Although archaeological excavations
reveal that
the land of the Assyrians had been
inhabited as
early as 5000 B.C., it was not until the
reign of
King Sargon of Akkad in 2371 B.C. that
the
Assyrians first rose to glory. Under
Sargon, the
kingdom rapidly expanded north to the
city of
Ashur and as far west as the
Mediterranean,
controlled by a central government based
in
Akkad. By 1813 B.C., King Shamshi-Adad
I
united the cities of Ashur, Nineveh, and
Arbel
into one cohesive administrative unit.
These
three cities, as well as Arrapkha and
Kalhu (later
known as Nimrud), form the historical
core of
the Assyrian Kingdom which would remain
a
credible force throughout the
Mediterranean
world for the next millennium. While
various
parts of Assyrian territory were annexed
for brief
periods of time by neighboring
civilizations, this
core remained firmly intact. The
Assyrians
experienced another Golden Age, lasting
from
the 9th until the 7th Century B.C. (this
period is
referred to as “Neo-Assyrian”). During
this
period, the kingdom grew to its largest
extent,
encompassing the lands from parts of
modern
Iran to the Mediterranean, from Anatolia
to
Egypt. However, it proved difficult
even for the
powerful Assyrian monarchs to maintain
control
over this vast territory for very long.
By the end
of the 7th Century, the Assyrian Kingdom
began
to collapse under the weight of assaults
from the
Babylonians to the south and the newly
founded
Medes Kingdom to the east. In 612 B.C.,
Nimrud
burned for the second time in three
years,
followed by the sacking of Ashur and
Nineveh,
effectively ending Assyrian control of
the ancient
Near East.
Throughout the past, great civilizations
have
decorated their constructions with
sumptuous
paintings and tiles. Many remarkable
examples
survive today from the wall paintings
and
mosaics of Pompeii to the glazed tiles
of the
Ishtar Gate in Babylon. This Assyrian
glazed
brick tile is such an artifact that
would have
adorned the walls of a temple or palace
structure. The tradition of glazed
terracotta
brick as adornments began in southern
Iran in
the 13th century B.C. The white
quadraped,
perhaps of the antelope family, stands
out
against the bright blue hue of the
background.
Originally, the colors would have been
even more
intense. Does this creature have
symbolic
meaning, might it represent a deity?
Maybe it
was a symbol for the patron’s family,
much like a
coat of arms. Perhaps it was just a
representation of the local flora and
fauna.
Imagine an entire room full with glazed
wall
depicting a virtual zoo. No doubt the
effect
would have been phenomenal.
- (PF.5609b)
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