A traditional interpretation of what became known as the Assyrian sacred tree conceives it as the date palm. Consisting of a series of knots and intertwining vines, the depiction of the “tree” contradicts the morphological appearance of a date palm and appears at best to be a very abstract consolidation of various botanical characteristics of distinct species. Despite recent proposals from several art historians and botanists to conclusively determine its proper classification, the unmistakable evidence reveals the enigma behind this timeless symbol – the sacred source of many Western religions originating in the Near East – have not yet uprooted the deep-rooted academic emphasis on the date palm. The “Sacred Tree” (fig. 1) was originally placed behind the king's throne. The scene shows two genies, sometimes with the heads of birds, sometimes with the heads of men and the horned hats of gods. Each of the winged figures holds a bucket and reaches with an oval object towards a stylized “tree”. The composition has been read as being based on bilateral symmetry, with the vertical stem-like structure crowned by a palmette. Close examination reveals that, although balanced, it has many discrepancies on both sides that deviate from the perfect symmetry of the mirror. Ashurnasirpal appears twice, depicted on two sides, dressed in ceremonial robes and holding a mace evoking his authority. The figure of the king on the right gestures invocatively to a god in a winged disc at the top center of the relief. Ashur, the national god or Shamash, the god of the sun and justice, can be identified as the god who bestows divine right on the king. On the left, the king holds a ring, an ancient Mesopotamian symbol of divine kingship, in the middle of a paper ......ee of Life. " Economic Botany 56, no. 2 (2002): 113-29. Parpola, Simo. “The Assyrian Tree of Life: Tracing the Origins of Monotheism and Greek Philosophy.” Journal of Near Eastern Studies 52 (1993): 161-208.Porter, Barbara Nevling, Date Palms and the Royal Personality of Ashurnasirpal II" Journal of Near Eastern Studies 52, no. 2 (1993): 129-39. Reade, Julian. Assyrian sculpture. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1983. Richardson, Seth. "An Assyrian Garden of the Ancestors: Room I, Northwest Palace, Kalhu." State Archives of Assyria Bulletin 13 (1999): 145-216. Tylor, Edward B.. The winged figures of the Assyrians and other ancient monuments. London: Society of Biblical Archaeology, 1890. Winter, Irene. “Ornament and the “rhetoric of abundance” in Assyria. » 253.