Discoveries Among the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon — John Shaqi
Discoveries Among the Ruins of Nineveh and BabylonLayard, Austen Henry
History
Discoveries Among the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon
Layard, Austen Henry
Babylon (Extinct city); Middle East -- Description and travel; Nineveh (Extinct city); Scientific expeditions
In this series of bas-reliefs the history of an Assyrian conquest was more
fully portrayed than in any other yet discovered, from the going out of
the monarch to battle, to his triumphal return after a complete victory.
The first part of the subject has already been described in my former
work.[19] The king, accompanied by his chariots and horsemen, and leaving
his capital in the Assyrian plains, passed through a mountainous and
wooded district.[20] He does not appear to have been delayed by the siege
of many towns or castles, but to have carried the war at once into the
high country. His troops, cavalry and infantry, are represented in close
combat with their enemies, pursuing them over hills and through valleys,
beside streams, and in the midst of vineyards. The Assyrian horsemen are
armed with the spear and the bow, using both weapons whilst at full speed:
their opponents seem to be all archers. The vanquished turn to ask for
quarter; or, wounded, fall under the feet of the advancing horses, raising
their hands imploringly to ward off the impending deathblow. The triumph
follows. The king standing in his chariot, beneath the royal parasol,
followed by long lines of dismounted warriors leading richly caparisoned
horses, and by foot soldiers variously armed and accoutred, is receiving
the captives and spoil taken from the conquered people. First approach the
victorious warriors, throwing the heads of the slain into heaps before the
registering officers. They are followed by others leading, and urging
onwards with staves, the prisoners--men chained together, or bound singly
in fetters, and women, some on foot, carrying their children on their
shoulders, and leading them by the hand, others riding on mules. The
procession is finished by asses, mules, and flocks of sheep. As on the
bas-reliefs uncovered by Mr. Ross, there is unfortunately no inscription
by which the name of the conquered people can be determined. The
mountains, valleys, and streams, the vines and dwarf oaks, probably
indicate a region north of Assyria, in Armenia, Media, or Kurdistan,
countries we know to have been invaded by the royal builder of the palace.
The dress of the men consists of a short tunic; that of the women, of a
shirt falling to the ankles, and cut low in front of the neck.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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