Editing Obelisk (section)

==Ancient obelisks==

===Egyptian===
{{see also| List of Egyptian obelisks}}

Obelisks were prominent in the architecture of the [[ancient Egypt]]ians, and played a vital role in their religion placing them in pairs at the entrance of the [[Egyptian temple|temples]]. The word "obelisk" as used in English today is of Greek rather than Egyptian origin because [[Herodotus]], the Greek traveler, was one of the first classical writers to describe the objects. A number of<!-- can't find a current source, 19th century sources say more --> ancient Egyptian obelisks are known to have survived, plus the "[[unfinished obelisk]]" found partly hewn from its quarry at [[Aswan]]. These obelisks are now dispersed around the world, and fewer than half of them remain in Egypt.

The earliest [[temple]] obelisk still in its original position is the {{convert|20.7|m|ft|adj=on|order=flip}} {{convert|120|MT|ST|adj=on|lk=on}}<ref>{{cite web |series=NOVA Online: Mysteries of the Nile |title=A World of Obelisks: Cairo |publisher=[[PBS]] |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/egypt/raising/cairo.html |access-date=14 June 2013}}</ref> red granite Obelisk of [[Senusret I]] of the [[Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt|Twelfth Dynasty]] at [[El Matareya, Cairo|Al-Matariyyah]] in [[Heliopolis (Cairo suburb)|modern Heliopolis]].<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Obelisk |volume=19 |page=945 |first=Francis Llewellyn |last=Griffith |author-link=Francis Llewellyn Griffith}}</ref>

In [[Egyptian mythology]], the obelisk symbolized the sun god [[Ra]], and during the religious reformation of [[Akhenaten]] it was said to have been a petrified ray of the [[Aten]], the sundisk. [[Benben]] was the mound that arose from the primordial waters [[Naunet|Nu]] upon which the creator god [[Atum]] settled in the creation story of the [[Ancient Egyptian creation myths|Heliopolitan creation myth]] form of [[Ancient Egypt]]ian religion. The Benben stone (also known as a [[pyramidion]]) is the top stone of the Egyptian pyramid. It is also related to the obelisk.

Both [[New York University]] [[Egyptologist]] Patricia Blackwell Gary and ''[[Astronomy (magazine)|Astronomy]]'' senior editor Richard Talcott hypothesize that the shapes of the [[ancient Egypt]]ian [[pyramid]] and obelisk were derived from natural phenomena associated with the sun (the sun-god [[Ra]] being the Egyptians' greatest deity at that time).<ref>{{cite magazine |first1=Patricia |last1=Blackwell Gary |first2=Richard |last2=Talcott |date=June 2006 |title=Stargazing in Ancient Egypt |magazine=[[Astronomy (magazine)|Astronomy]] |pages=62–67 |url=http://www.astronomy.com/~/media/import/files/pdf/8/6/c/august_2010_we_stargazing-in-ancient-egypt.pdf |access-date=2021-01-30<!-- "|URL-STATUS=LIVE" is incomplete without providing |magazine= |location= |publisher= |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date= --> |archive-date=3 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803075340/https://astronomy.com/~/media/import/files/pdf/8/6/c/august_2010_we_stargazing-in-ancient-egypt.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[pyramid]] and obelisk's significance have been previously overlooked, especially the astronomical phenomena connected with [[sunrise]] and [[sunset]]: [[Zodiacal light]] and [[sun pillar]]s respectively.

<gallery heights="180" mode="packed" caption="Types of Egyptian obelisks" mode="packed">
File:Luxor-Tempel Pylon 08.jpg|[[Pylon (architecture)|Pylon]] of the [[Temple of Luxor]] with the remaining [[Luxor Obelisk]] in front (the second is today on the [[Place de la Concorde]] in Paris)
File:Heliopolis200501.JPG|Obelisk of Pharaoh [[Senusret I]], Al-Maalla area of [[El Matareya, Cairo|Al-Matariyyah]] district in [[Heliopolis (Cairo suburb)|modern Heliopolis]], Egypt
File:Obelisk5.jpg|Tip of [[Hatshepsut]]'s fallen obelisk, [[Karnak|Karnak Temple Complex]], [[Luxor]], Egypt
File:GD-EG-Assouan-Obélisque inachevé-2.JPG|[[Unfinished obelisk]], [[Aswan]], Egypt
</gallery>

