Part 2 of 2
Entrance to Temple, High Mound (Nimroud)
To the right of this entrance, and apparently outside the walls of the temple, was discovered one of the finest specimens of Assyrian sculpture brought to this country. It represents the early Nimroud king in high relief, carved on a solid block of limestone, cut into the shape of an arched frame, in the form of the rock tablets of Bavian and the Nahr-el-Kelb. The monarch wears his sacrificial robes, and carries the sacred mace in his left hand. Round his neck are hung the four sacred signs, the crescent, the star or sun, the trident, and the cross. His waist is encircled by the knotted cord, and in his girdle are three daggers. Above his head are the mythic symbols of Assyrian worship, the winged globe, the crescent, the star, the bident, and the horned cap. The entire slab, 8 ft. 8 in. high, by 4 ft. 6 in. broad, and 1 ft 3 in. thick, is covered, behind and before, except where the sculpture intervenes, with an inscription, in small and admirably formed arrow-headed characters. It was fixed on a plain square pedestal and stood isolated from the building. In front of it was an altar of stone supported on lions' feet, very much resembling in shape the tripod of the Greeks.
It would seem from the altar before this figure, that the Assyrians, like other nations of old, were in the habit of deifying the heroes of their race, and that the king who extended the bounds of the empire to distant lands, and raised temples to the gods, received after his death divine honors.
Unfortunately, the heat of the fire which had consumed the building, had also broken this monument into two pieces. From the carelessness shown in its transport to England, this fine specimen of Assyrian sculpture sustained still further injury, and the lower part is now almost destroyed.
The inscription must have contained when entire several hundred lines, and is divided on the back of the slabs into two columns. It commences with an invocation to the god Ashur, the supreme lord, the king of the circle of the twelve great gods. Then follow the names of these deities. They are the same as those on the black obelisk belonging to the son of the king represented on this slab, although they are not placed in the same order, which is so far important as it enables us to determine the exact name and title of each. These divinities may preside over the twelve months, corresponding with the same circle in the Egyptian mythology, with which it is possible they may hereafter, to a certain extent, be identified. The first-named is Anu (?), the last Ishtar, probably Astarte, or the moon, and not Venus, as some have believed.* [This is evident from Lucian's "De Dea Syra," c. 4.; and see Gesenius's "Thesaurus" in voce "Ashtoreth." (1 Kings, xi. 5. 33. 2 Kings, xxiii. 13.) Quaere, whether the bull's horns placed on the head of this divinity were not originally the horns of the moon's crescent?]
After this invocation occurs the name of the founder of the north-west palace, read by Dr. Hincks, Assaracbal, and by Colonel Rawlinson, Sardanapalus, with a long exordium, apparently of a religious nature, which has not yet been satisfactorily deciphered. Then follows a full account of his various campaigns and wars, of which I will give extracts, when I describe similar inscriptions on other monuments discovered in the same building.
The lion entrance led into a chamber 46 ft. by 19 ft. Its walls of sundried brick were coated with plaster, on which the remains of figures and ornaments in color could still be faintly traced.† [B. ch. a. Plan 2.] Nearly opposite to the entrance was a doorway ‡ [Ent. 3. B. same Plan.] panelled with slabs sculptured with winged figures carrying maces. Flanking it on the four sides were priests wearing garlands.
The inner door led into a chamber 47 ft. by 31ft. § [B. ch. b. same Plan.], ending in a recess paved with one enormous alabaster slab, no less than 21 ft. by 16 ft. 7 in., and 1 ft. 1 in. thick. This monolith had been broken into several pieces probably by the falling in of the roof of the building, and had in several places been reduced to lime by the burning beams of the ceiling. The whole of its surface, as well as the side facing the chamber, was occupied by one inscription, 325 lines in length, divided into two parallel horizontal columns, and carved with the greatest sharpness and care. On subsequently raising the detached pieces, I found that the back of the slab, resting on a solid mass of sundried bricks, was also covered with cuneiform writing, occupying three columns. It is difficult to understand why so much labor should have been apparently thrown away upon an inscription which would remain unseen until the edifice itself was utterly destroyed. Still more curious is the fact, that whilst this inscription contains all the historical details of that on the opposite side, the records of two or three more years are added, and that the upper inscription stops abruptly in the middle of a sentence. It is possible that the builders of the temple, foreseeing its ruin, had determined that if their enemies should through malice deface their annals, there should still remain another record, inaccessible and unknown, which would preserve the history of their greatness and glory unto all time.
