Images

Detail of a Lydian tribute bearer, bas-relief of the northern stairway of the Apadana (Darius the Great's audience hall) at Persepolis, capital of the Achaemenid empire. Lyda has become a satrapy (province) of the Persian empire with...

Western view of the "All Nations Gate" at Persepolis, located in present-day Iran. This gate was not on Darius the Great's initial plan for Persepolis but was added by his son and successor, Xerxes. The initial main entrance of the palace...

Ranks of the Louvre Museum melophores (immortal Persian guard) from the famous glazed bricks friezes found in the Apadana (Darius the Great's palace) in Susa by archeologist Marcel Dieulafoy and brought to Paris. Such polychromic friezes...

Four colossal statues of Ramesses II flank the entrance of his temple Abu Simbel.

An overview map of the Hallstatt culture (c. 1200 - c. 450 BCE) - marked in yellow, and the La Tène culture (c. 450 - c. 50 BCE) - marked in green.

Mycenean Greece and the Orient about 1450 BC. Inset: Reference Map of the Nile Delta.

The Assyrian Empire and the Region about the Eastern Mediterranean, 750-625 BC.

Insets: Plan of Jerusalem. Dominions of David and Solomon (1025-953 BC). Palestine under the later Kings (953-722 BC). Palestine under Joshua and the Judges (1250-1125 BC).

A relief of cuneiform writing from Assyria. Exhibited in the British Museum London.

King Ashurnasipal II of Assyira (reigned 883 - 859 B.C.), flanked by eagle-headed protective spirits, of which only the left one is visible in this photo. From Nimrud, North-West Palace. Exhibited in the British Museum London.