Portion of an inscribed late Assyrian relief found at the Nebi Junus excavations, Mosul, Iraq. by StevanB, on Flickr
Translation of inscription unknown. Probably 7th century BCE. Ruler is 20 cm. long. 4 June 1990.
Cuneiform tablet with observations of Venus. (British Museum)
Although the tablet was found in Assyrian Nineveh, the Assyrians weren’t the ones that actually saw Venus!
Clay guardian dog with traces of blue paint. From Nineveh’s North Palace. Circa 645 BCE.
“Don’t stop to think, bite!”
In the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian periods, magically protective dog figurines were buried next to gateways. They were inscribed with commands such as the one above.
(via gwebarchaeology)
Nineveh - Sennacherib Palace Before conservation
"
The Gates of Nineveh (1928)
by Robert Ervin Howard
These are the gates of Nineveh: here
Sargon came when his wars were won
Gazed at the turrets looming clear
Boldly etched in the morning sun
Down from his chariot Sargon came
Tossed his helmet upon the sand
Dropped his sword with its blade like flame
Stroked his beard with his empty hand
“Towers are flaunting their banners red
The people greet me with song and mirth
But a weird is on me,” Sargon said
“And I see the end of the tribes of earth”
“Cities crumble, and chariots rust
I see through a fog that is strange and gray
All kingly things fade back to the dust
Even the gates of Nineveh”
The Temple of the Sun in Nineveh
Engraved for the New Geographical Dictionary, 1790
