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Faizan
Some of the greatest works of ancient art from around the world include spectacular artworks from diverse places and times. They are the creations of times and cultures that make them unique, and they are among the finest examples of art from these cultures. One of the greatest of these cultures was the Assyrian Empire, which was at the height of cultural, scientific, and technological achievements of its day.
Assyria was a major Mesopotamian empire of the Ancient Near East and was situated on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia (modern northern Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and the northwestern fringes of Iran). It existed as an independent state for approximately nineteen centuries, from the 25th century BCE to the 6th century BCE. At its greatest extent, the empire reached from Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea to Persia (Iran), and from what is now Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Caucasus, to the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt and eastern Libya. After the fall of the empire, the civilization continued for another thirteen centuries, from the beginning of the 6th century BCE to the mid 7th century AD, as a 'Neo-Assyrian' political entity ruled by foreign powers.
Important themes that initiated much of the creation of ancient art include the need to legitimate a ruler or impart propaganda concerning the role of the state or ruler, and religion. The Assyrians were innovative in military technology, with the use of things like sappers, siege engines, and heavy cavalry. Assyrian art that has preserved to the present includes stone reliefs depicting battle scenes, and the impaling of whole villages, showing great violence and bloodshed. These reliefs were made for propaganda to show the power of the emperor, and they lined the walls in the royal palaces where foreigners were received by the king. Other stone reliefs show the king conducting religious ceremonies with various deities.
Assyrian sculpture reached a high level of development in the Neo-Assyrian period. One prominent example is the winged bull Lamassu, or shedu. Carvings of the bull were used to guard the entrances to the king's court. These were intended to ward off evil, and were typically made with five legs so that four legs were always visible, no matter the angle from which the sculpture was viewed.
Assyria was a major Mesopotamian empire of the Ancient Near East and was situated on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia (modern northern Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and the northwestern fringes of Iran). It existed as an independent state for approximately nineteen centuries, from the 25th century BCE to the 6th century BCE. At its greatest extent, the empire reached from Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea to Persia (Iran), and from what is now Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Caucasus, to the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt and eastern Libya. After the fall of the empire, the civilization continued for another thirteen centuries, from the beginning of the 6th century BCE to the mid 7th century AD, as a 'Neo-Assyrian' political entity ruled by foreign powers.
Important themes that initiated much of the creation of ancient art include the need to legitimate a ruler or impart propaganda concerning the role of the state or ruler, and religion. The Assyrians were innovative in military technology, with the use of things like sappers, siege engines, and heavy cavalry. Assyrian art that has preserved to the present includes stone reliefs depicting battle scenes, and the impaling of whole villages, showing great violence and bloodshed. These reliefs were made for propaganda to show the power of the emperor, and they lined the walls in the royal palaces where foreigners were received by the king. Other stone reliefs show the king conducting religious ceremonies with various deities.
Assyrian sculpture reached a high level of development in the Neo-Assyrian period. One prominent example is the winged bull Lamassu, or shedu. Carvings of the bull were used to guard the entrances to the king's court. These were intended to ward off evil, and were typically made with five legs so that four legs were always visible, no matter the angle from which the sculpture was viewed.
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