Spotted cats: Mythological beasts of both the Old World and the New

 This unusual vase shows a human head of which all but the area of the eyes, nose, and mouth is enclosed in the head of an animal. The softness of the pelt is indicated by the way in which it tightly fits the human head. The small ears and spots are further animal attributes. It is difficult to identify the figure. It may possibly be a very Egyptianized interpretation of Herakles wearing the lion skin. - Metropolitan Museum of Art

This vessel caught my attention because it reminded me very much of ancient pre-Columbian American art.  All major Mesoamerican civilizations prominently featured a jaguar god, and for many, such as the Olmec, the jaguar was an important part of shamanism. The jaguar's formidable size, reputation as a predator, and its evolved capacities to survive in the jungle made it an animal to be revered. The Olmec and the Maya witnessed this animal's habits, adopting the jaguar as an authoritative and martial symbol, and incorporated the animal into their mythology. 

In the surviving Olmec archaeological record, jaguars are rarely portrayed naturalistically, but rather with a combination of feline and human characteristics. These feline anthropomorphic figures may range from a human figure with slight jaguar characteristics to depictions of shamanistic transformations in the so-called transformative pose, kneeling with hands on knees, to figures that are nearly completely feline.

One of the most prominent, distinctive, and enigmatic Olmec designs to appear in the archaeological record has been the "were-jaguar". Seen not only in figurines, the motif also may be found carved into jade "votive axes" and celts, engraved onto various portable figurines of jade, and depicted on several "altars".  The were-jaguar figure is characterized by a distinctive down-turned mouth with fleshy lips, and almond-shaped eyes.

The Maya, whose territory spanned the Yucatán Peninsula all the way to the Pacific coast of Guatemala, depicted gods with jaguar attributes as well.  The jaguar is said to have the ability to cross between worlds, and for the Maya daytime and nighttime represented two different worlds.  The living and the earth are associated with the day, and the spirit world and the ancestors are associated with the night. As the jaguar is quite at home in the nighttime, the jaguar is believed to be part of the underworld. Thus, Maya gods with jaguar attributes or garments are thought to have represented underworld gods. One such god is Xbalanque, one of the Maya Hero Twins who descended to the underworld, and whose entire body is covered with patches of jaguar skin. Another is God L, who is the primary lord of the underworld and often is shown with a jaguar ear or jaguar attire, and atop a jaguar throne.

This reverence for the jaguar carried forward to the much later Aztec civilization where their military elite were inducted into a unit dressed in jaguar regalia. To become a jaguar warrior, a member of the Aztec army had to capture a total of four enemies from battles. This was said to honor their gods in a way far greater than killing enemy soldiers on the battlefield. They also used spears and atlatls and fought with a wooden club studded with obsidian volcanic glass blades, called a macuahuitl. 

Jaguars, of course, were not known in the ancient Mediterranean world but the First Dynasty Egyptian deity Mafdet was often depicted wearing the skin of a cheetah.  She was associated with the protection of the king's chambers and other sacred places, and with protection against venomous animals, which were seen as transgressors against Maat.  She also represented the personification of legal justice.  It was said that Mafdet ripped out the hearts of wrong-doers, delivering them to the pharaoh's feet like cats that present humans with rodents or birds they have killed or maimed. During the New Kingdom, Mafdet was seen as ruling over the judgment hall in Duat where the enemies of the pharaoh were decapitated with Mafdet's claw.

During the reign of Tutankhamun, leopards were highly prized as symbols of royalty and divinity.  A leopard skin mantle or a cloth imitation of one was worn by the high priest during the opening of the mouth ceremony at royal burials.

Although a panther is often referred to as an attribute of the god Dionysus, the god was also depicted wearing leopard skin and using leopards as a means of transportation. In one myth, the god was captured by pirates but two leopards appear and rescue him.  

I find it interesting that cultures so far removed from each other wove their reverence for their respective spotted cats into their myths and religious practices. I can't help but wonder if the leopard-shrouded Greek figure of the 6th century BCE may have presided over one of the mystery religions as a similar priest in ancient America did.

