Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III

The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III is a black limestone Neo-Assyrian sculpture with many scenes in bas-relief and inscriptions [1]. It comes from Nimrud (ancient Kalhu), in northern Iraq, and commemorates the deeds of King Shalmaneser III (reigned 858–824 BC) [1]. Tribute offerings are shown being brought from identifiable regions and peoples [1]. It was erected as a public monument in 825 BC at a time of civil war, in the central square of Nimrud [1]. It was discovered by archaeologist Sir Austen Henry Layard in 1846 and is now in the British Museum [1]. On the top and the bottom of the reliefs there is a long cuneiform inscription recording the annals of Shalmaneser III [1]. It lists the military campaigns which the king and his commander-in-chief headed every year, until the thirty-first year of reign [1].