HI] 



AND HISTORIC TIMES 



195 



On the monuments (Figs. 62-4) of Nineveh the horse plays 

 a prominent role, whether driven under chariots or ridden. 

 The horses of the archers who are fighting with the enemy, 

 and who have consequently both hands engaged, are repre- 

 sented as led by mounted warriors, who ride by their side. 

 They wear . skull-caps, probably of iron 1 . The bas-reliefs of 

 Kouyunjik 2 show "warriors urging their horses at full speed, 

 and archers on foot turning backward to discharge their arrows 

 at their pursuers. Beneath the horsemen are rows of chariots 

 and led horses. In their trappings and harness the horses of 



FIG. 62. Tiglath Pileser III in his chariot. 



the Kouyunjik bas-reliefs differ from those represented on the 

 sculptures from Nimround. Their heads are generally sur- 

 mounted by a high arched crest, and bells or tassels are hung 

 round their necks, or, as at Khorsabad, high plumes, generally 

 three in number, rise between their ears. The bridle consisted 

 of a headstall, a strap divided into three parts joining the bit, 

 the straps over the forehead, under the cheeks, and behind the 

 ears. Three richly embroidered straps (Fig. 63), passing round 

 the body of the horse, keep the harness and chariot pole in their 

 place, and were attached to a highly decorated breast-band. To 

 the yoke was suspended an elegant ornament in the form of 



1 Layard, Nineveh and its Remains (ed. 1867), pp. 234-5. 



2 Ibid. pp. 362-3. 



132 



