvesacrossa wide rangeof artifacttypes and levels of qual-
ity, clearlycuttingacross lines of class and ethnicity.This was a
significantfinding,since Bes withinhis originalmilieuwas, above
all, the deity of the commoner,despite some notableappearances
in elite contexts.He enjoyedspecialexpertiseas a protectorof the
home and stalwartdefenderagainstnoxious agents,as a protector
of women in childbirthand of ordinarysoldiers. In this new dis-
cussion, some twenty-sevenadditionalartifactsbearingthe image
of Bes areadded to the Achaemenidrepertoire.Moreimportantly,
however,questionshintedatin the firstarticlearetakento another
level here:issues of mechanisms,meanings,and chronologicalin-
dicesof thewidespreadappropriationof Besin arenasof theAclhae-
menid empireoutside Egypt.The study of Bes leads to a contem-
plationof Iranianization.This termis offeredas one thatcan assist
us in discussing complexitiesof culturaltransmissionwithin the
multiethnicrealmof an AchaemenidPersianhegemonyin which
directedimperialideologiesinteractedwith regionaland personal
idiosyncracies.Ultimatelyit is hoped thatthe conceptsenibedded
in the term"Iranianization" mayproveusefulin a largerdiscourse
on Achaemenidempirestudies.
133
ArsOrientalis,
volume XXXII (2002)
KAMYAR ABDI
FIG. 1.
No. 5.4: Greenishbluefrit amulet
from the Persepolis Treasury.Iran
National Museumacc. no. PT6 -
359. Photo courtesyof the Iran

National Museum, Tehran.
FIG. 2.
No. 5.21: Amulet (material not
cited)from Persepolis.Iran
National Museumacc. no. 2024.
Photo courtesyof the Iran National
Museum, Tehran.
FIG. 3.
No 5.22: Faience amuletfrom
Persepolis.Iran National Museum
acc. no. 2064. Photo courtesyof the
Iran National Museum, Tehran.
FIG. 4.
No. 5.23: Faience amuletlfrom
Persepolis.Iran National Museum
acc. no. 7631. Photo courtesyof the
Iran National Museum, Tehran.
134
NOTES ON THE IRANIANIZATIONOF BES IN THE ACHAEMENIDEMPIRE
INTRODUCTION tureoftenrathersuddenlyfacesa cornucopiaof new

icons, images,andmotifsassociatedwiththe cosmol-
A N ENCOUNTER BETWEEN two cultures may ogy and ideology of the givingculture.Most of this
triggera complexprocess of interactionthat repertoiremay be meaninglessto the receivingcul-
is capableof affectingalmosteveryaspectof turewithouta priorknowledgeof itsideologicalback-
both cultures-subsistence, sociopoliticalorganiza- ground. Regardlessof the levels of knowledge ac-
tion, language,iconography,ideology, and cosmol- quiredby the receivingculture,some elementsof the
ogy. This interactioninvolvesa tremendousamount givingculturewillresonatewithcertainculturaltraits
of give-and-takebetweenthe two cultures.On a tan- in the receivingculturemore than others. Presum-
gible level, it is demonstratedin two-wayexchange ably,thesearethe elementsmostlikelyto be selected
of goods and/orone-wayacquisitionof itemsthatcan for adoption.In the case of Bes in the Achaemenid
be recognizedarchaeologically.On a more elusive empire, the observationstagewill have takenplace
level, this interactionwill involvetransmissionof be- initiallyon Egyptiansoil duringthe conquestsof 525
haviors,practices,sociopoliticalforms,and beliefs. and 518 B.C.E. But thereis also evidenceto support
A primarystrategyof archaeologistsandarthisto- the observation stage through Egyptian artifacts
riansis to study the transmissionand modulationof broughtto far-flungregionsof the empire.
artifactsthroughtheirformalqualitiesof style, typol- In theadoptionstagethereceiveruses anelement
ogy, symbolism,and so on. It may be a straightfor- stemmingfromthe givingculture.Adoptioncan in-
wardprojectto recognizeexoticmotifswhen theyare clude the use of artifactsnewly and locally made in
discoveredin a new host cultureand to assignthem emulationof the originalexoticartifactsaswell as the
to a specificcultureof origin.Butit is muchharderto use of actualimportsfromthegivingculture.In terms
understandthe culturalconnotationsof the transmis- of the study of Bes, the tracingof adoptioninvolves
sion process and the reworkingof a certainelement tryingto discernoccasionswhereBes-imagesin their
froma "giving"cultureto a "receiving"culture.This originalEgyptianmodalityhave been used without
articletakesup this challengethroughan ongoingex- clearalterationsin formor syntax-not by Egyptian
plorationof the historyof the imageof the Egyptian immigrantsbut by non-Egyptians.
deityBesin non-Egyptiancontextsof theAchaemenid In the assimilation stage the receiver makes
Persianempire.I propose a templatefor envisioning changes to received types-in this case changes to
theprocessof transmissionandmodulationof images Bes-imagery-to renderthemmore amenableto the
of Bes fromhis nativeEgyptianhometo a rangeof are- ideology and cosmologyof the receivingculture.
nas withinthe Achaemenidempireoutside Egyptas Appropriationis the synthetic culminationof
flowingthroughthe followingstages:observation-* observation-adoption-assimilation. It partakesof all
adoption-- assimilation-* appropriation.The pro- three of those stages and is in a sense the ultimate
cess itself,and its result,will be termedthe "Iranian- essenceof assimilation.In theappropriationstagethe
ization"of Bes.This exercisewilishowthatthebound- receiverincorporatesreceivedandmodulatedimag-
aries separatingthe four conceptualstagesfromob- ery into culturalcontexts within the receivingcul-
servationto appropriationareporous. Furthermore, ture. Here threevariantmodes may operate:(1) the
these stages do not necessarilyoccur in a rigid and belief systemin which the imagewas originallyem-
universaltemporalsequence across the entirepan- bedded as a manifestationof the givingculturemay
oramaof the culturallandscapewe arelookingat. be maintained,and, alongwith the imageitself, this
In the observationstage the receiverhas access beliefsystem(theoriginalmeaningsof theimage)may
to the apparatusof the giving culture (in this case, be incorporated intorepresentationalvehiclesandthe-
observationalaccess to imagesand conceptsof Bes). matic structurestypicalof the receivingculture;(2)
Observationusuallyoccursearlyduringthe encoun- only certainaspectsof the originalmeaningof the im-
terbetweencultures,but it is importantto recognize agerymaybe selected,combinedwith elementsfrom
that observationmay be a continuallyrenewingele- thereceivingculture,andultimatelyincorporatedinto 135
mentin the four-stagedparadigm.The receivingcul- the receivingculture;or (3) the originalimagerymay
KAMYAR ABDI
be completelystrippedof its originalculturalbaggage the Achaemenidempire outside the boundariesof

and assignedan entirelynew set of culturalmeanings Egyptitself.'This studycatalogued115 objectsdis-
as it is incorporatedinto the receivingculture. playing the Bes-image,divided into eleven catego-
"Iranianization"is a termintendedto character- ries: (1) cylinderseals, (2) stampseals, (3) seal im-
ize broadly the culturaleffects of the Achaemenid pressions, (4) potteryvessels, (5) amulets,(6) per-
hegemony across a vast and ethnicallydiverse em- sonal ornaments,(7) cippi, (8) metalwareand other
pire.In theirinscriptions,theAchaemenidsacknowl- metal artifacts,(9) coins, (10) statuettes,and (11)
edge with explicitpride the notion thatan ideologi- architecturalelements.2Since that paper went to
cal unityhas been forgedout of the ethnicand topo- press,I haveidentifiedanothertwenty-sevenartifacts
graphicaldiversityof theirempire.This rhetoricalso bearingthe Bes-imagefromthe non-Egyptianlands
plays out in the metaphoricalmessages of official under the purview and chronologicalspan of the
Achaemenidart(Root 1979; 1990). "Iranianization," empire. These are now added to the preexisting
then, is used here to express the process of infusion frameworkof categories,since none so far necessi-
of a spirit born of the Achaemenidimperialenter- tatesthe creationof a new category(appendix:tables
prise. It is differentfrom, more diffuseand expan- 1-11). HereafterI shall referto artifactsin the ex-
sive than,the prescribedformsof"Achaemenidart" pandedcatalogueby number(e.g., no. 1.4 beingthe
(the officialart of the court). It must also be sepa- fourthitemlistedin thefirstcategory[cylinderseals]).
ratedfromnotions of rigidethnic categories. Itemsknownto come fromareasthatwereunderthe
Ethnically,ancientIraniancultureincorporated culturalinfluenceof the Achaemenidsbut were not,
a largenumberof peoples belongingto the Iranian as far as we currentlyunderstandAchaemenidhis-
languagefamilyand sharingsome cosmologicaland tory,underthepoliticalauthorityof the Persiankings
ideologicalbackground.Within thatculturalarena, are not included in the tabulations.Thus, for in-
PersianswereIranians,but not allIranianswerePer- stance, I have not cataloguedthe four wooden Bes
sians. Persiawas only a smallregionin the largerIra- plaquesdecoratinga horsebridlefromthe fifth-cen-
nianworld, and Persianswere only one of manyIra- tury PazyrykTomb 1 in Siberia (Lerner 1991: 8;
nian ethnic groups, of which the Achaemenidclan Rudenko 1970: pls. 91-92), althoughthey will en-
formedthenobleandroyalclass.ButtheAchaemenid ter the discussion. Similarly,I have not catalogued
visionemergedout of a deep saturationin indigenous Bes-imagesappearingin the materialrecord of the
culturaltraditions,such as thatof the Elamitesin the Greekislands or other arenasunder Greekcontrol,
southwesternregion of present-dayIran. My term even thoughAchaemenidsobviouslyhad significant
"Iranianization"is thus an umbrella concept for interactionsin these arenasand left markersof their
somethinglargeand fluid. Iranianizationwas a phe- presencein them.3
nomenonof acculturationreflectingthe imperialhe- In 1999, my documentationof EgyptianBes-
gemony that manifesteditself widely and diversely imageryas it spreadacross the vast westernAsiatic
in the variousregions of the empire-including ar- reachesof the Achaemenidempireformedthe basis
eas that were not homelands of specific ethnically for preliminaryinquiriesinto the natureof cultural
Iranianpeoples. It displayedthe powerfulforce of interactionamong people of Egyptian origin and
ethnicallyIranianimpulsesin the imperialsituation, other nationsin the Achaemenidempire,especially
but it was not limited in its impact to lands and Iranians. As an exercise in empirical research, it
peoples of literallyIranianethnicidentity. raiseda numberof intriguingissues, some of which
were addressedinterpretivelyand othersleft for fu-
turecontemplation.One key findingwas simplythat
THE EGYPTIAN DEITY BES the extent of Bes-imagery in the empire outside
IN THE ACHAEMENID EMPIRE Egypt-and particularly in heartland regions of
MesopotamiaandtheIranianplateau-was fargreater
136
In an earlierarticle(Abdi 1999)1 surveyedimagesof thanearlierdocumented.This factorin itselfacquires
the Egyptiandeity Bes within the visual cultureof a high level of significancewhen seen in relationto
these regions before the Achaemenid empire. Al- He enjoyed special expertise as a protector of the
thoughin pre-Achaemenidtimesobjectsbearingthe home and stalwartdefenderagainstnoxious agents,
Bes-imageproliferatedin the EasternMediterranean as a protectorof women in childbirthand in other
(e.g., in Phoenicia),theywerealmostcompletelyab- ways an agentof fertility,and as a protectorof ordi-
sent from the archaeologicalrecord in centraland narysoldiers.This issue of multipleaudiencesin the
southernMesopotamiaand the Iranianplateaube- host milieuwill alsobe pressedfurtherin the current
fore the rise of the Achaemenids.This dearthis ap- discussion.
parent, despite the opportunities for observation The earlierpaper specificallycited the military
throughmuchcontactmilitarily,diplomatically,and as an importantlocus of popularityof Bes-images.
