King Naram-Sin of Akkad (son of Sargon I, p. 64) has pursued the enemy into a mountain stronghold. His heroic figure towers above his pygmy enemies, each one of whom has fixed his eyes on the conqueror, awaiting his signal of mercy. The sculptor, with fine insight, has depicted the dramatic instant when the king lowers his weapon as the sign that he grants the conquered their lives. Compare the superiority of this Semitic sculpture of Akkad over the Sumerian art of two centuries earlier (Fig. 39)
