Monumental Relief Depicting King Ashurbanipal Discovered in Nineveh

German archaeologists have unearthed a monumental relief in Nineveh, near Mosul, Iraq. The discovery was made within the throne room of King Ashurbanipal's North Palace. The relief depicts the Assyrian king with two deities. The relief, carved on a 5.5-meter-long, 3-meter-high stone slab, weighs approximately 12 tons. Professor Aaron Schmitt of Heidelberg University called it a standout discovery. He noted the size of the slab and the story it tells are significant. "Among the many relief images of Assyrian palaces we know of, there are no depictions of major deities," Schmitt said. The relief portrays King Ashurbanipal in a divine conference with Ashur and Ishtar. Ishtar was the patron goddess of Nineveh, and a mythological fish genius accompanies them. Nineveh became a cultural capital around 700 BCE under King Sennacherib. The Assyrian Empire fell in 612 BCE to the Babylonians, Medes, and Scythians. Ashurbanipal, who ruled from 669 BCE to 631 BCE, is considered the empire's last great leader. The team previously excavated the Kuyunjik mound in the North Palace. British researchers found the first large-scale reliefs in the late 19th century. These are now housed in the British Museum in London. Schmitt suggests a winged sun disk was originally mounted above the relief. Further investigation of the relief will continue in the coming months.