Centered in the heart of Mesopotamia (modern northern Iraq), Assyria was founded by Semitic descendants of Akkadian and Sumerian refugees following the collapse of the Akkadian Empire c. 2154 BC, whose languages and customs slowly coales… At best, an army could hope to break through a city’s gates by rushing at it with a log, often while archers fired down on them from below. Bonus vs Cities (200%) 1.2. The biggest siege towers of antiquity, such as the Helepolis (meaning "The Taker of Cities") of the siege of Rhodes in 305 BC, could be as high as 40 m and as wide as 20 m. Such large engines would require a rack and pinion to be moved effectively. Sargon II and dignitary. Information about the Siege on Lachish Relief No Ranged Attack Troops could then rush onto the walls and into the castle or city. Depicted as smaller than actual scale by the artisans who created it, the siege engine would have been over 20-feet-tall with fireproof plates and an iron ram. The Assyrian king, unlike the pharaoh of Egypt, wa… He is probably meant to represent the Assyrian god Ashur helping the Assyrians in battle. One of the oldest references to the mobile siege tower in Ancient China was a written dialogue primarily discussing naval warfare. the Assyrian empire was the most powerful nation on earth, controlling most of the Middle East, from the Persian Gulf to Egypt.1… Two archers crouch down next to the siege engine. Replaces the Catapult. 1. The tower was often rectangular with four wheels with its height roughly equal to that of the wall or sometimes higher to allow archersto stand on top of the tower and shoot arrows into the fortification. Siege Engines were the heavy artillery of the Middle Ages, and because of their amazing power these great mechanical contrivances hold tremendous fascination for us in this age of technological warfare. The torches were meant to set the siege engines alight, but the Assyrians were old hands at war and were prepared for every circumstance. Taking considerable time to construct, siege towers were mainly built if the defense of the opposing fortification could not be overcome by ladder assault ("escalade"), by mining or by breaking walls or gates. Later battery towers were often used by the Ukrainian Cossacks. They battle with 2 dice in close combat and do not hit on swords. Assyrian army lays a siege not only to the city, but to all the ne ighbouring region in . Send to Google Classroom: This Assyrian relief from the North-West Palace in Kalhu (c. 865-860 BCE) shows King Ashurnasirpal advancing on an enemy city, protected by a shield-bearer. Ashurnasirpal II stands behind the siege engine and shoots arrows at the foes. Because the towers were wooden and thus flammable, they had to have some non-flammable covering of iron or fresh animal skins.[1]. Meanwhile, two Assyrian soldiers are pulling down on the chain with hooks. City Attack Only 3. Unique siege unit of the Assyrian civilization. The Assyrian Empire was the largest land empire yet created, the product of the prodigious Assyrian war-machine. Centuries after they were employed in Assyria, the use of the siege tower spread throughout the Mediterranean. (Public Domain) The Assyrian king wasn’t just directly involved with state affairs on all levels; he was the state. Sennacherib, Sargon's son and successor, began a series of major campaigns to quash opposition to Assyrian … The Assyrians had a number of tactics for taking enemy cities by siege, including the use of battering rams, siege towers, and teams of sappers digging under the enemy walls to make them collapse. Extra Sight (1) 2.3. Behind the King, another soldier holds a shield, arrows, and a quiver of arrows. The cuneiform writing at the bottom, which originally stretched around an entire room, celebrates the military and other achievements of Tiglath-pileser III’s reign. They just keep churning out siege engines...all you need is a couple of scouts to block the tiles around your city. Assyrian siege-engine attacking the city wall of Lachish Credit: Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP (Glasg) To deliberately show leniency to rebels would have made Sennacherib look weak, resulting in more uprisings. Sapper:When next to an enemy city, other units within 2 tiles get a 50% bonus when attacking the city. Extra strength (12 vs. 8 ) 3.2. One of these images depicts a bizarre siege engine that has come to be referred to by laymen as the Assyrian Dalek because of its resemblance to the villainous aliens from Dr. Who. Detail of a wall relief dating back to the reign of Sennacherib, 700-692 BCE. Every aspect of state affairs, whether international, political, military, and religious, was directly linked to him. Palace of Sargon II at Dur Sharrukin in Assyria (now Khorsabad in Iraq), c. 716–713 BC. “King Sennacherib of Assyria came up against … A city’s