Victory Stele of Naram-Sin
Susa
Akkad period. Around 2230 BC
Pink Sandstone
H 2 m; W 1.05 m
Sb 4
Description
"Originally this stele was erected in the town of Sippar,
centre of the cult of the Sun god, to the north of Babylon. lt was
taken as booty to Susa by an Elamite king in the 12th century BC. lt
illustrates the victory over the mountain people of western lran by
Naram-Sin, 4th king of the Semite dynasty of Akkad, who claimed to
be the universal monarch and was deified during his lifetime. He had
himself depicted climbing the mountain at the head of his troops.
His helmet bears the horns emblematic of divine power. Although it
is worn, his face is expressive of the ideal human conqueror, a
convention imposed on artists by the monarchy. The king tramples on
the bodies of his enemies at the foot of a peak; above it the solar
disk figures several times, and the king pays homage to it for his
victory."
- Louvre