Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III
What Was Found
A black limestone obelisk approximately 1.98 meters (6.5 feet) tall and 45 centimeters wide, erected ca. 825 BCE as a public monument at the Assyrian capital of Nimrud (ancient Kalhu). Discovered by Sir Austen Henry Layard in 1846 during his excavations at Nimrud in northern Iraq, it is the most complete Assyrian obelisk yet found. The monument features twenty bas-relief panels in five registers depicting tribute from five subject regions. The second register from the top depicts a figure prostrating before Shalmaneser III, identified by the Akkadian inscription as "Yaua of Bit Omri" — widely identified as King Jehu of Israel. This is the only known ancient Near Eastern depiction of an Israelite or Judaean monarch. The inscription records tribute of "silver, gold, a golden bowl, a golden vase with pointed bottom, golden tumblers, golden buckets, tin, a staff for a king, and spears." Edward Hincks first identified "Yaua" with the Biblical Jehu in 1851. The obelisk is displayed at the British Museum, London (registration ME 118885).
The Text Itself
The tribute of Yaua [Jehu] of Bit Omri [House of Omri]: I received from him silver, gold, a golden bowl, a golden vase with pointed bottom, golden tumblers, golden buckets, tin, a staff for a king, and spears.— Henry Rawlinson (initial translation, 1850); Edward Hincks (identification of Jehu, 1851); A. Kirk Grayson, Assyrian Rulers of the Early First Millennium BC II (1996)
Why This Matters
Contains the earliest known ancient depiction of a biblical figure (Jehu prostrating before Shalmaneser III). It is one of only a few Assyrian monuments depicting a named biblical king, providing direct archaeological corroboration of the Israelite monarchy.
Acceptance Assessment
Universally Accepted
The identification of Jehu on the obelisk was first proposed by Edward Hincks in 1851 and remains the dominant scholarly position.
What Scholars Debate
The Assyrian designation "son of Omri" is debated since Jehu actually overthrew the Omride dynasty. Most scholars interpret "son of Omri" as "ruler of the land of Omri" (i.e., Israel), which Assyrians called "Bit-Humri."