This statue was found in Amman, Jordan, and dates to the 730-720’s B.C.E., the period of Assyrian dominance in the Ancient Near East. Carved from limestone and standing 48c.m. tall, it depicts King Yerah of Ammon. The inscription on the base says, “Yerah ‘Azar, son of Zakkur, son of Sanipu.” An Assyrian inscription from 733B.C.E. says that “Sanipu of the House of Ammon” paid tribute to the Assyrian King, Tiglath-pileser III, confirming the inscription, the royal connection, and the dating of the statue.
Although it is hard to see in the photograph, but there are still traces of red slip on the carved clothing. The eyes were originally inlaid with colored stones, which are sadly lost. He has two curls on either side of his forehead and the rest of his hair hangs straight behind his ears. The object in his left hand, is a lotus flower. His stance, clothing style, and the lotus flower show Egyptian and Syrian influences on the Ammonite culture at the time, which is not surprising given that Ammon was on the King’s Highway, one of the major routes between Egypt and Assyria.
This is one of my favorite artifacts, as it shows a person, one of the few artifacts in the region to do so. As noted, it depicts a king of Ammon, not Israel, but the two nations were related, with Ammon tracing its heritage back to one of Lot’s sons (Genesis 19:38, Deuteronomy 2:19). The two nations were “frenemies,” sometimes working together, trading, and intermarrying, but often fighting over territory and jockeying for position. So, this statue gives us an indication of what the kings of Israel and Judah would have worn at the time, and the next time you are reading about the evil king Ahab or the good king Hezekiah you can imagine them looking something like this.