Download The Stele of Naram-Sin does more than commemorate the victory

The Stele of Naram-Sin does more than commemorate the victory over the Lullibi people. The
Stele of Naram-Sin contains many examples of iconography which can be interpreted as
political propaganda. The visual narrative told by a 6’6” limestone relief promotes Naram-Sin as
the ultimate religious and political leader. The iconography depicts Naram-Sin as a victorious
leader who, in fact holds the divine right to reign as the Akkadian king.
This piece of art work uses hieratic scale to show how much more important Naram-Sin is
compared to everyone else. He is much bigger and there is much less background around him,
this draws attention to him. The shape of the stone and the way everyone else is positioned
also points directly to the leader. Naram-Sin as the leader has a strong stance and athletic build
which signals domination and strength, two characteristic important to assist imperial
authority.
Politically, being seen as a victorious leader could be very beneficial. Naram-Sin has his own
army standing just as confident as he is. His army looks directly up to him to show respect.
Within the Stele of Naram-Sin there are many dead bodies and bowing warriors. In an attempt
to show that Naram-Sin is powerful and mercy-less he is even standing on a defeated warrior’s
body. It is also evident that Naram-Sin has just struck an enemy in the neck with his spear. The
spear itself points directly back to Naram-Sin which draws attention back to him. There are
even warriors falling off the side of the mountain and another enemy warrior seems to be
running away and pleading for mercy or calling for help. The aggression in this image of war
was intentional advertisement.
The Stele of Naram-Sin could also be seen as political propaganda because it implies that
Naram-Sin was god-like or had the divine right to rule. Naram-Sin’s athletic build does not only
grant him importance but shows he has the “ideal figure” which is usually associated with the
gods. In much of the art during this time period suns represented the gods. The suns on the
stele could represent the god’s blessing Naram-Sin’s efforts to conquer this area. Because
Naram-Sin is the largest, he is closest to the gods which is positive. The placement of leader
also means that he is able to climb the mountain which will place him even higher to the
heavens. The horns on the leader’s helmet were restricted to gods or were representations of
gods during this time period. The religious elements in this art work could give Naram-Sin even
more support as far as publicity and ethical appeal.
In this visual narrative Naram-Sin is using political propaganda to promote imperial authority.
Naram-Sin is depicted as the ultimate leader because he is strong, victorious, and closer to the
gods than anyone else. The hieratic scale is the most evident piece of iconography. The artist’s
vision tells story upon story which all supports imperial authority, mercy-less fighting, and
respect of the gods. The details on the stele describe more the closer we pay attention.