 

Faience aryballos (oil flask) in the form of a head wearing an animal skin, 6th century B.C.E., East Greek, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

An Aztec jaguar warrior created by GodotDraws on DeviantArt

Aztec jaguar warriors based on codex illustrations created by American miniaturist George S. Stuart. Photograph by Peter D'Aprix.

Aztec jaguar warriors based on codex illustrations created by American miniaturist George S. Stuart. Photograph by Peter D'Aprix.

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Pre-Achaemenid art: Neo-Assyrian or Median?

The Medes were an ancient Iranian people who spoke the Median language and who inhabited an area known as Media between western and northern Iran. Around the 11th century BCE, they occupied the mountainous region of northwestern Iran and the eastern region of Mesopotamia located around Hamadan (Ecbatana). Herodotus reports the Medes played a determining role in the fall of the Assyrian Empire and "could" have  formed an empire at the beginning of the 7th century BCE that lasted until the 550s BCE. It was originally thought they competed with the kingsoms of Lydia and Babylonia for hegemony.  However, the Medes left no written account of their history.  Archaeologists have had to rely upon foreign sources such as the Assyrians, Babylonians and Greeks for Median history, instead, as well as a few Iranian archaeological sites, which are believed to have been occupied by Medes. Some scholars have gone so far as to suggest a Median kingdom as a political entity never existed at all, even though it was reported to have been conquered by Cyrus the Great in 549 BCE.

Materials  found at Tepe Nush-i Jan, Godin Tepe, and other archaeological sites located in the area known as Media, together with Assyrian reliefs, show the existence of urban settlements in Media in the first half of the 1st millennium BCE which had functioned as centers for the production of handicrafts and also of an agricultural and cattle-breeding economy.

From the 10th to the late 7th centuries BCE, the western parts of Media fell under the domination of the vast Neo-Assyrian Empire that imposed Vassal Treaties upon the Median rulers, and also protected them from predatory raids by marauding Scythians and Cimmerians.  During the reign of Sinsharishkun (622–612 BCE), the Assyrian empire, which had been in a state of constant civil war since 626 BCE, began to unravel and subject peoples, such as the Medes ceased to pay tribute.

Neo-Assyrian dominance over the Medians came to an end during the reign of Median King Cyaxares, who, in alliance with King Nabopolassar of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, attacked and destroyed the strife-riven Neo-Assyrian empire between 616 and 609 BCE. The newfound alliance helped the Medes to capture Nineveh in 612 BC, which resulted in the eventual collapse of the Neo-Assyrian Empire by 609 BCE. The Medes were subsequently able to establish their Median Kingdom (with Ecbatana as their royal capital) beyond their original homeland and had eventually a territory stretching roughly from northeastern Iran to the Kızılırmak River in Anatolia.

Artwork from this period was heavily influenced by the Neo-Assyrians but scholars hesitate to associate it specifically to the Medians due to the swiftly changing alliances of various tribes, clans, and regional groupings of western Iran at the time.  Winged creatures or deities with human heads reflected Assyrian influence as well as sculptures depicting bulls or lions. Scholars believe Assyrian graphically detailed works of violence were meant to advertise the power of the empire and its rulers and to intimidate their enemies.  Often precisely rendered animal carvings and statues were viewed as protective forces containing religious significance. 

Lions regularly appear in Assyrian art. In ancient days, the Asiatic lion (slightly smaller than the African) roamed the Near East. To hunt the lions was a kingly activity of great importance. Famous carved reliefs of lion hunts show King Ashurbanipal hunting lions in an arena, sometimes from a chariot. The lion was also important as a symbol of the goddess Ishtar, the Queen of Heaven, one of the two most important deities in the Assyrian pantheon. - Metropolitan Museum of Art

A lion was thought to be a symbol of the Neo-Assyrian King Sargon II during the Neo-Assyrian period as well.