The inscription on this great monolith appears to have been similar in its historical details to that on the king in the frame. I shall quote some specimens, translated by Dr. Hincks, to show the minuteness with which the Assyrian kings chronicled every event of their reign, and the consequent value of their historical records. It is to be remarked that, although these inscriptions are in the form of annals, the years are not mentioned. The king generally sets out on his campaigns in one particular month, the name of which is given; probably in the autumn, when the heats of summer were over. In the beginning of his reign he collected his army, and made his first expedition into the country of Nummi, or Numi, probably Elam or Susiana, subsequently, as we shall find, called Numaki or Nuvaki. He took many cities, towns, and districts whose names have not been identified. He slew their women, their slaves, and their children, and carried away their cattle and flocks. Their fighting men escaped to a hill fort (?). "Their houses he burned like stubble" (?). Many other countries to the south and south-east of Assyria, some of which are mentioned on the obelisk, were conquered during this campaign. The city of Nishtun (?) is particularly described as one of considerable importance. He seized its king or governor, whose name reads Babou, the son of Baboua, and imprisoned him in Babylon. "At that time the cities of Nerib (their position is doubtful), their principal cities, he destroyed. From Nerib he departed to the city of Tushka .... A palace for his dwelling he made there, and placed pillars (?) * [Perhaps inscribed pillars, such as Darius set up when he crossed the Bosphorus. (Herod iv. 87.)] at the gates, and put a statue of ... . (probably some kind of stone) .... and set up tablets, and made a place for them in the citadel. † [Similar tablets appear to have been frequently put up by the Assyrian kings, as we see from a bas-relief at Khorsabad, representing Sargon besieging a castle, on the walls of which there is a tablet of himself, or one of his predecessors.]
He appears subsequently to have turned his arms to the north, and to have received tribute from the kings of Nahiri (the country between the head waters of the Euphrates and Tigris) consisting of chariots (?), horses . . . (probably some other animal), silver, gold, various objects of copper, oxen, sheep, and asses (?); he then placed an officer of his own over the conquered people.
An account follows of the building of the north-west palace of Nimroud, which, when deciphered, will be of considerable interest, and may enable us to restore that edifice. It had been founded by one of his forefathers, but had been deserted and allowed to fall into ruins. He now rebuilt it, raising pillars of wood (?) and of some other material, and setting up thrones, and three other objects always mentioned in connection with the thrones, but the precise nature of which has not as yet been determined. The inhabitants of the countries over whom he ruled sent things of gold, silver, copper, and iron (?), for the new palace. He also built two cities on the Euphrates, one on each bank (?), calling one after his own name, and the other after the name of the great god Ashur.
Numerous expeditions to countries to the north, west, and south of Assyria are then related in detail. Amongst them one to Carchemish, where he received the tribute of Sangara, king of the Khatti (the Hittites or people of Syria), including a great variety of gold and silver ornaments, some apparently to be recognised by their pure Hebrew names. As few of the cities and countries conquered and visited by this king have yet been identified, and a mere repetition of the same dry details would scarcely interest the reader, I will merely give literal versions, as far as they can be given, of the history of two of the most important campaigns. They will show the style of these remarkable chronicles, and the minuteness with which events were recorded.
The first paragraph relates to the campaign of the king on the borders of the Euphrates.
