Mesopotamian Archaeology / An introduction to the archaeology of Mesopotamia and Assyria

by Percy S. P. Handcock

Fig. 94.

It is interesting to trace the history of the boomerang-shaped weapon shouldered by one of the figures on the archaic fragment of the circular bas-relief reproduced in Fig. [25], B. The curved weapon[165] may have originally been a throwing-stick or boomerang, though its shape is the only argument in support of this theory. But whatever its original use may have been, there is evidence that a weapon of this shape was wielded as a club or primitive sword at a very early period. In a sculpture belonging to a slightly later period than the above-mentioned bas-relief, the weapon in question has lost its simplicity and is no longer made in one piece but is composed of three narrow pieces held together by a number of rings. Were this curiously shaped implement only found in the hands of rulers or dignitaries, the rings might merely be decorative accessories, but its occurrence in the hand of a huntsman attacking a lion, (cf. Fig. [78]) makes it incumbent that we should seek for some more adequate and practical reason for the existence of these rings. Doubtless this later form was adopted with a view to increasing the efficiency of the weapon. The weapon is here used at close quarters, and was clearly not used as a throwing-stick at this period, but rather as a kind of sabre. At an early date the Sumerian must have sought for some means of rendering his weapon more serviceable, and have conceived the idea of substituting a blade of flint or obsidian, and in point of fact numerous edged pieces of flint and obsidian as well as primitive saw-blades with teeth have actually been found in early Babylonian ruins. The problem of affixing this blade to the handle or shaft, would find its natural solution in fashioning the latter, of two or more pieces between which the obsidian or flint blade might be inserted, both wood and blade being kept in place by rings; of its early use as a club or sabre we have evidence on the archaic shell reproduced in Fig. [78], where the huntsman is seen holding a curved implement which is composed of three pieces of wood bound together by rings, as on the Vulture Stele, it is obviously not employed here as a throwing-stick but as a weapon for use at close quarters (cf. also Fig. [94], A. B).

In the later period of Gudea we find the same style of weapon in use. Upon a bas-relief recovered by Commandant Cros from Tellô, and belonging to Gudea, we see a curved weapon (cf. Fig. [94], C)[166] terminating in a lion’s head and having a blade which was apparently inserted in a longitudinal slit made in the wood. Sometimes these curved weapons were made of one piece of metal, as was the case with the two examples discovered by Commandant Cros in an early Babylonian grave, one of which is reproduced in Fig. [94], D. Both of these weapons are made of copper and were found in a coffin consisting of two bell-shaped pots cemented together by bitumen. The one in the figure is the more elaborate of the two, and unlike its companion, has the handle still preserved while its total length is about sixteen inches. The edge of the blade was of course on the outside of the curve, the instrument thus resembling a scimitar or short curved sword. It is thus possible that the scimitar, or at least the archetype of the scimitar owes its origin to the Sumerians.[167] The other weapon is of a more primitive character and recalls the earlier examples afforded by the bas-reliefs more vividly, while its blade is double edged. In Assyrian times the curved end becomes quasi-circular in form and the outer edge is furnished with teeth, as is the case with the sceptre which Ashur-naṣir-pal holds in his hand (Pl. [XXIV]). The arms borne by Eannatum himself as represented on the Vulture Stele are the curved weapon already alluded to, a number of darts some of which are double pointed, and a long lance. Eannatum is in the act of piercing the head of a vanquished foe with his lance, which he holds horizontally over his head at the extreme end. According to Commandant Cros, the lance is used in exactly the same way by the Arabs of Irak to-day. It is first held loosely in the middle, while the action consists in throwing it forcibly through the hand till the lower end of it is reached, but it is not allowed to escape from the hand altogether; the weapon is therefore used in part as a spear, and in part as a javelin.

For information regarding the military accoutrements in use at the time of Shar-Gâni-sharri and Narâm-Sin we are mainly dependent on the stele of the last-named monarch (cf. Pl. [XIII]), and the bas-relief fragments reproduced in Fig. [28], B, C. The bow and arrow would appear to be the principal weapons used by the Semites, though the spear and the axe also occur on early Semitic monuments. One noticeable feature in these two sculptures is the absence of any kind of shield.

The cylinder-seals contribute little towards the solution of the manifold problems incidental to a study of early military affairs, as those seals which are engraved with battle-scenes are for the most part Persian in origin.

To attempt to describe the complete wardrobe of the Assyrians would be almost as difficult as to give a full and comprehensive account of English dress to-day. The costumes are so various, and often so finely-wrought, that even a brief review of the different “modes” would far exceed the bounds of a single chapter. The king’s robes are, of course, the most magnificent and most elaborate both in arrangement and decoration. In Pl. [XV] we see Ashur-naṣir-pal, king of Assyria (885-860 B.C.) arrayed in his ceremonial robes. In comparison with the festive garments of his successors, they are simple and inornate, and are merely a replica of those worn by the mythical being behind, the only difference being that those of the king are arranged so as to conceal both his legs, the exposure of the royal leg being apparently out of accord with kingly dignity. The under-garment seems to be a fringed robe or chasuble, over which a long, deeply-fringed mantle is arranged; both the king and his divine attendant wear a broad waist-band into which two daggers are thrust; but the mantle itself was apparently fastened by means of cords ending in tassels. The king’s head-dress, however, is entirely different from that of his follower; it is shaped somewhat like a mitre, two tails being similarly attached to the back. The royal tiara worn by the later kings of Assyria conforms to the same type, only it is more richly decorated and exhibits some variation in regard to its shape. It would appear to have been coloured, if we may trust the evidence afforded by the enamelled bricks from Khorsabad,[168] the colours being red, white and yellow, the latter perhaps being intended to represent gold braid. Judging from its general appearance, the head-dress itself must have been made of cloth.

Both figures here (Pl. [XV]) wear a bracelet on either wrist and two armlets on their sinewy arms, while a necklace encircles their bull-like necks. Ashur-naṣir-pal, like all Assyrian kings, has a thick crop of hair and a very strong beard. Shalmaneser II, his son and successor, wears much the same dress as his father and the same conical head-gear (cf. Fig. [44]), but Sennacherib one hundred and twenty years later is no longer content with the simple yet dignified dress of Ashur-naṣir-pal and Shalmaneser, but assumes a far richer and costlier set of robes (cf. Fig. [31]). The royal mantle is not merely decorated with a fringe but is most elaborately embroidered throughout, while his crown is also far more ornate than those worn by his Nimrûd predecessors, but his attitude is precisely the same as that of Ashur-naṣir-pal in Pl. [XV]. Both kings are holding a bow in their left hand and two arrows in their right. The regal and ceremonial costume of Ashur-bani-pal contrasts similarly with that of Ashur-naṣir-pal and his immediate successors—his dress resembling that of Sennacherib in its general ornateness (cf. Pl. [XX]) while even the costume which he wears while reclining at meat in his garden is far more elaborate than that worn by Ashur-naṣir-pal on the highest ceremonial occasions (cf. Pl. [XXI]).

Some uncertainty exists regarding the dress-materials used by the Assyrians. Many garments were doubtless made of wool or woollen stuffs as in the other period, but a kind of cotton was also used, for Sennacherib states that he imported trees that bore wool or hair, from the south, and that the wool or hair was subsequently clipped and utilized for the manufacture of garments.