Why did the Assyrian King Ashurbanipal sow the land of Susa with salt?
In 647 BC, the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal launched a campaign to annihilate Susa, the holy capital of the Elamites. Driven by centuries of perceived humiliation, he did not merely conquer the city; he systematically dismantled its religious identity, looted its royal treasuries, and left the land barren for generations.
The conflict between the Assyrians and the Elamites reached a brutal climax in 647 BC. King Ashurbanipal, weary of persistent Elamite incursions into Mesopotamian territories, sought to deliver a definitive punishment. His objective was not just military victory but the total erasure of Susa as a cultural and spiritual center. This campaign was framed as an act of vengeance, with Ashurbanipal positioning himself as an avenger for the historical grievances suffered by his people.
Following a successful siege, the Assyrian forces executed a methodical destruction of the city. Ashurbanipal’s own account, preserved on a tablet discovered in 1854 by Austen Henry Layard at Nineveh, details the thoroughness of the devastation. He plundered the palaces, seizing vast quantities of gold, silver, and accumulated wealth. The city's religious heart was targeted with particular intensity; the ziggurat was destroyed, its copper horns were smashed, and the temples were reduced to rubble. The king even scattered the deities of Elam to the winds, effectively stripping the city of its divine protection.
The desecration extended beyond the living to the dead. Ashurbanipal opened the tombs of both ancient and recent Elamite kings, exposing their remains to the sun and transporting their bones back to the land of Ashur. This act was intended to strip the Elamite dynasty of its ancestral legacy and dignity. Finally, to ensure the region would remain uninhabitable, the Assyrian forces devastated the surrounding provinces and sowed the earth with salt. This symbolic and practical act of destruction served as a final, chilling message to any who might challenge Assyrian dominance, marking the end of Susa’s prominence as a seat of mysteries and a holy abode.
Source: Battle of Susa
