Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Several social media users are circulating an image of a rock engraving, claiming it to be “6,000-year-old Bhagwan Rama and Hanuman carvings in Silemania, Iraq”. The archived versions of the tweets can be seen here, here and here.
Fact check
Newschecker first ran a reverse image search of the viral picture, which led us to multiple web pages that featured the same photo. They can be seen here, here and here.
According to the description of the photo in Wikimedia Commons, “Darband-i Belula rock relief depicting a king, prince, ruler, or a high-ranking official, whose name reads Tar…dunni, Tar…ni, …birini, …irpirin, or …irbirini (the three dots indicate that the cuneiform signs couldn’t be read). He was probably a Lullubian, less likely a Gutian. The relief lies in Iraq, Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Horen Shekhan, near the Iraq-Iran border. Circa 2000 BC”.
The caption of the photo in Researchgate read, “Relief of Darband-i Belula in Sirwan. Akkadian period (Photo Othman T. Fattah).”
Taking a cue from this, we ran a keyword search for “Darband-I Belula Sirwan”, which led us to this write-up, dated May 29, 2019, published in the World History Encyclopaedia, featuring the same photo and titled, “Rock-Relief of Tar…dunni, Darband-i Belula”.
According to the photo’s description, “This rock-relief depicts a triumphant warrior. Before him, two captives (probably Hurrians) can be seen. The Akkadian cuneiform inscription on the right side mentions the name of the warrior as “Tar…dunni”, son of Ikki. The names of the gods, Shamash and Adad, were mentioned also. “Tar…dunni” might have been a local king, prince, ruler, or a high-ranking official, probably Lullubian. The exact dates of these individuals and their lives are unknown. Darband-i Belula (Belula Pass), Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Iraqi Kurdistan. Akkadian period, 2350-2006 BCE,” confirming that the rock engraving is not of Lord Ram and Hanuman. The write-up was penned by Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin, an associate professor of neurology and historian.
Tripadvisor, too, has the same photo, stating “The Akkadian Rock-Relief of Darbandi Belula, dates back to 2200 BC, which represents victory of King ‘Tardoni’ on his enemies. – Picture of Darbandi Belula Relief, Sulaymaniyah.”
A Youtube video on the rock engraving, dated May 9, 2019, has been uploaded by Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin.
Conclusion
Rock engraving of a local warrior or ruler in Iraq, dating to around 2000 BC, falsely claimed to be of Lord Ram and Hanuman.
Result: False
Sources
Word History Encyclopaedia write-up, May 29, 2019
Wikimedia Commons photo
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Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