otherwisewith Egyptand thingsEgyptianas well as This is not a point I returnto in detail here, but it
with Egyptianizing repertoires of, for example, must be borne in mind as an importantelementin
Phoenicianmetal-and ivory-workingstudios. Many the culturalmix ofwhat encouragedBes to findsuch
Egyptianmotifsfind theirplace in Neo-Assyrianart energeticacceptanceand such a varietyof new lives
and become subjectto the stagesof acculturationwe in the Achaemenidsphere.
arepositingfor the Bes-imagein Achaemenidtimes. Most importanthere will be a contextualized
But Bes is not amongthese motifs.The smallnum- contemplationof specificartifactsbearingimagesof
berof itemsincorporatingBes thatareassociatedwith Bes in orderto presentthe visualrecordwithin my
Assyria, for instance, seem to be isolated artifacts four-stagedparadigmof acculturation-or Iranian-
broughtbackfromEgyptiancampaignsas booty. ization.In thisendeavormostattentionwillbe focused
Why, under what circumstances,and in what on some key excavatedartifacts,with selectedother
ways did this picture change so dramaticallyin the itemsplacedinto discussionaroundthem.Focusing
Achaemenidperiod? The present article seeks to on excavatedandin somecaseschronologically infor-
addressthis compoundquestion.At a certainpoint mative data permits us to reach some conclusions
afterthe foundationof the Achaemenidempire,ob- aboutthe timetableof the Iranianization of Bes.
jects bearingthe Bes-imageproliferateddramatically,
not only in places like the Levant,where we would
most expect them based on earlierpatterns,but in EGYPTIAN AND IRANIANIZED APPEARANCES
the centrallands of the empire-Mesopotamia and OF BES ACROSS THE EMPIRE
the Iranianplateau.Additionallythey are found in
certainenvironmentsto the west (in Anatolia)andin In formalterms,thecorpusofBes-imagesfallsintotwo
certainenvironmentson the easternfringes of the generalgroups:Egyptianand Iranianizedexamples.
empireand beyond. What emergesis evidence of a The Egyptiangroup is characterizedby conformity
veritableexplosionin popularityof thisidiosyncratic to Egyptianrepresentational traditionsand trendsin
Egyptiandeity acrossvast areasof the Achaemenid culturalusage,with no discernibleinfusionof differ-
hegemonythathad previouslynot been receptive,it entmodalitiesofpresentationandsymbolicinference.
would seem, to interestin Bes. In my view, the proliferationof the Egyptian-type
In Abdi 1999, I pointed out preliminarilythat imagesacrossMesopotamiaand the Iranianplateau
the Achaemenidrepertoireof these representations seemslikelyto representthe influxof actualpeople of
embracesa largenumberof artifacttypesandmodes Egyptianorigininto the Achaemenidempire.
of production,fromhumble items to highly presti-
gious ones. Suchwidespreaddistributionanddiver- TheObservationStage:Commonersand Elites. Par-
sity suggest that in the Achaemenid empire Bes ticularlyin the wake of the reconquestof Egypt by
serveda varietyof functionsandroles,manyof which DariusI in 518 B.C.E., Egyptians(alongwithpeoples
mayhavecrossedclassandethniclines. This is a sig- of otherethnicbackgrounds)areknownto havetrav-
nificantfinding,since Bes, withinhis originalEgyp- eled backand forth,workingtemporarilyor settling
tianmilieu,was,aboveall,thedeityof the commoner, permanentlyin the heartlandof the empire.The as- 137
despite some notableappearancesin elite contexts. sembleddatarevealthatthe largestsingle corpus of
KAMYAR ABDI
amuletsbearingthe Egyptian-typeBes-image(nos. of this largemultifunctionbuilding.And in the end,

5.6-18 [Abdi 1999: fig. 5] and 5.28, representing of course, the chaos createdby its violent destruc-
fourteenout of the thirtyexamplesso farcatalogued) tion invitedintrusiveitems.It was the flatbackof no.
comes from Susa, where people of Egyptianorigin 5.4 thatseems to haveled Schmidtto callit an inlay.
areattestedtextuallyin the reignof DariusI (r. 521- But Egyptianamuletswere frequentlymeant to be
486 B.C.E.). In particular,Egyptiancraftsmenbuild- held in the hand or placed on the body for aid and
ing or decoratingtheAchaemenidpalatialcomplexes comfort;numerousothersimple,mold-madefritBes
at Susa may have brought these objects with them itemsthatdo incorporatesuspensionholes servedas
from Egypt as protectionagainstunexpectedperils pendants for necklaces.In both cases, the Bes-im-
duringtraveland residencein a foreignland.4Such ages projectedapotropaicagency.7Our attemptsas
objectswereof modestintrinsicvalue(generallymade scholarsto categorizeobjects(as,indeed,I havedone
of a compositionmaterial),despitethefrequentlyfine in distinguishing"amulets"from "personalorna-
detailingof the molds whence they were produced. ments"in my own catalogue)inevitablylead to un-
Whenwe find themin the archaeologicalrecord,we fortunatehardeningof functional/meaningbound-
can postulatethatmanyof them were misplacedby aries.Bes-imagesin New KingdomEgypt do occur
or buried with their Egyptianowners there.5The on elite furniture,so there is ample precedent (see
corpus of five (or possibly more) additional such below, fig. 18). These inlaysare,however,in plaque
amuletsfromPersepolis(nos. 5.4 and 5.21-23 [figs. formratherthanin the formof tiny isolatedfacesof
1-4]) offers the second largest assemblage of the Bes. In sum, ourno. 5.4 is mostlikelyanotherEgyp-
type.6It is interestingthatnos. 5.2 1-23 areverysimi- tian Bes amuletfromPersepolis.
larin styleandpresentationof thevisageof Bes, even Reinforcingthe evidence of a substantialnum-
down to the way the curlsof the beardaredisplayed. ber of Bes amuletsfrom Persepolis, workersfrom
(The headdressesof nos. 5.22-23 havebrokenoff.) Egypt in the Persepolisenvironsare attestedin ad-
Althoughtheseamuletswerenot madefromthe same ministrativedocuments of food disbursement(the
mold, they are similarenough to suggest that they Fortificationtablets) dating to 509-494 (Hallock
mayhavebeen producedin the sameworkshop.It is 1969; Garrisonand Root 2001; forthcominga and
an open question(particularlyin the absenceof any b). These testimoniescorroborateinferencesabout
materialsanalysis)what this may imply. Were they the impact of Egyptiancrafttraditionsthat can be
manufacturedon site in Persepolis in a workshop drawnfromdirectanalysisof the architecturalforms
cateringto an Egyptianclientele?Were they manu- andsculpturaldecorationsof the ceremonialedifices
facturedin one workshopin Egyptandsubsequently on the Persepolis Takht (Root 1979; 1990). It is
imported to Persepolis in the hands of a cohesive noteworthythat the excavationsat Susa and Perse-
populationdrawnfromone Egyptianlocalitythatwas polis do revealthese numbersof amulets,especially
servedby this workshop? since the Persepolisexcavationshavefocusedprima-
Schmidt(1957: 72 andpl. 41) characterized our rily on the ceremonial installationsof the Takht,
no. 5.4 (excavatedin Room64 of the PersepolisTrea- where the recordof commondailylife will not be as
sury) as an elementof decorativeinlay. The fact of strongas it would be in workers'livingquarters.8
its discoveryin the Treasurydoes not, however,nec- Thus, despite the archaeologicalpreselection
essarilymeanthatit adornedprestigefurniture.Nu- factorsthatwill have severelylimitedthe likelihood
meroussealsof themostmodestworkmanshipfound of discoveringhumbleitems of personal(Egyptian)
in the Treasury(e.g., Schmidt 1957: 47) warn us, property,the yield of Bes amuletsis substantial.It is
for instance, againstthe assumptionthat only per- importantto see thisfactorin a largercontextof Egyp-
sonalartifactsof outstandingqualityor symbolicca- tian and Egyptian-typefinds outside Egypt. Many
chet are likely to have found their way into the ar- excavatedsites in the GreaterMediterraneanhave
chaeologicalassemblageof this imperialTreasury. yieldedimpressivenumbersof Egyptianartifacts.Yet
138
People frommanywalksof life musthaveworkedin these overallnumbersdo not necessarilymean that
the PersepolisTreasuryduringthe activeexistence faienceBes amuletswill be representedamongthese
corporain largequantities.Samos,forinstance,was
an extremelyrich and importantsanctuarythathas
revealedthe largestnumberof Egyptianbronzesout-
side Egypt itself. Here, however, Skon-Jedelecites
only eightfaienceBes amulets(1994: nos. 1816-23;
see also Leahy 1988)-a very smallquantityin rela-
tion to the massive number of Egyptianimports.9
These datastrengthenmy suggestionthatBes amu-
lets in the archaeologicalrecordatAchaemenidSusa
and Persepolisshould be viewed as an index of the
presencethereof Egyptiancommoners-and thecon-
sequent observationof culturaltransmissionat the
popularsocial level deep in the heartof the empire.
Otherexcavatedevidencealso suggeststhepres-
ence of Egyptianfolk (artisans,militarymen, or the
like)livingin the imperialheartlandwho wereprob-
ably directlyresponsiblefor the occurrenceof typi-
cally Egyptian-typeBes-images.Two very interest-
ing stone votivemonuments(cippi) fit this category. FIG.5.
Eachis carvedin reliefin fullyEgyptianmode (nos. No. 7.1: Drawing of a white stone cippusfrom
7.1-2 [figs. 5-6]), one from Nippur and the other Nippur. Baghdad Museum acc. no. 11 N 61.
from Susa (see Abdi 2002). These items clearly After Gibson 1975:fig. 34.3 up.
served the cultic demandsof Egyptiansdwellingat
the imperialcenter but maintainingintact specific
representationaland devotional traditionsof their
homeland.They seem likely to have been made lo-
callyratherthanimported.'0
FromObservation toAssimilationandIranianization.
Some othercategoriesof artifactsbearingtraditional
Egyptian-typeBes-imagerysuggest the diffusionof
Egyptianformalmodes for the representationof Bes
to elitesocialcontextsin the imperialheartland.This
is particularlyinterestingin light of the case madein
Abdi 1999. Thereit was claimedthata crucialfeature
of the historyof Bes in the Achaemenidempireis the
deity'sdeploymentacrossa wide socialspectrum,in-
cluding very high-status individuals of Iranian FIG.6.
ethnicity,as well as amongexpatriateEgyptiancom- No. 7.2: Drawing of a blackstone cippusfrom Susa.
monersand militarypersonnel.One Bes "statuette" Iran National Museum acc. no. 2103/103. Rendered
(no. 10.1 [Abdi 1999: fig. 10]) excavated in the by the author (Abdi 2002).
PersepolisTreasuryis surelya fragmentof an elabo-
ratevesselorvesselstand-not a statuetteperse. Made presented as a gift to the King of Kings by an Egyptian
of EgyptianalabasterwithoutanynecessarilyIranian- ambassadorialdelegation. Other alabasterartifacts(in-
izingaspects,it certainlysuggestsa prestigeitem that cluding royal tableware)from the Treasury were simi-
founditswayto PersepolisfromEgypt-eitherbrought larly made in Egypt and subsequently transferredto 139
homeasbootyfromone of theEgyptiancampaignsor Persepolis (e.g., Schmidt 1957: 90-91).