Bulls are another common motif in Assyrian art. The bull was more than just an important food source. Sumerian and Akkadian traditions describe the Bull of Heaven, which features in a conflict between Ishtar and Gilgamesh in the Epic of Gilgamesh. The bull remained an important symbol in Assyrian and other Mesopotamian cultures. It also was combined with human, lion, and avian traits to form mythical creatures. - Metropolitan Museum of Art

Triangular compositions featuring two rampant wild animals over a third creature, often a domesticated one, occur on Mesopotamian cylinder seals of the thirteenth century B.C.E., one of which shows two rampant lions sparring over a bull. But the motif is uncommon in later Mesopotamian art until it reappears again in the art of western Iran between the ninth and the seventh centuries B.C.E.  The motif of a single lion attacking a bull is visible on the remains of Persepolis but its use appears to end there. 

Pre-Achaemenid Silver and Gold Vessel in the Form of a Lion Attacking a Bull, Silver and gold, 8th-6th century B.C.E. at the Miho Museum in Kyoto, Japan

Pre-Achaemenid Silver Compound Zoomorphic Vessel of two rampant lions over a prostrate bull, Silver, 8th-6th century B.C.E., at the Miho Museum in Kyoto, Japan. This unusual vessel features a pair of rampant lions, interlocked forelegs on each other's shoulders, standing on a prone bull. The lions are identical, not mirror images, each with its head turned to the right and its right hind leg up on the bull. The lion that treads on the bull's head has a round opening in the back of its snarling mouth that serves as a spout. The gaping mouth of the second lion is solid, but a small, carefully finished circular hole in its head provides the opening through which the vessel can be filled. A narrow depressed rim around this hole suggests that a stopper once sealed it. Each lion's body is formed in two pieces, upper and lower cylinders whose joining is marked by a narrow rib. The two pieces of each cylinder fit together; no solder is visible. The hollow forelegs of the lions are formed of open tubes that fit one into the other, allowing fluid to run from the filling hole to the spout. The bull, whose cylindrical body is also hollow, serves as a base. There is no internal connection between the lions and the bull. Reputed to be part of a silver treasure found in a cave in western Iran some years ago, this remarkable piece presents a puzzle not easily solved. The orthography of Akkadian inscriptions found on some pieces of the supposed hoard show Elamite influence suggestive of a date in the second quarter of the first millennium B.C.E. If this vessel was part of that so-called Cave Treasure, it should have a similar date and place of origin. While this association cannot be documented, the imagery of the piece supports a date in the second quarter of the millennium. But the motif reappears in the art of western Iran between the 9th and 7th centuries BCE.

Pre-Achaemenid Silver and Gold Vessel in the Form of a Hero and a Winged Bull Ibex, Silver and gold, 8th-6th century B.C.E. at the Miho Museum in Kyoto, Japan

Pre-Achaemenid Silver Rhyton with Ibex Protome and Appliques, Silver and electrum, 8th-6th century B.C.E., at the Miho Museum in Kyoto, Japan

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Bust of a Priest with Silver Inlaid Eyes: Roman or Sasanian?

While I was researching the Cypriot ear spirals yesterday, I noticed this bronze bust of a priest with silver inlaid eyes dated from the 3rd - 4th century CE at the Miho Museum.  The museum identified it as late Roman but the museum's image had been shared on Flickr and I noticed that someone with the username eternal persia commented on the piece and insisted it was Sasanian.  He/she pointed to the monogram on the hat, clothes, hair design and leaves that decorate the bust and insisted these are Sasanian elements.

Intrigued, I researched the item a little further.  At first, most Sasanian portrait sculptures I reviewed were all bearded.  Then I saw an image of a relief depicting Kartir, a high priest and vizier serving during the reigns of Shapur I, Hormizd I, Bahram I, and Bahram II. Not only is Kartir clean shaven, he sports the corkscrew curls and crested hat worn by the priest of the bust at the Miho Museum.

