A traditional interpretation of what has become known as the Assyrian sacred tree conceives it as the date palm. Consisting of a series of intertwining knots and vines, the depiction of the "tree" contradicts the morphological appearance of a date palm and appears, at best, to be a highly abstract consolidation of various botanical characteristics of distinct and separate species. Despite recent proposals by several art historians and botanists to definitively determine its correct classification, indubitable evidence revealing the enigma behind this timeless symbol – a sacred source for many Western religions originating in the Near East – has yet to unravel the profound academic insistence on the date palm. The “Sacred Tree” (fig. 1) was originally positioned behind the king's throne. The scene shows two genies, sometimes with bird heads and sometimes with men's heads and horned hats of the gods. Each of the winged figures holds a bucket and extends an oval object towards a stylized "tree". The composition has been read as based on bilateral symmetry, with the vertical stem-shaped structure crowned by a palmette. Meticulous examination reveals that, although balanced, it has many discrepancies on both sides that deviate from perfect mirror symmetry. Ashurnasirpal appears twice, shown from two sides, dressed in ceremonial robes and holding a mace connoting his authority. The figure of the king on the right makes a gesture invoking a god in a winged disk in the upper central part of the relief. Ashur, the national god, or Shamash, the god of the sun and justice, can be identified as the god who gives the king divine right. On the left, the king holds a ring in his hand, an ancient Mesopotamian symbol of divine kingship, in one... in the center of the sheet... and 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 "Sacred Trees, Date Palms, and the Royal Persona 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, North-West Palace, Kalhu." State Archives of Assyria Bulletin 13 (1999): 145-216. Tylor, Edward B.. The Winged Figures of The Assyrian and other Ancient Monuments. London: Society of Biblical Archaeology, 1890. Winter, Irene. "Ornament and the 'Rhetoric of Abundance' in Assyria: Archaeological, Historical and Geographical Studies 27 (2003): 252-264, a 253.