KAMYARABDI
A fragmentarystone statuetteof Bes from the certainlynot elementsfroma necklacecommissioned

PersepolisTreasury(ourno. 10.2: see below,fig. 15) and worn by a memberof an Egyptianwork crew.
displaysthe deity frontallywearingonly the leopard These pendants might representa prestige import
pelt and a belt tied aroundhis distendedbelly. This fromEgyptitselfto the Achaemenidcourtlycircles.
artifactmay also representgiftingdirectlyfrom the In this scenariothey would exemplifythe observa-
Egyptiancourt to the AchaemenidPersiancourt. If tion stageof culturalencounter-but here involving
so, it is anotherelementin the evidenceof observa- elite audiences.Gold pendantsof Bes (offeringthe
tion. Its formalpresentationconformsto LatePeriod god's protection in intrinsically precious and
types in Egypt(Romano1989: 196), yet this dating numinous form) are known from New Kingdom
would makeit the only documentedBes-imagein the Egyptif not fromthe LatePeriodin Egypt(e.g., Bos-
form of a statuetteknown from the entire Late Pe- ton 1982: cat.no. 351), as arenecklacesof faienceor
riod. Romano (1989: 172), albeit unawareat that glazed stone with multiple Bes pendants (e.g.,
writingof most of the Bes materialcataloguedin our Romano 1989: cat. nos. 109, 144).
appendix,statesthatLatePeriodBes-imagery It is also possible, however,thatthe Pasargadae
Bes pendantsarevestigesof a lavishworkofjewelry
shows an extremely limited range of types of commissionedin Iranas a productmeantto emulate
objectson whichthe god appears.Onlyamulets, Egyptianideas.Eitherway,thearchaeological record
molds for amulets,and reliefs,both monumen- does not revealwhetherthisitemwaswornby a high-
talandportable,areknown.We do not encoun- statusEgyptianlivingin Pasargadaeor by a high-sta-
terthe richinventoryof cosmeticitems,jewelry, tusnon-Egyptian.Evidencefromthe PersepolisFor-
scarabs,furnitureelements,statues,vessels, etc. tificationtabletsmakesit quiteclearthatIranians(i.e.,
thatpreviousgenerationsof artisanshad embel- Persiansin this instance)were interestedin evoca-
lished with the Bes-image. tions of non-Persianstyles and motifs for theirpri-
vatelycommissionedpersonalseals.Sometimesthese
This comment, based on Romano's extraordinary evocationsareremarkably faithfulto non-Iranianpro-
knowledge of the Egyptiandata,demonstrateshow totypes (e.g., on the first seal of Parnaka,Garrison
importantthe evidencefromtheAchaemenidempire and Root 2001: 404-6 [PFS 9*]). There is no rea-
is, not only to an understandingof the host culture son why the same interestwould not have affected
but also to an understandingof the giving culture. jewelry. It is also importantto acknowledgethatwe
As discussed below, the presence of this particular do not knowwhetheror not the necklacethese indi-
type of Bes-imageat Persepolisas an instrumentof vidual pendants originallyadornedmay once have
the observationstagein Iranianization raisesintrigu- included indisputablynon-Egyptianpendant sym-
ing questions about the natureof cross-fertilization bols. If this were the case, thenwe would be dealing
of imageryin the Achaemenidempire. insteadwith an exampleof one formof full-scaleap-
The fifty-one gold Bes pendants excavatedat propriation(see below). In thisinstance,withoutin-
Pasargadae(cataloguedcollectivelyas no. 6.4 [fig. disputablealterationsto the physicalpresentationof
7]) arevestigesof sumptuouspersonaladornment- Bes per se, an Egyptian-typeBes would have been
Iranianizedby virtueof being placedin a largerrep-
FIG. 7. resentationalcontextof Iranianimagery.
No. 6.4: Drawingof oneof thegold
pendantsfrom Pasargadae.Iran
NationalMuseum.AfterStronach IRANIANIZED BES: PHYSICAL CHANGES
1978:fig. 86.1.
In his process of Iranicization,Bes underwentsome
physicalchangesto LatePeriodmodelsknownfrom
140
Egyptin orderto accommodatethe deity to a differ-
ent culturalmilieu.
NOTES ON THE IRANIANIZATION OF BES IN THE ACHAEMENID EMPIRE
The Skirt (Kilt). Accordingto Romano'sin-depth sess with certainty):for example,our nos. 1.1, 1.3,
study, Egyptianrenderingsof Bes made before the 1.4 (fig. 8), 1.5(?), 1.6 (fig. 9), 1.7, 1.8, 3.8 (fig. 10),
reignof AmenhotepII in the EighteenthDynastydo 3.12 (fig. 11), 6.5 (fig. 12), 10.3 (fig. 13), and 11.1(?).
not displayany garments.Beginningin the reign of These imagesmaybe said to harkbackin one sense
Amenhotep III we do see numerous examples of to New KingdomEgyptianprecedents,sincethe Late
EgyptianBes in the New Kingdomwearingvarious Period repertoireon Egyptiansoil seems to be de-
formsof a skirtor kilt(see Romano1989: 118-19 for void of the model. Such calculatedmining of spe-
thebreakdown).Interestingly,however,in Romano's cific antiqueprototypesis an acknowledgedfeature
list of Late Period representationsof Bes (which in- of Achaemenidart(Root 1979). And it is reasonable
cludes a limitednumberfromvariousregionsof the thereforeto postulatea similarmechanismat work
Achaemenidempire)he cites not a singleexampleof in IranianizedBes-imagesdestinedfor elite groups.
Bes wearingthe skirt(Romano 1989: 308-9). With Arguably,Bes-imagesservingcourtlycirclesmight
our much-expandedrepertoireof Bes-imagesfrom havebeen drivenby some of the sameideologicalen-
realmsof the empirebeyond Egypt,we can propose ergiesthatdrovetheplanningofthe Achaemenidpro-
a definitiveadjustmentto this picture. Of these ren- gramof officialart.In such a scenario,Egyptianarti-
deringsofBes thatincludea human-formlowerbody, sansmighthavedeliberatelyharkedbackto the pres-
most display the skirt (sometimesvery clearlyand tigeof New Kingdomimperialgloryin theireffortsto
sometimes[indicatedby a"?"] too summarilyto as- appealto customers.With regardto the notionof the
FIG. 8.
No. 1.4: Cast of an impressionof an unprovenanced
Achaemenidcylinderseal of carnelian, inscribedin
Old Persian. British Museumacc. no. 89133 (7. R.
~~~~~~~~~
.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~N Steuart Coll: 1849). Cast:KelseyMuseumacc. no.
1992.2.72, Bonner Cast Collectionno. 72. Photo
courtesyof the KelseyMuseumof Archaeology,
Universityof Michigan.
ilW -iL,,ea3,..O..O.... .
d~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FIG. 10.
No. 3.8: Detail of a clay labelfrom the
FIG. 9. PersepolisTreasuryimpressedwith stamp
No. 1. 6: Drawing of an impressionof an unprovenanced seal PTS 64s. OrientalInstitutePersepolis
Achaemenidcylinderseal of chalcedony.British Museum ExpeditionPT4 950. Photocourtesyof the 141
acc. no. 89352. Renderedby Yasamin Keshtkar. OrientalInstitute, Universityof Chicago.
KAMYAR ABDI
//~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~,
FIG. 11.
No. 3.12: Drawing of
the impression ofaaue
stamp seal used on a
tabletfrom the Mura3s2
archive of Nippur.
Istanbul Musuem acc. a
no. Const. 598. After
Donbazand Stolper FIG. 13.
1997: no. 58. No. 10.3: Drawing ofa
FIG. 12. terracottastatuettefrom
No. 6.5: Drawing of a gold earringfrom Susa Nippur. University Museum,
grave Sb 2 764. Louvre acc. no. 31 71. Philadelphia CBS 9454.
RenderedbyAnne Marie Lapitan after Rendered by Anne Marie
Ghirshman 1962: pl. 323. Lapitan afterLegrain 1930:
no. 22 1.
FIG. 14.
No. 3.10: Compositedrawingfrom multiple
impressionsof a cylinder seal used on tabletsfrom the
MurasMu archive of Nippur. Istanbul Museum acc.
nos. 5265, 5137, 12857, 12826, 12839. After
Legrain 1925: no. 925.
FIG. 15.
No. 10.2: Statuette of lapis lazuli compositionfromthe
Persepolis Treasury. Oriental Institute Persepolis
142 ExpeditionPT5 299. Photo courtesyof the Oriental
Institute, Universityof Chicago.
skirtedBes as a consciousarchaismreachingbackto shown in any formon tabletsof the Muravsuarchive

the eraof Egyptianimperialpower,animportantitem only no. 3.12 is associatedwith an Egyptianname
is PersepolisTreasurySeal (PTS) 64s, a stampseal (Bregstein1993: 604-9).
usedon a claylabel(PT4 950) in theTreasuryarchive
(our no. 3.8 [fig. 10]). The appearanceof PTS 64s TheKnot.Bes-imagesof the LatePeriodfromEgypt
appliedseveraltimesas the onlysealon thislabelsug- are either completelynaked or wear a leopard-skin
gests thatit was a seal representinga high-levelper- pelt. Accordingto Romano(1989: 196), when Late
sonagewhoseinsigniumin thisadministrative context PeriodBes figuresfromEgyptwearthe leopardpelt,
did not need to be countersealedby any otherindi- theyalso"invariably" weara belt.This beltis "almost
vidualor office."The reintroductionof the skirtin so always"tied with a single loop. Our no. 10.2 (fig.
many of these Bes-imagesfound outside Egypt in 15), the fragmentarystatuettefrom the Persepolis
Achaemenidtimesmay,in otherwords, consciously Treasury,exemplifiesthe Bes type wearingonly the
invokeNew Kingdomideasas a deliberate,ideologi- leopardpelt and a tied belt. But the belt here is tied
callymotivatedaspectof Iranianization. in a distinctive knot with a double loop-not the
Anotherelementin a postulatedIranianization single loop describedby Romanoas almostuniver-
leadingto the reintroductionof a numberof skirted sallythenormin LatePeriodEgypt.Severalexamples
Bes figures might conceivably be attributedto an fromsmall-scaleartsshow Bes displayinga largeknot
Achaemeniddistastefor nudityand explicitrender- thatis probablythis samedoubleknot (e.g., 1.4 [fig.
ings of the malegenitalia-a distastethatled to wide- 8], 1.7, 6.5 [fig. 12], and 10.3 [fig. 13]). Nos. 1.4,
spread(althoughnotuniversal)avoidanceof thenude 1.7, and 6.5 are all items in which the Bes-imageis
Bes with penis exposed. One could, however,frame incorporatedinto Iranianscenes (see below).
thisideadifferently.One couldsupposethatthecloth- There hasbeenmuchdiscussionon the garment
ing of Besin so manyof thesepreservedrenderingsof worn by the AchaemenidPersians(Herzfeld1941:
the deity as a full-figuredhumanreflecteda positive 259-60; Roes 1951; Goldman 1964; Tlhompson
interestinportraying theEgyptiandeityin a guisemore 1965; Beck 1972). Most emphasizethat a knotted
in keepingwith imperialnormsof representationof belt holds the garmenttogether.This specificknot-
humanfigures.Statedthis way, the clothingof Bes ted belt can be seen in profileon the figureof Darius
wouldbecomeanIranianization thateffectivelyincor- I at Bisitunand on renderingsof Persiandignitaries
poratedEgyptianBesintothecourtlycode of conduct on the Apadanareliefsat Persepoliswho have their
and self-presentation of Achaemenidaristocrats. bodies turnedto displaythe frontalview of the court
One cylinder seal impressed on tablets in the robe (fig. 16). It is most dramaticallyvisible on the
Mura'su archivefromNippurseemsclearlyto display Egyptian-made statueof DariusI fromSusa(Kervran
the Bes-imagenude exceptfora fringedbelt (ourno. et al. 1972; Stronach1974, as well as numerousim-
3.10 [fig. 14]). Of the otherthreeimagesof Bes as a agesin Razmjou,thisvolume).The kingis shownwith
fully humanformknown throughseals used on the a broadbeltdouble-knottedatthe front(fig. 17). The
Muras'udocuments,two definitelyshow Beswiththe detailsof the tieof theknotarerenderedmeticulously
skirt (our nos. 3.12 [fig. 11] and 3.13). The third and in preciselythe same formatas what we see (in
(our no. 3.14) is not preservedbelow the waist. No. minutescale)on the Bes statuettefromthe Persepolis
3.12 was used by an officialwith an Egyptianname, Treasury(fig. 15) as well as on the aforementioned
while our nos. 3.10 and 3.13 wereused by individu- representationsof the court robe on Persepolisre-
als with Babyloniannames. These seals all display liefs. Significantly,however, the knot on the Egyp-
variantsof the heroic encountermotifin the Greater tian Bes statuettefromthe Treasuryis renderedin-
Mesopotamiantraditionthatis revivedin a tremen- verselyto the way it is renderedon the Aclhaemenid
dous floruitin theAchaemenidempire(Garrisonand monuments.The Bes statuetterepresentsthisdouble
Root 2001). The factthatthe imagesoccuron cylin- knot according to the orientationseen on several
der sealsis also an index of the Iranianizationof Bes. other EgyptianmonumentsfromEgypt of the New 143
Interestingly, of the heroic encounters with Bes Kingdomor earlier.