fortifications could be breached using siege engines, battering rams and sappers. These tools and tactics made the Assyrian army the most powerful military force of its t… Used since the 11th century BC by the Babylonians and Assyrians in the ancient Near East, the 4th century BC in Europe and also in antiquity in the Far East, siege towers were of unwieldy dimensions and, like trebuchets, were therefore mostly constructed on site of the siege. The Assyrian records refer to King Hezekiah of Jerusalem being shut up “like a bird in its cage” during the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem. It stretched from modern-day Iran to Egypt and covered most of the modern-day Middle East. The oldest known siege towers were used by the armies of the Neo-Assyrian Empire in the 9th century BC, under Ashurnasirpal II (r. 884 BC – 859 BC). Since around 1250 B.C., the Assyrians had started using war chariots and iron weapons, which were far superior to bronze weapons. The Assyrians started out as a nomadicpeople, traveling from place to place without a permanent settl… A royal attendant holding a bow, quiver, and mace stands behind the attackers. Special abilities 2.1. A siege tower or breaching tower (or in the Middle Ages, a belfry ) is a specialized siege engine, constructed to protect assailants and ladders while approaching the defensive walls of a fortification. (Public Domain) The Assyrian king wasn’t just directly involved with state affairs on all levels; he was the state. They would enter battle with the archers and the spearmen. Common abilities: 1.1. By 8th century BC, most of the major commercial centers and settlements of Mesopotamia and nearby lands were walled. On the other hand, almost all the largest cities were on large rivers, or the coast, and so did have part of their circuit wall vulnerable to these towers. Assyrian archers and slingers rained arrows and stones on the defenders, while the defenders threw down burning torches to set the engines on fire. The defenders also tried, unsuccessfully, to smash the siege machines with up to 400-pound stones they hung from ropes and swung against them. For 300 years, from 900 to 600 B.C., the Assyrian Empire expanded, conquered and ruled the Middle East, including Mesopotamia, Egypt, the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, and parts of todays Turkey, Iran and Iraq. YouTube Video, 0:06–0:24 show the lifts being used and the other 'siege' tactics, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Siege_tower&oldid=996520187, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 27 December 2020, at 02:29. The king was absolute, but even he had limitations. At its height between the 9th and 7th centuries B.C., the Assyrian army was a ruthlessly efficient fighting machine. The mighty Assyrians dominated the ancient world until they were crippled by the God of Israel in the reign of Sennacherib. To avoid heavy casualties, the Assyrian army would blockade a city with siege forts to cut off its supplies, reinforcements, and any means of escape. Since years, the neo-assyrian siege-archer redoubt has been a world-famous decorative item. Archers approach from the right, following a wheeled siege engine. Large fortified cities with multiple moats, walls and towers could take years to capture. To avoid heavy casualties, the Assyrian army would blockade a city with siege forts to cut off its supplies, reinforcements, and any means of escape. Special traits: 3.1. The Assyrian juggernaut, propelled by scores of chariots, rams, and siege engines, proved unstoppable. Babylon was one of the centers of the ancient world, from the time the Babylonians conquered an extensive amount of the Ancient Near East. Although the slabs document the use of siege engines, they do not give . The Judeans attempted to burn the siege engines by flinging torches down upon them, but special Assyrian “firefighting troops” put out the blazes with water poured from long ladles. The Assyrian war machine: 879-612 BC: Assyria is the first society to make militarism the central policy of state. The Assyrian siege of the Judahite/Jewish city of Lachish is mentioned in II Kings 18:14-17, and it is famously recorded in bas-reliefs depicting that invasion of the Assyrians using siege engines against the city walls of Lachish (see fifth link). Ahead is a wheeled siege engine, which carries more archers and contains a lever-operated battering ram (not visible in this photo). 1. This terminology is important. 2.4. Bonus vs Cities (200%) 1.2. The Assyrian juggernaut, propelled by scores of chariots, rams, and siege engines, proved unstoppable. Above the archers you can see a very small archer. They use the siege engine as protection from arrows while they are shooting at the enemy soldiers on top of the city walls. They were not invulnerable either, as during the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, Ottoman siege towers were sprayed by the defenders with Greek fire.