The Black Obelisk

The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser

The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III, The Discovery of the Black Obelisk, Archaeology in the Area of Ancient Assyria, Paul Emile Botta , Austen Henry Layard, The Jehu Relief, World Empires and Assyria, Assyrian & Bible Timeline, Shalmaneser III and Assyria, Ancient Calah, King Jehu and Israel, Text on the Black Obelisk, Biblica...

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Paul Emil Botta on Sargon's Ruins

"What can all this mean? Who built this structure? In what century did he live? To what nation did he belong? Are these walls telling me their tales of joy and woe? Is this beautiful cuneiformed character a language? I know not. I can read their glory and their victories in their figures, but their story, their age, their blood, is to me a mystery....

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Shalmaneser Fragment Mentioning Jehu

Jehu is also mentioned on another fragment from the annals of Shalmaneser III that was discovered which says, "Then I took tribute of the Tyrians, of the Sidonians, and of Jehu, of the house of Omri." "In the 18th year of my reign I crossed the Euphrates for the sixteenth time. Hazael of Damascus trusted in the power of his forces, marshalled his ...

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Assyrian Timeline from 1000 BC - 609 BC

Timeline of events from the time of king David of Israel to the fall of Assyria in 609 BC....

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The Text on the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III

Face A [1] Assur, the great Lord, the King of all [2] the great gods; Anu, King of the spirits of heaven [3] and the spirits of earth, the god, Lord of the world; Bel [4] the Supreme, Father of the gods, the Creator; [5] Hea, King of the deep, determiner of destinies, [6] the King of crowns, drinking in brilliance; [7] Rimmon, the crowned...

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Mounds in the 1800's

Mounds often contained ruins of ancient cities, built on top of another. In the Near East these sites are called "tells", the Arabic word for "mounds". Some of these mounds reached 100 feet or more in height. Cities were often rebuilt on the same site....

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What is The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser?

The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III is a four-sided monument or pillar made of black limestone. It stands about 6 1/2 feet tall. It was discovered in 1846 by A.H. Layard in the Central Palace of Shalmaneser III at the ruins of Nimrud, known in the Bible as Calah, and known in ancient Assyrian inscriptions as Kalhu. It is now on display in the Brit...

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British Museum Excerpt Jehu Relief

"The archaeologist Henry Layard discovered this black limestone obelisk in 1846 during his excavations of the site of Kalhu, the ancient Assyrian capital. It was erected as a public monument in 825 BC at a time of civil war. The relief sculptures glorify the achievements of King Shalmaneser III (reigned 858-824 BC) and his chief minister. It lists ...

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Shalmaneser III

Shalmaneser III came to the throne of Assyria in 859 BC and reigned until 824 BC. He was the son of the mighty conqueror Ashurnasirpal II and the first Assyrian king to go to war with Israel. In fact his nearly 35 year reign was filled with almost continual warfare in the north and to the west (Syria-Israel), as recorded on stele’s, statue...

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