KAMYAR ABDI
! /- ~ FIG. 17.
Drawingof the
mid-section
of
theEgyptian-
/ '\l | $ . :, madestatueof
Dariusfrom
\ Susa.After
<3 ~ oytt 1974:
fig. 24.
.~..f
.._..'.l- us to consider that the developmentof the formula
for the knottedbelt on the Persiancourtrobewas, to
beginwith, intendedto bringto officialAchaemenid
arta reminiscenceof Egyptiansymbolicalmotifsas-
sociated with divine/cosmic realms. Once fully as-
similatedinto the vocabularyof Iranianizedvisual
culture,the double-knottedbelt was then appliedto
Bes aspartofa processoflranianizationbasedon pre-
FIG. 16.
cedentsthatwere themselvesoriginallyEgyptian.'4
Relief showing Persian noble wearing.fluted tiara
and belted/knottedPersian court robe.North stair of
The Headdress. The EighteenthDynasty in Egypt
the Apadana at Persepolis. Photo byM. C. Root.
witnessedmanychangesin Bes'sphysicalappearance
There are manyways of renderinga knot. The and outfit.Examplesof the Bes-imagepredatingthe
particulardoubleknotwe see depictedon representa- EighteenthDynastyarepredominantlynakedor with
tions of the Persiancourt robe in Achaemenidartis minimalclothing. The first item of clothing to ap-
not paralleledin earlierwesternAsiatictraditionsto pear in the EighteenthDynasty was the feathered
the best of my knowledge.Indeed, knottedbelts are headdress, presumablymade from ostrich plumes
rarelydepictedin any formatin ancientNearEastern and apparently adopted from representations of
art.12The specificformoftheAchaemeniddoubleknot Anukis (Romano 1989: 78). By the Late Period,
comes fromEgypt.Althoughit is not a commonfea- nearlyevery Bes-imagewears a headdress of some
turein Egyptiandynasticartin thispreciseformat,the sort. The headdress appears in several different
parallelsthatdo existseemusuallyto emphasizeasso- forms,includingthe traditionallotusofNefertem,the
ciationswith the divine in some sense.13This topic atef crown, and a double-plumed arrangement,
deservesfurtherinvestigationby a specialistin thearea. amongothers(Romano 1989: 194). By farthe most
Types of knots carriedsignificantand distinc- commonheaddresswas, however,a rankof multiple
tiveassociationsin Egyptianiconography.Thus, for ostrichplumes that flaresout towardthe top, mim-
instance,theprotectiveknotof thegoddessIsis could icking the profile of the Egyptian cavetto cornice
stand alone as an amuleticdevice (Munster1968). (Romano 1989: 192). Anothercommon headdress
144 Whatis remarkablein the case of the double knot is takes the shape of the cavetto cornice but with no
the fact that our explorationof the Bes-imageleads feathersindicated(Romano 1989: 193).
None of the elaborateheaddress types can be headdress variationsalong the basic line between
seen on the examplesof the Bes-imagefoundin non- plumesand cavettocornice.Any tendencyto merge
Egyptianregionsof theAchaemenidempire,butboth the two formatsmustbe understoodwithinthe con-
themultiple-plumeandthe cornicetypeswerepopu- text of otherrepresentationsthatcontinueto follow
lar. Some splendidexamplesof the multipleostrich- Egyptianformulaequitefaithfillyon imagesthathave
plume headdresscan be seen on the Egyptian-type been Iranianizedin otherways.
amulets from Susa (e.g., nos. 5.5, 5.13-17 [Abdi
1999: fig. 5]) and Persepolis(e.g., no. 5.21[fig. 2]),
while the cornice-formheaddressis seenveryclearly THEMATIC CHANGES
on amuletssuch as nos. 5.6 and 5.7 (Abdi 1999: fig.
5). A variantform that emergesin the Achaemenid Besas a WingedLion-Creature.WingedBes-images
period seems to combinethe strongflaringvertical- firstappearin Egyptin theEighteenthDynasty.They
ity so prominentin theplumeheaddressandthecom- arefoundin the New Kingdombut not, accordingto
pact proportionsand generallymore straight-sided Romano's1989 tabulations,in the Third Intermedi-
aspectof the corniceheaddress.The resultingformis atePeriod.FortheLatePeriodRomanolistsonlyone
similarin outlineto the Persianflutedtiaraworn by example (his cat. no. 290). The small number of
PersiannoblesalongwiththePersiancourtrobefound wingedBes-imagesthatareknownalldisplaythewings
on reliefsat Persepolis.Here comparethe headdress eitherbentdownwardor straight(figs.18-19). These
worn by Bes on the gold pendantsfromPasargadae two examplesalsotypifythe factthatwingedBes-im-
(ourno. 6.4 [fig.7]) with figuresof Persiannobleson agesfromEgyptareassociatedwithbothnobilityand
the Apadanareliefsat Persepolis(fig. 16). commoners.Figure18 showswingedBes on a carved
The modulated headdress of Bes in some woodenpanelfroma royalbed foundin Tomb 46 in
Iranianizedrenderingsmay indicate a syncretistic the Valleyof the Kings,belongingto YuyaandTuya,
mergingof the two primarytraditionalEgyptianBes the parentsof QueenTiye, wife of AmenhotepIII of
headdresses-the flaringmultiple plumes and the the EighteenthDynasty(Romano1989:273-77 [cat.
morerigidcavettocornice-bringingBesvisuallyinto no. 87]; Daviset al. 1907: oppositep. 37). Figure19
the courtly Achaemenidsartorialvocabulary.It is showsa wingedBes-imageon a wallpaintingin a pri-
equallypossible that the Persianflutedtiara-as we vatehouse of the Deirel-Medinehvillageof the Nine-
know it fromrepresentationsin officialAchaemenid teenthorTwentiethDynasty(Romano1989:446-48
artcanonizedduringthe reign of DariusI-was the [cat.no. 152]; Bruyere1939: fig. 131).
originalsite of the syncretism(a formdevised delib- In the Achaemenidperiod outside Egypt, we
eratelyto makesome allusionto Egyptianiconogra- haveseveralexamplesof Besasa compositelion-crea-
phy). In this case, the modulatedforms seen occa- turewith wings and a Bes head (e.g., our nos. 1.2,
sionally on Bes-imagesin the empirewould follow 1.3, 1.8 [Abdi 1999: fig. 1], 3.7 [Abdi 1999: fig. 3],
the lead of the officiallydesigned program. Once 3.9 [fig. 20] 3.10 [fig. 14], and 8.1 [Abdi 1999: fig.
again,the concept of such deliberatesyncretismac- 8]). Bes as a wingedhuman-formbeingis not known
cordswithwhatwe see elsewherein Achaemenidart to me atpresent.(Ourno. 3.1 1 [fig.21] is an elusive
(Root 1979). The specificsof theparticularcasehere seal impression from the Muras"uarchive, but it
remainhighly speculativeand difficultto press fur- clearlyshows Bes graspingtwo winged animalsto
therat present.The issue does alertus to the possi- his torso-not a winged Bes.) The compositenature
bility that the pendantsfromPasargadae,discussed of the creaturesand the forms of the wings on the
earlierin termsofvariousinterpretiveoptions,should Bes-headed winged lion-creaturesare Iranianized
indeedbe consideredassimilatedratherthanmerely elements. Lion-creaturesabound in the art of the
adoptedBes-images (images that have undergone Achaemenidempire(viz., Garrisonand Root 2001
deliberatechangein theirIranianization). for many examples). Furthermorethe style of the
In any event, Bes-images on demonstrably wings on thesecreaturesis verydifferentfromthatof 145
Achaemenid-periodartifactsdisplaya wide rangeof New KingdomEgyptianwingedBes-images,seeining
KAMYAR ABDI
i BL~ - A -
FIG. i8. FIG. 19.

Drawing of one of the carved woodenpanels Drawing of a wall paintingfrom a New Kingdom
from a bed in the tomb of Yuya and Tuya private home at Deir el Medineh.After Romano
(Eighteenth Dynasty). Thebes, Valley of the 1989: 448 (cat. no. 152).
Kings. After Romano 1989: 277 (cat. no. 87).
to owe a greatdealto formsdevelopedin Achaemenid participatescanbe contextualizednowwithintherich

glyptic workshops. The winged Bes figuresof the iconographicalfloweringof hero imageryin Achae-
Achaemenidempiredisplaysoftlycurvingwings.The menid artas it developsin Persepolis(Garrisonand
soleLatePeriodEgyptianexampleofwingedBescata- Root 2001: esp. 53-60 on meaningsof the hero).
logued by Romano,by contrast,continuesto show Heroesof alltypesemergein thisenvironmentin the
Bes with straightwings (Romano1989: 828-34 [cat. artof seals(andotherportablearts),eventhoughthe
no. 290]; Steindorff1946: 157-temple carvingdat- officialart of the same milieu remainsrigidlycodi-
ing to NectaneboI [r. ca. 380-362 B.C.E.]). fiedandiconographically restricted.This integration
of Besintotheheroicfieldis perhapsthemoststriking
Bes as an Iranian Hero. In numerousinstancesBes and unambiguousfeatureof his Iranianization. The
emergesin the Achaemenidempireas a participant stagewas certainlyset for the emergenceof Bes as an
in scenes of heroic encounter of the control type Iranianhero in the very largecorpus of seals docu-
(where the hero graspstwo creaturesin a balanced mentedon the PersepolisFortificationtablets,which
composition).While the traditionsof Bes in Egypt display so many variationson the hero (sometimes
include contexts in which the deity controls other franklyirreverentandhumorouslikeBeshimself).But
creatures,thesecarrya genderdistinction:femaleBes no imageof Bes has been identifiedamongthe hero
holds snakes,lizards,anddeserthares;maleBes only sealson the Fortificationtablets-or indeedon anyof
graspssnakes(Romano1998: 96). In Bes-imagesof the sealsused on PF tablets1-2087, which makeup
the Achaemenidempire male Bes controls various the researchcorpus of Garrisonand Root. This, as
types of animals and creatures:gazelles or goats, discussedbelow,offersa crucialchronological marker.
horses,lions,wingedlion-creatures, andothermythi-
calcreaturesincludingwingedBes-headedlion-crea- Bes Incorporatedinto OtherIranian Iconographic
tures(viz., our nos. 1.3, 1.6 [fig. 9], 1.8, 2.11, 1.12, Systems.SCENES WITH PEDESTALCREATURES. Ourno.
146 3.8 [fig. 10], 3.10 [fig. 14], 3.11 [fig. 21], 6.5 [fig. 3.9 (fig.20) is a sealknownfromthe Murasuarchive
12]). The proliferationof heroicmodesin which Bes that displaystwo Bes-headedwinged lion-creatures
FIG. 20.
No. 3.9: Drawing of an impressionof a cylinderseal
impressedon a tabletfrom the Murasu archive of
Nippur. Istanbul Museum TuM 202. After
Kruckman 1933: no. LXXVIII.
FIG. 21.
No. 3.11: Drawing of an impressionof a stamp seal
/1
used on a tabletfrom the Murasu archive ofNippur.
