ABSTRACT
No sooner did he ascend the throne than an Assyrian king was seized with the impulse to abandon a palace, on all the walls of which throughout the State apartments were to be seen reliefs and inscriptions extolling the bravery and commemorating the great deeds of his predecessor. The new king desired to erect a monument to his own glory, and to have the principal episodes of his own reign depicted there. The custom of arranging these sculptures in the form of plinths has saved a great number from destruction. When the walls collapsed, the upper part came to choke the rooms and courts without destroying the plan and coordination of the several elements.
