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Cedar Tree in Assyrian Reliefs

Fatima Fathi Ismail Al-Taie1, Mohammed Abdul-Ghani Abdul-Rahman Al-Bakri1
1Ancient Antiquities, College of Archaeology, University of Mosul, Iraq
DOI: https://doi.org/10.70517/revcc2624185
Published: 03/11/2026
: Fatima Fathi Ismail Al-Taie, Mohammed Abdul-Ghani Abdul-Rahman Al-Bakri. Cedar Tree in Assyrian Reliefs. Revista Cultura Científica, 2026 Issue 24. pg. 2273-2284.

Abstract

This study examines the representation of cedar and timber acquisition in Assyrian royal discourse and visual culture, with particular attention to the Neo-Assyrian period. It considers how a valuable building material could become a sign of royal provision, access to distant landscapes, and participation in imperial networks. The method is an interpretive comparison of published royal inscriptions, museum catalogue records, and scholarship on Assyrian narrative art. Earlier Assyrian references and the cedar-forest episode in the Epic of Gilgamesh provide historical and literary context, but are distinguished from Neo-Assyrian visual evidence. The principal case studies are the bronze bands from the gates of Shalmaneser III at Balawat and the timber-transport reliefs from Sargon II’s palace at Khorsabad. The analysis separates depictions of tribute from scenes explicitly identified as timber transport and distinguishes physical cedar construction from the representation of trees or wooden cargo. It also corrects the identification of the Louvre timber-transport series as AO 19889–AO 19891 rather than AO 19885. The evidence supports interpreting timber procurement as part of the visual presentation of royal accomplishment, while not establishing that every depicted tree is cedar, every shipment originated in Lebanon, or every coastal polity was under continuous direct administration. Texts concerning Sennacherib and Esarhaddon further contextualise the relationship between construction, tribute, and coercion without supplying a secure identification for every proposed relief scene. Six illustration positions are retained, but the image files were not supplied and require verification before publication. The study concludes that cedar’s political significance arose through the interaction of material value, architectural use, royal narrative, and the selective visual organisation of movement and labour.

Keywords: Neo-Assyrian art; cedar; timber transport; Balawat Gates; Khorsabad; royal inscriptions; Phoenician coast

Abstract

This study examines the representation of cedar and timber acquisition in Assyrian royal discourse and visual culture, with particular attention to the Neo-Assyrian period. It considers how a valuable building material could become a sign of royal provision, access to distant landscapes, and participation in imperial networks. The method is an interpretive comparison of published royal inscriptions, museum catalogue records, and scholarship on Assyrian narrative art. Earlier Assyrian references and the cedar-forest episode in the Epic of Gilgamesh provide historical and literary context, but are distinguished from Neo-Assyrian visual evidence. The principal case studies are the bronze bands from the gates of Shalmaneser III at Balawat and the timber-transport reliefs from Sargon II’s palace at Khorsabad. The analysis separates depictions of tribute from scenes explicitly identified as timber transport and distinguishes physical cedar construction from the representation of trees or wooden cargo. It also corrects the identification of the Louvre timber-transport series as AO 19889–AO 19891 rather than AO 19885. The evidence supports interpreting timber procurement as part of the visual presentation of royal accomplishment, while not establishing that every depicted tree is cedar, every shipment originated in Lebanon, or every coastal polity was under continuous direct administration. Texts concerning Sennacherib and Esarhaddon further contextualise the relationship between construction, tribute, and coercion without supplying a secure identification for every proposed relief scene. Six illustration positions are retained, but the image files were not supplied and require verification before publication. The study concludes that cedar’s political significance arose through the interaction of material value, architectural use, royal narrative, and the selective visual organisation of movement and labour.

Keywords: Neo-Assyrian art; cedar; timber transport; Balawat Gates; Khorsabad; royal inscriptions; Phoenician coast

References

  1. Winter, Irene J. “Royal Rhetoric and the Development of Historical Narrative in Neo-Assyrian Reliefs.” Studies in Visual Communication, vol. 7, no. 2, 1981, pp. 2–38. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2326-8492.1981.tb00045.x.

  2. Aruz, Joan, Sarah B. Graff, and Yelena Rakic, editors. Assyria to Iberia at the Dawn of the Classical Age. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, distributed by Yale University Press, 2014. https://www.metmuseum.org/met-publications/assyria-to-iberia-at-the-dawn-of-the-classical-age.

  3. George, Andrew R. The Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic: Introduction, Critical Edition and Cuneiform Texts. 2 vols., Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2003. ISBN 978-0-19-814922-4. https://soas-repository.worktribe.com/output/446254/.

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  9. Grayson, A. Kirk, and Jamie Novotny. The Royal Inscriptions of Sennacherib, King of Assyria (704–681 BC), Part 2. The Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Assyrian Period, vol. 3/2. Eisenbrauns, Winona Lake, IN, 2014. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/rinap/downloads/Grayson_Novotny_RINAP_3_2.pdf.

  10. King, Leonard W., editor. Bronze Reliefs from the Gates of Shalmaneser, King of Assyria, B.C. 860–825. Printed by Order of the Trustees of the British Museum, London, 1915. [The chronology in the historical title is retained as published.] https://etana.org/sites/default/files/coretexts/14862.pdf.

  11. British Museum. “Bronze Band from the Gates of the Palace of Shalmaneser III.” Google Arts & Culture, British Museum collection presentation, registration Rm.1041, n.d. Accessed 2 November 2026. https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/FAEZSly1bUPSZA.

  12. British Museum. “Door-Fitting: Bronze Band from the Palace Gates of Shalmaneser III.” Collection registration Rm.1041, Collection Online, n.d. Accessed 2 November 2026. https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_Rm-1041.

  13. Musée du Louvre. “Expédition navale; Transport du bois.” Inventory AO 19889, gypsum alabaster, Khorsabad, reign of Sargon II, 721–705 BCE. Collections, n.d. Accessed 2 November 2026. https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010122712.

  14. Musée du Louvre. “Expédition navale; Transport du bois.” Inventory AO 19890, gypsum alabaster, Khorsabad, reign of Sargon II, 721–705 BCE. Collections, n.d. Accessed 2 November 2026. https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010122713.

  15. Musée du Louvre. “Expédition navale; Transport du bois.” Inventory AO 19891, gypsum alabaster, Khorsabad, reign of Sargon II, 721–705 BCE. Collections, n.d. Accessed 2 November 2026. https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010122714.

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Fatima Fathi Ismail Al-Taie
Ancient Antiquities, College of Archaeology, University of Mosul, Iraq
fatima.23asp13@student.uomosul.edu.iq
Mohammed Abdul-Ghani Abdul-Rahman Al-Bakri
Ancient Antiquities, College of Archaeology, University of Mosul, Iraq

How to cite:

Fatima Fathi Ismail Al-Taie, Mohammed Abdul-Ghani Abdul-Rahman Al-Bakri. Cedar Tree in Assyrian Reliefs. Revista Cultura Científica, 2026 Issue 24. pg. 2273-2284.

Publication History

  • Received: 02/08/2026
  • Accepted: 30/10/2026
  • Published: 03/11/2026
Copyright © 2026, Fatima Fathi Ismail Al-Taie, Mohammed Abdul-Ghani Abdul-Rahman Al-Bakri. Published by Revista Cultura Científica. This article is published as open access under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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