==== Nubian ====
Ancient [[Nubia|Nubian kings]] of the [[Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt|twenty-fifth Dynasty]] sought to legitimize their rule over Egypt by constructing Egyptianizing monuments in the Middle Nile region. Historical sources mention that king [[Piye]] built at least one obelisk. The obelisk was made of local [[black granite]] and was found at the site of Kadakol. It had been cut down to make it into a column, presumably for one of the early Christian churches in the area of [[Old Dongola]]. Today the obelisk is exhibited in the [[National Museum in Khartoum]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Lacovara |first=Petere |title=Pyramids and Obelisks beyond Egypt |journal=Aegyptiaca |date=2018 |issue=2 |page=130 |doi=10.11588/aegyp.2018.2.48018 |url=https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/aegyp/article/view/48018/41478 |access-date=17 June 2019}}</ref> The obelisk is inscribed with the kings official titulary: ''Strong-bull, Appearing-in-Dominion (Thebes), King-of-Upper-and-Lower-Egypt, Two-ladies, Ruler-of-Egypt, Son-of-Rê, Pi(ankh)y: what he made as his monument for his father Amen-Rê, lord of [...]''.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last1=Tormod  |editor-first1=Eide |title=Fontes historiae Nubiorum: Textual Sources for the History of the Middle Nile region between the eighth century&nbsp;BC and the sixth century&nbsp;AD |year=1996 |volume=1 |issue=54 |publisher=University of Bergen, Dept. of Classics, Bergen, 1994 |isbn=9788291626017 |page=54 }}</ref>

An obelisk of King [[Senkamanisken]] was found at [[Gebel Barkal]] in 1916 by the [[Harvard University]] Museum of Fine Arts expedition to [[Sudan]]. There are remains of another small obelisk inscribed with the [[cartouche]] of King [[Aktisanes]] at the site of Gebel Barkal.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Lacovara |first=Petere |year=2018 |title=Pyramids and obelisks beyond Egypt |journal=Aegyptiaca |issue=2 |pages=131–135 |doi=10.11588/aegyp.2018.2.48018 |url=https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/aegyp/article/view/48018/41478 |access-date=17 June 2019}}</ref>

==== Ancient Egyptian obelisks in Ancient Rome ====
{{See also|List_of_obelisks_in_Rome#Ancient_Egyptian_obelisks|label 1=List of Ancient Egyptian obelisks in Rome}}
[[File:Hippodrome Oblisk.jpg|upright|thumb|The [[Obelisk of Theodosius|Obelisk of Tuthmosis III]], [[Istanbul]], Turkey]]

Around 30&nbsp;BCE, Rome seized control of Egypt and looted the various [[Egyptian temple|temple]] complexes; in one case they destroyed walls at the [[Karnak|Temple of Karnak]] to haul them out. There are now more than twice as many obelisks that were seized and shipped out by Rome as remain in Egypt. The majority were dismantled during the Roman period over 1,700&nbsp;years ago and the obelisks were sent to different locations.{{Citation needed|reason=Multiple claims in this paragraph require citations.|date=February 2023}}

The largest standing and tallest Egyptian obelisk is the [[Lateran Obelisk]] in the square at the west side of the [[Lateran Basilica]] in Rome at {{convert|105.6|ft|m}} tall and a weight of {{convert|455|MT|ST}}.<ref  name=PBS-Nile-mysteries-Rome>{{cite web |series=NOVA Online: Mysteries of the Nile |title=A World of Obelisks: Rome |publisher=[[PBS]] |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/egypt/raising/rome.html |access-date=14 June 2013}}</ref> More well known is the [[Cultural icon|iconic]] {{convert|25|m|ft}}, {{convert|331|MT|ST|adj=on}} [[Vatican obelisk]] at [[Saint Peter's Square]].<ref name=PBS-Nile-mysteries-Rome/> Brought to Rome by the Emperor [[Caligula]] in 37&nbsp;CE, it has stood at its current site and on the wall of the [[Circus of Nero]], flanking St Peter's Basilica.

