Taylor Speer-Sims
March 24, 2012
Khorsabad Palace:
Not So Bad, Actually
Fantastic
Sargon II
Sargon
II of Assyria built a great city that is now located in northern Iraq near the
area of Khorsabad. This had been a great citadel where Sargon wanted to plant
his capital of his huge empire. Khorsabad had roots in the Assyrian past, but
it also had genius in its beauty. New types of decoration had been used that
his descendents followed. Two rooms of Sargon’s palace were created for the
same king, but for different purposes. Khorsabad had been built for King
Sargon, II, but still reigns in beauty.
Khorsabad was the
ancient city of King Sargon II. The city’s construction began in 721 BCE and
had still technically not been completed when he died in 705 BCE. The Assyrian
name of the great city was Dur-Sharrukin, which meant Fort Sargon. One
suggestion was that Khorsabad had been most probably built by Sargon’s brother,
Sinahusur, who was also his grand vizier (Oriental). But this seems to be
because his name had been inscribed on a threshold to one of the houses. There
has been no other evidence that he did in fact supervise construction.
Unlike the lacking of crucial
evidence to support Sinahusur supervising the building of Dur-Sharrukin, there
is evidence that Sargon himself oversaw the construction. As an authoritarian
ruler, he not only directed the way the architecture was laid out, he also
directed the actions of the workers. Sargon made sure that the man who he had
given charge of the supplies for the new city understood what exactly had been
expected. Sargon wrote to the governor
of Calah that they needed “700 bales of straw and 700 bundles or reeds, each
bundle more than a donkey can carry. Must be at hand in Dur-Sharrukin by the 1st
day of Kislev. Should this be even one day late, you will die” (Sargon).
It
had been understood that Sargon meant exactly what he said. Murder had not been
new to Sargon. Sargon II had captured his throne in 721 from Shalmaneser V in a violent coup (British).
He then created his title that would be announced in voice, as well in the
stone tablets at the Palace of Sargon. He announced that was “King Sargon,
Sharru-Ken the Legitimate King, King of the World, King of Assyria, Viceroy of
Babylon, King of Sumer and Akkad, Builder of the city of Dur-Sharrukin”
(Inscribed Brick). What had been true of his ascension was also true at his
death. The great Sargon died in battle trying to secure his empire.
Sargon had been
the king of the Assyrian Empire. This empire had been so large that it
encompassed territories that are now within four countries. Located in the
current Middle East, the Assyrian Empire spanned the areas from the Euphrates
river in Syria, north to Lake Van in Turkey, east to Lake Urmi in Iran, and
about 100 miles south of Kirkuk in Iraq. The region has areas of dry rigidity,
and as water is a necessity for life, there were fertile lands as well. Two of
the main rivers in the area were the Tigris and Euphrates. These two rivers had
tributaries that assisted with agriculture in the area, as well as a method for
the use of transportation (BetBasoo).
Transporting
grains had not been the only thing that the was shipped down the rivers by
Sargon. Assyrian war machines, the men and equipment that Sargon used to create
his empire, had also been floated to the furthest regions of the empire so that
they could venture further on foot. Assyria had been in the midst of expansion
when Sargon took control. Assyrian hegemony of the area had continued to grow
with his reign. The Assyrians had been a literate warring tribe (BetBasso).
Akkadian
had been the language of Sargon and his Assyrians (BetBasoo). Cuneiform writing
had been carved on stone tablets, as well as on walls. Because literacy was so
important the people, they even had a god to writing. Nabu was the principal
god of wisdom and writing. Nabu’s full title had been “Lord of the Written
Word, Divine Scribe, Wielder of the Wand of Divination, Opener of the Wells,
Far Traveler” (Nabu). He had been a very important god to Sargon II, the
Assyrian people, and had had a significant impression upon the walls of
Dur-Sharrukin.
Sargon
II had been a ruthless leader. He had been literate and worshiped the god of
writing. Sargon ruled a vast territory that swallowed up many smaller peoples.
The domain had been so large that four different countries today cover the land
that had previously been the Assyrian Empire. Sargon’s new city of
Dur-Sharrukin had not been fully finished when he was killed in battle. His
son, Sennacherib, took the throne and abandoned his father’s new city. The
beautiful Dur-Sharrukin had been left empty for thousands of years when it was
finally rediscovered (Hirsch). Khorsabad’s Sargon Palace as well as the rest of
the city of Dur-Sharrukin had been abandoned, but rediscovered by the world,
and this author.
Khorsabad’s
Sargon Palace is the subject of this comparison paper. Two different areas of
the palace are compared within this work. These two areas are the great
courtyard and room number 7, the throne room. While they are within the same
palace, they are actually in different parts of the building, and had been
decorated differently. Both have carved reliefs that are discussed, as well as
the different meanings and uses. The courtyard may not have been roofed and was
open, while the throne room was in the center of the building and had no
windows.
The
palace had followed the traditional floor plans of the Assyrian rulers. Carved
reliefs were throughout the palace. Outer and inner rooms surrounding
courtyards had been the norm. Sargon’s rooms had been extended beyond the
protective city walls. There was a lower citadel that led to the ramp of the
ziggurat outside the palace central, but within the city walls. Four temples to
the central deities were next to the temple of Nabu, who may have been the
patron of the city (Magnificently).
