Cylinder Seal with a King Pouring an Offering to Shamash

Illustration

Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin
by
published on 26 February 2018
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Cylinder Seal with a King Pouring an Offering to Shamash Download Full Size Image

This lapis lazuli cylinder seal shows a libation scene. A robed king stands before the ascending Sun God Shamash and pours an offering. The suppliant goddess (with necklace counterweight) stands behind the king. The God holds a wedge and ring (as he does on the Code of Hammurabi) and rests his foot on a rectangular chequer-board mountain. The name of Bur-Dagan appears on the cuneiform inscription; this is the owner of the tomb where this seal was found. Old Babylonian Period, 1900 BCE. Found inside a grave of Larsa Period in area EM, Ur (city-archaic), Southern Mesopotamia, modern-day Iraq. (The British Museum, London).

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About the Author

Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin
Associate Professor of Neurology and lover of the Cradle of Civilization, Mesopotamia. I'm very interested in Mesopotamian history and always try to take photos of archaeological sites and artifacts in museums, both in Iraq and around the world.

Cite This Work

APA Style

Amin, O. S. M. (2018, February 26). Cylinder Seal with a King Pouring an Offering to Shamash. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/image/8102/cylinder-seal-with-a-king-pouring-an-offering-to-s/

Chicago Style

Amin, Osama Shukir Muhammed. "Cylinder Seal with a King Pouring an Offering to Shamash." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified February 26, 2018. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/8102/cylinder-seal-with-a-king-pouring-an-offering-to-s/.

MLA Style

Amin, Osama Shukir Muhammed. "Cylinder Seal with a King Pouring an Offering to Shamash." World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 26 Feb 2018. Web. 09 Mar 2025.

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