Relief with the siege of Bit-Bunaki

Photogallery

Relief with the siege of Bit-Bunaki
Relief with the siege of Bit-Bunaki
Room IX. Reliefs and inscriptions from Assyrian palaces

This relief (recomposed from two fragments), depicts the siege of the Elamite city of Bit-Bunaki by the Assyrian soldiers of Ashurbanipal. The name of the city is included in the inscription, perfectly conserved, at the top right of the fragment. The scene is dominated by the defensive city wall, with towers and battlements, under attack by groups of armed soldiers wearing helmets and various forms of armour. On the left, on a long ladder propped against the wall, four figures move, armed with javelins; at the top of the wall an Assyrian strikes the enemy who falls below. At the bottom, some soldiers remove stones from the defensive wall to create a gap enabling them to conquer the city.
The relief originates from Room F, the “Room of the Susiana” in the North Palace of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh, and revisits themes already explored by the kings Ashurbanipal II (883-859 B.C.), Salmanazar II (858-824 B.C.) and Sennacherib (704-681 B.C.).