02-01-2006, 10:12 PM
Quote: Iconographically speaking, that could identify him as a soldier... just an artistic convention.
Very true, Assyrian art did certainly use many such conventions. But at the same time, there are many depictions of soldiers without helmets. One wonders where their clothing and equipment is, and very likely, it was a detail simply ommitted by the artists. This sculpture is from the Northwest Palace (a.k.a., the 'Juniper Palace') of Assurnasirpal (884-859 BC) at Nimrud, and so dates to the very beginning of the Neo-Assyrian period- later, a bit mroe care was taken with detail. In a relief of Sennacherib (705-681 BC) at his Southwest Palace at Numrid (the 'Palace-Without-Rival', written extensively about by Russell), there is a depiction of soldiers swimming with inflated skins - they wear their helmets (presumably because it was easier than carrying them) and carry their equipment in cane baskets on their backs, which suggests that they did indeed cross water this way.
Here are a couple scans I made from Assyrian Sculpture in the British Museum - Assurnasirpal II (if anyone wants the full citation, I can dig it out).
[url:115wy3ny]http://members.chello.at/jamie.szudy/rASBM-AnpII_pl21.jpg[/url]
This one is the full scene that our swimmer was taken from - note that in the boat behind our swimmer is a chariot, the axel sitting on the gunwhales and the wheels hanging over the sides. They are all on their way to attack a city.
[url:115wy3ny]http://members.chello.at/jamie.szudy/rASBM-AnpII_pl13.jpg[/url]
This scene is of some other guys swimming across a moat - they appear to be enemies (that is, non-Assyrians) fleeing to their fortified city - note that they have no weapons or armor, and that one has a couple arrows in him. Dead or wounded Assyrians are NEVER shown (bad for propaganda, you know...and I will try to be good and not make any modern parallels...), so they must be enemies. Note that one of the three is swimming without the aid of an inflated skin. Also note that the other two have the inflating tube held in their mouths. I don't have the book at hand, however, so I can't check to see what inscription (if any was preserved) went with it.
Sorry, don't have a scan of the Sennacherib relief at the moment.
Best,
Jamie
LU2.DUB.SAR
