Mesopotamia, Middle Assyrian period, reign of Tukulti-Ninurta I (ca. 1243-1207 bce); gypsum alabaster Tukulti-Ninurta I, whose name means "my trust is in [the warrior god] Ninurta," was the first king of Assyria not to respect the sancity of the city of Babylon. Claiming almost divine honors, he took its defeated king as well as the status of Marduk, its god, into captivity in order to ensure complete Assyrian supremacy over Mesopotamia. At Assur, the Assyrian capital, he undertook extensive building programs, including the restoration of the Ishtar Temple rederred to in this tablet. Because of his sacrilage and excesses, things did not end well for Tukulti-Ninurta. His son and successor imprisoned him in and set fire to the new capital he built across the river from Assur. Excerpt: Tukulti-Ninurta, king of the universe, strong king, king of Assyria, king of kings, lord of lords, ruler of rulers, prince, lord of all, conqueror of the rebellious…the one who shepherds the four quarters at the heels of the god Shamash am I… At that time the temple of the Assyrian Ishtar, my mistress, which Ilu-umma, my forefather, the prince, had previously built-that temple had become dilapidated and I cleared away its debris. I changed uts site. I founded [it] in another place. I made it more outstanding then ever before. As an addition I built the room of the shaburu and lofty towers. I completed that temple from top to bottom. I built within it a lofty dais (and) an awsome sanctuary for the abode of the goddess Ishtar, my mistress, and I deposited my monumental inscription. As for the one who removes my inscription and my name: May the goddess Ishtar, my mistress, extinguish his sovereignty, break his weapon, cause his manhood to dwindle away, (and) hand him over to his enemies!
aperture=f2.8 focal length: 60.0 mm exposure 1/40 sec ISO: 1250