{{blockquote|The elder [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]] in his ''[[Pliny's Natural History|Natural History]]'' refers to the obelisk's transportation from Egypt to Rome by order of the Emperor Gaius (Caligula) as an outstanding event. The barge that carried it had a huge mast of fir wood which four men's arms could not encircle. One hundred and twenty bushels of lentils were needed for ballast. Having fulfilled its purpose, the gigantic vessel was no longer wanted. Therefore, filled with stones and cement, it was sunk to form the foundations of the foremost quay of the new harbour at [[Ostia Antica|Ostia]].<ref>{{cite book |first=James |last=Lees-Milne |author-link=James Lees-Milne |title=Saint Peter's |year=1967}}</ref>}}

Pope [[Sixtus V]] was determined to erect the obelisk in front of St Peter's, of which the nave was yet to be built. He had a full-sized wooden mock-up erected within months of his election. [[Domenico Fontana]], the assistant of [[Giacomo Della Porta]] in the Basilica's construction, presented the Pope with a little model crane of wood and a heavy little obelisk of lead, which Sixtus himself was able to raise by turning a little winch with his finger. Fontana was given the project. Half-buried in the debris of the ages, it was first excavated as it stood; then it took from 30&nbsp;April to 17&nbsp;May 1586 to move it on rollers to the Piazza: it required nearly 1000&nbsp;men, 140&nbsp;carthorses, and 47&nbsp;cranes. The re-erection, scheduled for 14&nbsp;September, the Feast of the [[Exaltation of the Cross]], was watched by a large crowd. It was a famous feat of engineering, which made the reputation of Fontana, who detailed it in a book illustrated with copperplate etchings, ''Della Trasportatione dell'Obelisco Vaticano et delle Fabriche di Nostro Signore Papa Sisto&nbsp;V'' (1590),<ref>{{cite web |title=Della trasportatione dellªobelisco Vaticano et delle fabriche di Nostro Signore Papa Sisto&nbsp;... |website=purl.pt |url=http://purl.pt/6256/1/index.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Della trasportatione dell'obelisco vaticano et delle fabriche di nostro signore papa Sisto&nbsp;V fatte dal cavallier Domenico Fontana, architetto di Sva Santita, libro primo |website=NYPL Digital Collections |url=http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchresult.cfm?parent_id=350916&word= |access-date=21 August 2015}}</ref> which itself set a new standard in communicating technical information and influenced subsequent architectural publications by its meticulous precision.<ref>{{cite web |last=Fontana |first=Domenico |year = 1590 |title=Moving the Obelisk |website=Martayan Lan Rare Books |publisher=Domenico Basa |place=Rome, IT |url=http://www.martayanlan.com/cgi-bin/display.cgi/Books/5/28/25/606 |access-date=21 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315090244/http://www.martayanlan.com/cgi-bin/display.cgi/Books/5/28/25/606 |archive-date=15 March 2012 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Before being re-erected the obelisk was exorcised. It is said that Fontana had teams of relay horses to make his getaway if the enterprise failed. When [[Carlo Maderno]] came to build the Basilica's nave, he had to put the slightest kink in its axis, to line it precisely with the obelisk.

[[File:Rome-Piazza del Popolo-Obélisque et églises Santa Maria.jpg|thumb|upright| [[Flaminio Obelisk]] of [[Ramesses II]] from [[Heliopolis (Ancient Egypt)|Heliopolis]] stands in the centre of the [[Piazza del Popolo]], [[Rome]].]]

Three more obelisks were erected in Rome under Sixtus&nbsp;V: at [[Santa Maria Maggiore]], in 1587; at the Lateran Basilica, in 1588; and at the [[Piazza del Popolo]], in 1589.<ref>{{cite book |last=Fontana |first=Domenico |year=1590 |title=Della trasportatione dell'obel |publisher=ETH-Bibliothek – e-rara |place=Zürich (NEBIS) |doi=10.3931/e-rara-117}}</ref> An obelisk stands in front of the church of [[Trinità dei Monti]], at the head of the [[Spanish Steps]]. Other notable Egyptian obelisks in Rome are found in [[Piazza della Minerva]], sculpted while being carried on the back of an [[elephant]], [[Piazza Montecitorio]], [[Piazza della Rotonda]], the [[Baths of Diocletian]], and [[Villa Celimontana]]. Rome lost one of its obelisks, the [[Boboli obelisk]] which had decorated the temple of Isis, where it was uncovered in the 16th&nbsp;century. The Medici claimed it for the [[Villa Medici]], but in 1790 they moved it to the [[Boboli Gardens]] attached to the [[Palazzo Pitti]] in [[Florence]], and left a replica in its place.

