The head of the Assyrian ruler (Sargon of Akkad) is severely mutilated with gouged out eyes. The nose appears to be flattened at the top while the ears have been cut off. The destruction of this bronze bust can be attributed to political iconoclasm (Iconoclasm is a social belief in destroying icons and monuments for political reasons). The destruction on this bust was perhaps done during the fall of Nineveh to the Babylonians and the Mendes in the 7th Century BCE. The selective destruction of the head bust suggests that the goal was not to wipe out every aspect of the royal figure but to leave it in a devastating state of defeat and humiliation. The destruction of Sargon Akkad can be compared to the contemporary damage of the head of Vladimir Lenin (Russian political theorist) in Romania. The destruction was done after the fall of the Soviet bloc in the early 1990s.
The head of the Assyrian ruler (Sargon of Akkad) is severely mutilated with gouged out eyes. The nose appears to be flattened at the top while the ears have been cut off. The destruction of this bronze bust can be attributed to political iconoclasm (Iconoclasm is a social belief in destroying icons and monuments for political reasons). The destruction on this bust was perhaps done during the fall of Nineveh to the Babylonians and the Mendes in the 7th Century BCE. The selective destruction of the head bust suggests that the goal was not to wipe out every aspect of the royal figure but to leave it in a devastating state of defeat and humiliation. The destruction of Sargon Akkad can be compared to the contemporary damage of the head of Vladimir Lenin (Russian political theorist) in Romania. The destruction was done after the fall of the Soviet bloc in the early 1990s.