Streitkeule

English translation: cudgel / battle-club / mace

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
German term or phrase:Streitkeule
English translation:cudgel / battle-club / mace
Entered by: Helen Shiner

11:46 Apr 22, 2009
German to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Archaeology / Ancient Middle East
German term or phrase: Streitkeule
Hi everyone: I am translation a description of an Assyrian stele found in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.
The text reads:
Die Stele, die einen fast lebensgrossen Sargon II zeigt, wurde auf der Insel Zypern gefunden. In der Linken haelt er eine **Streitkeule** und auf seinem Haupt traegt er die koenigliche Tiara.
I have no idea how to translate **Streitkeule**. Does anybody have an idea regarding these kind of ancient weapons? Thank you very much!
akaishian
Local time: 13:05
cudgel / battle-club / mace
Explanation:
These would be my suggestions:

http://www.mydictionary.net/german-english/keule.html

http://termini.lza.lv/term.php?term=Streitkeule&list=Streitk...

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Note added at 31 mins (2009-04-22 12:18:50 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

This from famous explorer, Gertrude Bell's diairies

Wed May 12. [12 May 1909] Up at 3.30 and off a little before 5 with Kas Mattai and his brother Shim'un to see the Assyrian (?) castle. We took just 11/2 hours to get up to it from the village. All the way up the crag are traces of a fine masonry embanked road. At the bottom of the steep slope there is a place prepared for a stele but nothing on it. Nothing left of the castle, but stones fallen down from the wall. At the head of the valley there is another crag with another castle on it, they say. Wild Rhubarb. I had worn the native shoes to climb up but as the soles are of felt they wore out long before I got down and I was on the rock before I rejoined my boots. Though I mended my shoes with a safety pin! In the gorge below the crag is an Assyrian stele of a king in a long fringed robe holding a small club in his hand. Cuneiform inscrip. all across him.
http://www.gerty.ncl.ac.uk/diaries/d1692.htm

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Note added at 34 mins (2009-04-22 12:21:02 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Or battle-axe, as here:
The depiction of what appears to be Marduk on the Kassite boundary stone would agree with the Hurrian Kumarbi and the Greek Pythia - underworld serpent entities. The representation of the serpent around the base of the boundary stone alongside a scorpion shows two different traditions being represented: 1 is an ecliptic serpent; 2 is an ecliptic scorpion. In the Epic of Creation "scorpion men" are at the earth's boundaries and prevent the underworld from rising against the overworld. The ecliptic serpent the Hydra performs the function of boundary-guard for the Greeks. The serpent is a foreign introduction to mesopotamia, though it was common in Elam.
In the Epic of Creation Marduk has replaced the sky gods Anu and Enlil (Roux, p.367). The Greek god Zevs is a sky god.
In a neo-Assyrian stele (fig. 9) the horned serpent, Marduk, is portrayed as being killed by a warrior brandishing European battle-axe. The Assyrian god is adopted by Persians and Jews.
http://www.vakras.com/contra-fuchs.html


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 37 mins (2009-04-22 12:24:34 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Here, mace is used:

Further elucidating the Gutic-Sumerian Renaissance, Sumerologist Kramer notes, "Ur-Bau [founder of the Lagash dynasty of ensis under the Gutians] had three sons-in-law: Gudea, Urgar and Namhani (also written Nammahin), each of whom became ensi of Lagash. Gudea's {p.67} rather immobile face and expressionless features have become familiar to the modern student from the numerous statues of him that have been recovered. Some of these carry long inscriptions recording his religious activities in connection with the building and rebuilding of Lagash's more important temples. From them we learn that, in spite of Gutian domination {?!}, Gudea had trade contacts with practically the entire 'civilized' world of those days ... Gudea's 2 clay-cylinders unearthed at Lagash more than 75 years ago are inscribed with the longest known Sumerian literary work, close to 1400 lines of a narrative composition, ritualistic and hymnal, commemorating his rebuilding of Lagash's main temple, the Eninna. Gudea even reports one important military victory - that over the state Anshan, Elam's neighbour to the South. He also speaks of fashioning a number of cultic and symbolic weapons such as the sharur and maces with 50 heads. This may indicate considerable military activity on his part, although perhaps only as a vassal of the Gutians. Gudea, like his father-in-law, Ur-bau, also controlled the city of Ur, where three of his inscriptions have been unearthed." (Kramer 1963, p.66-67)
http://www.iranian.com/History/2005/March/Gutians/

I think you will need to ascertain what material this weapon was fashioned from. If metal, then mace would be ok, if wooden, then club or cudgel would be better. Do you have an image to let you see?

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 6 days (2009-04-28 16:48:58 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Thanks for the points, akaishian
Selected response from:

Helen Shiner
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:05
Grading comment
Thank you for all your research, this was very helpful.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +2mace
BrigitteHilgner
4sceptre (BE) scepter (AE)
Derek Ferrari-Frankland (X)
4cudgel / battle-club / mace
Helen Shiner


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


24 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +2
mace


Explanation:
"cudgel" might be another option.
The more common German word is "Streitkolben".

