Assurnasirpal II's Throne Room: Artistic & Architectural Insights

One Page Summary The academic article, written by Irene J. Winter, is a detailed description of Assurnasirpal II’s, a renowned king of Assyria, throne room and palace. Throughout the article, Winter is very thorough in her descriptions of the component she is focusing on, as she uses her prior historical knowledge to formulate conclusions but also to describe what is being shown. The article is organized by first describing important slabs to then visually analyzing specific rooms. Furthermore, there are various representations of the king which are deduced from the visual art depicted on slabs and rooms in the palace. The article begins with detailed descriptions of slabs which give insight on the king’s role. More specifically, Winter mentions in slab 23 it is apparent that there are ‘theological priorities’ meaning that this slab is centered around this ‘sacred tree’ and then god above the tree, while the king is on the side as his role is to maintain ritual fertility. Additionally, there are different types of reliefs, as narrative reliefs were also described. Slabs B20 and B19 are an accurate representation of this ‘narration’ as it shows animals, like lions and bulls, against the king. This can be seen as a depiction of action, as the king was hunting. Moreover, Winter states that because there are many slabs depicting this battle narrative, one can ‘read’ the slabs like a ‘line of text’. Therefore, it can be concluded that there are different types of slabs in the throne room that contribute to the king and his role and activities he perhaps did during his lifetime. When describing rooms, Winter writes in a similar way to the slabs, very descriptively with some inferences. Winter describes rooms in relation to each other and the palace as a whole, which can be an effective technique in attempting to visualize the spatial layout. Her main focus on rooms lies within Room C as she discusses that the dimensions of extra space in Room C is meant for a seated or standing figure of the king. It should be noted that there are slabs within specific rooms that are analyzed, which play a broader role in understanding the purpose and perception of the king. With that being said, in the topic of rooms, Winter creates parallelisms between texts and images. This connection is created from Room C, as the reliefs in that room, create 4 scenes in how the king is shown. The purpose of analyzing reliefs, rooms, and slabs within this throne room is for a broader understanding of the king. Winter analyzes these aspects to conclude the 4 representations of Assurnasirpal II: the king by himself, with the ‘sacred tree’ and Assur, as a hunter, and conqueror. The king by himself can be concluded from the available space of slabs in Room C, which is meant for a figure of the king. The representation with the ‘sacred tree’ can be depicted from slabs that include Assur and the ‘sacred tree’, like slab 23. Additionally, the king as a hunter can be from narrative slabs like B20 and B19 which show his heroism and courage. Moreover, the conqueror aspect can be from B27b where it seems like the king has brought many lands, ‘east to west’ against his own power, which emphasizes his power but also Assyria’s power. Winter does an excellent job in describing many different types of components to cohesively intertwine all aspects to obtain an overall understanding of the King. Thus, it can be concluded that the throne room includes pictorial, architectural, and textual components which conveys the message that the throne room is meant for a king that is representative of many skills and perceptions. However, she does note that this understanding is not possible without significant background knowledge of Assyria.