Alabaster bas-relief showing Ashurbanipal in his royal chariot stabbing a lion. The lion has jumped and reached a critical point very close to the king. The king’s attendants thrust their spears onto the lion’s neck to stop the lion; the king, using his right hand, stabs the lion deeply into his neck. The lion’s painful facial expression and forelegs spasm were depicted very delicately. From Room C of the North Palace, Nineveh (modern-day Kouyunjik, Mosul Governorate), Mesopotamia, Iraq. Circa 645-535 BCE. The British Museum, London. Photo©Osama S.M. Amin.