BrigitteHilgner
Austria
Local time: 20:05
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman
PRO pts in category: 6

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Helen Shiner: Sorry, I didn't see your suggestion until after posting mine, for some reason.
13 mins

agree  Kay Barbara: Agree, mace. I don't think a cudgel would be very appropriate for a king?
2 hrs
  -> Thank you, Kay. You are probably right, but without further information, it is a bit difficult to be sure. Have a pleasant day!

agree  Rebecca Garber: mace for Streitkeule. It may be a scepter, but that's the archeologists' fight.
1 day 1 hr
  -> Thank you, Rebecca. You are quite right - and a mace might have been used as a kind of scepter ...
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
sceptre (BE) scepter (AE)


Explanation:
As Sargon II was an important king interpretation of what he is holding in his hand is open to debate. He is holding the object very close to its head rather than lower down the handle as would be the case with a mace or club. Please see the image of the stele in question at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kitionstele.PNG


    Reference: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kitionstele.PNG
Derek Ferrari-Frankland (X)
United Kingdom
Native speaker of: English
Notes to answerer
Asker: Hi: Thanks for your research. It looks to me like a scepter , too, however, I have to stick to what my German scholar wrote!...:)

Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

29 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
cudgel / battle-club / mace


Explanation:
These would be my suggestions:

http://www.mydictionary.net/german-english/keule.html

http://termini.lza.lv/term.php?term=Streitkeule&list=Streitk...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 31 mins (2009-04-22 12:18:50 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

This from famous explorer, Gertrude Bell's diairies

Wed May 12. [12 May 1909] Up at 3.30 and off a little before 5 with Kas Mattai and his brother Shim'un to see the Assyrian (?) castle. We took just 11/2 hours to get up to it from the village. All the way up the crag are traces of a fine masonry embanked road. At the bottom of the steep slope there is a place prepared for a stele but nothing on it. Nothing left of the castle, but stones fallen down from the wall. At the head of the valley there is another crag with another castle on it, they say. Wild Rhubarb. I had worn the native shoes to climb up but as the soles are of felt they wore out long before I got down and I was on the rock before I rejoined my boots. Though I mended my shoes with a safety pin! In the gorge below the crag is an Assyrian stele of a king in a long fringed robe holding a small club in his hand. Cuneiform inscrip. all across him.
http://www.gerty.ncl.ac.uk/diaries/d1692.htm

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 34 mins (2009-04-22 12:21:02 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Or battle-axe, as here:
The depiction of what appears to be Marduk on the Kassite boundary stone would agree with the Hurrian Kumarbi and the Greek Pythia - underworld serpent entities. The representation of the serpent around the base of the boundary stone alongside a scorpion shows two different traditions being represented: 1 is an ecliptic serpent; 2 is an ecliptic scorpion. In the Epic of Creation "scorpion men" are at the earth's boundaries and prevent the underworld from rising against the overworld. The ecliptic serpent the Hydra performs the function of boundary-guard for the Greeks. The serpent is a foreign introduction to mesopotamia, though it was common in Elam.
In the Epic of Creation Marduk has replaced the sky gods Anu and Enlil (Roux, p.367). The Greek god Zevs is a sky god.
In a neo-Assyrian stele (fig. 9) the horned serpent, Marduk, is portrayed as being killed by a warrior brandishing European battle-axe. The Assyrian god is adopted by Persians and Jews.
http://www.vakras.com/contra-fuchs.html


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 37 mins (2009-04-22 12:24:34 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Here, mace is used:

Further elucidating the Gutic-Sumerian Renaissance, Sumerologist Kramer notes, "Ur-Bau [founder of the Lagash dynasty of ensis under the Gutians] had three sons-in-law: Gudea, Urgar and Namhani (also written Nammahin), each of whom became ensi of Lagash. Gudea's {p.67} rather immobile face and expressionless features have become familiar to the modern student from the numerous statues of him that have been recovered. Some of these carry long inscriptions recording his religious activities in connection with the building and rebuilding of Lagash's more important temples. From them we learn that, in spite of Gutian domination {?!}, Gudea had trade contacts with practically the entire 'civilized' world of those days ... Gudea's 2 clay-cylinders unearthed at Lagash more than 75 years ago are inscribed with the longest known Sumerian literary work, close to 1400 lines of a narrative composition, ritualistic and hymnal, commemorating his rebuilding of Lagash's main temple, the Eninna. Gudea even reports one important military victory - that over the state Anshan, Elam's neighbour to the South. He also speaks of fashioning a number of cultic and symbolic weapons such as the sharur and maces with 50 heads. This may indicate considerable military activity on his part, although perhaps only as a vassal of the Gutians. Gudea, like his father-in-law, Ur-bau, also controlled the city of Ur, where three of his inscriptions have been unearthed." (Kramer 1963, p.66-67)
http://www.iranian.com/History/2005/March/Gutians/

I think you will need to ascertain what material this weapon was fashioned from. If metal, then mace would be ok, if wooden, then club or cudgel would be better. Do you have an image to let you see?

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 6 days (2009-04-28 16:48:58 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Thanks for the points, akaishian

Helen Shiner
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:05
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 27
Grading comment
Thank you for all your research, this was very helpful.
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



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