Subject: warrior
Culture: Luristani
Setting: western Iran ~1200-600BC
Evolution:
Context (Event Photos, Primary Sources, Secondary Sources, Field Notes)
* Museum of Fine Arts > Art of the Ancient World > Ancient Near East
"The Hill Tribes of Luristan: about 1200-600 B.C. Luristan is a rugged, mountainous area in western Iran just east of Mesopotamia. It was occupied, from remote times, by semi-nomadic tribes that were usually dominated by Mesopotamia and Elam. Occasionally, however, these tribes swept onto the plains, overthrew dynasties, and altered the course of history. The isolated tribesmen of Luristan developed distinctive cultural traits and art styles. Thousands of decorative objects, primarily of bronze, were buried in their cemeteries and religious sancutarires. Although some objects from Luristan date to the third millenium B.C."
* Posada 1965 p79
"The further one progresses toward the north of Luristan, the greener are the pastures in the valleys. This is good horse-breeding country, and we may assume that the Kassites, Elamites and others obtained many of their horses from this region. Perhaps there was a connection between the breeding of horses and the mercenary military service engaged in by men of Luristan, by which some historians explain the presence in Luristan graves of daggers inscribed with the names of Babylonian kings of the twelfth and eleventh centuries B.C. By some means the inhabitants of Luristan must have accumulated great wealth ...."
Archery
*
Jewelry
* Posada 1965 p83
"The bronze jewellery includes rings for all the joints of the human body from finger-rings to anklets. There were also pins with all sorts of heads, shaped like animals, birds or plants, and there were pendants of various types."
Spear
*
Shield
*
Ax
*
Mace
*
Sword
* Museum of Fine Arts > Art of the Ancient World > Ancient Near East
"Swords and daggers were either cast as one piece or made of a forged blade riveted to a separately cast handle. Because bronze blades were easily dulled, whetstones to sharpen them were indispensable. Whetstones were tucked in the belt or hung from it by short chains."
Dagger
* Capwell 2009 p119
"Along with many swords, axes and spearheads, the weapons included a great many daggers, cast in bronze and usually fitted with grip scales of wood, horn or bone. Some of the best bronze daggers from Luristan in fact probably date from the Iranian Iron Age, c.1200-650BC, although many others have been found that belong to the Iranian Bronze Age, c.3500-1250BC."