Istanbul Museum Const. 552. After Donbaz and
Stolper 1997: no. 18.
supportedby pedestalcreaturesin the formof lions. 414 B.C.E. anda governorof "Abar-Nahara" (Across-
Pedestalcreaturesalsofigurein twounexcavatedseals the-River)between407 and401 B.C.E. (Stolper1987:
in our catalogue:no. 1.6 (fig. 9) and no. 1.7. In all 392). These observationssuggestthatfromthe early
threeof theserepresentations the Bes-imageis partof fifthcentury(when we arelooking througlhthe lens
an elaboratescene involvingIranianritualsymbols. of the Fortificationtablets)to the late fifth century
Sealswithpedestalcreatureshavebeen shownto de- (whenwe are lookingthroughthe lens of these cor-
fine a special categoryof elite representationin the poraof sealedtablets)theuse ofpedestalanimalscon-
Achaemenidempire(Dusinberre1997). Basedon the tinues to be restrictedto individualsof high status.
evidence from the Persepolis Fortificationtablets, Within that framework, no. 3.9 shows us that
Dusinberrepoints out thatin the earlyAchaemenid IranianizedBes was operatingas an importantimage,
period,pedestalanimals/compositecreaturesappear filly assimilatedinto the codes of elitepresentationin
on thesealsof a handfulof veryimportantpeopleand/ sceneschargedwith Iranianreligiousassociations.
or imperialoffices.These sealsincludea royal-name BES IN IRANIAN CULT SCENES. Cylindersealscon-
seal of DariusI (PFS 1683*) as well as seals of very tinue to provideour most importantevidencehere,
exaltedcourtpersonagessuchas Ustana,thesatrapof displayingBes-imagesin scenesthatareotherwiseIra-
Babylonat the beginningof the fifth centuryB.C.E. nian.Egyptianizingmotifsgenerallyarefamiliarto us
(see also Garrison 1998 for further discussion). on seals of the Achaemenidperiod. One prime ex-
Dusinberre'sarticle,contextualizinga cylinderseal ampleis PFS38 on theFortificationtablets(Garrison
excavatedat Sardis,demonstratesthatpedestalimag- and Root 2001: 83-85 [cat.no. 16]). This is the seal
erywas acceptableforan elitepersonageoperatingin of the royalwifeIrtasduna(Grk.Artystone),incorpo-
the satrapyof Lydiaas well as in the Mesopotamian- ratingthe motifof Harpocratesperchedin a papyrus
Iranianheartland.(The Sardissealdoes not incorpo- thicket.The challengeis to assessthe meaningof the
ratean imageof Bes. Indeed,no sealwith Bes is so far Egyptianelementsin theirnew culturalcontext.Seals
known from Achaemenid Sardis [see Dusinberre deployingthe Bes-imagemay sometimesuse the im-
2003].) ageryas a decorativeelementnot meantto be particu-
Interestingly,our excavatedexample of a seal larly chargedwith meaning.But it is dangerousto
withpedestalcreaturesthatdoes incorporatethe Bes- makethatassumption.Certainlyin manycasestheBes-
image(our no. 3.9 [fig. 20]) was used on a tabletre- imageseemspivotal,includedin meaningfulwaysinto
cordingtaxesbearingthe nameof a Marduk-zer-ibni, representational schemesdepictingworship.
son of Belsunu,and on anothertabletfromthe Kasr No. 1.4 (fig. 8) is particularlyinteresting.Bes
Archive(Stolper1985; 1988: 141 n. 32). Belsunuis standsfrontally,holdingbarsams orlilies-the former 147
recordedas a governorof Babylonbetween417 and suggestingIranianreligiousritual(Ward1910: 340),
KAMYAR ABDI
FIG. 22.
Drawing of a section of the Pazyrykrugfrom afifth-century nomadic tombin Siberia. Adaptedfromjettmar
1967:fig. 103.
the lattersuggestingroyalcult. FlankingBes are two enancedgold necklacedisplayinga centralBes-head

menin Persiancourtrobesupholdingthewingedsym- elementflankedby smallersquareplaquesshowing
bol ofAhuramazda withits atlasposturefullof cosmic equestrians in the Iranian riding costume. The
implications(Root 1979). The sceneis accompanied plaques are reminiscentof figures woven into the
by anOld Persianinscriptionthatreads,"Arsaka,son fifth-centuryPazyrykrugexcavatedfroma royalno-
ofA0(a)iyab(a)sata" (Schmnitt 1981:37-38). Bothper- madic burial in Siberia (Rudenko 1970: pl. 174
sonalnamesareIranian,and theiroccurrenceherein Lerner 1991; here fig. 22).'5 Althoughthe Pazyryk
Old Persianstronglysuggeststhatthis sealbelonged rugdoes notincorporateBes-imagesintoitsprogram,
to an eliteindividualof Iranianethnicity.It thuspro- four wooden plaques fromthe same site are carved
vides an unambiguousexampleof the appropriation as Bes heads (Lerner1991: 8; Rudenko 1970: pls.
of the Bes-imageby an Iranianwho has incorporated 91-92). They formedpart of a horse bridle. While
Bes into the visualcodes of Iranianreligion.The seal not technicallyunderthecontrolof theAchaemenids,
was collectedearlyand seems certainlygenuine.Its the society representedby these elaborateCentral
use of Old Persian in a monolingual inscription Asianburialswas in directcontactwith the empire.
stronglysuggestsa datein thereignof Xerxesorlater, The Bes-headplaqueslook like local products,not
sincethefirstknownmonolingualroyal-nameinscrip- carved in a style familiarto us from mainstream
tions on sealsonly appearat this time. Achaemenidassociations.Yettheirpresencehereim-
BES IN OTHER IRANIAN REPRESENTATIONALCON- plies that Bes, as infused with new energy within
TEXTS. Additionalpresentationsof Bes show his in- Iranianizedcontextsin the heartof the empire,had
tegrationinto Iranianschemesof representation.On also made an impact on the eastern fringes of
cylindersealno. 1.2 (Abdi 1999:fig. 1),wherea hero Achaemenidinfluence.
controlsBes-headedlion-creatureswith the winged
symbolofAhuramazdaoverhead,a fruiteddatepalm
also appears.This elementis considereda hallmark CHRONOLOGY OF THE IRANIANIZATION
of Achaemenidroyal-nameseals (Schmidt 1957: 8; OF THE BES-IMAGE
Dusinberre1997: 107-8; Garrisonand Root 2001).
Like the pedestal motif, it seems to have connoted Armedwith some examples of the Bes-imagefrom
elevated status within an Iranianizedsphere of art archivalcontexts, we may propose some basic pa-
148
production. rametersfor the Iranianizationof Bes. It is safe to
Our no. 6.2 (Abdi 1999: fig. 6) is an unprov- assume that the Bes-imagewas first introduced to
Iranianaudiences in a majorway after the annex- affirmsour understandingthat before the mid-fifth
ation of the Levantor in the course of the firstcon- centuryseal motifsincludingIranianizedBes-imag-
quest of Egypt in 525 B.C.E. But the main burst of ery have become demonstrablypopular. The Ur
creativenew definitionsin visual cultureunder the hoard,with a terminusPostquemof 465-460 B.C.E.
Achaemenids seems to have taken place under for its deposition based on numismatic grounds
Darius and Xerxes. It is likely that Darius'srecon- (Legrain1951; Collon 1996: 66), representsa col-
quest of Egypt in 518 B.C.E. provided a critical lection of artist'smodels in the formof impressions
stimulusof the observationstagerightin Egypt.And of seals,coins, andmetalworkdesigns.Thus ournos.
certainlyalso in the early years of Darius we wit- 3.1-7 (Abdi 1999: fig. 3) show imagesof Iranianized
ness the influx into the imperialheartlandof Egyp- Bes not only in existenceby thatdateat the latestbut
tians and theirculturalaccouterments-offering an alsoincorporatedinto the toolkitof anartistpresum-
on-site arenafor furtherobservation.Afterthe con- ably poised to use these images as models for any
solidationof the empireunderDariusI, Bes gained numberof variantschemes.In the space of less than
popularity and entered the Iraniandesign reper- thirtyyearsafterDarius'sreconquestof Egyptin 518
toire. The lackof Bes-imageson sealsin the Fortifi- B.C.E., Bes appearsin Iranianizedformon PTS 64s,
cation archive (509-494 B.C.E.) iS important. An used in an elite administrativecontext at Persepolis
argumentex silentio is alwaysrisky, but in this in- andsubsequentlyon a varietyof otherdatableglyptic
stance it is worth hazardingbecause the corpus is evidence.We can also look at some laterdatingevi-
so largeand representssuch a broad cross-section dence with the aid of the sealsused on tabletsin the
of a well-traveledsociety(Garrisonand Root 2001). Mura'suarchiveof Nippur(Bregstein1993; Donbaz
The one example of a Bes-image from the and Stolper 1997).
smaller,moresociallyrestricted,andlaterPersepolis As table 12 shows, the earliestand the latestex-
Treasurycorpus(492-460 B.C.E.) is crucial.PTS 64s amples of the Bes-imagefrom the Mura"su archive
(our no. 3.8 [fig. 10]) shows that sometimewithin (our nos. 3.9 [fig. 20] and 3.10 [fig. 14]) both dem-
these date parametersa fully IranianizedBes-image onstratetraitsof a fully IranianizedBes-in stylistic
had entered the repertoireof motifs at Persepolis, qualities(the curved wings) and in iconographical
where it was used by someone workingin a high- contextualization(the pedestal imagerycombined
level post in the royal treasury.UnfortunatelyPTS withelementsof Iranianreligiousimageryforno. 3.9;
64s is onlyknownto us throughthisone sealedbulla, the Bes taking the part of a hero controlling Bes-
which does not bear an inscription.Nor is the seal headedwinged lion-creaturesforno. 3.10). No. 3.9
knownto us in associationwith anyotherseals,thus was made before the 41st year of ArtaxerxesI (i.e.,
potentiallyofferinglinks thatmightfurtherrefineits 424 B.C.E.), when it was used in the archive;no. 3.10
usage date here. (On cross-linkingof Treasuryseals was madebeforethe 11thyearof DariusII (i.e., 412
as a method of inquiry, see Gates, this volume.) A B.C.E.), its first attestedusage date. Obviously one
seal bearingthe Bes-imageis also now known to us
througha cache of sealed anepigraphicbullaeexca- TABLE12.
vated by AkbarTadjvidi in the eastern Persepolis Usage-dated Examplesof the Bes-image
Fortification(ourno. 3.16; Tadjvidi1976: fig. 147). from theMuras!u, Archive
This collection of uninscribedbullaeis not directly
associatedwith the Fortificationtablets(whichwere Date Bregstein no. Abdi no. Form
excavated from rooms in the Fortification at the 424 (41 Al) 208 3.9 Bes-headed winged lion-
creatures
northeastsector). The repertoireof styles and im-
420 (3 DII) 210 3.14
ages appearsclose to those on the Treasurytablets
419 (4 DII) 209 3.13
and labels. It would seem, based on this evidence,
417 (6 DII) 206 3.12
that the Iranianizationof Bes had been achievedby 412 (11 DII) 207 3.10 Bes-headed winged lion- 149
sometimearound490 B.C.E. or slightlylater. creatures controlled by
Evidencefromthe hoardof sealingsfromUr re- frontal Bes
KAMYAR ABDI
cannotdismissthepossibilitythatthesesealsmayhave tion worksthatrequiredthe skillsof craftsmenfrom

been madelong beforetheywereimpressedon these the edges of the empire, including Egypt. These
particulardatedtablets.Perhapswhatis mostimpor- craftsmenshould be creditedwith introducingBes
tantaboutthe Nippurevidenceis the clearindication into the imperial heartlandby bringing along ex-
it provides for individuals with Egyptian and amplesof the Bes-imagefromEgypt.The abundance
Babylonian names operating in this arena within of Bes amuletsfromSusaand Persepolisreflectsthe
Mesopotamia,with Babylonian-namedpeople out- presence of Egyptiansin these imperialcentersand
numbering Egyptian-namedpeople in the use of the intermingling of Egyptians and Iranians that
IranianizedBes-imageryon theirseals. would have provided a fertileenvironmentfor the
observationstageof the Iranianizationprocess.
Observationof the Bes-imageby Iranianspaved
CONCLUSION the way for the next stage-adoption. Some aspects
of the myth surroundingBes, particularlyhis pro-
As I outlined at the beginning of this article, the tectivefunctions,mayhave appealedto some Irani-
Iranianization of Bes canbe viewedas a culturalpro- ans,but othersmayhavesimplybegunusingthe Bes-
cess, with the followingstages:observation-* adop- imagefor its originalEgyptiancapacity-that is, as a
tion -4 assimilation-X appropriation.Prior to the talismanagainstnoxious creatures.Those Iranians
rise of the Achaemenids,as earlyas mid-secondmil- who found some similaritiesbetween Bes and their
lennium B.C.E., the Bes-imagewas restrictedto the own beliefsmay then havebegun the appropriation
easternMediterraneanworld, where it had spread and assimilationstages in the Iranianizationof the
throughprolongedcontactwith Egypt.Bes seemsto Bes-image.Physicalchangeswere made to Bes, and
haveacquiredsomeculturalsignificancein thecoastal he began to appearin a varietyof thematiccontexts
areabut hardlyexpandedbeyond the bordersof the of a fullyIraniantype.
