The aftermath of immigration in the art of the Neo-Assyrian period
Channel: Recording Archaeology
Date: 2023-06-16

Natalia Skrzypek Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan (Poland), Faculty of Archaeology

The Neo-Assyrian period, which lasted from the ninth to the seventh century BC, was a time of great conquests. Scholars often characterise it as the time when the first empire in human history was established. It was then that Assyrian kings made decisions to resettle people, mainly to suppress rebellions in their subordinate territories, stretching from Egypt to present day Iran. The issue of migration was addressed by rulers from Ashurnasirpal II to Ashurbanipal both in royal inscriptions and in art. As the rulers emphasised, not only people, but also animals and plants were deported. How did the deportations affect the creation of the court art of this period? How were they depicted? What was the purpose of depicting the deportations and the deportees? It is known from sources that displaced artisans often took part in the process of erecting the rulers' palaces, which were decorated with sculptures and paintings created by them at the king's behest. Illustrations of these activities can be seen in the many bas-reliefs 
decorating the walls of palaces in Assyrian political centres, which included ancient Nineveh, Kalhu and Dur-Sharrukin. Therefore, the aim of my paper will be to show what consequences migrations brought in relation to the art of the present time through the presentation and analysis of a few selected examples of texts and visual representations.