Two Warriors Relief

myminifactory

This battle scene relief originates from the magnificent palace of Sargon II at Dur-Sharrukin, also known as modern-day Khorsabad. Ruling with authority from 722 to 705 BC, Sargon II commissioned the construction of a new royal city in 717, strategically located where the Tigris and Greater Zab rivers converge. Historical Assyrian letters reveal the extensive demands made for timber, materials, and skilled craftsmen who traveled as far as coastal Phoenicia to assist with the project. To secure a sufficient workforce, Sargon II absolved construction workers of their debts, and the surrounding land was converted into fertile agricultural plots, complete with newly planted olive groves aimed at boosting Assyria's struggling oil production. The city took shape over the decade preceding 706 BC, when the royal court relocated to Dur-Sharrukin; however, it remained unfinished upon Sargon II's untimely death in battle in 705 BC. Following his son and successor Sennacherib's unexpected abandonment of the project, he promptly moved the capital and its administrative center to Nineveh, a mere 20 kilometers south. The city lay incomplete until eventually being abandoned a century later when the Assyrian empire succumbed to decline. This relief vividly depicts a pivotal battle scene.