Forgotten Kingdoms: From the Hittite Empire to the Arameans through August 12, 2019 at The Louvre in Paris, France

Forgotten Kingdoms: From the Hittite Empire to the Arameans through August 12, 2019 at The Louvre in Paris, France.
The Hittite empire, a great rival power of ancient Egypt, ruled over Anatolia and held sway over the Levant until about 1200 BC. Its demise gave rise to Neo-Hittite and Aramean kingdoms in modern-day Turkey and Syria, heirs of the political, cultural, and artistic traditions of the fallen empire. The exhibition invites visitors to rediscover the mythic sites of this forgotten civilization, such as the majestic remains of the Tell Halaf site, located near the current Turco-Syrian border. This major Syrian heritage site was discovered by Max von Oppenheim, who conducted excavations there from 1911 to 1913. The large sculptures, which adorned the palace of the Aramean king Kapara, were brought back to Berlin where they were exhibited, then very heavily damaged in WW2 bombings. An incredible conservation project carried out in the early 2000s made it possible to rehabilitate them.


Image: Discovery of the Grand Funerary Statue in 1912 at the site of Tell Halaf near the Turkey-Syrian border. Image courtesy of Max von Oppenheim and the Musée du Louvre.

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