File:Naqsh-e Rostam III (3291730501).jpg
or embassadors (Bishapour II on Rob’s stream)
, love scene (Barm-e Dilak I), or fight against fierce lions (Sar Mashhad)
Carved into a single register, this relief represents the king in a fierce cavalry assault. Bahram is riding a horse running wild against an enemy. The shock looks terrible as the enemy having his lance broken is killed, stabbed in the neck by the king’s lance while his horse bounces back with the shock. Behind the king follows a servant raising high the royal standard.
As Bahram didn’t match any significant military victory and even lost several lands to the romans, this scenery can hardly be taken as a victory scene despite clearly evoking Ardashir’s equestrian victory relief at Firuzabad. Despite the lack of victory to celebrate, the aim could have been to reinforce the king’s image by representating him in a scene of fight either during a war or during a tournament. The killed enemy’s dressings do not look roman, but could be Persian. In such case, the scene would be one of a tournament dedicated to show the king’s force.
2 similar scenes were carved at Naqsh-e Rostam, one carved into 2 registers also attributed to Bahram II, and another attributed to Horzmid II. According to the fact that secular contacts and conflicts with the romans and later Byzantians occurred with the Persians resulting in mutual artistic exchanges and influences, such imaging could have inspired the christian medieval knighthood tradition of tournament imported in Europa through Byzantium by the german knights.
Thx to YoungRobV for posting his precious picturesCamera location | View this and other nearby images on: OpenStreetMap |
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This image was originally posted to Flickr by dynamosquito at https://www.flickr.com/photos/25182210@N07/3291730501. It was reviewed on 10 May 2014 by FlickreviewR and was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-sa-2.0. |