Levant.The handfulof examplesthatmadetheirway The changes mentioned above, especially the
to UpperMesopotamiaweremostprobablybrought thematicchanges, demonstratethe newly acquired
backfromEgyptas booty by the Assyriantroops.In culturalsignificanceof Bes in his Iraniancontext.We
centraland southernMesopotamiaand the Iranian arenot yet in a positionfullyto graspthe significance
plateau,Bes was virtuallyunknown. of the situation.Nevertheless,the visualrecordsug-
The AchaemenidPersiansarose in the land of gests that despite the plethora of IranianizedBes-
Fars in southern Iran in the mid-firstmillennium images,Egyptian-typeBes remainedpopularaswell.
B.C.E. and conqueredthe entireNearEastin less than The image collection representedby the Ur hoard
two generations. This rapid expansion brought indicatesone tangiblemechanismwherebyEgyptian
people from differentculturesinto sudden contact Bes andIranianizedBes coexistedin theAchaemenid
and triggereda complexprocess of culturalinterac- empire(Abdi 1999: fig. 3), perhapsenjoyingrather
tion. Ratherabruptly,people fromdrasticallydiffer- differentconnotations.
ent culturesfound themselvesin close contactwith I am unableto end this narrativewith a tidy de-
othercultureswithunfamiliarcharacteristics, includ- scriptionof the finalyearsof the careerof Bes in the
ing distinctivesystemof symbolsandicons. Iranians Achaemenidempire.We currentlylackfirmlydated
may have made theirinitialobservationof the Bes- evidence.Besprobablycontinuedto be popularwell
imageat thistime.Iraniantroopsmayhaveoriginally into the lastdecadesof the Achaemenidperiod.I am
been exposed to the Bes-imageupon the conquest so farunawareof any datato suggestthathis career
of theLevantandEgypt.This mayexplainthepopu- continued in westernAsiatic lands formerlyunder
larityof Bes amongAchaemenidmilitaryunits.16 Bes the Achaemenidhegemonyafterthe fall of the em-
seems to have gained popularityboth among com- pire. Perhapsthe Macedonianinvasionwas the ter-
monerand elite Iraniansonce the tumultuousearly minatingpoint for the IranianizedBes, while his
150
empire-buildingyears had passed and the Achae- Egyptiancounterpartcontinued to be veneratedin
menid statedevotedmore time to massiveconstruc- his homelandwell into Ptolemaicand Romantimes
-~~~~ -
-~~ |
FIG. 23. FIG. 24.

No. 11.3: Leftfragment of a wall relief displaying a No. 11.2: Fragment of a wall relief displaying a head
head of Besfrom Persepolis.Iran National Museum of Besfrom Persepolis,apparentlyjoining at the right
acc. no. P-180. Photo courtesyof the Oriental of no. 11.3. Iran National Museum. Photo courtesyof
Institute, University of Chicago. the Iran National Museum, Tehran.
(Hoffinann2000: 199-205; Frankfurter1998: 124- numerousexamplesof the Bes-imagethatcould only

31 and 169-74). havebeencommissionedby individualsof exaltedsta-
Why, amongthe numerousEgyptiandeities,did tus. How fardid thisverticalmovementtakeBes?To
only Bes enjoy such popularityin the Achaemenid judge by the iconographyof severalsealswe havedis-
empire?Some of Bes's characteristicsset him apart cussed,thelevelsBes attainedreachedthe upperech-
frommost Egyptiandeities. On a physicallevel, his elonsof courtlylife.Tojudge by thenumberof intrin-
comicalfiguremayhavemadeBes moreattractiveto sicallypreciousitems,suchas thegoldpendantsfrom
ordinaryIraniansthanothermoremajesticEgyptian Pasargadaeand the gilded silverphiale (no. 8.1, un-
deities.'7On a functionallevel, Bes offereda fairly fortunatelyunprovenanced), Bes attained enough
simplemythologywith a largenumberof usefulben- statureto decorate gifted luxury items that would
efits,includingprotectionagainstnoxiousbeastsand have circulatedamongkings and courtiers.
physical harm, as well as other practicaldomestic The as yet poorlyunderstoodfragmentsof a Bes
functions(Bresciani1992). These benefitstoo may relieffrom Persepolis(nos. 11.3 and 11.2 [figs. 23
have appealedmore to ordinarypeople, who were and 24 respectively]-possiblyjoining fragmentsof
moreconcernedwith dailyactivitiesthanthe smooth the same monument) suggest that an installation
operationof a mythologicalcosmos, forwhich other somewhere in the heartland imperial capital was
Egyptiandeities were responsible. Further,as the decoratedwith a programof Bes-imagery.Was it a
centerof a popularcult,Besmayhavebeenintroduced garrisoninstallationwhereBes exercisedapotropaic
to Iraniansby theirEgyptianwives,fiiends,comrades- functions?A birthingchamberof some sort?And in
in-arms,orbusinesspartners,whereasthegreatEgyp- the serviceof people of what ethnic identifications?
tiancults,controlledby specialpriesthoods,werenot Similarly,the fascinatingrelieffromtheAchaemenid-
readilyaccessibleto ordinaryfolks. period heroon in Lycia (no. 11.1) raises important
With this paper I hope to have establishedthat issues about the complex practicesof acculturation
the introduction and adoption of Bes into the among diverse peoples-surely elites in this case-
Achemenidempirewas a horizontalprocess involv- populatinga multiethnicempire.While these issues
ing the commonpeople of Egyptand Iran.But, once arewellbeyondthescopeofmy commentaryhereand
adopted, Bes seems to have attractedthe interestof my arenaof expertise,I can offersome generalideas 151
membersof highersocialclasses,as indicatedby the thatmightencourageothersto takeup the challenge.
KAMYAR ABDI
Empires,as they become establishedand grow, encouragingbeliefsabouttheeffectivenessof Bes and

typicallyface problems of internalcommunication his protectivepowersthatcutacrossclasslines,seems
and control.On the one hand,Achaemenidpractice to have servedboth of these bindingpurposes. Bes
used strategiesof divisa et impera,recognizingand came to be a symbol congruentwith virtues of the
condoninglocalethnicitiesandtheircultsso thateach Mazdaismthatwasdisseminatedin officialroyalproc-
componentgroupof the empiremaintainedits iden- lamations.Withoutthreateningthe ideologiesof the
tity. On the other hand, Achaemenidpracticealso stateand the beliefsof Mazdaism,Bes could symbol-
developedstrategiesfor bindingtogetherthe cadres ize thepersonalstrivingsforprotection,goodwill,and
of imperialadministratorsacross vast stretches of humorthatoperatedfluidlyamongworkers,soldiers,
space with special cults, codes of dress and behav- and nobles (andamongwomen as well as men)who
ior, preferencesfor certaingoods, and the like. En- servedthe Kingof Kingsthroughouthis realm.'8ni
couragingtheuse of the Bes-image,andalsoperhaps
Appendix:UpdatedCatalogue
fBes-Images
Thesetables(1-11) incorporateBes-imagessofarassembledfrom thepoliticaland temporalpurviewoftheAchaemenidempireoutside

Egypt. Theydo not incorporateBes-imagesfrom regionsoutsidethedirectcontrolof theempire.A dashedline separatesnew additions
to eachtablefrom thosealreadypublishedin Abdi1999.
Full citationsfor referencesin the tablesappearin "WorksCited"at theend of this article.Regardingthoseartifactsin thecatalogue
that are illustratedwithin thearticle,no attempthas beenmadeto renderthemaccordingto a consistentscale. Thereadershoulduse
thefiguresonlyas a resourceon the imageryitself
TABLE 1. CYLINDER SEALS
No. Category Material Dimensions Placeof discovery Repository Referenceno. Bibliography

1.1 cylinderseal red-brown 32 x 16 mm bought in Ashmolean 1889.360 Buchanan1966:
agatebreccia Lebanon, 1889 Museum 121, no. 675
1.2 cylinderseal limestone 32 x 16 mm Babylon, BerlinMuseum VA 6972 Moortgat1940:
find no.29 278 no. 758
1.3 cylinderseal chalcedony 21 x 10.5 mm antiquities BerlinMuseum VA 3387 Moortgat1940:
market,1907 no. 764
1.4 cylinderseal carnelian 28 x 12 mm antiquitiesmarket; BritishMuseum BM 89133 Wiseman1959:
J. R. Steuart no. 103
Coll., 1849
1.5 cylinderseal blue 24 x 12 mm antiquitiesmarket; BritishMuseum BM 129571 Carnegie1908:
chalcedony SoutheskColl. 108,no. 34, pl. 8
1.6 cylinderseal chalcedony BritishMuseum BM 89352 Wiseman1959:
no.106
1.7 cylinderseal NayyeriColl. Graziani1978
152 1.8 cylinderseal agate 23 x 8 mm Bibliotheque Delaporte1910:
Nationale,Paris no.502
TABLE 2. STAMP SEALS (CONTINUED)
No. Category Material Dimensions Place of discovery Repository Referenceno. Bibliography

2.1 stampseal chalcedony 16 mm Bibliotheque 1085a Boardman1970:
Nationale,Paris no. 164
2.2 stampseal chalcedony 15 mm Museumof Fine 27.665 Boardman1970:
Arts, Boston no. 165
2.3 stampseal rock crystal 15 mm BritishMuseum BM 115596 Boardman1970:
no. 166
2.4 stampseal 17 mm Boardman1970:
no. 167
2.5 stampseal "green Cyprus(?) once SoutheskColl. Boardman1970:
agatejasper" no. 168
2.6 stampseal blue 19 x 13 x 8 mm bought in Beirut AshmoleanMuseum 1889.429 Buchanan& Moorey
chalcedony 1988: no. 468
2.7 scarab greenjasper 14 x 10 x 8 mm AshmoleanMuseum 1941.1130 Buchanan&Moorey
1988: no.494
2.8 scarab brownish- 17 x 13 x 9 mm AshmoleanMuseum 1938.875 Buchanan& Moorey
greenjasper 1988: no. 495
2.9 stampseal white quartz 23 x 15 x 18 mm KennaColl., Musee d'artet 20563 Vollenweider
Geneva d'histoirede Geneve 1983: no. 31
2.10 scarab darkgreen 18 x 15 x 10 mm KennaColl., Musee d'artet 20427 Vollenweider
jasper Geneva d'histoire de Geneve 1983: no. 126
2.11 scarab greenjasper Tomb L 24 Johns 1933: no.
cAtlit,Palestine 935 99, fig. 85
2.12 scarab jasper 16 x 12 x 8mm GraveNo. 7, KL 64:116g Poppa 1978: 63,
Kamidel-Loz table8:7,17
2.13 scarab faience 17 x 13 x 10 mm Deve Hiiyiik AshmoleanMuseum Moorey 1980:ro.

488
2.14 scarab carnelian 13 x 8.5 mm antiquitiesmarket Nunn 2000: no. 33

2.15 scarab faience 16.5 x 13 x 10 mm antiquitiesmarket Nunn 2000: no. 36
2.16 scarab chalcedony 18 x 13 x 8 mm antiquitiesmarket Nunn 2000: no. 37
2.17 scarab carnelian 20 x 15 mm antiquitiesmarket Nunn 2000: no. 38
2.18 scarab chalcedony 17.7 x 12.4mm Byblos Nunn 2000: no.39
2.19 scarab jasper 17x 13.7x3.3rnm Syria Nunn 2000: no.40
2.20 scarab jasper 16.5x 12.5x 10.5mmantiquitiesmarket Nunn 2000: no. 41
2.21 scarab jasper 17 x 12 x 10mm Lebanon Nunn 2000: no.43
2.22 scarab steatite 16 x 12 mm Byblos Nunn 2000: no. 44
2.23 scarab jasper h. 32 mm antiquitiesmarket Nunn 2000: no. 45
2.24 scarab jasper 15 x 12 x 9.5 mm antiquitiesmarket Nunn 2000: no. 46
2.25 scarab jasper 12 x 15 x 9.5 mm Byblos Nunn 2000: no. 47
2.26 scarab jasper 17 x 13 x 10mm Syria Nunn200)0:no.48
2.27 scarab carnelian 14 x 10.5 x 5 mm antiquitiesmarket Nunn 2000: no. 75 153
2.28 scarab glazed steatite13 x 10x5.5 mm AI-Mina Ashmolean MN133 Buchanan&Moorey
Museum 1988: no.31
KAMYARABDI
TABLE 2. STAMP SEALS (CONTINUED)

2.29 scarab steatite 18 x 15 x 6mm Ras Shamara Stucky 1973: 286
2.30 scarab steatite 14 x 9.5 x 6 mm antiquitiesmarketBritish 105068 Giveon 1985: no.
