The offensive and defensive weapons of the Assyrians, however, exhibit even greater variations than their helmets. Few actual weapons have been preserved, but thanks to the vast quantity of bas-reliefs which Botta and Layard have rescued from the ruined mounds of Assyria, we are able to form some idea of the extensiveness of an Assyrian armoury. The weapons of the ordinary soldier are sufficiently simple in character, but those which kings, demigods, or viziers wear are often most ornate. In Fig. 110 we have a selection of the more striking weapons represented on the bas-reliefs. (A), (B), (C) and (D) show us four different kinds of pike wielded by the warriors of Ashur; they vary in length and their handles differ, but they all have a more or less diamond-shaped blade, while the arrow-heads (E) are shaped in the same manner. The two extremities of the bow from which the king despatches his unerring shafts into the heart of the enemy, the lion, or the wild bull, and for which he also finds use in the performance of religious ceremonies, often find their termination in the head of a bird (F). But though the arrows themselves are severely practical in their appearance, the quivers in which they reposed when “off duty” are more elaborate (cf. (G)-(L)). The largest of these quivers could accommodate as many as five arrows (cf. (L)), but the normal number seems to have been four. The quiver was slung over the back by means of cords (cf. (G), (J) and (L)). The swords would appear to have been generally straight ((M) (N)), though sometimes curved (O). The sword-hilt was frequently adorned with several lions’ heads, while the scabbard itself was often decorated with lions, the result of which is highly ornamental and effective. The sceptre was a ceremonial weapon—inoffensive without doubt, but eloquently symbolic of royalty (cf. (P)), while the dirk (Q) on the other hand is brandished in a most alarming manner by the composite monstrosities portrayed on the palace walls of Ashur-naṣir-pal. [Illustration: FIG. 111.]