Neo-Assyrian wall relief of Ashur

Wall relief depicting the God Ashur (Assur) inside a winged disc. 865-850 BCE. Alabaster,  The British Museum, London.

In the center of this alabaster wall relief Ashurnasirpal II appears twice, mirrored on each side of a sacred tree with his hands making a gesture of worship to the god Ashur. Ashur is shown in a winged disc with a ring in one hand: a symbol of god-given kingship. There are protective spirits on either side behind the king. This panel was displayed behind the throne at Ashurnasirpal II’s North-West Palace at Nimrud.


ashur-ashurnasirpal

An Assyrian city located on the upper Tigris River, known as Kalhu in Assyiran and Calah in the Hebrew Bible. Nimrud was the capital of the Neo-Assyiran empire for much of the ninth and eighth centuries B.C.E., and its palaces have yielded stunning archaeological artifacts.

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