The Mysterious Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III

This is the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III. It is a black limestone Assyrian sculpture that was found in the ancient city of  Nimrud in northern Iraq, and commemorates the deeds of King Shalmaneser III who reigned from 858–824 BC. The cuneiform inscriptions describe various kings from the region bringing their tribute to the Assyrian king. Among these kings are Sua of Gilzanu (in north-west Iran), an unnamed ruler of Musri (in northern Iraq, Marduk-apil-usur of Suhi (middle Euphrates), Qalparunda of Patin (Antakya region of Turkey) and most notably it displays the earliest ancient depiction of a biblical figure – king Jehu, of Israel From 842–815 bc. And among the tributes the kings are bringing the obelisk shows strange hybrid creatures that look to be half lion and half human. We see creatures like this quite a bit in the ancient world but this is no allegory or metaphor. The kings of the region are bringing real physical tributes to shalmaneser the third so why are mythical creatures being depicted? If you look closely you also see men carrying handbags in the same way they are shown in the depictions of annunaki the Sumerian gods #shorts #history #ancienthistory #sumeria #annunaki