British Museum St Hurmizd Choir Aus Singing through the Assyrian Sculptures and Balawat Gates Feb 25

British Museum St Hurmizd Choir Aus Singing through the Assyrian Sculptures and Balawat Gates Feb 25

Large stone sculptures and reliefs were a striking feature of the palaces and temples of ancient Assyria (modern northern Iraq).

Visit Rooms 6a and 6b to see two colossal winged human-headed lions that flanked an entrance to the royal palace of King Ashurnasirpal II (883–859 BC) at Nimrud. Plus, see a gigantic standing lion that stood at the entrance to the nearby Temple of Ishtar, the goddess of war.

These sculptures are displayed alongside fragments and replicas of the huge bronze gates of Shalmaneser III (858–824 BC) from Balawat.

A Black Obelisk also on display shows the same king receiving tribute from Israel and is displayed with obelisks and stelae (vertical inscribed stone slabs) from four generations of Assyrian kings.

Warrior. Scholar. Empire builder. King slayer. Lion hunter. Librarian.

King Ashurbanipal of Assyria (r. 669–c. 631 BC) was the most powerful man on earth. He described himself in inscriptions as 'king of the world', and his reign from the city of Nineveh (now in northern Iraq) marked the high point of the Assyrian empire, which stretched from the shores of the eastern Mediterranean to the mountains of western Iran.

Ashurbanipal proved himself worthy of protecting his people through displays of strength, such as hunting lions. Like many rulers of the ancient world, he liked to boast about his victories in battle and brutally crushed his enemies. However, this vast and diverse empire was controlled through more than just brute force. Ashurbanipal used his skills as a scholar, diplomat and strategist to become one of Assyria's greatest rulers.

Despite his long and successful reign, Ashurbanipal's death is shrouded in mystery. Shortly afterwards, the Assyrian empire fell and the great city of Nineveh was destroyed in 612 BC, its ruins lost to history until the 1840s. Their rediscovery allowed us to piece together a portrait of the powerful and complex ruler that was Ashurbanipal.

This major exhibition told the story of Ashurbanipal through the British Museum's unparalleled collection of Assyrian treasures and rare loans. It stepped into Ashurbanipal's world through displays that evoked the splendour of his palace, with its spectacular sculptures, sumptuous furnishings and exotic gardens. It marvelled at the workings of Ashurbanipal's great library, the first in the world to be created with the ambition of housing all knowledge under one roof. This exhibition came face to face with one of history's greatest forgotten kings.