Some scholars think Kartir may have been a eunuch, due to being depicted without a beard in the Sasanian reliefs. He first appears in historical records in Shapur I's inscription at the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht, which was most likely created between 260–262 CE. Kartir is the only religious bureaucrat mentioned in the inscription. Shapur I, termed a "lukewarm Zoroastrian", was known for his tolerance towards other religions. Although admiring the teachings of his own religion and encouraging the Zoroastrian clergy, Shapur I allowed the Jews, Christians, Buddhists, and Hindus to freely practice their religion. He was also friendly towards the founder of Manichaeism, Mani, whom he allowed to preach freely and even to be an escort in his military expeditions.

Shapur I's religious practices seems to have been somewhat unusual, though, with animal sacrifice being made for the soul of the kings and queens of the Sasanian family. Kartir, who "abhorred animal sacrifice" was unable to stop Shapur I from performing them. Shapur I died in 270 CE, and was succeeded by Hormizd I, who gave Kartir clothes that were worn by the upper class including the cap and belt (kulāf ud kamarband) and appointed him as the chief priest (mowbed).

Hormizd I died the following year and Bahram I, who was never considered a candidate for succession of the throne by his father, ascended the throne with the aid of Kartir, whose authority and influence had greatly increased. Bahram I then made a settlement with his brother Narseh who he asked to give up his entitlement to the throne in return for the governorship of the important frontier province of Armenia, which was constantly the subject of war between the Roman and Sasanian Empires.  Although Narseh held the title of Vazurg Šāh Arminān ("Great King of Armenia"), scholars think he probably still viewed Bahram I as a usurper.

Although previous Sasanian shahs had pursued a policy of religious tolerance towards the non-Zoroastrian minorities in the empire, with Bahram I's accession to the throne, and the rise of the authority of the Zoroastrian priesthood under the leadership of Kartir, this changed. When Mani, still the leader of the Manichaeists, arrived in the city of Gundishapur, Kartir and his cadre of Zoroastrian priest protested, viewing Mani as a threatening heterogeneous philosopher who presented an obscure perception of Zoroastrianism tainted by Jewish, Buddhist, and Christian ideas. Kartir pressured Bahram I to have Mani imprisoned and sentenced to death in 274 CE. Mani's death was followed by the persecution of his followers by Kartir and the Zoroastrian clergy, who used the persecution of religious minorities as a method to increase and spread their vast influence.  With the backing of Bahram I, Kartir laid foundations for Zoroastrianism's adoption as the state religion.

When Bahram I died, his son viewed Kartir as a mentor and granted him the rank of grandee (wuzurgan), and appointed him as the supreme judge (dadwar) of the whole empire.  Thereafter, Zorastrian priests were given the office of judge. Kartir's intolerance continued and his inscription at  Ka'ba-ye Zartosht boasts that he "struck down" non-Zoroastrian minorities, although modern scholars point out that Jewish and Christian sources makes no mention of persecutions during this period.

When Bahram III succeeded his father, Bahram II, something changed, however, in Kartir's relationship with the royal family.  Kartir inexplicably threw in his lot with Narseh and, along with a group of Sasanian nobles, supported Narseh's overthrow of Bahram III. But Narseh's reign  marked the return to the policy of religious tolerance which had been practiced by his father, Shapur I, all those years ago, and Kartir finally fades from history. 

Bust of a Priest with Silver Inlaid Eyes, Bronze and sliver, 3rd-4th century C.E., courtesy of the Miho Museum in Kyoto, Japan.

Relief of Kartir, the Zoroastrian high priest at Naqsh-e Rajab courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor درفش کاویانی.

 

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Cypriot gold spiral earrings: Local fashion or the result of Achaemenid influence?

 According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, spirals with ornate animal-head terminals are frequently found in Cypriot tombs of the Classical period. Terracotta and limestone votive statues illustrate that from the Archaic through the Classical period it was customary for Cypriot men and women to wear such ornaments in large holes pierced through their earlobes.