Interestingly the
Palace of Sargon had differences from previous Assyrian palaces as well. So
many fragment pieces had been found that had been painted in several bright
colors, that it was generally assumed that the entire palace had been painted
thus. Mud bricks that had been used in the buildings still show the rosette
decorations . It had been Sargon’s
artists that first used the curls that represented water for all the generations
that followed. Another first for Dur-Sharrukin was the carved rosette
thresholds. Previous carved thresholds had been inscribed, and this seemed to
have been the first city that used rosettes. There had been many of these
rosette thresholds afterward.
It does seem unlikely that the
courtyard held a threshold. However, the carpet threshold is currently placed
in the entryway to the courtyard indicating that this could have been the
location of it originally. This piece is carved in large rosettes with tassels
to imitate a woven rug (Threshold Carpet, gypsum (?), 4’ x 5’(?),
Oriental Institute Museum, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL). While the
decoration had been innovative here, the carved thresholds had usually been at
the entrances of residences. Perhaps the idea behind the courtyard placement
was to give the visitors the idea that they were entering the house of their
king.
Looking at the left side of existing courtyard
Looking at Ride side of existing courtyard
.jpg)
Photographs taken by author
In fact, the courtyard had been the
entrance to the palace proper. Visitors had had to enter through the gateway
between two Lamasus (Hirsch) (Lamasus, gypsum (?), 14’ x 25’(?),
Oriental Institute Museum, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL) . These great
giants were 14’ tall and weighed approximately 40 tons (Lamasu). These half
man, half winged bulls had been carved and painted in a way that made it appear
as if they were looking directly at the visitor. The Lamasus had writing carved
below the belly in the front. The backs of both had written prayers to the gods
that had been completely covered by the walls originally. The walls had joined
up against the sides of the beasts so that only the gods could witness the
prayer writings (Hirsch).
After passing the inspection of the
Lamasus, the visitor then entered the great courtyard. Adorning the walls of
the courtyard there had been “monumental carved reliefs showing processions of
human figures” (Courtyard). Courtyard measurements were “86m x 60m with the
walls over 60m tall (Great Courtyard of Sargon II, gypsum (?),Oriental
Institute Museum, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL). American measurements of
282.15’ x 196.85’ for the courtyard, and the walls were at 196.85’ tall. The
people had not been carved to the entire height of the wall, but they were very
close. No measurements of the people or animals had ever been noted. These reliefs
have Sargon the beneficent, regal ruler accepting gifts from travelers. He was
shown to be courteous and welcoming to all. Sargon wanted everyone to know how
much of a great guy that he really was. Even his son, the crown prince and his
clean-shaven eunuchs, was shown as a tribute bearers.
The courtyard had been created for
everyone entering the palace to believe that Sargon had been the rightful king.
He had taken control of the empire by violence. While the Assyrians had been a
warrior kingdom, they still would have appreciated bounty. These reliefs were
docile in nature and were used as a propaganda pieces because of the extreme
size of the pictures. The courtyard had basically been surrounded by billboards
of how wonderful King Sargon II was. This had been an outdoor room, so that the
sun would have shown down on the king and his kingdom.
The entire courtroom would have been
square, with the two Lamasus indenting somewhat into the area. Each person,
animal and Lamasu had been carved very fluidly and lifelike. The hair and
beards were curled and extended from the body. More care had been taken in the
Lamasu, perhaps because he had been the gatekeeper. Genitalia had been carved
on the horses and Lamasu, as well as their rectums. These had been carved so
precisely that they withstood thousands of years under the sand. This would
have indicated the productive values of the realm to the viewers. The stone
colored feathers on the Lamasu had been carved exactly to replicate that of a
bird, and would have been painted in antiquity.
Closeup of clothing of one of the Eunichs
Photographs taken by author
Paint and texture had washed away,
but are still visible in photos with red-sensitive characteristics. The color
of the stone after centuries is a steel gray, but they had originally been
painted in bright vibrant reds, blues and golds. The horses had been dark
brown, or maybe black. The clothing of men and beasts included carved tassels
painted in gold. The Lamasu is complete only after repair, and is the entire
piece of work, but the walls have space above, below and behind the carving. In
other words, these were just barely two-dimensional carvings, barely an inch
from the wall. They had no background, save the stone.
King Sargon’s throne room had been
completely different. This had been an indoor room that one would have had to
been invited into. There had been no windows to this room, so light had to have
illuminated the interior by fire. There were no Lamsus in this room. The
visitors would have had already passed judgment when they entered the
courtyard. Their fate had already been sealed by the gods, and they awaited
that of the king within this room. While the propaganda of the courtyard was
gigantic, these were large, but different. The throne room itself had also been
smaller 45m x 10m (Throne Room of the Palace of Sargon II, 147.64’ x
32.81’ gypsum (?),Oriental Institute Museum, University of Chicago, Chicago,
IL).
