by Eckart Frahm
The Middle Assyrian Period
Aššur‐bel‐nišešu to Aššur‐uballiṭ I (1407–1318 [1417–1328] BCE)
The only surviving art securely dated to the 14th century is imagery on cylinder seals, mostly known from their impressions on clay tablets and labels from Ashur. The most complete study of the glyptic of this period is still Beran (1957), which must however be used with caution since he believed incorrectly that all tablets from Ashur Archive 14446 date to the 14th century (for example his Abb. 33, 37, 38). The datable tablets from this period mostly come from the reigns of Eriba‐Adad I (1380–1354 [1390–1364] BCE) and Aššur‐uballiṭ I (1353–1318 [1363–1328] BCE), and the majority are in the Mittanian Nuzi style, with freely‐disposed compositions featuring fantastic creatures, stylized trees, guilloche patterns, winged disks, and abstract symbols (Beran 1957: 168–215).
Contemporary with these, though, are a number of seals that exemplify a new approach to composition, while retaining the Nuzi motifs. Two of the best examples of this are the personal seals of these two kings. At first glance the seal of Eriba‐Adad looks typically Mittanian, with two groups of tightly‐knit composite figures filling the surface, but the large scale of the figures, their firm adherence to the ground line, and the sparing use of filling motifs distinguish this seal from its Mittanian source (Beran 1957: 144–5; Klengel‐Brandt, in Harper et al. 1995: 103–4). The seal of Aššur‐uballiṭ completes this break with tradition. It depicts only a single group of three monumental figures, two bird‐headed winged figures stabbing a lion while holding it upside‐down by its back legs between them (Beran 1957: 151–2; Klengel‐Brandt, in Harper et al. 1995: 104–5). It is tempting to see this emphasis on subject at the expense of pattern as a deliberate revision of the purpose of glyptic imagery, from cosmic relationships to focused royal power.
Adad‐nirari I to Tukulti‐Ninurta I (1295–1197 [1305–1207] BCE)
The original, and still valuable, publication of cylinder seals and impressions of the 13th century from Ashur was by Moortgat (1942). In comparison with the 14th century seals they exhibit a distinctive style, designated “mature Assyrian” by Matthews in his extensive study of the seals from this period (1990: 89–114). Matthews divided the known seals and impressions into two groups, contest scenes (including peaceful scenes of animals and trees) and ritual scenes (everything else). Within the first group he was able to propose a chronology of seal motifs and subjects based on sealed dated tablets from the reigns of Adad‐nirari I (1295–1264 [1305–1274] BCE), Shalmaneser I (1263–1234 [1273–1244] BCE), and Tukulti‐Ninurta I (1233–1197 [1243–1207] BCE), bearing in mind that seals can be used long after they are created so that the date of a tablet provides only a terminus post quem for the date of the seal impressed upon it. Indeed, Nuzi‐style seals continued to be used occasionally on tablets dating as late as Shalmaneser I and perhaps later (Moortgat 1942: 84–7).
Matthews observes that the most striking feature of the Assyrian‐style seals from the time of Adad‐nirari is the almost total absence of fantastic creatures, replaced by herbivorous animals, lions, and humans. The designs are characterized by a globular tree on a hill or a palm tree, which may be flanked by two rampant animals, by an animal on one side of the tree being shot by an archer from the other, or by an animal being attacked by a lion. Two unusual seal designs that probably date to this phase apparently feature scenes of domestication, one showing a man calming a horse and the other a man and ox plowing (Moortgat 1942: 59–60, 65–9, 74–6, 80–1, figs. 16–17, 32, 47–53, 65–7; Matthews 1990: 91–8, figs. 305–32; Aruz, in Harper et al. 1995: 99–100).
Three types of “contest” scenes characterize the seals of the succeeding Shalmaneser phase. The first is a simple composition featuring a standing animal facing a tree, which is neither a palm nor on a hill (Figure 24.3). The second is a contest with no tree present, showing a lion or man attacking an animal, or even combined in a triangular composition to show a man attacking a lion attacking an animal. A third type features a figure standing between two animals, either rampant or held upside down by a back leg. Fantastic creatures reappear in this phase, occasionally participating in these contests (Moortgat 1942: 52–3, 56–60, 70–3, 78–9, figs. 1–3, 8, 12–15, 38–45, 59, 61–2; Matthews 1990: 98–101, figs. 333–62, 431, 438; Klengel‐Brandt, in Harper et al. 1995: 91–2, pl. 9a; Feldman 2006: 34–7). A unique variant of the motif of two animals flanking a tree probably dates to this or the preceding phase. It shows two bird‐headed winged human figures flanking a palm tree, a motif that also appears in the wall paintings from the palace of Tukulti‐Ninurta I at Kar‐Tukulti‐Ninurta and reappears in the palace reliefs of Aššurnaṣirpal II at Kalḫu (Moortgat 1942: 77, fig. 55; Matthews 1990: 100, n. 144).
