The Camel-Rider's Stele and Related Sculpture from Hatra

Abstract

During the excavation season of 1974 and 1975 archaeologists of the Iraqi Directorate General of Antiquities uncovered at Hatra a huge edifice, built of ashlar masonry, located in the forecourt of the Great Temple. The building was a temple dedicated to the worship of Allat, the great Arab goddess. This identification is based on epigraphic evidence and sculptural representations, some of which offered in turn evidence for the goddess's assimilation with Nemesis, the omnipresent Greek goddess of justice and vengeance. The plan and architecture of the temple exhibit the distinctive features of the Hatrene style, characterized by the appearance of a triple iwan. In this way the temple is similar to the southern and northern units of the great iwans, the temple of the Triad and the temple of Smya, though its dimensions are larger. The inscriptional evidence indicates that it was King Sanatruq who was responsible for planning and building the temple. However, the final stages of the work were completed by his son, 'Abdsmya, who acted as Sanatruq's viceroy before succeeding him as king. Both kings left their images carved in high relief in two niches in the small iwans.