"On the 22nd day of the month .... I departed from Calah (the quarter of Nineveh now called Nimroud). I crossed the Tigris. On the banks of the Tigris I received much tribute. In the city of Tabit I halted. I occupied the banks of the river Karma (? the Hermus, or eastern confluent of the Khabour). In the city of Megarice I halted. From the city of Megarice I departed. I occupied the banks of the Khabour (Chaboras). I halted at the city of Sadikanni (? or Kar-dikanni). I received the tribute of Sadikanni. From Sadikanni I departed. In Kedni I halted. I received the tribute of the city of Kedni. From Kedni I departed to the city of . . . lemmi. In the city of . . . lemmi I halted. From the city of . . . lemmi I departed. In the city of Beth- Khilapi I halted. The tribute of Beth-Khilapi I received, gold, silver," and many other articles, amongst which are apparently objects of clothing, or embroidered stuffs. Then follow his marches day by day to the cities of Sirki, Tzufri, Naqua-rabani, and Kindani, from each of which he received tribute in gold, silver, several objects not identified, cattle, and sheep. The inscription goes on — "The city of Kindani stands on the right bank of the river Euphrates. From Eandani I departed: on a mountain, by the side of the Euphrates, I halted. From the mountain I departed. In Beth-She-baiya, over against Karid, I halted. The city of Karid stands on the right bank of the river Euphrates. From Bath-Shebaiya I departed: on the top of (or above) Anat I halted. Anat stands in the middle of the Euphrates" (agreeing with the position of the modern town of Ana). He then attacked and took the principal city of Shadu (?), of the country of Suka, and the city of Tzur (?) the capital of Shadu (?), whose inhabitants were assisted by the soldiers of Bishi (a nation also alluded to in the second year of the annals of Sennacherib). Nebo-Baladan, king of Kar-Duniyas, is then mentioned, showing that the campaign was carried down the banks of the Euphrates far to the south of Babylon.
The second extract is from the records of a campaign in northern Syria. Having first crossed the Euphrates:
"From Kunulua, the capital of Lubarna, the Sharutinian * [This city, one apparently of considerable size and importance, must have stood somewhere near Antioch, or between Antioch and Aleppo. The Sharutinians may probably be identified with the Shairetana of the Egyptian monuments, at one time the allies, and at another the enemies, of Egypt. Few travellers are aware that, above the city of Antioch, carved in the rock, are colossal figures of an Egyptian sphinx and two priests. I have been informed that there are other similar monuments in the neighbouring mountains.], I departed. The Arantu (Orontes) I crossed. On the banks of the Arantu I encamped. From the banks of the Arantu I departed. Between the countries of Saraban and Tapan (?) I occupied the country. By the seashore I encamped. To the city of Ariboua (?), a principal city of Lubarna, the Sharutinian, I returned. ... (undeciphered passage). I caused some men of Assyria to dwell in his palace (?). Whilst I was in Ariboua the cities of Lukuta I took. I slew many of their men. I overthrew and burned their cities. Their fighting men (or ? the deserters from my army) I laid hold of. On stakes over against their city I impaled them. † [This barbarous practice, frequently represented in the bas-reliefs, seems, therefore, to have prevailed from the earliest times in the East. Darius impaled 3000 Babylonians when he took their city. (Herod. iii. 159.) The last instance with which I am acquainted of this punishment having been inflicted in Turkey, was at Baghdad, where, about ten years ago, Nejib Pasha impaled four rebel Arab Sheikhs, one at each corner of the bridge. They survived for many hours. It is said that, unless they drink water, when they instantly die, persons so treated will live even for two or three days.] At that time the countries that are upon Lebanon I took possession of, to the great sea of the country of Akkari (the Mediterranean). On the great sea I put my servants (?). Sacrifices to the gods I offered. The tribute of the kings of the people who dwelt near the sea, of the Tyrians, the Sidonians, the Kubalians, the Mahalatai (?)f the Ma . . . . ai, the Kha . . . . , and the Akkarians (all nations to the north of Tyre), and of the city of Arvad, which is in the middle of the sea — silver and gold pieces, rings (?) of copper, ingots (?) of copper, two kinds of clothing (?) (perhaps the dyed cloth of Tyre, or embroideries such as are frequently mentioned in the Bible), great 'pagouti' and small 'pagouti' (meaning not determined), some wooden objects, apparently of cedar, and pearls (?), from the rivers at or between the sea.* [Might this word, translated conjecturally pearls, mean the shell fish from which the Tyrian dye was extracted?] I went to the mountain of Kamana (the Camanus, in the north of Syria). I sacrificed to the gods. I made bridges (or beams), and pillars (?). From Kamana I brought them to Bithkara, for my own house, for the temple of San, for the temple of the sun. I went to the forests and cut them down, and made bridges (?) (or roofs or beams) of the wood, for Ishtar, mistress of the city of Nineveh, my protectress."† [The whole of the last passage is very obscure; the translation is partly conjectural.]
