Siege Engine. Sogdian mural from Panjakent

Fragment of the Mural: Siege Engine

This fragment is part of a depiction of the siege of a fortress from the throne hall of the palace in the citadel. A siege engine of the trebuchet type is shown in operation. Five men are pulling on ropes attached to the short arm of a lever that runs through a block attached to a pyramid-shaped base that the artist depicted in reverse perspective. The longer arm of the lever to which the sling would have been attached has not survived. Written sources contain descriptions of the Arabs using stone-throwing machines when besieging Sogdian cities, including Samarkand in AD 712, and it has been suggested that that is the very episode depicted in the mural.

Title: Fragment of the Mural: Siege Engine
Place: Sogdia
Date: between 712 and 722
Archaeological site: Panjakent, citadel
Technique: mural painting a secco
Dimensions: height 69 cm (painted); length 54 cm (painted); 78x63 cm (mounting plate)
Museum number: СА-16227
Acquisition details: Acquired in 1969 from the materials of the Panjakent Archaeological Expedition

Source: State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg.