Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser

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Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser

The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser was erected as a victory stele by the Assyrian King Shalmaneser III (858-824 BC) in about 841 BC. The nearly seven-foot, four-sided, limestone monument contains numerous images and approximately 190 lines of text. The image below shows Israel’s King Jehu bowing in humble tribute after Israel’s defeat to Assyria (2 Kings 9-10).

This artifact is another important source that corroborates the biblical account of the early Israelites. The depiction of Jehu is one of the earliest surviving pictures of an Israelite. Discovered in 1846 in Nimrud, Iraq, the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser currently resides in the British Museum.