The chief events of the reign of this king are briefly alluded to in the standard and other inscriptions discovered in the northwest palace at Nimroud; but in the records just described we have a minuteness of geographical detail, which enables us to trace the course of his expeditions with great certainty. The forms of expression in these chronicles differ from those on later monuments. There even appears to be an occasional attempt at poetical illustration: for instance, instead of giving the exact amount of spoil taken from a conquered country, the king declares that "it exceeded the stars of heaven;" and when speaking of the destruction of enemy's cities, he likens it to "the burning of stubble" (?). His expeditions seem to have been attended by great cruelties and sacrifice of human life, and he celebrates the burning of innumerable women and children. The evidence of the populous state of Mesopotamia at that period quite corresponds with the vast number of artificial mounds, the ruins of ancient settlements, still existing in that country, and described in the foregoing pages.
Opening into the recess paved with this great monolith was a small room, or rather closet, 13 feet by 3, which may have been used to keep the sacrificial utensils and the garments of the priests,
The entrance formed by the good spirit driving out the evil principle led into a chamber * [Several specimens are now in the British Museum. B. Chamber C, Plan II.] connected by separate doorways with the two rooms last described. The walls were simply plastered, and there were no remains found in it but the fragments of an inscribed slab.
Standing one day on a distant part of the mound, I smelt the sweet smell of burning cedar. The Arab workmen, excavating in the small temple, had dug out a beam, and, the weather being cold, had at once made a fire to warm themselves. The wood was cedar; probably one of the very beams mentioned in the inscription as brought from the forests of Lebanon by the king who built the edifice. After a lapse of nearly three thousand years, it had retained its original fragrance. Many other such beams were discovered * [Several specimens are now in the British Museum. B. Chamber C, Plan II.], and the greater part of the rubbish in which the ruin was buried, consisted of charcoal of the same wood. It is likely that the whole superstructure, as well as the roof and floor of the building, like those of the temple and palace of Solomon, were of this precious material.
Fragment in blue Clay (Nimroud).
Eye in black Marble and Ivory (Nimroud).
Box in Chalcedony (Nimroud).
Box in Porcelain? (Nimroud).
Fragment in Porcelain? (Nimroud).
In these ruins was also found a mass of lead melted by the fire, for embedded in it was the iron head of a hatchet. Amongst the various small objects collected were.
Figures of winged deities, &c., of clay, colored in the mass with a blue derived from copper; eyes, beards, hair, and ornaments in enamel, probably belonging to figures of wood, metal, or ivory, resembling the cryselaphantine statues of the Greeks; eyes of black marble inlaid with ivory, with the eye-balls of a bright blue enamel, belonging to similar statues; and arms, legs, and other parts of figures in charred wood. A box of chalcedony probably used for some precious ointment. Another box of the same shape in porcelain (?) has holes round the rim, and was originally inlaid with gold, traces of which still remain.
Fragments of porcelain (?), parts of a cup or vase, with carvings in low relief, representing a castle with women on the walls, the hind legs of a camel, and a captive carrying a cauldron. An inscription appears to have described the event represented, and to have contained the name of a king. Only a few characters remain.
Several inscribed fragments of agate, lapis-lazuli, cornelian, and Other precious materials, beads, cylinders, and one or two clay tablets with inscriptions and impressions of seals, complete the list of small objects discovered in this temple.
The inscriptions across the sculptured slabs are nearly the same as the standard inscription in the northwest palace; those at the back also contain the name of the founder of that edifice, who, it thus appears, was likewise the builder of the temple.
About one hundred feet to the east of the building last described, and on the very edge of the artificial platform, I discovered a second temple. Its principal entrance, faced the south, and was on the same level as the north-west palace. This gateway was formed by two colossal lions with extended jaws, gathered up lips and nostrils, flowing manes, and ruffs of bristly hair. The heads, though to a certain extent conventional in form, were designed with that vigor so remarkably displayed by the Assyrian sculptor in the delineation of animals. The limbs conveyed the idea of strength and power, the veins and muscles were accurately portrayed, and the outline of the body was not deficient in grace and truth. But the front of the animal, which was in full, was narrow and cramped, and unequal in dignity to the side. In the general treatment the whole sculpture had much of that peculiar feeling and character that mark the archaic monuments of Greece, and it was on this account peculiarly interesting. In it, indeed, we may perhaps trace those conventional forms from which the Greek artist first derived his ideal Lion.* [Plate 2, 2nd series of Monuments of Nineveh.] The sculptor has given five legs to the animal for the same reason that he gave them to the sphinxes, that they might offer a complete front and side view.
