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Old Testament Art at the
Time of the Assyrian Conquest of Israel
By Bonnie Oswald, BFA, MA
Israel, living in wickedness and idolatry, was warned by prophets
Elijah, Elisha, and Hosea, to repent or face conquest. Prophets
and Kings from Judah offered help, and invited them to return to the temple in
Jerusalem.
These offers they scorned, becoming ripe for destruction.
The
Assyrians viciously brought that destruction.
Reconstruction of Nineveh
As we read in the Old Testament of the Assyrians conquering Israel
and much of Judah, it is easy to visualize these people as they
were pictured at the time in the palaces of the Assyrians. Nineveh
is a rich
trove of art showing the Assyrian kings and captives majestically
portrayed in magnificent bas reliefs.
Assyrian art is instantly recognizable because of the pictures of
raw strength. Everyone is shown heavily muscled, even the
animals.
King Assurbanipal decked out for the hunts. British Museum.
Assyrian God from Nineveh wall relief. Note the muscular legs in
this figure, typical of Assyrian Art. Boston Museum of Fine Arts.
Captives were treated particularly harshly. The Geneva Convention
was not in the thought process of the Assyrians, who believed in
spreading fear among the surrounding enemies. By about 900 BC, Assyria
was becoming a fierce war machine, dominating the Near East for
300 years until they were conquered by the Babylonians. Centuries
of warfare — as the predominant aspect of their culture — hardened
them into a brutal people.
In the temples
and palaces, rich with militaristic art, there are no happy scenes
of banquets, dancing, feasting, or happy
family scenes. All Assyrian art is centered on power.
Tilgath Pileser
(also known in the Old Testament as Pul)
reigned from 745-727 BC. He warred against Syria and advanced along the Mediterranean, subjugating Phoenicia and Gaza. He conquered Israel in 721 BC, removing the Israelites, and advanced on Judah. Palace art shows captives and vassals paying tribute to
the kings.
Tilgath Pileser
(Pul), shown in court in his palace, from
an artist's reconstruction from a bas relief. 8th C. BC, Louvre
Kings’ sport was shooting lions while riding in chariots.
Dying lions and lion hunts figure prominently in palace art. While
people were depicted with little emotion, animals were shown with
great sensitivity, as we see in this excellent relief of a dying
lioness.
Dying Lioness, limestone, 650 BC, British Museum
Someday, when we get the scriptures from the Ten Tribes,
it will be interesting to hear the stories associated with the hardships
they suffered under the Assyrians.
Israelite prisoners being marched out of Israel
by Assyrian soldiers. Note dead Israelites at left. From
Bas Relief at Nineveh.
After
the defeat of Israel, the Assyrians advanced on Judah, moving south, and conquering as they went. Watch fires were
set that could be seen from one city to another, so the next city
in line could see what was the state of the battle.
One of the
most poignant archaeological finds related to this period is an
ostracon from Lachish. Ostracon
were broken pieces of fired clay or pottery. Relatively indestructible,
they were used as message pads.
The Lachish
Ostracon #4, found in the ruins of Lachish,
ends a long message with the sad words, "and let my Lord know
that we are watching for the signal fires of Lachish...
for we cannot see Azekiah." Azekiah
had been defeated, Lachish was next, and the giant Assyrian siege
ramp is still visible. The message was never sent.
Ostracon #4 from Lachish.
After defeating
Lachish, the Assyrians moved on Jerusalem in 701 BC, and laid siege
to the city. They were smitten by a plague (probably bubonic) and
woke up all "dead corpses." (2 Kings
18, 19.) The king, Sennacherib, returned to Assyrian, abandoning
Jerusalem, where he was assassinated by two of his sons while worshiping
in the Assyrian temple.
Assyrians transplanted conquered peoples to other areas in their
large kingdom, rendering them relatively helpless and disoriented.
Their leadership was destroyed, and they were in unfamiliar areas,
under guard. Other captive peoples were moved into their vacated
lands. Some original Israelites were undoubtedly still in the area
of Israel, having evaded capture. Mixed with the newly transplanted
people brought by the Assyrians, they intermarried and mixed religious
beliefs, absorbing elements of both.
When
Judah was allowed to return under the Persians they scorned these
people with their false religious practices, as they were despised
at the time of Christ. They became known as the Samaritans.
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