Portrait of an Achaemenid Soldier or Noble

The art of the Achaemenid Empire has suffered from an unfortunate neglect both among scholars and the general public, but as this relief demonstrates, Achaemenid artists approached their subjects with sensitivity and a clear eye for detail. Achaemenid art follows in the traditions of the Near Eastern civilizations that preceded it; as for the Assyrians, the main medium was the low bas-relief, read from left to right. They often depict processions of

subject peoples, designed to show the wealth and expanse of the Empire, and the diversity of tributaries to the King of Kings. Like in Assyria, and in Mesopotamia before then, Achaemenid artists depicted the human form with the legs, arms, and head in profile, and with the torso shown frontally. The eyes are also shown from the front. But whereas Assyrian reliefs depict a stocky musculature, square beards, and small delicate eyes, Achaemenid reliefs have a slimmer physique, short beards following the shape of the face, and large almond-shaped eyes. Achaemenid innovation largely occurred in metalwork and other similar art forms. But in sculpture, the main development of the Persian Period is the elaboration of drapery.

This relief depicts an Achaemenid soldier or noble, probably originally taken from one of the great processional scenes that decorated the important palace centres. The figure has the traditional Achaemenid hairstyle: long curls (indicated by tight spirals) falling thickly down the back of the neck, accompanied by a beard which follows the line of the jaw. He wears an earring, commonplace among Achaemenid troops and the nobility. He wears a smooth, cylindrical, headdress attested in a similar form among the troops at Persepolis (see image below). Achaemenid art was very programmatic, and so a great number of museums and collections have comparable reliefs of soldiers attending the Achaemenid court (Metropolitan Museum of Art 55.121.3; Saint Louis Art Museum 267:1955; Brooklyn Museum 65.195). The soldiers and nobles of the Achaemenid court were involved in the great annual processions during which tribute was brought to the Great King at his palaces in Persepolis and Susa. These festivals of tribute were both an administrative exercise, enumerating the various ethnicities of the Empire against the tribute they were scheduled to bring, and a show of power, at which friends and enemies of the Empire might be impressed. By carving these rituals in stone, the Great King could demonstrate his wealth and power year-round. References: similar depictions of Achaemenid soldiers and nobles can be found among the ruins of Persepolis, as well as in collections in New York (Metropolitan Museum of Art 55.121.3), Saint Louis (Saint Louis Art Museum 267:1955), and Brooklyn (Brooklyn Museum 65.195).