When I saw these earrings, I wondered if this Cypriot practice of making large holes in their earlobes to accommodate these ornaments was a local fashion or adopted as a result of Persian rule beginning in 545 BCE, especially since most examples I have seen  are dated between the late 6th century to the 5th century BCE. I managed to find images of Achaemenid bracelets similarly made of gold tubing but each example of similar earrings I found in my research were all labeled Cypriot. Since the Cypriots were ruled by the Assyrians and even the Egyptians for a short time, I researched the jewelry of those cultures as well but found nothing similar. 

Cypriot Earrings or spiral with lion-griffin terminals, Gold and Silver, 400-350 BCE and Lion headed spirals from mid-5th century BCE, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Cypriot Gold and copper alloy spiral with lion-head terminal, 2nd half of the 5th century B.C.E. at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The lion-head is made in two halves (left and right) from sheet gold.

Cypriot Earrings or spiral with lion-griffin terminals, Gold and Silver, 400-350 BCE, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Cypriot Earrings or spiral with lion-griffin terminals, Gold and Silver, 400-350 BCE, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Pair of gold spiral earrings with terminals in the form of a crested griffins head. Cypriot, 475-400 B.C.E. British Museum

Gilt bronze spiral with griffin terminal. Period: Classical. Date: ca. 400–350 B.C.E. Culture: Cypriot. Medium: Gold, bronze. British Museum

Cypriot Gold allow spiral earings with Griffin terminals 5th century BCE at the British Museum courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Paul Hudson. (digitally enhanced and recomposed)

Cypriot Gold alloy spiral earring with horned mythological creature terminal and floret, 5th century BCE, at the Antikensammlung Museum in Berlin courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Marsupium

Achaemenid Gold Bracelet with Inlaid Termini in the Form of Duck's Heads, Gold with lapis lazuli, agate, and carnelian inlay, mid-6th-4th century B.C.E. at the Miho Museum in Kyoto, Japan. The ducks are reduced to protomes with their heads turned back in a typical Achaemenid fashion. The bracelet is constructed of hollow gold tubing, and the duck protomes were formerly elaborately inlayed with colored stones. One duck bill is made of agate, the other of carnelian. The ducks were both made separately and were in all likelihood originally joined together at their breasts. In order to put on the bracelet, the birds could be separated from the circlet by removing the rivets.

The bracelet type is preserved in much simpler versions of bronze or golden wire, and details like the turned heads resting on the animals' backs seem truly Achaemenid, but a certain naturalistic tendency along with the concept of a removable part may point to a later period and attribute this piece to the circle of Achaemenizing art fashioned in the Hellenistic period. It must be stressed, however, that at the moment, this is nothing but a hypothesis. - Miho Museum, Kyoto, Japan

Achaemenid Gold Bracelet with Inlaid Termini in the Form of Seated Ducks, Gold with lapis lazuli, turquoise, onyx, and rock crystal inlay, mid-6th-4th century B.C.E. at the Miho Museum in Kyoto, Japan. The jeweler of this bracelet chose ducks as terminal figures and combined them with a rather heavy looking circlet that can be opened. The ducks were fashioned separately, and all the feathers and the eyes were originally characterized by inlays. The ducks' bills are not preserved. The birds are fixed to a single massive tubular circlet, which originally had colored inlays at the junction between the ducks. The use of colored inlays for the details of the feathering is a feature of Egyptianizing tendencies in Achaemenid craftsmanship. Though the "Great Kings" are known to have employed Egyptian craftsmen, the use of this technique does not necessarily imply that the jeweler was an Egyptian, because the technique was widely used on objects of truly Achaemenid style. 

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Wheeled cauldron stands

I've photographed a number of huge bronze cauldrons, including spectacular examples found in the Midas Mound Tumulus at Gordion in Turkey. But I had never given any thought as to how these huge vessels were transported when full.  I had assumed they were carried manually by servants.  But today, while researching something else, I came across images of wheeled stands that were used to transport large cauldrons in ancient Cyprus.  Somehow I must have overlooked these interesting objects on my visits to both the British Museum and the Neues Museum in Berlin. 

