the Black Obelisk

E834918

The Black Obelisk is an Assyrian monument of Shalmaneser III famed for its detailed reliefs and inscriptions depicting military campaigns and tributes from foreign rulers, including one of the earliest known depictions of an Israelite king.

Try in SPARQL Jump to: Surface forms Statements Referenced by

Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form Occurrences
Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III 0

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Assyrian monument
bas-relief sculpture
obelisk
associatedWith Assyrian royal ideology
imperial propaganda
collection British Museum Department of the Middle East NERFINISHED
commissionedBy Shalmaneser III NERFINISHED
countryOfOrigin Neo-Assyrian Empire NERFINISHED
creator Shalmaneser III NERFINISHED
culture Assyrian
currentLocation British Museum NERFINISHED
dateOfCreation circa 825 BCE
depicts Israelite king Jehu or his envoy NERFINISHED
military campaigns of Shalmaneser III
processions of envoys
tribute bearers from foreign kingdoms
depictsTributeFrom Gilzanu NERFINISHED
Israel NERFINISHED
Musri (Egypt or an Egyptian-related region) NERFINISHED
Sidon NERFINISHED
Tyre NERFINISHED
discoveredAt Nimrud NERFINISHED
discoveredBy Austen Henry Layard NERFINISHED
discoveryDate 1846
features five sculpted registers on each side
relief scenes with explanatory captions
royal inscriptions of Shalmaneser III
genre royal inscription
height about 197 cm
inscriptionLanguage Akkadian
madeFor Shalmaneser III NERFINISHED
materialUsed alabaster (dark) stone
black limestone
museumInventoryNumber BM 118885
namedAfter Shalmaneser III NERFINISHED
notableFor depictions of tribute from various Near Eastern states
detailed historical inscriptions
earliest known pictorial representation of an Israelite king
originalLocation Kalhu NERFINISHED
Nimrud NERFINISHED
period Neo-Assyrian period NERFINISHED
region Mesopotamia NERFINISHED
reign Shalmaneser III NERFINISHED
usedFor commemoration of military victories
display of imperial power
religious and political legitimation of the king
width about 45 cm
writingSystem cuneiform

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Shalmaneser III knownFor the Black Obelisk