Not all the Egyptian obelisks in the Roman Empire were set up at Rome: [[Herod the Great]] imitated his Roman patrons and set up an obelisk, [[Caesarea obelisk]], made out of Egyptian red granite in the [[hippodrome]] of his new city [[Caesarea Maritima|Caesarea]] in northern [[Judea]]. This one is about {{convert|40|ft|m}} tall and weighs about {{convert|100|MT|ST}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Caesarea Obelisk |publisher=Highskyblue.web.fc2.com |date=18 June 2001 |url=http://highskyblue.web.fc2.com/caesarea.htm |access-date=14 June 2013}}</ref> It was discovered by archaeologists and has been re-erected at its former site.

In 357&nbsp;CE, Emperor [[Constantius II]] had two Karnak Temple obelisks removed and transported down the [[Nile]] to [[Alexandria]] to commemorate his ''ventennalia'', the 20th&nbsp;year of his reign. Afterward, one was sent to Rome and erected on the ''[[spina (Roman circus)|spina]]'' of the [[Circus Maximus]], and is today known as the Lateran Obelisk. The other one, known as the [[Obelisk of Theodosius]], remained in Alexandria until 390&nbsp;CE, when Emperor [[Theodosius I]] had it transported to Constantinople (now [[Istanbul]]) and put up on the ''spina'' of the [[Hippodrome of Constantinople]] (now Sultan Ahmet Square).<ref>{{cite book | last=Habachi | first=Labib | author-link=Labib Habachi | year=1985 | title=The Obelisks of Egypt: Skyscrapers of the past | publisher=American University in Cairo Press | isbn=978-9774240225 | pages=145–151 }}</ref> It once stood {{convert|95|ft|m}} tall and weighed {{convert|380|MT|ST}}; however, its lower section (which reputedly also once stood in the hippodrome) is now lost, reducing the obelisk's size to {{convert|65|ft|m}}.<ref name=PBS-Nile-mysteries-Istanbul>{{cite web |series=NOVA Online: Mysteries of the Nile |title=A World of Obelisks: Istanbul |publisher=[[PBS]] |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/egypt/raising/istanbul.html |access-date=14 June 2013}}</ref>

==== Ancient Egyptian obelisks in modern cities ====
[[File:Bartholomeus Breenbergh 002.jpg|upright|thumb|The [[Dutch Golden Age]] painter [[Bartholomeus Breenbergh]] placed an obelisk in the background of his 1655 painting ''Joseph Sells Grain'']]

The Ancient Romans populated their city with 8&nbsp;large and 42&nbsp;small Egyptian obelisks. More have been re-erected elsewhere, and the best-known examples outside Rome are the pair of {{convert|21|m|ft|adj=on}} {{convert|187|MT|ST|adj=on}} [[Cleopatra's Needle (London)|Cleopatra's Needle]]s in [[London|London, England]] ({{convert|69|ft|m|order=flip|disp=or}}), and [[New York City|New York City, US]] ({{convert|70|ft|m|order=flip|disp=or}}), and the {{convert|75|ft|m|adj=on|order=flip}} over-{{convert|250|MT|ST|adj=on|abbr=}} [[Luxor Obelisk]] at the [[Place de la Concorde]] in [[Paris, France]].<ref>{{cite web |series=NOVA Online &#124; Mysteries of the Nile |title=A World of Obelisks: World |publisher=[[PBS]] |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/egypt/raising/world.html |access-date=14 June 2013}}</ref>

Obelisks were being shipped out of [[Egypt]] as late as the nineteenth century when three of them were sent to [[London]], [[New York City|New York]] and [[Paris]]. Their transportation was covered by various newspapers.<ref name="Paris obelisk">{{cite journal |last=Brier |first=Bob |year=2018 |title=The secret life of the Paris obelisk |journal=Aegyptiaca |issue=2 |pages=75–91 |doi=10.11588/aegyp.2018.2.47945 |url=https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/aegyp/article/view/47945/41416 |access-date=18 June 2019}}</ref>

===Assyrian===
Obelisk monuments are also known from the [[Assyria]]n civilization, where they were erected as public monuments that commemorated the achievements of the Assyrian king.

