Ashurbanipal Hunting Lions

I have selected art out of the Assyrian Empire and more specifically, the piece I chose is Ashurbanipal Hunting Lions. (https://smarthistory.org/ashurbanipal-hunting-lions/)

Ashurbanipal slitting the throat of a lion from his chariot (detail), Ashurbanipal Hunting Lions, gypsum hall relief from the North Palace, Ninevah, c. 645-635 B.C.E., excavated by H. Rassam beginning in 1853 (British Museum)

After researching, the artwork I've decided to highlight today is Ashurbanipal Hunting Lions. The Assyrian Empire had a large military culture. Men were obligated to fight in the army and serve under the aggressive warrior king. The Assyrians were savages, their armies would kill, conquer, and burn entire villages. Resources were collected from these conquests and as a result, Assyrian Kings were incredibly wealthy.

Lion Hunts of Ashurbanipal, aiming

The kings used their riches to build large, luxurious palaces. On the inside, these palaces were decorated  with grand impressions depicting warriors, war and fighting. The warriors in these impressions were all depictions of the Assyrian King as a grand warrior. 

Ashurbanipal Hunting Lions is especially interesting because of the symbolism that the impression portrays. This impression is said to show the King of Assyria (The only man who was worthy of killing lions) hunting lions atop his might chariot. Symbolically, the lions are said to represent the violence of nature. The king, killing these lions, is said to be a representation of keeping that violent nature in check, resulting in safety and protection for his people. 


Comments

  1. M. RobersonSeptember 2, 2020 at 3:09 PM

    Hello Jeremy! Congratulations on your final semester of college! I like the artwork of your artifact collection. The men spearing the lion is a powerful image giving us a good indication of the types of people they were. Good job!

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  2. UnknownSeptember 6, 2020 at 7:52 PM

    Jeremy,
    I recall from the optional zoom meeting earlier this week, we talked about how the Assyrians were so driven by war and gaining of territory and riches of their enemies, and the piece you picked to focus on in your blog is a pretty accurate representation of their history. A couple things that I feel worked well in your post is that you included the photograph of your subject in the beginning followed by a direct link for readers to see your original source. I also found your introduction to be a very good narration voice of discussing the Assyrian Empire, what they focused on and some of what their culture believed in. Something that would have been helpful to know is who was the King of the Assyrian Empire at that time and to provide the date in which time period this was during.
    -Autumn Fink

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousSeptember 7, 2020 at 8:09 AM

    hey Jeremy i like the art you chose i think it tells a really cool story and shows how the assyrians were a dominant people, i also like the king fighting the lion, i didn't know that, thats what it symbolized. well done.

    ReplyDelete

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