Figure 24.3 Ashur, cylinder seal and modern impression showing a nursing ewe facing a tree, from Tomb 45, Middle Assyrian Period, lapis lazuli, H: 2.1 cm; Berlin, VA Ass 1129.
Source: Reproduced with permission of Staatliche Museen zu Berlin – Vorderasiatisches Museum, Foto: Olaf M. Teßmer.
The final phase of the 13th century, associated with Tukulti‐Ninurta, features formulaic contests between humans, lions, other animals, and fantastic creatures. The most popular is a triangular composition with two large figures fighting, often above a third smaller figure. Other possibilities for paired figures include one figure falling forward in front of the other, and one figure trying to escape from beneath the other. The composition featuring a figure standing between two rampant or upside‐down animals continues into this phase as well (Moortgat 1942: 56, 60–6, 68–70, 77–9, figs. 7, 19–27, 31, 34–7, 54, 57–8, 60, 63; Matthews 1990: 101–5, figs. 363–429, 444, 446, 448; Aruz, in Harper et al. 1995: 101). An interesting variant of the triangular composition that apparently dates to this phase is centered on a palm tree, with an archer and gazelle on one side of the tree and a crouching lion facing them on the other side. The tree is a naturalistic palm with a garland of palmettes spread along the tips of its branches. Variants of this type of tree appear also in wall paintings from the palace at Kar‐Tukulti‐Ninurta, in seal impressions on tablets from the time of Tiglath‐pileser I from Ashur, and in the palace reliefs of Aššurnaṣirpal II at Kalḫu (Moortgat 1942: 58, fig. 11; Moortgat 1944: 34–5, figs. 31–2; Matthews 1990: 95, n. 90, fig. 424).
Ritual scenes from the 13th century are not sufficiently numerous to distinguish compositional patterns that allow them to be grouped in chronological phases. The only subject that occurs in several exemplars from Ashur is a worship scene showing one or two humans facing a deity. Each of the five published examples is slightly different: the worshippers can be standing or kneeling, the god is usually seated but in one case standing, there is usually an offering stand between the human and divine figures and astral symbols in the field above, and in two cases a tree stands behind the deity. One example shows two nearly identical worshippers, one standing and the other kneeling, before a divinity. Moortgat suggested that the image may represent the same worshipper in two successive poses, a compositional device used also on the cult pedestal of Tukulti‐Ninurta I (Moortgat 1942: 81–4, figs. 69–73).
Four sculptured stone cult pedestals were found associated with the Ištar temple of Tukulti‐Ninurta I, in what the excavator believed were secondary contexts. Depictions of similar pedestals on one of these pedestals and on cylinder seals from the time of Tiglath‐pileser I show divine symbols on top of them. The tops of the preserved examples are smooth, suggesting that if symbols were placed on them, they were not permanently attached. Three pedestals were found in Room 6, an inner room beside the cult room. Two were carved on the upper part of the front and sides with a simple raised linear decoration and appeared to have been carefully installed. Both were placed next to the entrance wall, one facing toward the door and the other facing away, each had a pavement of baked bricks laid on the floor around it, and each had a votive deposit of beads beneath it (Ass. 19835, H: 80 cm; Ass. 19868; H: 91
cm; Andrae 1935: 23–5, 67–72).
The third pedestal in Room 6 was smaller than the others and appeared to have been installed later and with less care. It was located near the middle of the room facing toward the entrance, sitting somewhat tilted on an uneven floor of accumulated earth that covered the brick pavement, and without a votive deposit. The front of the upper part of this pedestal has a well‐preserved relief image, while the lower part, which projects slightly to form a two‐stepped base, is carved with an inscription (Figure 24.4). Only the first few lines of the inscription are well preserved. They identify this object as the platform of the god Nusku, “chief vizier of Ekur, bearer of the just scepter, courtier of the gods Assur and Enlil, who daily repeats the prayers of Tukulti‐Ninurta” before Assur and Enlil. The inscription identifies the pedestal’s maker as Tukulti‐Ninurta I, and suggests that it may originally have stood in Ekur, a name for the temple of Assur (Ass. 19869, H: 57.7 cm; Muscarella, in Harper et al. 1995: 112–13, pl. 14; Grayson 1987: 279–80). The relief image has three elements. At the right is a picture of a cult pedestal, like this one but without the relief decoration, atop which is a rectangular form bisected vertically by a slender tapering cylinder. At the left stands the figure of the king himself, holding a mace in his left hand and gesturing with his raised right hand toward the pedestal. In the center is the king again, with the same hand positions but now kneeling. These two poses apparently depict sequential action, with the king first approaching the pedestal and then kneeling before it.
