Images

King Ashurbanipal in a detail of a Neo-Assyrian relief depicting a lion hunt (British Museum).

Artist's impression of a reconstructed Acropolis, from the 1901 Brockhaus Enzyklopädie.

The rock-cut tomb at Naqsh-e Rustam north of Persepolis, copying that of Darius I, is usually assumed to be that of Xerxes I.

Artistic attempt at reconstruction of the inside of the palace of Khorsabad, constructed by the Assyrian king Sargon II. From the 1901 Brockhaus Enzyklopädie.

Map showing the area of the Elamite Empire (in red) and the neighboring areas. The approximate Bronze Age extension of the Persian Gulf is shown.

Silver cup from Marvdasht, Fars, with linear-Elamite inscription on it. Late 3rd Millennium BC. National Museum of Iran.

Ashurbanipal's campaign against Susa is triumphantly recorded in this relief showing the sack of Susa in 647 BC. Here, flames rise from the city as Assyrian soldiers topple it with pickaxes and crowbars and carry off the spoils.

The ruins of the Forum Romanum in Rome.

This map indicates trading routes used around the 1st century CE centred on the Silk Road. The routes remain largely valid for the period 500 BCE to 500 CE. Geographical labels for regions are adapted from the Geography of Ptolemy (c...

Persian Archers at Darius' palace at Susa. Exhibited in Pergamon Museum / Vorderasiatisches Museum in Berlin.