Image Details

British Museum

Assyrian forces under Tiglath-pileser III (745–727 B.C.) employ various assault methods in this relief from Nimrud—a kind of primer in the techniques of ancient warfare. Troops carrying spears and shields scale ladders thrown across a moat; archers take aim at the besieged soldiers; and a four-wheeled ram is battering the city walls from a specially built ramp. To inspire even more terror, the Assyrians impaled enemy soldiers on poles.