Lachish relief

Lachish relief in the British Museum

Translation: “Sennacherib, the mighty king, king of the land of Assyria, sitting on the throne of the court before (or entering) the city of Lachish (Lakhisha). I give permission for their slaughter. "

The Lachish relief is for the Southwest palace in Nineveh the Assyrian king Sennacherib -built relief from Alabaster which the conquest of the Judean city of Lachish v under that king in the year 701. FIG. Shows. It was 2.50 meters high and 18.90 meters wide and clad the inner walls of room XXXVI in the palace, a central room of the Principal Reception Suite . A total of 12 plates of the relief, along with other reliefs from Sennacherib, Asarhaddon and Assurbanipal, were found by Austen Henry Layard during his excavations in 1849 . These are now in the collection of the British Museum in London.

It occupies an important place especially in the field of biblical archeology , since it is one of the few extra-biblical sources that deal with Sennacherib's conquest of Judah.

description

Floor plan of the room with Lachish relief

The relief, which consists of twelve panels, shows the conquest of the Judean city of Lachish in 701 BC in a coherent, narrative scene . The story began to the left of the entrance to room 305 with a depiction of the attacking Assyrian army (I and II). In the center of the relief (II – IV) the storming of the city is depicted, from whose gates (later in time) people flee and are captured. The adjoining area shows the deported Judeans (IV – VI). On the right side wall (VII) you can see King Sennacherib, whose face was scratched out by the Medes or Babylonians during the conquest of Nineveh. Then the royal tent and the royal chariots can be seen IX and X). The conclusion (XI and XII) was the representation of a military camp on the right side of the entrance.

Scene 1

The first scene is on the left side of the relief and shows slingshots, archers and spearmen moving towards the besieged city in a tree and bushy landscape (upper edge of the picture).

Scene 2

The Assyrians attack the walls of the city with the help of a siege tower.

The second scene shows the attack on the well-armed city, which is fortified with a high and mighty wall. The soldiers attack an outer gate and parts of the city fortifications with battering rams or a kind of siege tower, behind which the troops with shields advance. Particularly noteworthy is the mighty siege ramp, which has stood the test of time and can still be seen today. Torches are thrown at the siege weapons from the city wall. Some of the defenders flee the city.

Scene 3

The third scene shows the conquerors carrying away the booty, which consists of cult devices and great treasures. The prey also includes children, women and men who move into captivity and are sometimes shown with a two-wheeled ox cart. Some of the men are killed.

Scene 4

The Assyrian King Sennacherib on his throne

The fourth scene shows King Sennacherib sitting on his throne. All the people in the entire relief are focused on him. The Judeans kneel before him and beg him for their lives while his soldiers pay homage to him.

Scene 5

The fifth scene depicts the Assyrian army camp, with the people here facing in opposite directions and thus facing scene 4. The camp has an oval floor plan and is protected by towers and a wall. Inside the camp there are tents and sacrificing priests. There are more soldiers in front of the camp.

Significance for Biblical Archeology

Within the discipline of biblical archeology , the Lachish relief, along with the Sennacherib prisms , is an extremely important extra-biblical source for the biblical account of the conquest of Lachish (2 Kings 18, 13-15).

literature

• D. Ussishkin: The Conquest of Lachish by Sennacherib (= Publications of the Institute of Archeology, Tel Aviv University Volume 6). Tel Aviv 1983, ISBN 965-266-001-9 .
• RD Barnett, Erika Bleibtreu, G. Turner: Sculptures from the Southwest Palace of Sennacherib at Nineveh . British Museum Press, London 1999, ISBN 0-7141-1126-0 .
• Christian Outrage : History of Israel . Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2016, ISBN 978-3-17-029228-4 , pp. 254-260.
• Neil MacGregor : A History of the World in 100 Objects . Translated from the English by Waltraut Götting. Andreas Wirthensohn, Annabell Zettel, CH Beck, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-406-62147-5 , pp. 173-179.

Web links

Commons : Lachish reliefs  - collection of images

• Scientific description at the British Museum: Inventory number 1856,0909.14 .
• A History of the World in 100 Objects, British Museum
• A History of the World in 100 Objects, BBC