Images

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. Ahead is a wheeled siege engine, which carries more archers and contains a lever-operated...

Astarte, the Mesopotamian goddess of war and fertility, also known as Ishtar and Inanna, oil on canvas by John Singer Sargent, 1890-95. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Semiramis Receiving Word of the Revolt of Babylon by Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri), 1624 CE, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Assyrian archers firing on the enemy during the siege of Lachish. Each archer was protected from enemy fire by a shield bearer. The pointy pattern in the background means that this scene is happening in the mountains. They represent the...

Assyrian soldiers armed with shield, spear, and helmet (c. 700-692 BCE). They represent the army of King Sennacherib of Assyria (reigned 705-681 BCE) marching on Lachish, an ancient town about 40 km from Jerusalem. This image is part of a...

Upper part of a seated granite statue of Ramesses II of Egypt (c. 1270 BCE). It was found in the pharaoh's mortuary temple in the Ramesseum in western Thebes. The granite is naturally two-coloured: The darker bottom colour was deliberately...

This bronze helmet has a crest with detachable horns shaped like horse-headed sea-monsters. The origin is unclear, it is perhaps a Messapian helmet from southern Italy. Circa 325-275 BCE. Castellani Collection, Bronze 2824, British Museum...

Stone megaliths at Carnac, Brittany, France.

This painting shows Egyptian cattle being counted by scribes. The painting found part in the tomb of Nebamun (c. 1350 BCE), an wealthy Egyptian accountant ("scribe and counter of grain") during the New Kingdom period. The paintings are...

An Egyptian servant is carrying two desert hares as an offering to Nebamun, a rich Egyptian accountant. Detail of a larger procession of agricultural offerings, from the tomb of Nebamun (c. 1350 BCE). The British Museum, London.