This Assyrian bas-relief from Khorsabad shows the epic hero Gilgamesh strangling a lion. It was drawn by Faucher-Gudin for Gaston Maspero's book on the history of Egypt and resides now in the Louvre Museum. The Mesopotamian epic hero Gilgamesh was king of Erech, a city-state was that was besieged by enemies. If Gilgamesh is or is based on a historical figure, he probably was a king who lived between 2800 and 2500 In the Babylonian epic titled Gilgamesh, there are references to Gilgamesh encountering a pride of lions and killing them and wearing their skins as clothes.

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This Assyrian bas-relief from Khorsabad shows the epic hero Gilgamesh strangling a lion. It was drawn by Faucher-Gudin for Gaston Maspero's book on the history of Egypt and resides now in the Louvre Museum. The Mesopotamian epic hero Gilgamesh was king of Erech, a city-state was that was besieged by enemies. If Gilgamesh is or is based on a historical figure, he probably was a king who lived between 2800 and 2500 In the Babylonian epic titled Gilgamesh, there are references to Gilgamesh encountering a pride of lions and killing them and wearing their skins as clothes. This reference is on the 9th tablet (of the 12 tablets uncovered at Nineveh in the library of the 7th-century Assyrian king Ashurbanipal). Dur-Sharrukin is present day Khorsabad, and it was the Assyrian capital in the time of Sargon II (722-705 ) of Assyria.

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Photo credit: © Ivy Close Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
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Keywords: .., 700s, ashurbanipal, assyrian, babylonian, bas, century, dur, eighth, epic, faucher, gaston, gilgamesh, gudin, hero, khorsabad, lion, maspero, mesopotamian, nineveh, relief, sharrukin