What Does It Mean For A Monument As A Leader?

The Sumerians were an intelligent people and very religious, who created art for the sole purpose of the Gods. Both the Stele of Hammurabi and the Statue of Gudea honor their deities and convey power and authority but in different ways. The Stele with law code of Hammurabi conveys his relationship to the sacred by showing him with his hand raised in respect to the flame-shouldered sun god, Shamash. King Hammurabi of Babylon created a comprehensive collection of 282 laws and standards, in essence a judicial code. These laws or code were carved into a massive seven-a-half-foot black stone stela or diorite pillar. Hammurabi is depicted in the familiar convention of combined front and side views, with the exception of the headdress which is

When reading the two chapters I found two rulers who tried to preserve their history through commissioned works of art the first being Naram-Sin, while the other being Gudea. Starting with Naram-Sin, The Stele of Naram-Sin, with stele being an upright stone slab, as described by the textbook on pages 27, and 36, as a depiction of the ruler Naram-Sin memorializing one of his military victory over the Lullubi people. What makes this stele a historical account instead of just a generic battle was inclusion of native trees following a mountain path showing that the stele is depicting a battle. In the stele, the slab uses hierarchal scaling, and religious symbolism to portray his political power as a leader.

According to History.org, the stele of Naram-Sin is a monument composed of a single column or shaft typically erected to commemorate an important event or person. The Akkadians under Sargon dominated the Sumerians about 2300 BC. Naram-Sin was Sargon's grandson. The god-like Akkadian kings ruled with absolute authority. Naram-Sin's title was "King of the Four Quarters" meaning "Ruler of the World."

In the ancient Mesopotamia, the purpose of art is to exhibit political power and to tell a story or a visual narrative. One of the many visual arts that the ancient people used is a stele. In addition, a stele is a massive standing marker stone , its purpose is to commemorate a significant person, event or achievement. Furthermore, the two empires of Mesopotamia: the Akkadian and Babylonian, both erected steles that showed their differences in culture and beliefs.

Many pieces in Mesopotamia represent the status of the kings as being a greater figure than the common people and even an alike or greater figure than the gods. One piece that depicts the high status of the ruler is the “Fragment of the victory stele of Eannatum”, from Girsu, Iraq. ca. 2600-2500 BCE. On the stele, is Eannatum, who is the ruler who leads the battle, and obtained the city of Umma. He is depicted larger than the army, except Ningirsu, who chose him as the ruler. The audience of the stele is the people of Sumer, but more importantly, his enemies. The second piece that depicts propaganda in Mesopotamia is the “Head of the Akkadian ruler”, from Nineveh, Iraq, ca. 2250-2200 BCE. The hollow-cast sculpture made with Cooper is believed to be an Akkadian king. The sculpture demonstrates propaganda in Mesopotamian art because it reflects the idea of absolute monarchy, and focuses on the kings, instead of the city-state. However, the head was vandalized as its eyes were gouged, and its beard and nose were slashed by the Medes because they were opposers of the absolute monarchy. In addition, another example of propaganda in Mesopotamia is the “Votive disk of Enheduanna”, from Ur, Iraq, ca. 2300-2275, in which the Alabaster disks represents the daughter of King Sargon, Enheduanna in which the cuneiform inscriptions which mentions that she is the daughter of Sargon, who is the king of the world. Moreover, the disk also mentions that she is the

From Trajan’s Column, completed in 113 AD, to the statue of Christopher Columbus in Easton, Pennsylvania, monuments and memorials have been a significant element of celebration and honor throughout history (Source B). Though monuments are typically meant as a symbol of honor, recent controversy over statues dedicated to Confederate leaders and generals has sparked the debate over how to choose subjects to memorialize, and the actual development of these memorials. When considering what or who to honor, one must also consider the subjects impact on history, ensuring that it is positive. In creating memorials and monuments, groups and agencies should examine the historical significance of the events or persons they wish to memorialize, and the

inscription tells of the story of the kings lineage, his military victories, how he founded

Monuments are a way you can immortalize a person. There are many ways to create monuments such as writing a book, Speeches, even sculpting. Many factors play into creating a monument of a person. When honoring a person you have to look at the location, size, and material and the significance of the monument.

The idea of keeping monuments in public spaces is a challenging choice for us all because for those who don’t like the idea of the monuments being removed they can become really violent much so that in the article “Battle Scars”

Since stele was carried off as booty to Elam in the 12th-century B.C.E, we cannot know the exactly where it was placed originally; however, circumstantial evidence suggests that it was posited in the temple of the sun god Shamash at Sippar

The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls has been described by numerous scholars and biblical commentators as one of the most important finds in archeological history. (Top 10 Most Important Historical Finds) The find occurred in 1947 when a Bedouin shepherd came across sealed jars in a cave containing leather scrolls. The scrolls which were subsequently brought to an antiques dealer in Bethlehem were purchased by a Syrian Orthodox Archbishop named Mar (Athanasius) Samuel. ( HYPERLINK "http://bible.org/byauthor/2658/Patrick%20Zukeran" Zukeran) He recognized that the scrolls were in Hebrew and were possibly very ancient. These scrolls were then examined by a prominent Middle East archaeologist, Dr. William Albright, and were confirmed as originating between the first and second century B.C. ( HYPERLINK "http://bible.org/byauthor/2658/Patrick%20Zukeran" Zukeran)

Stelaes are writing tablets. They are often made out of stone. The Kings would erase or destroy them so

Monuments and memorials serve a special purpose that symbolize events and/or people that have made an impact. The Washington Memorial honors the first president of the U.S., George Washington, the Statue of Liberty is a universal symbol of freedom, and the World Trade Center honors those who were involved in 9/11. All of these monuments and memorials are very popular; however, there is a little known architectural masterpiece called Angkor Wat or “temple city” in Cambodia that is worthy of discussion.

An additional apocrypha writing concerning the Watches exists in the ‘Book of Jubilees.’ Chiefly, the Dead Sea Scrolls contained fifteen books of Jubilees found in the caves at Qumran, all written in Hebrew. Moreover, the large number of manuscripts (more than any other Biblical books

Monuments are used to memorialize and honor moments, individuals and events of the past. Some monuments do this better than other monuments. In creating a monument there are three essential factors a group or agency should consider to make the monument as effective as possible: location, design features, purpose and backstory. Why these factors? Location and design factors play a massive role in the reception the monument will receive, based on its environment, size and looks a monument will be perceived differently. The purpose and backstory are the two single most important factors to consider in creating a monument. The monuments history, its reason, is the reason just? Is the purpose proper? Does it accurately memorialize the subject? All these questions come with the purpose and backstory of a monument.