The Neo-Assyrian Empire, which lasted from 911 to 609 BCE, enjoyed the benefits of a very capable army that was well organised and included some key innovations. First and foremost there was the kisir sharruti, the professional standing army under the direct command of the king, while the bulk of most Assyrian forces was made up of subjects, including conquered foreigners, who were obliged to serve in the army as part of their duties to the state. Whilst the king might have led his army personally, when he did not that duty fell to one of his generals (turtanu), although whoever was in command, naturally there was a structure of senior ranks that conducted the more mundane business of running affairs and enacting orders. One of these was the head of the kisir sharruti, called the rab-sha-reshi, who was traditionally a eunuch, and like the other highest ranks in the army was both a military and a political servant of the king. Another such was the nagir ekalli, the palace herald, who was also the military commander of the important north-east part of the empire. This set provides us with these senior ranks, plus some other command figures, for the first time.

The first pictured figure in this set is the turtanu or general. He wears a long robe, over which he wears a corselet (sariam) of scale or lamellar construction which reaches to the knees. He has the classic Assyrian conical helmet and both his hair and beard are very neatly dressed as seen in so many Assyrian images. He is armed only with a sword, and in many ways is little different from a heavy infantryman, though doubtless has much higher quality clothing and armour, and probably wore it even when such armour was not common in the lower ranks. He points, as officers normally do, and is a lovely little figure.

Beside him is the rab-sha-reshi, the court eunuch, dressed in what we take to be more court dress, with no armour or helmet. Next we have a standard-bearer, and he holds a standard that displays a winged disk with an archer in the middle, which is a classic image of the most important of the gods, Ashur, and so seems a reasonable choice for such a banner, since the Assyrian army was often described as the ‘mighty host of Ashur’. Like the general he wears a long tunic, knee-length corselet and characteristic helmet, this time with ear pieces. Beside him is a trumpeter, dressed in much the same way, but with a shorter tunic. His armour is of the same type as the others, with each scale being fairly square in proportions, which is something of a surprise as Assyrian armour is normally depicted as being made of long, vertical rectangular scales. His trumpet is very long as can be seen, yet is lovely and slender, and looks great. Finally we have the nagir ekalli, the palace herald who was also in charge of the crucial north-east province that faced Urartu. Here he is not dressed for war, but instead wears a long robe with belt and sash across the body. He holds a long staff (hattum), a symbol of his authority.

All these 3D printed figures are beautifully produced, with great sculpting of the cloth and abundant detail. Faces are perfect, and even highly intricate and detailed elements like the Ashur standard are perfectly done. There is no flash as always, and no need for any assembly, leaving just highly natural poses that don’t have any action about them, but this is entirely appropriate for the subject at hand.

We can’t really have any complaints about this small but well-formed set. Whether all figures are suitable for the entire three centuries in question is hard to judge, but all certainly look the part, and we have no trouble believing that they are useful for any late Assyrian army. It was common to show officers holding a mace, which was a symbol of their authority, but none are to be seen here, yet the general has drawn his sword, so is perhaps not worrying so much about symbols at the moment. We have here a terrific little set to match the many sets of Assyrians already made by Linear-A and others, and while they are all rather tall for men of that period, that is perhaps a small slip that we can easily overlook in this case.