#assyria

[soxiyy]

From Levantine_gay on insta

[theancientwayoflife]

~ Plaque of conjuration against the Lamashtu, called "plaque of the underworld" or Hell Plate.

Period: Neo-Assyrian (1st half of the millennium)

Place of origin: Assyria

Medium: Bronze

[wearemercs]

assyrian archer by mossacannibalis

[memories-of-ancients]

Ivory furniture plaque, Assyria, 9th-8th century BC

from The Metropolitan Museum of Art

[illustratus]

Judith holding the Head of Holofernes by Jean-François Godefroy

[worldhistoryfacts]

The Sennacherib prism, commissioned by the Assyrian king in the 600s BCE. Its ten sides contain records of his conquests and achievements in cuneiform. The record culminates with Sennarcherib's 15-month siege and destruction of Babylon.

{WHF} {Ko-Fi} {Medium}

[whencyclopedia]

Assyria: The Rise and Fall of the World’s First Empire

Eckart Frahm's Assyria: The Rise and Fall of the World's First Empire is a remarkable scholarly work and a masterful exploration of one of the most intriguing and influential civilizations of the ancient world. Through meticulous research and engaging prose, Frahm invites readers on an enthralling journey into the heart of the Assyrian empire, shedding light on its history, culture, and lasting impact on human civilization. In this meticulously crafted and comprehensive volume, Frahm expertly navigates the complexities of Assyrian historical accounts, archaeological findings, and cultural insights to supply a comprehensive understanding of Assyrian society. He traces the empire from its early beginnings to its rise and eventual decline. Frahm's command over historical sources, both textual and archaeological, is clear as he weaves together a rich tapestry of events, personalities, and cultural dynamics that shaped Assyria's trajectory. The book chronicles the rise of the empire, its expansionist policies, and the exceptional military prowess that allowed it to become a dominant force in the ancient world.

Continue reading...

[tsalmu]

Babylonian Stele of Nabonidus before Moon, Sun, and Venus c. 545 BCE Babylon, Iraq (?) British Museum #90837

Harranian Stele of Nabonidus before Moon, Sun, and Venus c. 545 BCE Harran, Turkey Şanlıurfa Museum, Urfa, Turkey

[dougielombax]

So-called anti imperialists get weirdly bitchy when you suggest self-determination for certain people groups.

Especially if it’s the Kurds, the Assyrians, Armenians, the Tibetans (that’s when the tankies show up), or the Circassians (or pretty much any other indigenous folks living under Russian rule like the Chuvash or the Buryats (among others)).

Talk about double standards.

[nemfrog]

"Standard of Sargon II, King of Assyria, 722-705 B.C." Ancient calendars and constellations. 1903. Cover detail.

Internet Archive

[clepysdra]

Tinkering around in blender and gimp rn

[soxiyy]

[theancientwayoflife]

~ Statue of the intendant Ebih-Il.

Place of discovery: Mari temple of Ishtar courtyard 20

Date: 2500-2340 B.C.

Period: Archaic dynasty IIIB

Medium: Alabaster, shell, lapis lazuli, bitumen

▪︎ Inscription/Dedication (in Akkadian): "Statue of Ebih-Il, the Steward, to Ishtar he dedicated it".

[mapsontheweb]

The Assyrian Delegation's map of an independent Assyria, presented at the Paris Peace Conference 1919

[joelchaimholtzman]

Painting from a year ago, an exploration for my worldbuilding, set in the Bronze Age Middle East, a worshipper of the fire deity Chemosh.

Hope you like it!

Best,

JCH

www.joelchaimholtzman.com

[sixteenseveredhands]

Gold Tablet from the Temple of Ištar in Aššur, Assyria (modern-day Iraq) c.1243-1207 BCE: this tablet was discovered within the foundations of the ancient temple; it measures just over 3cm (1in) in length

The cuneiform inscription honors King Tukulti-Ninurta I, who had ordered the construction of the temple, and describes how the building was constructed. This is just one of the many items that had been buried around the temple with similar inscriptions.

As this article explains:

Most of [the inscriptions installed in the temple] would not have been visible while the temple was still in use, as they were laid into the sanctuary’s foundations or walls. Tukulti-Ninurta commissioned a great number of objects carrying variations of the inscription commemorating his achievement of erecting the new temple.

The practice of depositing inscriptions directed at the gods as well as future generations had become a central element of the temple building process since the Early Dynastic Period, and was employed to immortalize the ruler by eternally associating his name with a monumental building such as the Ištar temple - a process that also transformed a sanctuary into a votive object dedicated to a deity.

It took several hours of searching (i.e. scouring through old artifact catalogs) for me to find a direct translation of the inscription on this particular tablet, and I could basically only find it in a PDF of an old bibliographic manuscript that isn't even in print anymore, but here it is:

Tukulti-Ninurta, king of the universe, king of Assyria, son of Shalmaneser, king of Assyria: at that time the temple of the goddess Ištar, my mistress, which Ilu-šumma, my forefather, the prince, had previously built — that temple had become dilapidated. I cleared away its debris down to the bottom of the foundation pit. I rebuilt from top to bottom and deposited my monumental inscription. May a later prince restore it and return my inscribed name to its place. Then Aššur will listen to his prayers.

This tablet was stolen from the Vorderasiatisches Museum in Berlin back in 1945, during the chaotic final days of WWII. It was then lost for almost 60 years before it finally re-emerged in 2006, when a Holocaust survivor named Riven Flamenbaum passed away and the tablet was found among his belongings. According to his family, Flamenbaum had gotten the tablet from a Soviet soldier (in exchange for two packs of cigarettes) at the end of the war.

In 2013, following a lengthy legal battle between Riven Flamenbaum's family and the Vorderasiatisches Museum in Germany, a court in New York ordered the family to return the tablet back to the museum.

Sources & More Info:

Albert Kirk Grayson: Assyrian Rulers of the Third and Second Millennia BC (to 1115 BC) (the translation appears on p.261)

Daniel Luckenbill: Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia, Volume 1 (PDF download; p.65 contains relevant info)

CTV News: 3,000-year-old Assyrian Gold Tablet Returned to German Museum