Museum 161
TABLE 3. SEAL IMPRESSIONS

3.1 stampseal clay Ur BritishMuseum Legrain1951: no. 727;
impression Collon 1996: 5b
3.2 stampseal clay Ur BritishMuseum BM 212 Legrain1951: no. 728;
impression Collon 1996: 5d
impression Collon 1996: 5c
impression Collon 1996: 5a
impression Collon 1996: 5f
impression Collon 1996: 5g
impression Collon 1996: 3c-d
3.8 clay ball w/ 3 clay Persepolis PT 4 950; Schmidt 1939: 43, fig.
impressionsof Treasury Seal no. 64 25; Schmidt 1957:
samestampseal pl. 2, 13
3.9 cylinderseal clay 29 x 11 mm Murasu Ancient Orient TuM 202 Kriickmann1933: no.
impression archive, Museum,Istanbul LXXVIII;Bregstein
on tablet Nippur 1993: no. 208
3.10 impressions clay 24 x 16 mm Murasu Ancient Orient 5265, 5137, Legrain1925: no. 925;
of 3 similar archive, Museum,Istanbul 12857, Bregstein1993:
cylinderseals Nippur 12826, no. 207
on 6 tablets 12839
3.11 stampseal clay 19 x 16mm Mura'su AncientOrient Const. 552 Bregstein 1993: no.
impression archive, Museum,Istanbul 21 1; Donbaz &
on tablet Nippur Stolper 1997: no. 18
3.12 stampseal clay 22 x 18 mm Murasu Ancient Orient Const. 598 Bregstein1993: no.
impression archive, Museum,Istanbul 206; Donbaz &
on tablet Nippur Stolper 1997: no. 58
3.13 cylinderseal clay 15 x 11 mm Muras'u Ancient Orient 12836 Bregstein1993:
impression archive, Museum,Istanbul no. 209
on tablet Nippur
3.14 cylinderseal clay 21 x 16 mm Murasiu Ancient Orient 6129 Bregstein1993:
impression archive, Museum,Istanbul no. 210
on tablet Nippur
14 3.15 seal clay Murasuiarchive CBS 4020 Legrainl92S: no. 77S
154
impression Ni ppur
3.16 seal clay Persepolis IranNational Tadjvidi 1976: fig. 147

impression Fortification Museum
TABLE 4. POTTERY VESSELS

4.1 jar pottery 240x145mm DeveHuyuk (C)1913.640 Moorey1980:20,no.28
4.2 vase pottery Tel Mevorakh Reg. no.484, Stern 1976: pl. 32A
loc. 125
4.3 jug pottery TellJemmeh Jemmehno. 78C Stern 1976: pl. 32C
4.4 juglet pottery TellJemmeh Jemmehno. 78F Stern 1976: pl. 32F; 1984:
fig. 211
4.5 jug pottery TellJemmeh Jemmehno. 78M Stern 1976: pl. 33B; 1984:
fig. 210
4.6 fragmen- pottery TellJemmeh JemmehE Stern 1976: pl. 32B
taryvase XXXVI 25/14
4.7 fragmen- pottery TellJemmeh JemmehE Stern 1976: pl. 32E
taryvase XXXVI 26/8
4.8 jug pottery Samariaregion Coil. of Stern 1976: pl. 33A
Carmen
& Louis
Warschaw
4.9 jug pottery Coll. of Stern 1976: pl. 32D
M. Dayan
4.10 jug pottery Tell el-Hesi, H 81-20668 Bennett& Blakely1989:
Substratum figs. 177-78
Vd, Pit 1.12.249
4.11 pot sherd pottery Persepolis IranNational Tadjvidi 1976: fig. 137
Fortification Museum
TABLE 5. AMULETS
No. CategoryMaterial Dimensions Place of discovery Repository Referenceno. Bibliography

5.1 amulet faience Dor, Palestine Stern 1995: fig. 7.6.3
5.4 amulet/ light greenish- PersepolisTreasury, IranNational PT6 359 Schmidt 1957: pl. 41:7
inlay blue frit Room 64, plot HG 91 Museum
5.5 amulet faience 70 x 45 x 14 mm Masjid-iSoleiman IranNational GMIS.701 Ghirshman1976:
Museum pl. CX3
5.6 amulet faience h. 41 mm Susa Louvre Sb 3565 Romano 1989: no. 277
5.13 amulet faience h. 37mm Susa Louvre Sbl10149 Romanol1989:no. 284 155|
5.14 amulet faience h. 31 mm Susa Louvre Sbl10150 Romano 1989: no. 285
KAMYARABDI
TABLE 5. AMULETS (CONTINUED)

5.17 amulet faience Susa, Village Louvre G. S. 2042 Ghirshman1954: 37,
perse-achemenide pl. XVII:1
5.18 amulet faience Susa, Village Louvre G. S. 2123 Ghirshman1954: 37,
perse-achemenide pl. XVII:5
5.19 amulet faience Necropolis of'Ain Romano 1989: no. 288
el-Helwe, Lebanon
5.20 amulet lapis lazuli IranNational Unpublished
Museum
5.21 amulet ? Persepolis IranNational 2024 Unpublished
Museum
5.22 amulet faience Persepolis IranNational 2064 Unpublished
Museum
5.23 amulet faience Persepolis IranNational 7631 Unpublished
Museum
5.24 amulet glazedfrit h. 14mm GraveP. 255, Ur British U.12797 Woolley 1962: 115
Museum
5.25 amulet glazed h. 24 mm GraveP. 60, Ur British U.16798 Woolley 1962: 122
pottery Museum
5.26 amulet faience 24.5 x 18 mm Graveno.34, KL 64:314b Poppa 1978: 100,
Kamidel-Loz table 16: 34,6
5.27 amulet faience 24 x 25 x 9 mm Babylon British Reade 1986: 83,
Museum no. 43, pl. IVf
5.28 amulet faience Susa Louvre Sb3564 Romano 1989: no. 246
5.29 amulet faience Cyprus Romano 1989: no. 275
5.30 amulet faience Cyprus Romano 1989: no. 269
TABLE 6. PERSONAL ORNAMENTS
No. Category Material Dimensions Placeofdiscovery Repository Referenceno. Bibliography

6.1 necklace faience Dor, AreaBI ? Sternand Sharon1987:pl. 27B
6.2 necklace gold h. 40 mm antiquitiesmarket Metropolitan 65.169 Porter1984: no. 65
Museumof Art
6.3 medallion gold d. 43.5 mm "The Oxus Treasure" BritishMuseum Dalton 1964: no. 32, pl. XII:32
6.4 medallions gold Pasargadae IranNational Stronach1978: fig. 86:1,
Museum pl. 154 a-c
6.5 earring gold d. 50 mm Susa, Graveno. Sb 2764 Louvre AO 3171 Ghirshman1962: pl. 323
6.6 medallions gold ? Rehm 1992: fig. 36
6.7 medallion gold h. 27 mm Talesh, Gilan IranNational INM 2206 Unpublished
Museum
16 6.8 medallion gold 24 x 17 mm Graveno. 2, Dosaran Zanjan Rahbar1997: 24,

Cemetery,Zanjan fig. 2, fig. 3:18
6.9 medallion gold 8 x 4 mm ?Iran National 2426/59 unpublished

Museum
TABLE 7. CIPPI

7.1 cippus white stone 88 83 31 mm Nippur, AreaWA 13, Level
x x Baghdad 11 N 61 Johnson1975
II 1, the "AchaemenidChapel"
7.2 cippus blackstone 94 x 91 x 18mm Susa IranNationalMuseum 2103/103 Abdi2002
TABLE 8. METALWARE AND OTHER METAL ARTIFACTS

8.1 phiale with gold gilded d. 172 mm British BM135571 Curtis 1989: fig. 58
Bes-sphinxappliques silver h. 18 mm Museum
8.2 jug with Bes head silver antiquities Usak 1.14.96 Ozgen & Ozturk
below the handle market Museum 1996:no.12,p.75
8.3 handlein the shape gilded Louvre Amandry1959: pl. 27:
of a winged ibex silver 2- 3; Porada1965:
on a Bes head 168,fig.86
8.4 head of Bes attached gold "The Oxus British Dalton 1964: no. 7,
to the frontof a Treasure" Museum pl. IV
miniaturechariot
TABLE 9. COINS

9.1 drachm silver privatecoll., Paris Mildenberg1995: pl. 1:1
9.2 hemiobol silver privatecoll., Mildenberg1995: pl. 1:2
Los Angeles
9.3 drachm silver Museumof 5.220 Mildenberg1995: pl. 1:3
Fine Arts, Boston
9.4 obol silver privatecoll., Mildenberg1995: pl. 1:4
Los Angeles
9.5 drachm silver privatecoll., Mildenberg1995: pl. 1:5
Los Angeles
9.6 obol silver privatecoll.,Jerusalem Mildenburg1995: pl. 1:6
9.7 obol silver privatecoll., Mildenburg1995: pl. 1:7
Los Angeles
9.8 obol silver AmericanNumismatic Mildenburg1995: pl. 1:8
Society, New York
9.9 tetrate- silver privatecoll., Mildenburg1995: pl. 1:9
morion Los Angeles
9.10 obol silver Abu Shusheh Departmentof IGCH 1507 Mildenburg1995: pl. I:10
hoard Antiquities,Jerusalem
9.11 hemiobol silver Samaria(?) privatecoll., Mildenburg1995: pl. 1:11
Los Angeles
9. 12 drachm silver Cabinetdes 1071 Mildenburgl1995:pl. 1:12
Medailles,Paris 157
9.13 drachm silver Cabinetdes Mildenburgl1995:pl.I1:13
Medailles,Paris
KAMYARABDI
TABLE 9. COINS (CONTINUED)
No. Category Material Dimensions Placeofdiscovery Repository Referenceno. Bibliography

9.14 obol silver Cabinetdes 2999 Mildenburg1995: pl. 1:14
Medailles,Paris
9. 15 obol silver privatecoll., Mildenburg1995: pl. 1:15
Los Angeles
9.16 drachm silver privatecoll.,Jerusalem Mildenburg1995: pl. 1:16
9.17 drachm silver AmericanNumismatic ANS 39 Mildenburg1995: pl. 1:17
Society, New York
9.18 obol silver BritishMuseum Mildenburg1995: pl. 1:18
9.19 drachm silver Mildenburg1995: pl. 1:19
9.20 obol silver d. 9.5 mm Cilicia H. SirriGoktiirk Goktiirk1997: no. 44
Coll., Turkey
9.21 tetrate- silver d. 6 mm Cilicia H. SirriG6ktiirk Goktiirk1997: no. 45
morion Coll., Turkey
TABLE 10. STATUETTES

10.1 pot stand (?) alabaster PersepolisTreasury, IranNational PT4 1062 Schmidt 1939: 43, fig.