The [[British Museum]] possesses four Assyrian obelisks:

The [[White Obelisk of Ashurnasirpal I]] (named due to its colour), was discovered by [[Hormuzd Rassam]] in 1853 at [[Nineveh]]. The obelisk was erected by either [[Ashurnasirpal I]] (1050–1031&nbsp;BCE) or [[Ashurnasirpal II]] (883–859&nbsp;BCE). The obelisk bears an inscription that refers to the king's seizure of goods, people and herds, which he carried back to the city of Ashur. The reliefs of the Obelisk depict military campaigns, hunting, victory banquets and scenes of tribute bearing.

The Rassam Obelisk, named after its discoverer [[Hormuzd Rassam]], was found on the citadel of [[Nimrud]] (ancient Kalhu). It was erected by Ashurnasirpal&nbsp;II, though only survives in fragments. The surviving parts of the reliefs depict scenes of tribute bearing to the king from Syria and the west.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rassam Obelisk |series=Collection object details |website=British Museum |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=366799&partId=1&searchText=Rassam+Obelisk&page=1}}</ref>

The [[Black Obelisk]] was discovered by [[Sir Austen Henry Layard]] in 1846 on the citadel of Kalhu. The obelisk was erected by [[Shalmaneser III]] and the reliefs depict scenes of tribute bearing as well as the depiction of two subdued rulers, [[Jehu]] the Israelite, and Sua the Gilzanean, making gestures of submission to the king. The reliefs on the obelisk have accompanying epigraphs, but besides these the obelisk also possesses a longer inscription that records one of the latest versions of Shalmaneser III's annals, covering the period from his accessional year to his 33rd regnal year.

The Broken Obelisk, that was also discovered by Rassam at Nineveh. Only the top of this [[monolith]] has been reconstructed in the British Museum. The obelisk is the oldest recorded obelisk from Assyria, dating to the 11th&nbsp;century&nbsp;BCE.<ref>{{cite web |title=Broken Obelisk |series=Collection object details |website=British Museum |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=277955&partId=1&searchText=Broken+Obelisk&page=1}}</ref>

===Ancient Roman===
The Romans commissioned obelisks in an ancient Egyptian style. Examples include:
* [[Arles]], France – [[Arles Obelisk]], in Place de la République, a 4th-century obelisk of [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] origin
* [[Benevento]], Italy – [[Domitian]] Obelisk<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.museodelsannio.com/museo/sezioni/iside/obelisco.htm |title=museodelsannio.com |access-date=21 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006075213/http://www.museodelsannio.com/museo/sezioni/iside/obelisco.htm |archive-date=6 October 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.obelisks.org/en/benevento.htm |title=Domitian Obelisk (In Piazza Papiniano, Benevento) |website=obelisks.org |access-date=15 September 2019}}</ref>
* [[Munich]], Germany – Obelisk of [[Titus Sextius Africanus]], at [[Staatliche Sammlung für Ägyptische Kunst]], 1st&nbsp;century&nbsp;CE, {{convert|5.8|m}}
* Rome – there are five, ''see [[List of obelisks in Rome]]''

===Byzantine===
[[File:Constantine Obelisk.jpg|thumb|The [[Walled Obelisk]] in [[Istanbul]], Turkey]]
* [[Istanbul]], Turkey – [[Walled Obelisk]], at [[Hippodrome of Constantinople]] (now Sultan Ahmet Square), built by [[Constantine VII]] Porphyrogenitus (905–959) and originally covered with gilded bronze plaques

===Pre-Columbian===
The prehistoric [[Tello Obelisk]], found in 1919 at ''[[Chavín de Huantar]]'' in [[Peru]], is a monolith stele with obelisk-like proportions. It is 2.52&nbsp;metres tall and was carved in a design of low relief with [[Chavín]] symbols, such as bands of teeth and animal heads. Long housed in the ''[[Museo Nacional de Arqueología, Antropología e Historia del Perú]]'' in [[Lima]], it was relocated to the ''Museo Nacional de Chavín'', which opened in July&nbsp;2008. The obelisk was named for the archaeologist [[Julio C. Tello]], who discovered it and was considered the 'father of Peruvian archaeology'. He was America's first [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|indigenous]] archaeologist.<ref name="iowa">{{cite book |url=http://www.uiowapress.org/books/2009-spring/burger.htm |first=Richard L. |last=Burger |title=The Life and Writings of Julio C. Tello |publisher=University of Iowa Press |access-date=27 September 2010 |archive-date=19 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919095610/http://www.uiowapress.org/books/2009-spring/burger.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>