Stone panels from the South-West Palace of Sennacherib (Room 36,
nos. 14-16)
Nineveh, northern Iraq
Neo-Assyrian, about 700-681 BC
The siege and capture of the city of Lachish in 701 BC
These alabaster panels were part of a series which decorated the
walls of a room in the palace of King Sennacherib (reigned 704-681
BC). The story continues from the previous panel of the relief (no.
13).
These three surviving slabs complete the royal entourage. The
right-hand end shows more cavalry and chariots waiting behind the
king. It also shows an aerial view of the Assyrian camp with its
oval wall and defensive towers at intervals shown flattened out.
Other Assyrian camps shown on reliefs were sometimes round or
rectangular. The camp seems to have been methodically planned with
a road running through the middle. There are two pavilions, like
the one behind the king, and five open tents in which various
activities can be seen, including the amusing scene of two men
gossiping over a drink. The pair of chariots in one corner of the
camp have a standard in each of them; these are the chariots of the
gods, sometimes seen charging in battle. On this occasion two
priests in tall hats are performing a ceremony; an incense burner
stands higher than the priests, and a sacrificial leg of meat sits
on an altar.
J.M. Russell, Sennacheribs palace without ri (University of Chicago Press, 1991)
J.E. Reade, Assyrian sculpture-1 (London, The British Museum Press, 1998)
T.C. Mitchell, The Bible in the British Museu (London, The British Museum Press, 1988)