Figure 24.4 Ashur, cult pedestal from the Ištar Temple, inscribed by Tukulti‐Ninurta I, alabaster, H: 57.7 cm, Berlin, VA 8146.
Source: author.
Based on the text, the object on top of the pictured pedestal should be the symbol of Nusku. What it represents is uncertain, but it most resembles a tablet and stylus. In Babylonian kudurrus, however, including examples that apparently antedate Tukulti‐Ninurta, Nusku is always represented by a lamp. Nabû, by contrast, only appears on kudurrus that post‐date Tukulti‐Ninurta, and is most often represented by a single or double stylus, depicted horizontally or vertically, and occasionally lying horizontally atop either a tablet or a writing board (Seidl 1989: 121–5, 128–30). If this is a tablet and stylus, then the Tukulti‐Ninurta image would be the only case where Nusku is represented this way. This suggests that the Assyrian artist, perhaps unfamiliar with the Babylonian tradition for representing this Babylonian god, invented a new symbol, perhaps based on the god’s role as intercessor, carrying the king’s messages to the great gods as described on the accompanying text or perhaps, as Bahrani suggested, the tablet refers to Nusku’s role as a god of dreams, delivering through dreams a favorable destiny from the gods to the king. Another possibility, proposed by Wiggerman, is that the cylinder is the scepter of Nusku referred to in the text, but that leaves the rectangle behind it unexplained (Bahrani 2003: 192–8; Wiggermann 1985–86: 10).
The function of Room 6 is uncertain, but the presence of the pedestals may provide a clue. Andrae believed that the two pedestals with geometric decoration were originally in the adjacent main sanctuary, but their architectural context supports a different interpretation. The plan of Room 6, with its rectangular shape and single door at the end of a long wall, is consistent with that of a shrine. Andrae observed that the two geometric pedestals were installed beside this wall on the original floor level, with votive deposits underneath and paving bricks fitted around them, suggesting that they were part of the original furnishings of the room (Andrae 1935: Taf. 27). The orientation of the pedestals is also suggestive. The one nearer to the door faces toward the door and would be approached simply by turning right upon entering the room. The one further from the door faces away and would be approached by making a circuit around the room. This arrangement allows a worshipper to approach the deity located on either pedestal without turning his or her back on the other one, which suggests that Room 6 may have been used as a shrine from the beginning.
Room 6 was also a repository for the inscriptions of previous builders of the Ištar temple: an inscribed stone plaque of Zarriqum, builder of Ištar temple level E, was laid upside down into the floor pavement to the right of the door and an inscribed stone object of Ilušuma, builder of Level D, was on the floor near the door surrounded by a votive deposit. These were the records of the two most recent kings who had completely rebuilt the Ištar temple, now incorporated into Tukulti‐Ninurta’s own new temple. Since the geometric pedestals are uninscribed, it is even possible that they and the inscribed objects were originally in the Ištar temple of Adad‐nirari I, and were brought to the new temple along with Adad‐nirari’s stone foundation tablets (Andrae 1935: 42–8). In that case, Room 6 could have been a secondary shrine for cults originally maintained in the earlier temple. Whatever the explanation for the presence of these objects in Room 6, the archaeological evidence supports the room’s use as a secondary sanctuary from the time the temple was constructed. At some point later in the life of the temple, presumably after the death of Tukulti‐Ninurta I, his cult pedestal dedicated to Nusku was brought from the Assur temple to Room 6 of the Ištar temple and placed on the uneven surface of the layer of earth that had accumulated on the floor in the intervening years (Andrae 1935: Taf. 27b, d).
