Susa, Iran
Paris, Louvre Museum (Sb 20)
Diorite; H 140, W 60
Akkadian period - Kingdom of Manishtusu (2269-2255 BC)
 
This obelisk, discovered in Susa, where it was been taken as war booty, is an important Mesopotamian monument, which precedes and announces the most famous monument of this kind, the stela with the Code of Hammurapi.
 
Carved in black diorite, the pyramidal-shaped obelisk, broken at the top, bears a legal inscription of the king Manishtusu (2269-2255 BC), son of Sargon the Great. The cuneiform text, carefully incised on the four sides of the monument, relates about assignations of lands.
The diorite surfaces are perfectly polished, showing the great skill of the Akkadian sculptors in working this very hard stone. (AL)