Riflescopes and Scope Accessories

Assyrians controlled the lands from the border of Egypt to the Persian gulf during the 9th century BC.  The Assyrians identified themselves through warfare and a divine belief in their duty to enforce their gods on the territories they had vanquished.  The Assyrians were the first culture to use iron weapons. They were cunning military minds who mastered the art of war.

Their military might was imposing and many of their foes surrendered to the Assyrians without any fight.  The opponents who resisted faced an advanced military force with battering rams, charioteers and rolling seige towers that were a huge tactical advantage.

The Assyrian art on display in museums today suggests that hunting had an important symbolic meaning to the culture.  In Assyria this was definitely the case as there are dozens of stone art works from Assyria that depict the Royal Hunt. Hunting and in particular the “Royal Hunt” were important rituals that established the courage of the king and his dominance over beast and nature. The Assyrian king added to his reputation as a warrior by participating in the Royal Hunt.  There is certainly exageration in the depiction of these activities, but the reliefs suggest that the kings were generally worthy rulers.

Ancient Assyrian art demonstrates the rich, ceremonial qualities of the Royal Hunt.  In many of the reliefs discovered by archaeologists, the king is shown offering up animals as a sacrifice to the sun God Nergal.  This Mesopotamian god ruled the underworld and was known as the deity of war and pestilence.

The Royal Hunting party stalked many different prey, but none was more powerful and prestigious than the lion. Armed with a spear and bow and riding in a chariot, the king would chase the lion and bring him down. When the lion was injured and down, the king would dismount the chariot and finish the lion off with his blade.  It’s unclear just how much assistance he might have had in dispatching his prey, given glorification of the king in this art.

In a relief currently on display in the British Museum, the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal is depicted riding on horseback, bow raised.  He is hunt targets the wild donkey where were considered a scourge at the time.  The act of thinning the heard of asses was considered a noble and worthy pursuit for the king.  Ashurbanipal was the last of the great Assyrian kings.  He was king at the zenith of Assyrian dominance but the empire crumpled shortly after his death.

Other wall reliefs suggest that the hunting of lions was such a popular sport, that the regional lion population was diminished.  Lions were transported from other regions to provide an entertaining and challenging hunt.  This is evident from a number of Assyrian wall reliefs that show lions being released from cages.

Filed under: Rifles and Shotguns on February 22nd, 2010