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

by Percy S. P. Handcock

Fig. 109.

From this brief description of the military equipment of the Assyrians, it will be at once manifest how elaborate must have been the organization of the army. Reference has frequently been made to the conical-shaped helmets of the soldiers, and the similarly shaped tiaras of the kings, but it must not be supposed that all Assyrian head-gears were conical. Some idea of the diversity of head-coverings used in Assyria may be gained from the selection reproduced in Fig. [109]. The most noteworthy of these is the horned crown in the centre (A), which was worn by the colossal winged-bulls. The horns which are the symbol of divinity, occupy a prominent position on the head-coverings of nearly all Babylonian and Assyrian gods, and their presence on the head-gear of a human-headed bull is indicative of the divine character with which they endowed these colossi. The top of this massive crown or hat is decorated with a row of feathers, while its face is adorned with the familiar rosettes. In (B) we have a royal tiara, and (C), (D), (E) and (F) illustrate the different kinds of fillets worn round the head, while (G) to (M) exhibit the various types of helmets used in the Assyrian army.

Fig. 110.

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.

Fig. 111.

But by far the most formidable military invention of the warlike Assyrians was the battering-ram; the ram was brought to bear upon the wall of the besieged city by a movable tower, in the shelter of which the ram could be effectively and safely worked, the tower and the battering-ram thus forming together a most potent factor in both offensive and defensive operations. These movable towers were by no means uniform, but varied both in size and height, sometimes they were surmounted by towers (cf. Fig. [111] (A)) from which the attacking forces could shower their arrows upon the beleaguered army with impunity, at other times they were quite low and shaped liked a torpedo, the larger ones resting on six wheels (cf. Fig. [44]), and the smaller on four (Q). The ram itself also varied—sometimes it was set at an angle slanting upwards (A), its projecting extremity being at the same time heavier and thicker than the shaft, but more usually the ram was fixed horizontally and pointed like a spear (B), the tower sometimes being armed with two of these rams (C). The most noticeable of the shields here represented are the large shields, from behind the shelter of which the bowman could aim and shoot at his ease, the shield of course being held in position by a shield-bearer (cf. (D), (E), (F)). These large shields were generally upright (F), but were often curved at the top to protect the head of the archer from the missiles of the enemy (D), while sometimes the whole shield was curved (E). But the lancers required no such protection, a small hand-shield which they could carry themselves being the only type of defence which would not completely nullify their usefulness in the field. These shields varied in shape and size; they were generally round (cf. (G)-(K)), but sometimes curved and oblong (L), while at other times they were concave in the body, oval at the top, straight at the bottom, and decorated with a boss in the centre and an engraved design round the edge (cf. (N)). Another type of shield was shaped somewhat like a lozenge (O), but they all alike have their handles in the centre. They were often most elaborately engraved, the designs being formed by an arrangement of straight lines ((G) and (P)), geometrical figures ((H) and (L)), or circles of rosettes ((I) and (J)). One of the shields illustrated here differs from the rest in having its outer face notched like the edge of a saw, and must have served offensive as well as defensive purposes (cf. (M)).