[6]. Having assembled his army for their lack of success so far, the King then undertook the personal supervision of operations including the erection of a siege tower from which Kushite archers could fire down into the city. At best, an army could hope to break through a city’s gates by rushing at it with a log, often while archers fired down on them from below. As well as the use of specialist ladder and spear teams with covering fire as depicted here, Assyrian reliefs depict examples of battering rams and siege engines, the undermining of walls, and even actions taken by the defenders such as pouring hot water or oil or attempting to sabotage siege engines. A good slinger could throw a stone a significant distance with amazing accuracy. The siege engine unfortunately makes them a boring agressive neighbouring Civ. Siege towers became vulnerable and obsolete with the development of large cannon. The siege engine A siege engine is pushed up to the city walls. NEO-ASSYRIAN SIEGE REDOUBTS TACTICS: SOME ISSUES 3 b) Solid: archers and spearmen bearing a scale corslet, acting in groups mixing both types in front of the heavier groups 4 (Fig. A regular event each spring is the departure of the army for conquest. Sargon II and dignitary. The siege tower sometimes housed spearmen, pikemen, swordsmen, archers or crossbowmen who shot arrows and quarrels at the defenders. Many castles and hill-top towns and forts were virtually invulnerable to siege tower attack simply due to topography. On 1 March 2007, police officers entered Ungdomshuset in Copenhagen, Denmark by being lifted to the upper levels of an illegally occupied structure using small boom cranes for a purpose similar to that for which siege towers were constructed. By 701 BCE the Assyrian kings, based in Nineveh (modern-day Mosul Governorate, Iraq), built their enormous empire. The Iron Army: Assyria – Deadly and Effective Siege Machine – Part II While the ram attempted to smash and loosen the rocky walls, Assyrian assault teams with scaling ladders would try to breach walls. They had only ever existed to get assaulting troops over high walls and towers and large cannon also made high walls obsolete as fortification took a new direction. When a siege tower was near a wall, it would drop a gangplank between it and the wall. Some siege towers also had battering rams with which they used to bash down the defensive walls around a city or a castle door. The many ancient kingdoms of Assyria, long since swept into the dust of history, were at various times among the most prosperous and powerful of any on Earth. On the battlements above, another enemy is beheaded by an Assyrian, and three others have been impaled on stakes. The Assyrians had a number of tactics for taking enemy cities by siege, including the use of battering rams, siege towers, and teams of sappers digging under the enemy walls to make them collapse. King Sennacherib sits on his royal chair, surrounded by attendants and greets a high-ranking official. Thus great wing ships correspond to the army's heavy chariots, little wing ships to light chariots, stomach strikers to battering rams, castle ships to mobile assault towers, and bridge ships to light cavalry. Assyrian siege-engine attacking the city wall of Lachish, part of the ascending assaulting wave. During the siege of Memphis in the 8th century BC, siege towers were built by Kush for the army led by Piye, in order to enhance the efficiency of Kushite archers and slingers. They built way less melee units and even less ranged. Smaller siege towers might be used on top of siege-mounds, made of earth, rubble and timber mounds in order to overtop a defensive wall. In the Chinese Yuejueshu (Lost Records of the State of Yue) written by the later Han Dynasty author Yuan Kang in the year 52 AD, Wu Zixu (526 BC – 484 BC) purportedly discussed different ship types with King Helü of Wu (r. 514 BC – 496 BC) while explaining military preparedness. Lumbering Siege Engines Like Ancient Tanks But the Assyrians were masters of the siege, taking Lachish’s powerful defenses in stride. Tell Lachish. Assyrian siege-engine attacking the city wall of Lachish Credit: Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP (Glasg) To deliberately show leniency to rebels would have made Sennacherib look weak, resulting in more uprisings. The Assyrians perfected early techniques of imperial rule, many of which became standard in later empires. However, the construction of a sloping talus at the base of a castle wall (as was common in Crusader fortification[7]) could have reduced the effectiveness of this tactic to an extent. One of these was built by the Russian military engineer Ivan Vyrodkov during the siege of Kazan in 1552 (as part