A
winged beast with a leonine body, identified as Anzu, turns to
confront the advancing figure of Ninurta, the principal god of
Nimrud. Ninurta moves forward with thunderbolts in each hand, poised
to strike in his role as a divine warrior. Anzu (or Imdugud in
earlier Sumerian texts) features in myths where he steals the Tablet
of Destinies, disrupting the divine order—a theft that Ninurta is
tasked with correcting. This story reflects themes of divine
authority and cosmic balance in Mesopotamian belief systems. The
gypsum wall panel relief, dating to the Neo-Assyrian period and from
the Temple of Ninurta, forms part of a series portraying
mythological clashes between gods and monstrous beings. Cuneiform
inscriptions are carved into the gypsum surface. The panel was
uncovered during excavations led by Sir Austen Henry Layard. Today,
it is housed in the British Museum. See:
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_1851-0902-501