 Bronze wheeled stand for a cauldron with an animal frieze on the ring and figures in the side panels. The panels depict a seated harp-player approached by a musician and a serving boy, a winged sphinx, a lion gripping a water bird by its neck, and a chariot, Cypriot, 13th or 12th century BCE, at the British Museum courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor George Groutas.

Wheeled stand for a cauldron, bronze, 12-11th century BCE. Probably from Kition, Larnaka district, Cyprus. Currently in the Neues Museum, in Berlin, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Vassil.

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More Urartian Art!

Most of the knowledge regarding Urartu comes from a series of clay tablets found among ancient Assyrian ruins.  They hold the reports from Assyrian intelligence agents that were sent to various cities in Urartu. These clay tablets give us a record of history for a period of time around 714 BCE. 

The people of Urartu referred to themselves as “Biainili.” Urartian texts have shown that the kings of Urartu often called themselves the “king of the land of Biaini,” and in Assyrian texts, Urartian kings were labeled the “king of the land of Nairi.” The land of Nairi/Biaini is known to be the land surrounding Lake Van (or the Sea of Nairi). Hebrew texts referred to Urartu as the “Kingdom of Ararat.” Historians believe that over the entire span of the kingdom’s life, people of Mitanni, Khurry, Khaldea, and Hittite blood lived among the Urartians during its early history. Its later inhabitants, those that eventually brought the kingdom to its end, were the Phrygians, Moskes, Armens, Scythians, Alans, and Cimmerians. Some of these groups were brought to Urartu as prisoners of conquest and were often put to work in labor forces.  - Armenian National Committee of America Western Region.

Lake Van at the heart of the kingdom is a salt water lake which provided salt and an ecosystem that sustained diverse agricultural products including cotton, mulberry trees, grapevines, apricots, peaches, pomegranate, other fruit trees, and rice.  The surrounding mountains were rich in minerals as well, yielding crystals, naphtha, copper, salt, iron, lead, silver, gold, borax, arsenic, and semi-precious stones. Urartians were expert metal workers and also practiced forestry and raised cattle.  Their horses, were trained for cavalry and chariots and Urartian charioteers were renowned.

Griffin-headed demon, blackened ivory. Forms a pair with another similar sculpture, but made in white ivory. They may have been part of the decoration of a throne. 8th-7th century BC, Urartu, from Toprakkale (East Turkey) now in the British Museum, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Zunkir.

Lead figure with glass and ivory inlays, 8th-7th century BCE. From Toprakkale, eastern Turkey, kingdom of Urartu, now in the British Museum, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Zunkir.

Urartian goblet shaped like a shoe courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor EvgenyGenkin

Urartian fresco courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor EvgenyGenkin

Urartian bull head probably once an attachment to a bronze cauldron courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Urartian bronze Lamassu figurine from Toprak-kale, 9th-7th centuries BCE at The Hermitage Museum courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor EvgenyGenkin

Urartian cauldron at the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara, Turkey courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Evgeny Genkin

An alloy of gold and silver pectoral depicting a kneeling figure (bringing a sheep; sacrifice) in adoration before an enthroned deity (holding a bowl in one hand and a plant in the other). The scene is flanked by 2 stylized trees. From Toprakkale (Rusahinili), Turkey. Urartian, 8th-7th century BCE. Pergamon Museum, Berlin, Germany, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg).

Fragments of a horse engraving from a wall in Rusahinili, ancient Urartian fortress built by Rusa I, 735–714 BCE, located near the modern city of Van in eastern Turkey courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor EvgenyGenkin now in The Hermitage Museum.

Urartian bronze quiver with chariots motif that once belonged to Sarduri II, 764–735 BCE, at The Hermitage Museum Turkey courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor EvgenyGenkin

Cast and incised bronze furniture fittings. Urartian, late 8th century BC from Toprakkale now in the British Museum courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor ClaireH.

Urartian Bronze Finial in the shape of a winged and horned lion 8th-7th century BCE courtesy of Phoenix Ancient Art.

Pointed Urartian helmet at the Badisches Landesmuseum in Karlsruhe, Germany courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Thomas Ihle.