of the Russo-Kazan Wars), and could hold ten large-calibre cannon and 50 lighter cannons. British Museum, London, UK. Sapper:When next to an enemy city, other units within 2 tiles get a 50% bonus when attacking the city. During the seventh and eighth centuries B.C. From Nineveh, Iraq, currently housed in the British Museum ASSYRIAN BATTERING RAMS REVISITED I 10 Anne Scurlock - Chicago One of the more intriguing elements to be found in Neo-Assyrian palace reliefs are representations of … Large fortified cities with multiple moats, walls and towers could take years to capture. Taking pride in Assyrian siege craft, Sennacherib mentioned how his army penetrated fortifications using ramps, battering rams, mines, breeches and siege engines. THE NEO-ASSYRIAN ARMY & SIEGE WARFARE Although the siege engine had been employed earlier in the empire, it was most effectively used during the period known as the Neo-Assyrian Empire (934-610 BCE or 912-612 BCE). Assyrian slingers were "stonethrowers", they would use various pear shaped stones and sling them with leather straps or slings. They may ignore 1 flag and 1 sword. In 647 BC, the Assyrian king Assurbanipal leveled the city during a war in which the people of Susa apparently participated on the other side. Extra Sight (1) 2.3. A siege tower or breaching tower (or in the Middle Ages, a belfry[1]) is a specialized siege engine, constructed to protect assailants and ladders while approaching the defensive walls of a fortification. Assyrian siege-engine attacking the city wall of Lachish: Relief found in Nineveh from time of Sennacherib Credit: Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP (Glasg) As for Azekah, which was the first target of the Assyrian campaign in Judah, archaeologists have been searching for a while for signs of the invaders’ siegeworks. ASSYRIAN BATTERING RAMS REVISITED I 10 Anne Scurlock - Chicago One of the more intriguing elements to be found in Neo-Assyrian palace reliefs are representations of battering rams and other siege engines. Siege engines are brought up, and the end is usually swift. The Assyrian heartland on the Tigris River was an ideal agricultural and trade area, bu… The Assyrians, though, had some of the first siege weapons in the world. No Ranged Attack Taking pride in Assyrian siege craft, Sennacherib mentioned how his army penetrated fortifications using ramps, battering rams, mines, breeches and siege engines. The siege happened in the land of Judah and was conducted by the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III, between 734 and 732 BC. A royal attendant holding a bow, quiver, and mace stands behind the attackers. [unreliable source?] Enemy soldiers lower a chain to pull the battering ram at the front of the siege engine up and away from the city walls. City Attack Only 3. Wooden ramps were quickly assembled, platforms that would allow siege engines to approach the walls. The Siege of Lachish is the name given to the Neo-Assyrian Empire's siege and conquest of the town of Lachish in 701 BC. The second king of the Sargonid dynasty, Sennacherib is one of the most famous Assyrian kings for the role he played in the Old … Medieval war revolved around the sieges of castles and towns. When the Assyrian siege engines got close enough, defenders hurled lighted torches from the battlements, flaming brands that somersaulted through the air before colliding with the engines in a shower of sparks. All figures are supplied unpainted (Numbers of each pose in brackets) Stats. When scholars study the history of the ancient Near East, several wars that had extremely brutal consequences (at least by modern standards) often stand out. Special traits: 3.1. In some rare circumstances, such towers were mounted on ships to assault the coastal wall of a city: at the siege of Cyzicus during the Third Mithridatic War, for example, towers were used in conjunction with more conventional siege weapons.[4]. They brought spearmen, archers, shieldmen, slingers, siege engines, chariots, and a huge calvary into the battlefield. The Siege of Lachish is the name given to the Neo-Assyrian Empire's siege and conquest of the town of Lachish in 701 BC. [9] Tactical vehicles such as the Lenco BearCat can be fitted with structures to enable access of elevated structures in a comparable fashion. The Assyrian Siege of Lachish When we drive into the site and descend from the bus, the first thing we see is the most dramatic find of all: the remains of an assault ramp at the southwest corner of the tell. No Defensive Terrain Bonuses 2. The enemy soldiers throw burning torches at the siege engine to try and set it on fire. Sins of the father Medieval war revolved around the sieges of castles and towns. It was manned by 200 soldiers and was divided into nine stories; the different levels housed various types of catapults and ballistae. Then