The Assyrian Sacred Tree is pervasive throughout the reliefs of the Northwest Palace of
Nimrud, appearing ninety-six times alone in Room I. Despite the Assyrian Sacred Tree’s
appearance in the numerous carved reliefs of Nimrud as well as in later Assyrian palaces, the
symbolism of the Assyrian Sacred Tree is not fully known and has been thoroughly debated.
Most recently, scholars have convincingly argued for the Assyrian Sacred Tree being a stylized
date palm probably representing Ishtar, the goddess of fertility and warfare (Winter, 2003;
Porter, 2003; Collins, 2006), but few scholars discuss the tree within the larger context of the
narrative panel reliefs that line the walls of Assurnasirpal II’s throne room. Those that discuss
both the narrative relief panels and the Assyrian Sacred Tree suggest that the presence of the
Assyrian Sacred Tree overshadows that of the narrative relief panels in the room.
However, by considering the iconography of the Assyrian Sacred Tree in conjunction
with the bas-relief panels depicting scenes of warfare, it is possible to read the entire room as a
message of Assyrian abundance. While the Assyrian Sacred Tree is a stylized date palm
representing the abundance granted to the Assyrian empire by Ishtar, the scenes of historic
battles include details of naturalistic date palms representing Ishtar aiding the Assyrian conquests
in her role as goddess of warfare.
Thus, visitors are presented with symbolic and historic representations of divine
abundance granted to the Assyrian empire through their conduit, the king Assurnasirpal II. The
entire room is an illustration of the gods’ role in Assurnasirpal II’s military successes, as well as
a way to thank the gods and insure their continued gifts of abundance through war and the
fertility of the Assyrian land and its people.