Hall 38, Plot HG 31 Museum INM 2050 48 left; 1957: pl. 31:4
10.2 statuette lapis lazuli PersepolisTreasury, PT5 299 Schmidt 1939: 43, fig.
composition Hall 38, Plot HG 22 48 right;1957: pl. 31:6
10.3 statuette terracotta 105 x 55 mm Nippur University CBS 9454 Legrain1930: no. 221
Museum,
Philadelphia
10.4 figurine clay Tel Dan Biran1985:189, pl. 24B

10.5 statuette stone h. 93 mm Sidon A02219 Nunn 2000: 60,
Tf. 28.90
10.6 statuette stone Kharayeb Nunn 2000: 61,
Tf. 28.92
10.7 statuette stone Kharayeb Nunn 2000: 61,
Tf. 28.93
10.8 statuette stone Ayaa Contenau1920: 310,
pl. 05d
TABLE 11. ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENTS
No. Category Material Place of discovery Repository Referenceno. Bibliography

11.1 8 figuresof Bes in stone Heroon of Golba?i- samelocation Benndorf1889: 34, fig. 34;
reliefabove the Trysa, Lycia Eichler 1950: 48, pl. 1 below
southerndoorway Oberleitner1994: fig. 30
11l.2 relieffragment(?) stone plainwest of IranNational Romano 1989: no. 271
1 ~~~~~~~~Persepolis Museum
158 11.3 relieffragment(?) stone Persepolis(?) IranNational P-810 Schneiderl1976:34,
Museum microflscheno. 7G4
clearwhethertwo of the fourpreviouslyunpublishedBes amu-

Notes lets fromPersepolisnow in the IranNationalMuseum(herenos.
5.21-23; see Abdi 1999: fig. 5.21-23) may in fact correspond
1. My collection of images is greatlyindebted to the work of to these two amulets mentioned in passing by Schmidt or
James Romano (1989; 1998), whose catalogueof Bes-images whethertheyaretwoadditionalBes-imagesthatshouldbe added
fromEgyptand elsewherethatcan be datedto the period of the to the tallyfromthe site. (Our no. 5.21 [fig. 2] is of fine work-
Achaemenidempireformedthe beginningof my expandedlist manshipbut thematerialis undesignatedin the records.It might
(Romano1989: 775 [no. 269]-842 [no. 292]). Romano's1989 conceivablycorrespondto the turquoiseone cited by Schmidt.
catalogueincluded five amulets(fromTunisia, Cyprus,Sidon, Such ambiguitiesin the inventorystatusof smallfindsthatwere
and Susa) that I did not include in my 1999 catalogue.I have not originallyconsideredof tremendousinterpretivesignificance
now incorporatedthreeof these items into my catalogue,along by the excavatorsare quite common.)
with otherpreviouslyuntalliedartifacts.
7. A vivid example is offeredby a New Kingdomstatuetteof
2. The numberof individualartifactsis actuallymuch greater boxwood, ivory, and gilding representinga servinggirl carry-
than 115. In 1999 I groupedunder one cataloguenumber(no. ing a jar and wearingonly a necklacefeaturinga dynamicBes
6.4) fifty-oneseparategold medallions(in pendantformat)bear- amulet(Kozloffand Bryan1992: 361-62 and pl. 42 [no. 87]).
ing the Bes-imageexcavatedat Pasargadaebecausetheyplausi-
bly originallydecoratedone item. It is worth noting, however, 8. Tadjvidi (1976) excavatedin the fortificationsrimmingthe
thathad these fifty-onependantmedallionsbeen dispersedon Takht, where we might expect multiple manifestations of
the artmarket,I would havehad to catalogueeachone as a sepa- nonceremoniallife (viz., our no. 4.11 and Abdi 1999 oniBes
rateitem.This would haveexpandedgreatlythe numberof Bes- andthe military).This importanteffort,interruptedprematurely,
images registered,while the lack of provenancefor the group deservesto be resumed(see Mousavi,this volume).
would simultaneouslyhave drasticallylessened the research
value of the assemblage. 9. I owe this observationto an anonymousreviewerwho took
the time to offerextraordinarilyhelpfulcomments.
3. Severalimportantstudies have appearedthat deserve to be
mined for the possible appearanceof Iranianizedrepresenta- 10. Relevantliteraturefor appreciatingaspects of the life and
tions of Bes (as defined below) that have found their way to assimilationof Egyptiansin western Asia includes Wiseman
extraimperialshores in the GreaterMediterranean.But such a 1956; Eph'al 1978; Zaccagnini1983; Pedersen1986: 125-29.
taskis beyond the scope of the currentproject.See, e.g., Skon-
Jedele 1994 (where some items may date deeper into the 11. The sealingprotocolsfortheTreasuryarchivehavenot been
Achaemenidperiod thanthe chronologicalscope of the collec- examinedas closely as have those for the PersepolisFortifica-
tion suggests);H6bl 1979; 1985. tion archive.In the lattercorpus, the stand-aloneusageof a seal
oftenimplieselevatedstatus(Garrison1991; GarrisonandRoot
4. The presence of artisansof Egyptianoriginworkingon the 2001).
imperialbuildingprojectsat Susa is attestedby the Susa Foun-
dation Charter(DSf). See Lecoq 1997: 234-37 for the trilin- 12. One of these rareexamplesis the knottedbelt worn by the
gual text; Root 1979 and 1990 for commentson its rhetorical Akkadianking Naram-Sinon his victory stele (Harper,Aruz,
aspects. The rhetoricalqualitiesof this text emphasizenotions and Tallon 1992: 168), which was made for Sipparin Iraqbut
of imperialpurview and should not necessarilybe taken as a moved to Susa as war booty. The surfaceof this sculptureis
literallyprecisecharacterizationof theworkforceat Susa.Never- quite abraded.To the best of my ability to assess it, the knot
theless, there is certainlyan underpinningof historicallegiti- here does not appearto be renderedaccordingto the precise
macy expressed here concerning the role of Egyptian crafts- patternwe see on the Achaemenidcourtrobe and onithe belted
men, with their ancient traditionsand expertise in, e.g., gold- Bes fromthe PersepolisTreasury.
working.
13. E.g., on representationsof certainroyalfigures(viz., Prin-
5. The precisearchaeologicalcontextsof most of these amulets cess Isis: Kozloffand Bryan 1992: 206-8), on representations
cannot be established satisfactorily through the excavation of certainminordeities such as the gods who bind togetherthe
recordsof the earlytwentieth-centurymission.Two of the Susa signs of Upperand LowerEgypt(as seen on the Egyptianstatue
amulets are stipulated as having a specific findspot-"the of Darius from Susa) and the nome personifications(as por-
Apadana."But the degreeto which this constitutesa "deposit" trayed, for instance, on the Old Kingdom triad statues of
is highly questionable(pace Schmidt 1957: 68 n. 21). Mycerinus[Russmann1989: 25]).
6. Schmidt 1957: 72 mentionsbut does not catalogueor illus- 14. I amindebtedto MargaretCool Root for drawingmy atten-
trate"two additionalBes heads, one of bluish-greenturquoise, tion to the significanceof the Egyptianconnectionof the knot.
the otherof compositionof the samecolor, [that]were foundin 159
Vestibule 23 and in Courtyard29 of the Treasury."It is not 15. These figureson the Pazyrykrugin turninvitecomparison
KAMYAR ABDI
to imagery of heartlandAchaemenid art: on Wing A of the Buchanan,Briggs. 1966. Catalogueof AncientNear Eastern
Apadanaat Persepolis. Seals in theAshmoleanMuseumI: CylinderSeals. Oxford:
ClarendonPress.
16. I hope to explore this topic furtherin anotherpaper. Buchanan,Briggs, and P. R. S. Moorey. 1988. Catalogueof
AncientNear EasternSeals in theAshmoleanMuseumIII:
17. On a purely speculativenote, one should not neglect the TheIronAgeStampSeals. Oxford:ClarendonPress.
factthat,unlikeother, clean-shavenEgyptiandeities, Bes is the Carnegie,JamesS. 1908. Catalogueof the CollectionofAntique
only Egyptiandeity with a fullbeard,a characteristicof barbar- GemsFormedby_James, Ninth Earl ofSouthesk . T. 2 vols.
ians in Egyptianeyes, to which the predominantlybeardedIra- London:B. Quaritch.
nians could have related! Collon, Dominique. 1996. "A Hoard of SealingsfromUr." In
M.-F. Boussac and A. Invernizzi,eds., Archiveset sceaux
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way for importantlinkagesto the Mithraiccult that I shall ex- helleniquesuppl. 29.
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Notes on the Iranianization of Bes in the Achaemenid Empire

Notes on the Iranianization

in the Achaemenid Empire

These commentariesfollow up on an article published in Ars

359. Photo courtesyof the Iran

INTRODUCTION tureoftenrathersuddenlyfacesa cornucopiaof new

be completelystrippedof its originalculturalbaggage the Achaemenidempire outside the boundariesof

amuletsbearingthe Egyptian-typeBes-image(nos. of this largemultifunctionbuilding.And in the end,

A fragmentarystone statuetteof Bes from the certainlynot elementsfroma necklacecommissioned

skirtedBes as a consciousarchaismreachingbackto shown in any formon tabletsof the Muravsuarchive

FIG. i8. FIG. 19.

to owe a greatdealto formsdevelopedin Achaemenid participatescanbe contextualizednowwithintherich

the lattersuggestingroyalcult. FlankingBes are two enancedgold necklacedisplayinga centralBes-head

cannotdismissthepossibilitythatthesesealsmayhave tion worksthatrequiredthe skillsof craftsmenfrom

FIG. 23. FIG. 24.

(Hoffinann2000: 199-205; Frankfurter1998: 124- numerousexamplesof the Bes-imagethatcould only

Empires,as they become establishedand grow, encouragingbeliefsabouttheeffectivenessof Bes and

Thesetables(1-11) incorporateBes-imagessofarassembledfrom thepoliticaland temporalpurviewoftheAchaemenidempireoutside

TABLE 1. CYLINDER SEALS

No. Category Material Dimensions Placeof discovery Repository Referenceno. Bibliography

TABLE 2. STAMP SEALS (CONTINUED)

No. Category Material Dimensions Place of discovery Repository Referenceno. Bibliography

2.13 scarab faience 17 x 13 x 10 mm Deve Hiiyiik AshmoleanMuseum Moorey 1980:ro.

2.14 scarab carnelian 13 x 8.5 mm antiquitiesmarket Nunn 2000: no. 33

TABLE 2. STAMP SEALS (CONTINUED)

No. Category Material Dimensions Place of discovery Repository Referenceno. Bibliography

TABLE 3. SEAL IMPRESSIONS

No. Category Material Dimensions Place of discovery Repository Referenceno. Bibliography

3.16 seal clay Persepolis IranNational Tadjvidi 1976: fig. 147

TABLE 4. POTTERY VESSELS

No. Category Material Dimensions Place of discovery Repository Referenceno. Bibliography

No. CategoryMaterial Dimensions Place of discovery Repository Referenceno. Bibliography

TABLE 5. AMULETS (CONTINUED)

No. CategoryMaterial Dimensions Place of discovery Repository Referenceno. Bibliography

TABLE 6. PERSONAL ORNAMENTS

No. Category Material Dimensions Placeofdiscovery Repository Referenceno. Bibliography

16 6.8 medallion gold 24 x 17 mm Graveno. 2, Dosaran Zanjan Rahbar1997: 24,

6.9 medallion gold 8 x 4 mm ?Iran National 2426/59 unpublished

No. CategoryMaterial Dimensions Place of discovery Repository Referenceno. Bibliography

TABLE 8. METALWARE AND OTHER METAL ARTIFACTS

No. Category Material Dimensions Place of discovery Repository Referenceno. Bibliography

No. Category Material Dimensions Place of discovery Repository Referenceno. Bibliography

TABLE 9. COINS (CONTINUED)

No. Category Material Dimensions Placeofdiscovery Repository Referenceno. Bibliography

TABLE 10. STATUETTES

No. Category Material Dimensions Place of discovery Repository Referenceno. Bibliography

10.4 figurine clay Tel Dan Biran1985:189, pl. 24B

TABLE 11. ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENTS

No. Category Material Place of discovery Repository Referenceno. Bibliography

clearwhethertwo of the fourpreviouslyunpublishedBes amu-

Ghirshman,Roman.1954. Villageperse-ache'me'nide. Memoires Krackmann, Oluf. 1933. NeubabylonischeRechts-und Ver-

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