MythicAssyrian Winged Figure Reliefs (Nimrud, ~900-700 BC)
UBVan + Fandor + Tree of Life
Van + Fandor + Tree of Life = Assyrian Winged Figure Reliefs (Nimrud, ~900-700 BC)
The Connection
Assyrian palace reliefs show a winged figure beside a bull and a sacred tree. The UB reading: Van (superhuman figure) who rode Fandor (associated with bulls/livestock transport) and guarded the Tree of Life. The three elements (superhuman being, large bird/bull, sacred tree) appear together in both traditions.
UB Citation
UB 66:4.13, 73:6
Academic Source
British Museum Nimrud Gallery; Layard excavation records
Historical Evidence(Moderate evidence)
British Museum Lamassu (Ashurnasirpal II, 883-859 BCE, Nimrud): Human-headed winged bulls flanking doorways. Interior walls show the Sacred Tree attended by winged figures (apkallu). The recurring composition places Sacred Tree at center, flanked by winged figures, with winged bulls guarding doorways. These three motifs appear as a unified symbolic system across multiple Assyrian palace sites. The kingdom of Urartu (9th-6th century BCE), centered at Lake Van in eastern Turkey, preserves nearly identical relief carvings: winged figures flanking a sacred tree. Urartu literally means "Kingdom of Van." Urartian "Biainili," possibly pronounced "Vanele," became "Van" in Old Armenian. The same three-element composition (superhuman figure, winged creature, sacred tree) persists in a kingdom whose name echoes the UB character who guarded these very things.