The Arslan Tash reliefs are bas-reliefs of human figures and animals which adorned the city gates and temple portals of ancient Hadatu; the modern archeological site of

Arslan Tash Arslan Tash ( tr, Arslan Taş "Lion Stone"), ancient Hadātu, is an archaeological site in Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria, around east of Carchemish and the Euphrates and nearby the town of Kobanî. History The city was the center of an Ar ...

, literally "the Stone Lion". ( Turkish; Arslan - ''Lion'', Taş - ''Stone'') The bas-reliefs may have been carved by different artists in different periods, but an inscription carved across the body of one bull dates the inscription to the reign of

Tiglath-Pileser III Tiglath-Pileser III ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , meaning "my trust belongs to the son of Ešarra"), was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 745 BC to his death in 727. One of the most prominent and historically significant Assyrian kings, T ...

(745-727 BC) however artistic considerations suggest the conclusion that the reliefs were originally carved sometime between the reigns of

Shalmaneser III Shalmaneser III (''Šulmānu-ašarēdu'', "the god Shulmanu is pre-eminent") was king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from the death of his father Ashurnasirpal II in 859 BC to his own death in 824 BC. His long reign was a constant series of campai ...

(858-824 BC) and Sargon II (721-705 BC). In February 2015, in the Syrian city of

Raqqa Raqqa ( ar, ٱلرَّقَّة, ar-Raqqah, also and ) (Kurdish: Reqa/ ڕەقە) is a city in Syria on the northeast bank of the Euphrates River, about east of Aleppo. It is located east of the Tabqa Dam, Syria's largest dam. The Hellenistic, ...

, the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

(ISIL) publicly ordered the bulldozing of a colossal ancient Assyrian gateway lion sculpture from the 8th century BC. Another lion statue was also destroyed. Both statues originated from the Arslan Tash archaeological site. The destruction was published in the ISIL magazine, '' Dabiq''. File:Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul, Turkey. Assyrian wall slabs.jpg, Basalt wall slabs from the palace of Tiglath-pileser III at Arslan Tash, Syria. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul File:Assyrian chariot, charioteer, and a horse rider. Basalt wall relief. From the palace of Tiglath-pileser III at Hadatu, Syria. 744-727 BCE. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul.jpg, Assyrian chariot, charioteer, and a horse rider. Basalt wall reliefs from the palace of Tiglath-pileser III at Arslan Tash, Syria. 744-727 BCE. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul File:Assyrian warriors. A procession of mace bearers. Basalt wall relief. From the palace of Tiglath-pileser III at Hadatu, Syria. 744-727 BCE. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul.jpg, Assyrian warriors. A procession of mace bearers. Basalt wall reliefs from the palace of Tiglath-pileser III at Arslan Tash, Syria. 744-727 BCE. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul File:Basalt wall slab showing Assyrian soldiers in procession, holding long spears. From the palace of Tiglath-pileser III at Hadatu, Syria. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul.jpg, Basalt wall slab showing Assyrian soldiers in procession, holding long spears. From the palace of Tiglath-pileser III at Arslan Tash, Syria. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul

References

{{reflist, 2 Archaeology of the Near East Archaeological discoveries in Syria Syrian art

See also

References