Urartian throne leg with male ruler or deity standing over a kneeling bull, 8th-7th century BCE at The Hermitage Museum courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor EvgenyGenkin

Urartian bronze Lamassu figurine from Toprak-kale, 9th-7th centuries BCE at The Hermitage Museum courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor EvgenyGenkin

Urartian, about 650 BCE From Toprakkale. Inscription reads "Rusa, son of Erimena, mighty king, great king, lord of the city of Tushpa, now in the British Museum courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor ClaireH.

Urartian pottery with bull protomes at the Erebuni Museum in Armenia courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Gegman.

Ivory carvings of Urartian protective deity now in the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara, Turkey, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor EvgenyGenkin

Urartian Tree of Life courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor EvgenyGenkin.

A leg of the Urartian chandelier found at Rusahinili now in the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara, Turkey, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor EvgenyGenkin

Urartian bronze quiver with chariots motif that once belonged to Sarduri II, 764–735 BCE, at The Hermitage Museum Turkey courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor EvgenyGenkin

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Part of an Urartian throne with deity on a bull, ca. late 8th–7th century B.C.E.

Assyrian inscriptions of Shalmaneser I (c. 1274 BCE) first mention Uruartri as one of the states of Nairi, a loose confederation of small kingdoms and tribal states in the Armenian Highlands in the thirteenth to eleventh centuries BCE which he conquered. It extended from northeastern Turkey into northwestern Iran with its cultural center around Lake Van. Its settlements were palace-fortresses that protected agricultural production and supported many crafts, especially an extensive metalworking industry. 

The Nairi states were repeatedly subjected to further attacks and invasions by the Middle and Neo-Assyrian Empires.  But Urartu, united under King Arame (860-843 BCE),  reemerged in Assyrian language inscriptions in the ninth century BCE as a powerful northern rival to the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Urartologist Paul Zimansky speculated the Urartian ruling class were few in number and governed over an ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse population. This diversity may have extended to the royal line themselves who may have come from various ethnic backgrounds.

Although the Urartian capital was captured by the Assyrians during the reign of Shalmaneser III, Assyria fell into a period of temporary stagnation for decades during the first half of the 8th century BCE, which aided Urartu's growth.  During sporadic periods of peace with Assyria, it is thought Urartu traded cattle, horses, iron, and wine. From cuneiform sources, it is known that in Urartu grew wheat, barley, sesame, millet, and emmer, and cultivated gardens and vineyards. Many regions of the Urartu state required artificial irrigation, which was organized by its rulers. 

The art of Urartu is especially notable for fine lost-wax bronze objects: weapons, figurines, vessels including grand cauldrons that were used for sacrifices, fittings for furniture, and helmets. There are also remains of ivory and bone carvings, frescos, cylinder seals and of course pottery.  Unfortunately, archaeology has produced relatively few examples of the jewelry made of precious metals that the Assyrians boasted of carrying off in great quantities from the Urartian city of Musasir in 714 BCE during the campaigns of Sargon II.  

During this time the Urartian kingdom also suffered heavily from Cimmerian raids as well. but Urartu made peace with Assyria in 705 BCE when Sennacherib ascended the throne and Urartu  entered a long period of development and prosperity.  But when Cimmerians and Scythians resumed their attacks, Urartu became dependent on Assyria, like a vassal state. Inscriptions reveal  Urartu's king Sarduri III (645-635 BCE) referred to Assyrian king Ashurbanipal as his "father"  at this point.

Late during the 7th century BCE, Urartu was once again invaded by Scythians, this time accompanied by their allies—the Medes. In 612 BCE, the Median king Cyaxares the Great together with Nabopolassar of Babylon and the Scythians conquered Assyria after it had been irreversibly weakened by civil war. The Medes then took over the Urartian capital of Van in 590 BCE, effectively ending the sovereignty of Urartu.

