019 Assyrian Reputation for Violence

Museum Description: Campaign in Southern Iraq

Room: 9/Case: None/Number: WA 124825

Scripture: Nahum 3:1

One Assyrian inscription tells how their army would dismember their captives.  They would make two piles outside the defeated city, one of limbs and the other of heads.  In this frieze we can see just such a pile of heads.

The Assyrians had a reputation for cruelty and violence.  The Assyrian capital city, Nineveh, is described as the "city of bloodshed" in the Bible.  This has been proved to be historically accurate with the discovery of artefacts such as these.  We can have a better understanding why Jonah fled in the opposite direction, when asked by Jehovah to proclaim a judgement message to such a frightening people.  Other similar or related artefacts are on display in The British Museum.