Assyrian soldiers pushed the giant siege engines containing battering rams up to pound the walls. “King Sennacherib of Assyria came up against all … Cover I promotion (+33% Defense against all Ranged Attacks) 2.2. No Defensive Terrain Bonuses 2. They battle with 2 dice in ranged combat, or 1 die if they move that turn, with 2 hex range. A city’s fortifications could be breached using siege engines, battering rams and sappers. Neo-Assyrians was also known for another element of warfare, and it entailed their dedicated approach to sieges. Assyrian relief depicting the assault with a siege engine against the fortified Judean city of Lachish [Credit Line] Courtesy of the British Museum, London. Extra strength (12 vs. 8 ) 3.2. When Sargon II, the king of Assyria, died in battle in 705 B.C., states, including Judah, that were subject to Assyrian hegemony saw the opportunity for revolt (2 Kings 18:7). While the Assyrians used siege engines and frontal attacks vs. the walls of Lachish, there is no record that they dared to attempt such a sustained frontal attack vs. Jerusalem. The tower was often rectangular with four wheels with its height roughly equal to that of the wall or sometimes higher to allow archers to stand on top of the tower and shoot arrows into the fortification. The siege is documented in several sources including the Hebrew Bible, Assyrian documents and in the Lachish relief, a well-preserved series of reliefs which once decorated the Assyrian king Sennacherib's palace at Nineveh. One of these images depicts a bizarre siege engine that has come to be referred to by laymen as the Assyrian Dalek because of its resemblance to the villainous aliens from Dr. Who. The ram, while effective, was also vulnerable to enemy defenders dropping chains to pull the battering pole aside. While not as sophisticated as the siege engines of the Roman and medieval periods, the Assyrian weapon was effective against the relatively weak defensive structures of the time. Before labeling the types of warships used, Zixu said: Nowadays in training naval forces we use the tactics of land forces for the best effect. Because the towers were wooden and thus flammable, they had to have some … After leaving Thebes, Piye's first objective was besieging Ashmunein. They invented the battering ram, a device that would have seemed completely unstoppable in their time. On his left side, a soldier holds a long spear and a shield to protect the King from the enemy’s arrows. “I captured 46 towns...by consolidating ramps to bring up battering rams, by infantry attacks, mines, breaches and siege engines.” - Sennacherib . At this siege the attackers also made use of "sows" – mobile armoured shelters which were used throughout the medieval period, and allowed workers to fill in moats with protection from the defenders (thus levelling the ground for the siege towers to be moved to the walls). Even a cursory reading of the book of Kings and Chronicles reveals that the Hebrew Kings had many interactions with the kings of the surrounding nations. The machine in this set consists of a covered body within which a large ram with a chisel head is suspended. They invented the battering ram, a device that would have seemed completely unstoppable in their time. Assyrian relief depicting the assault with a siege engine against the fortified Judean city of Lachish [Credit Line] Courtesy of the British Museum, London. [1] Even then, the siege lasted almost a year, making it the longest siege in all of English history. Siege towers also became more elaborate during the medieval period; at the Siege of Kenilworth Castle in 1266, for example, 200 archers and 11 catapults operated from a single tower. Special abilities 2.1. Assyrian siege tower with ram, relief from the palace in Nimrud (Kalhu), now in the British Museum, around 865-860 BC The ancient Greeks certainly contributed to the development of siege engines, although still in the 5th century BC the historian Thucydides did not mention them describing the Peloponnesian war. The siege is documented in several sources including the Hebrew Bible, Assyrian documents and in the Lachish relief, a well-preserved series of reliefs which once decorated the Assyrian king Sennacherib's palace at Nineveh. The siege of Rhodes illustrates the important point that the larger siege towers needed level ground. Assyrian Siege Tower. ... 1989: 129-131). However, the neighboring empire of Assyria became a major power in Mesopotamia, eventually overthrowing Babylon because of the Assyrians' expertise and innovation in warfare. According to the available data, it is not possible to identify any kind of armour-scale with round head protecting siege-engines during the Neo-Assyrian Pre-Sargonid period. Unique siege unit of the Assyrian civilization. [3]. Subsequent siege towers down through the centuries often had similar engines. Assyrian siege engines are represented by Heavy War Machine blocks. Replaces the Catapult. Because of the size of the tower it would often be the first target of large stone catapults but it had its own projectiles with which to retaliate.