Naram-Sin of Akkad - Victory Stele

Victory Stele

Naram-Sin's famed victory stele depicts him as a god-king (symbolized by his horned helmet) climbing a mountain above his soldiers, and his enemies, the defeated Lullubi. Although the stele was broken off at the top when it was stolen and carried off by the Elamites, it still strikingly reveals the pride, glory, and divinity of Naram-Sin. The stele broke from tradition by using successive diagonal tiers, rather than a horizontal format, to communicate the story to viewers. It is six feet and seven inches tall, and made from pink sandstone. The stele was found at Susa, and is now in the Louvre Museum. A similar bas-relief depicting Naram-Sin was found a few miles north-east of Diarbekr, at Pir Hüseyin.