The fourth stone cult pedestal associated with the Ištar temple was found against the temple facade southeast of the main door just beyond the outer corner of the gate tower, where it had been placed together with the Ur III headless stone statue of a man (Ass. 20069, H: 103 cm; Andrae 1922: 108, Abb. 83; Andrae 1935: 59–67, Taf. 29). They were installed on a layer of mortar and propped upright by small pieces of stone, leading Andrae to conclude that this was a secondary context for both pieces. It is shaped like the sculptured example from Room 6 and is decorated with two relief images, but is much larger and uninscribed. The larger image, on the upper part of the front of the pedestal, depicts three figures. Two of these, at the right and left facing towards one another, are protective figures characterized by a frontal face and hairstyle with six large curls. Each has a symbol shaped like an eight‐spoked wheel on his head, each holds a vertical standard with a similar symbol atop it, and the same symbol appears in each of the volutes at the top corners of the pedestal. Andrae identified this as the symbol of Šamaš, the sun god, and proposed that these standards and their bearers stand at the door of that god’s shrine. Between the two standards stands the figure of the king, probably Tukulti‐Ninurta I, worshipping in the same dress and pose as on the Nusku pedestal.
The lower step of the pedestal’s base is also carved on the front with a relief image, the earliest surviving example of narrative imagery in Assyrian art. This relief, which is much more eroded than the one on the upper part, was carefully examined by Moortgat‐Correns (1988), who concluded that it depicts two files of prisoners, roped together and being led from the left and right through a mountainous landscape. The files converge on the central standing figure of the victorious Assyrian king, who holds the end of one of the ropes as the first prisoner kneels before him. Moortgat‐Correns proposed that this kneeling figure is Abuli, king of the land Uqumeni, since he is the only defeated king of a mountainous land named in Tukulti‐Ninurta’s texts.
The earliest Assyrian wall paintings are from the “South Palace” of Tukulti‐Ninurta I at Kar‐Tukulti‐Ninurta, found in fragments at the foot of the palace terrace. The motifs included palmettes, rosettes, animals, stylized trees, and bird‐headed human genies in groups framed by geometric and floral borders, painted in dry fresco in a palette of black, white, blue, and red (Andrae 1925: 13–20, pls. 1–4; Wartke, in Harper et al. 1995: 110–11, pl. 13b).
Aššur‐reša‐iši I to Aššur‐bel‐kala (1132–1056 BCE)
Moortgat (1944) also published the 12th century cylinder seal impressions from Ashur. These were found on tablets and labels in archives dating to the reigns of Ninurta‐tukulti‐Aššur (1133 BCE) and Tiglath‐pileser I (1114–1076 BCE). Most of the impres
sions show contest scenes similar to those of the late 13th century from Ashur (Moortgat 1944: 25–33, figs. 4–25; Matthews 1990: 104–5). Other subjects that continue into this period are a tree flanked by two figures, including the bird‐headed winged human, as well as ritual scenes, a particularly elaborate example of which shows two humans making offerings to a striding deity on a lion, with a winged disk in the field above (Moortgat 1944: 34–7, figs. 29–31, 35–8).
A few impressions exemplify a new approach to landscape, depicting figures in settings that may have been identifiable to contemporaries as specific places. Two impressions on tablets of Tiglath‐pileser I show architectural images of temples. One has a depiction of a towered temple facade, with clouds billowing above and streams of water flowing down to either side. A pair of goat fish flank its door, which frames a cult pedestal similar to those of Tukulti‐Ninurta I (Moortgat 1944: 43, fig. 45; Klengel‐Brandt, in Harper et al. 1995: 105–6). These figures beside the temple door recall the palace accounts of Tiglath‐pileser I and his son Aššur‐bel‐kala (1073–1056 BCE), which describe statues of exotic creatures placed outside the doors. The other impression shows a standing figure, perhaps the king, wearing a fez and gesturing towards a towered temple facade. In the door are a pedestal with a dog sitting on it, perhaps the symbol of Gula, and a star (Moortgat 1944: 43–4, fig. 46). A related example is an actual seal found in the destruction debris of the Ištar temple of Tukulti‐Ninurta I. It depicts a man standing before an incense stand and offering table in front of a four‐stepped temple tower, with a star in the field above (Klengel‐Brandt, in Harper et al. 1995: 99). Although the date is uncertain, the representation of architecture suggests the 12th century. Three impressions from a seal in the archive of Ninurta‐tukulti‐Aššur also exemplify the new emphasis on landscape. The composition shows two men in a chariot hunting ibexes in the mountains, depicted in a manner that would be at home in New Kingdom Egypt but is new to Assyria (Aruz, in Harper et al. 1995: 102–3).
