Salvete Omnes,
a short entry but the study is enjoyable and well researched -
a Master thesis by Stephanie Baldwin - Bit by Bit: an Iconographic Study of horses in the reliefs of Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II (883-859B) - Univeristy od Stellenbosch.
The study can be had from the author's Academia page .
Enjoy
Salvete Omnes,
long time ago I made a post about the relief from the British Musuem showing nomads, most likely the Kimmerians , being pursued by the Assyrians under king Ashurnasirpal II (883-859BC) , shooting backwards from the horseback - Parthian shot - and finally making signs of submission towards the pursuing Assyrian chariot.
Today I would like share this image from the said museum - it is a drawing of the said relief (from Kalhu palace) created in situ by Austen Henry Layard in 1840s .
note that the reign of this Neo-Assyrian king was the period when soldiers mounted on horses became a part of the Assyrian army. But these horsemen rode in pairs, where one rider held the reins of the archer's horse who fired the arrows while mounted. A bit more than awkward one could observe .
In contrast our nomads in the relief above do not need that assistance, being completely independent one from another.
Meantime, you can download the drawing from the museum's site or this one above.
Valete
Salvete Omnes,
we have not visited the ancient Assyrian in a while.
And as usual with the Neo-Assyrian kingdom their horse is featured and it is shown prominently in this relief, these chariot horses are tribute from the Chaldeans and Neo-Hittites.
. This dais was found in the eastern end of the throne room (T1) at Fort Shalmaneser in the city of Nimrud (in modern-day Nineveh Governorate, Iraq) in 1962 CE. The front and sides of the dais were carved in relief depicting various tributary scenes. The dais was completed around 846-845 BCE (and that would be the king's 13th year of reign).
This scene is part of a long tributary one where the Shalmaneser III (r. 858-824 BCE) receives Chaldean tribute from Musallim-Marduk, son of Ukani. On the right, a groom leads a pair of horses, unharnessed except for the halter by which they are controlled. This is followed by a second group of tribute bearers. The procession is headed by a bearded male figure (probably the prince). Before him, a smaller male figure (child), probably his son, appears. Both raise their hands in a homage or submission gesture. They are followed by a chamberlain bearing his staff of office, followed by a bearded figure carrying in his extended hands a small tray of loaf-like objects, perhaps ingots of some relatively precious metal.
This scene is part of a long tributary one where Shalmaneser III (r. 858-824 BCE) receives tribute from Qalparunda (c. mid 9th Century BCE) of the Land of Unqi (a Luwian Syri-Hittite state, also known as Pattin). This is the rear part of the tributary procession. The rear is brought up by two grooms in long, belted tunics, one brandishing a whip, and each leading a pair of ornately caparisoned horses
During the ransacking of the Iraq Museum in April 2003 CE, this object[dais] was not vandalized and remained intact. It is on display at the Assyrian Gallery of the Iraq Museum in Baghdad, Republic of Iraq.
Valete
ps the description comes from the Wiki Commons page on the details of this dais -
Salvete Omnes,
as you may already have known I am a big proponent of reconstruction and historic reenactment.
A friend of mine from Poland, Kuba Mikolajczuk who is a historian, history enthusiast and journalist, provided me with the link to this Youtube content creator from Australia. Ancient Assyrian Props & Costumes of - thanks Kuba!
This gentleman - Donald Barkho - from Australia is working on a reconstruction of an Assyrian (Neo-Assyrian Empire) chariot - Assurnasirpal II-style, as he calls it. And here is a video link to the progress in his reconstruction - very interesting study in actual construction and potential issues while using.
Valete