The Throne Room
Photograph taken by author
The throne room’s walls had been
completely carved upon. However, these had been separated into three tiers. The
middle tier had writing, which indicated the great warrior deeds of Sargon
(Hirsch). The top most portion had obviously been a scene that included people,
but had sometime in history been worn off. The bottom reliefs were plain to
anyone who could not read cuneiform. The story of Sargon’s exploits had been
carved here.
Measurements of the
slabs themselves are as follows:
A7358
2.535m x 2.76 m this is the groom between two horses (slab on left of the three
slabs
A7360 this is the one missing the top halves of the two figures 2.246m wide and only 1.83m high as it is missing some (middle slab)
A7359 2.29m wide and 3.10m tall, this one has the figure of the king holding a lotus blossom with an attendant behind him who is missing his head (right hand slab) (McDonald)
A7360 this is the one missing the top halves of the two figures 2.246m wide and only 1.83m high as it is missing some (middle slab)
A7359 2.29m wide and 3.10m tall, this one has the figure of the king holding a lotus blossom with an attendant behind him who is missing his head (right hand slab) (McDonald)
The bottom tier also tells the story
of Sargon, just as the second tier had. While the middle portion was all
cuneiform writing, the bottom was of visual picto-stories. The main area had
Sargon, himself, riding in a chariot under a parasol. Warriors followed behind.
He was leading the way while birds flew above him. His destination appeared in
the far right as something like a temple. Fish had been carved beneath the
temple, as trees grew further to the right.
The throne room’s propaganda relief
told a completely different story as that of the courtyard. Here, Sargon was
not beneficent. He was the ultimate warrior. He took control of ruthless troops
that had experience taming others. The true king had reached areas that no
other Assyrian ruler had. Sargon had conquered the edge of the known world. He
had even conquered the wilderness. This was the room of judgment. “He was no
longer Mr. Nice Guy” (Hirsch). Sargon meant to put his foot down on any type of
misbehavior. He had been the true king and he was in charge.
Sargon’s conquering exploits was
fully visible in both writing and pictures. The separation of the reliefs had
not been measured, but are approximately one-third the height of the wall.
Writing took up the entire middle area of the wall, which was about 2.19’ high.
Cuneiform words had been carved so that the words protruded from the wall.
Letters were sharp, angular, and exact, like the king would have been in this
particular room.
Detail of the bottom of the Throne Room - Sargon in chariot
Detail of bird and tree
Detail of Sargon and Slave Charioteer
Photographs taken by author
The two other sections of the walls
had the carved picto-stories. While the top portion has worn away, the bottom
is still precise. These pictures protrude about the same as those from the
courtyard. However, there is more to these. Not only is the story different,
but also the feeling of the piece is also different. These pictures were
smooth, and had more articulation in the carving. The horses appear to be so
similar that they may have been carved by the same person. “Sargon” has more
distinction in his robes and parasol in the throne room than in the great
courtyard. Flying birds had been carved in these reliefs. Trees had been placed
behind Sargon’s chariot and his troops indicating depth that had been lacking
in the courtyard.
Again, the colors have disappeared
from these walls also, leaving the cold color of the stone. This author could
gain no knowledge of the original color of the writing either from the museum
personnel, or from her photographs. However, assuredly these must have been
painted for distinction because they fill the entire section from top to
bottom. Colors in the mural pieces did show up in the photographs, however.
These too had been red, blue and gold, with horses and human hair as black.
Here, there were traces of green that were on the trees, which of course did
not show up on the courtroom.
Sargon II of Assyria created a new
palace within a new city that was to showcase his power. Only ten years after
its beginning, it fell into abandonment. The great king had died, and his
successor left to create his own palace that would remind no one of his father.
Sargon took the throne, and died by the same manner. He created a city that
told visitors that he was the true king. His story continues today in the
murals of the great courtyard and throne room. These two rooms only tell the
propaganda story that the builder wanted to be told. But, they were told
beautifully.
Originally
written for class at American Military University.
Works Cited:
Works Cited:
“Assyrian Empire: 900-612 BC, The”. Oriental Institute
Museum. N.d. Print Plaque.
BetBasoo, Peter. “Brief History of Assyrians”. April 1,
2007. Web.
http://www.aina.org/brief.html.
March 24, 2012.
“Inscribed Brick”. 721-705 BCE. Oriental Institute
Museum. N.d. Print Plaque.
McDonald, Helen. “Re: Info on a few of the pieces”,
Personnel e-mail to author. March 16,
2012.
“Nabu” Gods & Goddesses: Mesopotamian Gods and
Goddesses as Archetypes. n.d. web.
http://www.gatewaystobabylon.com/gods/lords/lordnabu.html.
March 24, 2012.
Hirsch, Mark. Personal discussion with author. March 15,
2012.
“Lamasu”. Oriental Institute Museum. N.d. Print
Plaque.
Sargon II, King. “The King’s Word to the Governor of Calah”
n.d. in “Khorsabad” Oriental
Institute Museum. Print
Plaque. N.d.
“Sargon’s Magnificently Decorated Palace dominates the
Citadel and City”. Oriental
Institute Museum. N.d. Print
Plaque.
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