Image: Part of a throne with deity on a bull, ca. late 8th–7th century B.C.E., Urartian, courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This fragment, with the lower part of a figure standing along the flanks of a bull, was most likely part of a throne. From better-preserved examples, we know that the figure wore the horned crown of a deity. The whole would have been gilded. A throne and footstool supported by four deities and their animal companions would have been a potent symbol of the Urartian king's power.

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Sasanian royal gifts of silver

Sasanian silver plates were usually hammered into shape and then decorated using a variety of complex techniques.  Gilding was often used to highlight the hunter, usually the king, and sometimes extra pieces of metal were added to create high relief.

The king as hunter became a standard image on silver plates during the reign of Shapur II (r. 310–379 CE). The motif symbolizes the prowess of Sasanian rulers, and these royal plates were often sent as gifts to neighboring and vassal courts.  Some plates included inscriptions with the king's name and the plate's weight.  With other plates, art historians must attempt to identify the king by his distinctive apparel or shape of the crown he wears.  Each Sasanian king wore a different personal crown, which became more and more elaborate during the four centuries of the dynasty. Fortunately, the different crowns have been identified from coins or sometimes compared with existing rock reliefs with inscriptions such as those at Ṭāq-e Bostān or Naqš-e Rostam, Iran.

"In a few cases identification by crown can be reinforced by the presence of contemporary inscriptions. The best instance of this – and a very important example - is the Investiture of Ardašir I at Naqš-e Rostam. This magnificent relief shows two mounted horsemen, one handing the ribboned diadem or symbol of kingship to the other, and both with defeated enemies lying dead beside them. The left hand figure is wearing the skull-cap surmounted by korymbos, the final version of his personal crown developed by Ardašir (224-241 CE), seen on both his gold and silver coins. The figure on the right wears the mural crown, his hair arranged in a top-knot as well as falling in luxuriant curls to his shoulders." - iranicaonline.org 

King Hunting Plate, Sasanian period 4th-5th century CE silver and gilt courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Daderot

Closeup of a Plate depicting a boar hunt Persia (Iran) Sasanian Period 4th century CE Silver and Gilt that I photographed at the Smithsonian's Sackler Gallery of Asian Art in Washington D.C.

Plate depicting a boar hunt Persia (Iran) Sasanian Period 4th century CE Silver and Gilt that I photographed at the Smithsonian's Sackler Gallery of Asian Art in Washington D.C.

Silver and gilt plate depicting winged horses Persian Sasanian Period 7th century CE that I photographed at the Smithsonian's Sackler Gallery of Asian Art in Washington D.C.

Sasanian Silver and Gilt Plate depicting a royal hunt Persia 7th century CE that I photographed at the Smithsonian's Sackler Gallery of Asian Art in Washington D.C.

Sasanian Silver plate with Shapur killing a deer, 4th century CE courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Sailko.

Hunting scene depicting King Chosroes II. 7th century CE Sassanid, Cabinet des Medailles, Paris courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The scene on this example is striking: the king is depicted standing and slaying a rearing stag, whose protruding tongue indicates that he is either dying or already dead. The king is identifiable as Yazdgard I (r. 399-420) due to his crown, although it is topped with a striated globe rather than the cloth-covered one with which he is normally represented. His beaded skirt resembles those shown on the rock reliefs of Shapur II (r. 310-379), Shapur III (r. 383-388) and Ardashir II (r. 379-383) at Taq-i Bustan, Iran. The crescent-tipped spear with a counterweight in the form of a human fist is unique amongst weapons represented on Sasanian silver plates. Image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Sivler Plate of Peroz I hunting argali, Sasanian, courtesy of the Hermitage Museum and Wikimedia Commons

King Hunting Plate, 303-309 CE, Sasanian, Iran, silver and gilt courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

Hunting with a bowl Sasanian Great King; Iran; 7 Century, Museum of Islamic Art in Berlin (Pergamon Museum) courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Anagoria

Sasanian Silver and Gilt Plate portraying a royal ibex hunt Persia 7th century CE that I photographed at the Smithsonian's Sackler Gallery of Asian Art in Washington D.C.

 

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