The British Museum

My flights to Israel included a thirteen (!) hour layover in London. With so much time on my hands, I decided to take the train into the city and visit the British Museum. I had been there once before as an undergrad but had not given the Near Eastern collection much attention, which was a shame because it's a pretty amazing collection.

The trip was a success; almost everything I wanted to see was open. (The only disappointment was that the gallery of Sennacherib's Lachish reliefs, which depict the Assyrian king's campaign in Judah, was closed.) Here are some of the highlights of my visit.

First up is the "Kurkh Monolith" of Shalmaneser III, in which this Assyrian king describes his campaigning in Syria-Palestine. The report is especially noteworthy for its description of the Battle of Qarqar, in which Hadadezer of Damascus and Ahab of Israel repelled Shalmaneser's assault in 853 BC. It was a huge battle that went unreported in the Hebrew Bible.

Next is the Black Obelisk of the same king, Shalmaneser III. This obelisk describes the vassal kings who had to bring tribute to him. The close-up shows the second register from the top, which depicts Jehu, the usurping king of Israel, bowing down and paying tribute.

This next one is a tablet of the Babylonian Epic of Creation, also called the Enuma elish. This text actually formed part of my comprehensive exam in Akkadian -- not this exact tablet, but one from the same work. I was surpised at how little it was. It's hard enough to read when the text is blown-up to a readable font; the tablet itself would require (or result in) myopia.

Finally, this is the Cyrus Cylinder, which was issued by Cyrus the Great of Persia, who defeated Babylon in 539 BC and enabled the return of the exiled Jews back to Judah. In particular, this cylinder describes how Cyrus decreed the restoration of cult places, such as the temple in Jerusalem (although the temple is not mentioned specifically).

Well, I hope that wasn't too boring. All in all, it was a pretty exciting visit to the museum. In my courses at Hopkins we've discussed all the objects, so it was cool to see them in person.