HST 319 Cultures of Imperial Power

23/02/2009

HST 319 Cultures of Imperial Power

Friday, February 20, HST 319 Cultures of Imperial Power travelled to the British Museum for a special guest lecture by Dr Paul Collins of the British Museum on the sculptures and reliefs of ancient Assyria. Dr Collins talked about the early origins of the Assyrian Empire, the world’s first superpower, and the later problems which the Assyrians had controlling Iraq and Iran. Students could see the methods by which the Assyrians expanded their empire, in particular the reliefs demonstrating their military prowess (siege engines, ordered troops, advanced weaponry, use of other colonised peoples as troop support and tactic of ethnic cleansing). They also saw for themselves the role of culture, especially architecture and sculpture, in cementing imperial power. One of the highlights, apart from a tour by one of the worlds's leading authorities on the Ancient Near East, was a visit downstairs to areas of the museum usually excluded to the public, to examine the reliefs of the siege and attack of Lachish.

Link to this page: http://www.richmond.ac.uk/n/726.aspx