This gateway, about eight feet wide, was paved with one inscribed slab. The height of the lions was about eight feet, and their length thirteen. An inscription was carved across them. In front of them, in the corners formed by walls projecting at right angles with the entrance, were two altars, hollow at the top, and ornamented with gradines resembling the battlements of a castle. † [An altar nearly similar in shape is seen on the top of a hill, in a bas-relief at Khorsabad, Botta, plate 16.] The exterior walls appeared to have been adorned with enamelled bricks, many of which still remained.
Unfortunately, one of these lions had been too much injured by fire to bear removal. The other, although cracked in several places when discovered, and consequently moved in pieces, has been preserved, and is now in the British Museum.
The Lion portal led into a chamber 57 feet by 25.‡ [C. Plan II.] At one end was a recess similar to that in the opposite temple, and also paved with one great alabaster slab, inscribed on both sides. This monolith, 19-1/2 ft. by 12 ft., was likewise broken into several pieces, and had been injured in parts by fire.
Entrance to a small Temple (Nimroud).
The inscription on the upper side, divided into two columns, and containing 230 lines, was nearly the same as that on the king in the frame and on the monolith in the other temple. It was also a record of the wars and campaigns of the early Nimroud king, and was important as enabling us to restore such parts of the other inscriptions as are wanting, and as furnishing various readings of the same text. The inscription on the under part was a mere abridgment of the other.
Statue of King, from Temple (Nimroud).
Nearly in the centre of the principal chamber were two small slabs joined together. On each was the same inscription, merely containing passages from the standard inscription.
The other rooms in the same building contained no inscriptions, sculptures, or other objects of interest. The walls had been plastered and painted.
In the earth above the great inscribed slab, was found an interesting figure, 3 feet 4 inches high, and cut in a hard, compact limestone. It appeared to represent the king himself attired as high priest in his sacrificial robes. In his right hand he held an instrument resembling a sickle, and in his left the sacred mace. Round his waist was the knotted girdle; and his left arm, like that of the king in the opposite temple, was partly concealed by an outer robe. His garments descended to his feet, the toes alone projecting from them. The beard and hair were elaborately curled. The features were majestic, and the general proportions of the statue not altogether incorrect, with the exception of a want of breadth in the side view peculiar to Assyrian works of art of this nature. It was, however, chiefly remarkable as being the only entire statue "in the round" of this period, hitherto discovered in the ruins of Nineveh.
On the breast is an inscription nearly in these words: — After the name and titles of the king, "The conqueror from the upper passage of the Tigris to Lebanon and the Great Sea, who all countries, from the rising of the sun to the going down thereof has reduced under his authority." The statue was, therefore, probably raised after his return from the campaign in Syria described, as we have seen, on the monoliths, and alluded to in the standard inscription.
This statue originally stood on a pedestal of reddish limestone, which, with the figure itself, was found broken into several pieces. They have been restored, and are now in the British Museum.* [Plate 52, of 2nd series of the Monuments of Nineveh.]
Head in Gypsum, from small Temple (Nimroud).
Ivory Head from small Temple (Nimroud).
Amongst the smaller objects discovered whilst removing the earth from the chambers in this edifice were several rudely carved heads in alabaster, which may have been parts of a throne or altar, or of some architectural ornament; fragments of enamel belonging to wooden or ivory figures; and the head of a griffin or mythic animal in ivory, most probably belonging to a wooden figure, or to the top of a staff, as there are holes for the nails by which it was fastened.
The two interesting buildings just described, the only undoubted remains of temples hitherto found at Nimroud, complete the discoveries at the northern extremity of the mound. They enable us, as will hereafter be seen, to restore part of the group of edifices raised on the grand platform in this quarter of Nineveh.