For the 2010-11 Annual Lecture in "Milieux Bibliques" (chair occupied by Prof. Thomas Römer), Jacob L. Wright from Emory University treated the subject of "name-making" as represented in ancient Near Eastern sources and the Hebrew Bible.
Wright began by citing a letter that the Assyrian king Shamshi-Adad (18th cent. BCE) sent to his son Yasmah-Adad in Mari, petitioning him to "be a man" and to "make a name" for himself by conquering the city of Qatna:
Here your brother won a victory, but there you lie among women! Now, when you march with your army to Qatna, be a man. As your brother has "established a great name" [šumam rabêm ištaknu] you also in your region "establish a great name."
The expression "to make/establish a name for oneself" refers here to military conquest, if not also to the physical act of setting up a physical victory monument bearing the name of the conqueror and laying claim to the territory of Qatna.
Similar to the idiom in modern European languages, the Semitic expression conveys often the sense of personal achievement. Discussing aspects of social mobility in ancient Mesopotamian societies, Wright pointed to a wide variety of texts and images in which individual soldiers, who performed great military feats, were rewarded with personal adornments (e.g., bracelets or golden bees/flies) that accompanied a new rank and title (i.e., a more honorable “name”).
The desire for a great and enduring name could induce individuals to seek opportunities not only to demonstrate martial prowess but also even to sacrifice their life. Such “noble death” on the battlefield is attested richly in antiquity in Greco-Roman sources, but it also appears in texts from the ancient Near East. The most prominent example is found in the Gilgamesh Epic. In one episode, this hero from Uruk sets off to fight the giant Huwawa. Although he stood very little chance of victory, his heroic willingness to engage in battle ensured him a name that would survive his death: "If I should fall in battle, I will nonetheless have made my name to stand!" A similar sentiment is expressed in a letter that a commander sent to the Neo-Assyrian king Ashurbanipal from the frontline. His military unit was far outnumbered by the enemy and faced imminent death. Yet the commander assures the king that he and his men remained steadfast in their allegiance and were prepared to die bravely: "If we die, we will do so with an excellent name!"
