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War in the West
1

Escape in a River
To the right of the hunt scenes as we move down the wall we see Assur-nasir-pal, who calls himself Ò"king without rival among the princes of the four quartersÓ .... "the mighty flood stormÓ... Òwho brought into subjection those that were not submissive to himÓ..."the totality of all peoplesÓ.... Òthe mighty hero.Ó

Here are enemies of the Assyrian king fleeing towards a citadel in the middle of a river. Two people escape from the left bank on animal skin floats while Assyrian archers take aim at them from the mountainous shore..

To the right in the midst of the river is a palace with a crenellated facade, arched entranceway and two defenders watching the swimmers cross the water. Only Carchemish, situated on the Euphrates and Arwad in Phoenicia are described by Assur-nasir-pal, in his writings, as Òin the midst of the riverÓ.

Arwad is an island off the coast of Phoenicia. Carchemish is the Neo-Hittite city that becomes an island when the Euphrates rises to flow around it in flood season.

Scholars think that this scene depicts the siege at Carchemish because the king's writings describe men crossing the Euphrates on goat-skin rafts only at that city.

The movement in this picture is from left to right, down the south wall of the palace and away from the king. All movement, including the action in the hunt scenes, flows from the king. He is the source of all the earthly activity that benefits the kingdom of Assyria.

Additional evidence for identifying this image with Carchemish is the booty we see in the bas relief carved directly beneath it. There gold and silver jewelry and bronze cauldrons can be seen moving to the left, toward the king in Assyria just as it is described as happening in Assur-nasir-pal's writings. (See next image)

2

Prisoners & Booty
This slab, placed upon the wall directly below the previous carving, shows Assyrian officers leading off foreign prisoners and booty from the city citadel in the river, probably Charchemish.

Here we see the defeated prisoners who are being led away from their homes and into captivity in a foreign land, probably in Assyria itself. They are walking to the left, towards the king and his throne at the far end of the throne room, the very heart of the Assyrian Empire. We see the booty carried toward the king seated upon his throne, or toward the image of the king as he performs his religious duties on either side of the sacred tree. As a result of the king's actions, both those religious rituals performed in the presence of Assur and the "sacred tree" in Nimrud itself, at the heart of the empire, and those warlike acts performed in Assur's presence, on campaign, far away from the capital, Assyria is enriched.

The prizes returning to Assuria are shown here. There are first of all prisoners to improve Assyria's manpower shortage. Above the prisoners and their Assyrian guards come bronze cauldrons, small containers of precious metals, ivory tusks and what is probably some of the famous many colored wool and linen fabrics so dear to the hearts of the Assyrian rulers. All this is booty from the conquered city-states of the west.

The procession moves towards the left, back toward the king and the heartland of Assyria. Its purpose is to enrich that kingdom.


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War in the West 1 Escape in a River To the right of the hunt scenes as we move down the wall we see Assur-nasir-pal, who calls himself Ò"king without rival among the princes of the four quartersÓ .... "the mighty flood stormÓ... Òwho brought into subjection those that were not submissive to himÓ..."the totality of all peoplesÓ.... Òthe mighty hero.Ó Here are enemies of the Assyrian king fleeing towards a citadel in the middle of a river. Two people escape from the left bank on animal skin floats while Assyrian archers take aim at them from the mountainous shore.. To the right in the midst of the river is a palace with a crenellated facade, arched entranceway and two defenders watching the swimmers cross the water. Only Carchemish, situated on the Euphrates and Arwad in Phoenicia are described by Assur-nasir-pal, in his writings, as Òin the midst of the riverÓ. Arwad is an island off the coast of Phoenicia. Carchemish is the Neo-Hittite city that becomes an island when the Euphrates rises to flow around it in flood season. Scholars think that this scene depicts the siege at Carchemish because the king's writings describe men crossing the Euphrates on goat-skin rafts only at that city. The movement in this picture is from left to right, down the south wall of the palace and away from the king. All movement, including the action in the hunt scenes, flows from the king. He is the source of all the earthly activity that benefits the kingdom of Assyria. Additional evidence for identifying this image with Carchemish is the booty we see in the bas relief carved directly beneath it. There gold and silver jewelry and bronze cauldrons can be seen moving to the left, toward the king in Assyria just as it is described as happening in Assur-nasir-pal's writings. (See next image) 2 Prisoners & Booty This slab, placed upon the wall directly below the previous carving, shows Assyrian officers leading off foreign prisoners and booty from the city citadel in the river, probably Charchemish. Here we see the defeated prisoners who are being led away from their homes and into captivity in a foreign land, probably in Assyria itself. They are walking to the left, towards the king and his throne at the far end of the throne room, the very heart of the Assyrian Empire. We see the booty carried toward the king seated upon his throne, or toward the image of the king as he performs his religious duties on either side of the sacred tree. As a result of the king's actions, both those religious rituals performed in the presence of Assur and the "sacred tree" in Nimrud itself, at the heart of the empire, and those warlike acts performed in Assur's presence, on campaign, far away from the capital, Assyria is enriched. The prizes returning to Assuria are shown here. There are first of all prisoners to improve Assyria's manpower shortage. Above the prisoners and their Assyrian guards come bronze cauldrons, small containers of precious metals, ivory tusks and what is probably some of the famous many colored wool and linen fabrics so dear to the hearts of the Assyrian rulers. All this is booty from the conquered city-states of the west. The procession moves towards the left, back toward the king and the heartland of Assyria. Its purpose is to enrich that kingdom.