[1]. A8-9). A tablet unearthed in 1854 by Austen Henry Layard in Nineveh reveals Ashurbanipal as an "avenger", seeking retribution for the humiliations the Elamites had inflicted on the Mesopotamians over the centuries. The Assyrian was the first true long-range army, able to campaign as far as 300 miles from base and to move at speeds of advance that would not be exceeded until the coming of the internal combustion engine. Ahead is a wheeled siege engine, which carries more archers and contains a lever-operated battering ram (not visible in this photo). The Assyrians, though, had some of the first siege weapons in the world. With the collapse of the Roman Empire in the West into independent states, and the Eastern Roman Empire on the defensive, the use of siege towers reached its height during the medieval period. [2] Learn about the medieval weapons that were used to breach fortifications. Palace of Sargon II at Dur Sharrukin in Assyria (now Khorsabad in Iraq), c. 716–713 BC. Another siege with a battering ram had been depicted on a stone relief at the Assyrian royal palace in Nimrud, where the city is called 'Gazru' or Geber. Siege towers were used to get troops over an enemy curtain wall. During the siege of Lachish, huge earth ramps were built up to the walls. Furthermore, the tower for such a target might be prefabricated elsewhere and brought dismantled to the target city by water. The Judeans attempted to burn the siege engines by flinging torches down upon them, but special Assyrian “firefighting troops” put out the blazes with water poured from long ladles. However, later constructions known as battery-towers took on a similar role in the gunpowder age; like siege-towers, these were built out of wood on-site for mounting siege artillery. Cover I promotion (+33% Defense against all Ranged Attacks) 2.2. Reliefs from his reign, and subsequent reigns, depict siege towers in use with a number of other siege works, including ramps and battering rams. These ancient weapons are a tribute to man’s ingenuity and imagination, and they respectfully remind us of the conflict and brutality inherent in humankind. British Museum, London, UK. The Assyrian ki… This important outpost in the southwest guarded the Judean hill country until the Assyrians laid siege to Lachish and conquered it [Credit Line] Date Released: ... and there are a number of illustrations of them attacking cities with a variety of siege engines. Assyrian siege-engine attacking the city wall of Lachish, part of the ascending assaulting wave. The remains of such a siege-ramp at Masada, for example, has survived almost 2,000 years and can still be seen today. From Nineveh, Iraq, currently housed in the British Museum.jpg 4,288 × 2,848; 9.23 MB Send to Google Classroom: This Assyrian relief from the North-West Palace in Kalhu (c. 865-860 BCE) shows King Ashurnasirpal advancing on an enemy city, protected by a shield-bearer. Tell Lachish. In the course of his rampage through Judah, Sennacherib reported taking 200,150 people prisoner as spoils of war, and that is still considered a realistic figure today. This important outpost in the southwest guarded the Judean hill country until the Assyrians laid siege to Lachish and conquered it … Sennacherib (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: Sîn-ahhī-erība or Sîn-aḥḥē-erība, meaning "Sîn has replaced the brothers") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from the death of his father Sargon II in 705 BC to his own death in 681 BC. Detail of a wall relief dating back to the reign of Sennacherib, 700–692 BC. In 703 B.C. Depicted as smaller than actual scale by the artisans who created it, the siege engine would have been over 20-feet-tall with fireproof plates and an iron ram. In the course of his rampage through Judah, Sennacherib reported taking 200,150 people prisoner as spoils of war, and that is still considered a realistic figure today. Anglim writes: The Neo-Assyrian Empire (Assyrian cuneiform: mat Aš-šur KI, "Country of the city of god Aššur"; also phonetically mat Aš-šur) was an Iron Age Mesopotamian empire, in existence between 911 and 609 BC, and became the largest empire of the world up until that time. On his left side, a soldier holds a long spear and a shield to protect the King from the enemy’s arrows. They are red square 3 block Heavy foot units which have 1 hex movement. Ashurnasirpal II stands behind the siege engine and shoots arrows at the foes. Of siege engines on the defensive walls around a city or a castle door target city by.... 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