Content and Subject
What is depicted in this image is the engraved artwork on the tomb of King Artaxerxes III, which was located in the capital of the once Achaemenid empire. On this kings tomb, it depicts himself being held up on a platform by what I assume to be the people of the Achaemenid empire. The king is displaying himself infront of what seems to be their god, Ahura Mazda, who is shown as the flying man in the top-center of the artwork. King Artaxerxes III has an open hand directed to the god, with his other hand holding a staff or scepter. An open hand torwards a god represented the divine connection between the king and the god, whilst the scepter represented royal authority in Achaemenid art. On the borders of the engraving you see men that are not holding the platform that Artaxerxes is standing on. These men were most likely the soldiers that he led, as they are holding spears and standing gaurd, most likely added to the artwork to represent Artaxerxes' military prowess and power as a ruler. This artwork was most likely created to honor the death of a very influential king in their empire. As King Artaxerxes III had reclaimed Egypt as part of the Achaemenid empire and was the third of his lineage to be King of the empire. Because of his importance, his burial place was made extravegant to reflect that.
Style
The tomb of King Artaxerxes III uses a rising composition to bring the viewers attention to the main idea of the piece. It is composed in a way that your eyes start at the bottom, as it is the most filled space, and as you rise through the artwork you finally reach the spacious top of the tower of people, and finally see the depiction of King Artaxerxes and god Ahura Mazda. I believe the artist intended the artwork to be seen starting from the bottom as this engraving is elevated above the tomb entry way, meaning the only real way to see it is by looking up, making you start at the bottom. This artwork also uses scale to represent the importance/power of the people depicted; The largest of whom obviously being King Artaxerxes and Ahura Mazda at the top of the tower, being almost twice as tall as the people holding the platforms or the soldiers standing at the side. Despite the increased scale however, the people displayed in this piece are subjected to a realistic canon of proportions.
Connection to the Reading
The readings connect to the the tomb of King Artaxerxes III, as they show how the previous kings of the Archaemenid empire entrusted Ahura Mazda to continue the empire after they were gone. In the passage of King Xerxes, he praises the god for creating the earth, his kingdom, and himself, stating that he and his father built everything in their capitol of Persepolis for him. He finishes this passage by saying "may Ahura Mazda preserve me, my kingdom, what has been built by me, and what has been built by my father. That, indeed, may Ahura Mazda preserve". This relates to what we see in the engraving of the tomb of King Artaxerxes III, as at the top of the platform stands the king infront of Ahura Mazda, with an open hand directed towards him, representing a divine connection between them. In Artaxerxes III other hand is a scepter, which represents power and authority, which in his case is the authority over the Archaemind empire. In this artwork, it can easily be assumed that King Artaxerxes III is doing the same as his forefathers, and handing off the empire of Archaemind to their god in his time of dying.
Interactive image
James Loftus (jloftus)
Created on September 10, 2025
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Transcript
Content and Subject
What is depicted in this image is the engraved artwork on the tomb of King Artaxerxes III, which was located in the capital of the once Achaemenid empire. On this kings tomb, it depicts himself being held up on a platform by what I assume to be the people of the Achaemenid empire. The king is displaying himself infront of what seems to be their god, Ahura Mazda, who is shown as the flying man in the top-center of the artwork. King Artaxerxes III has an open hand directed to the god, with his other hand holding a staff or scepter. An open hand torwards a god represented the divine connection between the king and the god, whilst the scepter represented royal authority in Achaemenid art. On the borders of the engraving you see men that are not holding the platform that Artaxerxes is standing on. These men were most likely the soldiers that he led, as they are holding spears and standing gaurd, most likely added to the artwork to represent Artaxerxes' military prowess and power as a ruler. This artwork was most likely created to honor the death of a very influential king in their empire. As King Artaxerxes III had reclaimed Egypt as part of the Achaemenid empire and was the third of his lineage to be King of the empire. Because of his importance, his burial place was made extravegant to reflect that.
Style
The tomb of King Artaxerxes III uses a rising composition to bring the viewers attention to the main idea of the piece. It is composed in a way that your eyes start at the bottom, as it is the most filled space, and as you rise through the artwork you finally reach the spacious top of the tower of people, and finally see the depiction of King Artaxerxes and god Ahura Mazda. I believe the artist intended the artwork to be seen starting from the bottom as this engraving is elevated above the tomb entry way, meaning the only real way to see it is by looking up, making you start at the bottom. This artwork also uses scale to represent the importance/power of the people depicted; The largest of whom obviously being King Artaxerxes and Ahura Mazda at the top of the tower, being almost twice as tall as the people holding the platforms or the soldiers standing at the side. Despite the increased scale however, the people displayed in this piece are subjected to a realistic canon of proportions.
Connection to the Reading
The readings connect to the the tomb of King Artaxerxes III, as they show how the previous kings of the Archaemenid empire entrusted Ahura Mazda to continue the empire after they were gone. In the passage of King Xerxes, he praises the god for creating the earth, his kingdom, and himself, stating that he and his father built everything in their capitol of Persepolis for him. He finishes this passage by saying "may Ahura Mazda preserve me, my kingdom, what has been built by me, and what has been built by my father. That, indeed, may Ahura Mazda preserve". This relates to what we see in the engraving of the tomb of King Artaxerxes III, as at the top of the platform stands the king infront of Ahura Mazda, with an open hand directed towards him, representing a divine connection between them. In Artaxerxes III other hand is a scepter, which represents power and authority, which in his case is the authority over the Archaemind empire. In this artwork, it can easily be assumed that King Artaxerxes III is doing the same as his forefathers, and handing off the empire of Archaemind to their god in his time of dying.