"During the 8th century BC, power gradually shifted from the central government to local rulers, who had nearly autonomous control over their areas of dominion. This study assembles for the first time all known sources regarding this period and analyzes them with respect to their description of the sociocultural interactions between the king and local population. The author demonstrates the kinds of knowledge about governance that was used to consolidate rulers' personal power and the discernible space, power, and knowledge relationships of the potentates"--