Images

This image shows the remains of the temple at Konarak (Konark), Odisha state, India. The Konarak Sun Temple was built in the 13th century CE (around 1250 CE) by King Narasimhadeva I (1238 – 1264 CE) of the Eastern Ganga dynasty (8th century...

This colossal idol of Surya or the Hindu Sun God stands in the southern niche of the sanctuary at the Konarak Sun Temple, Odisha state, India. The temple was built in the 13th century CE (around 1250 CE) by King Narasimhadeva I (1238 – 1264...

These sculptures are found in the Konarak Sun Temple, Odisha state, India. Carved in the temple wall, these show women in various poses, as singers and playing musical instruments. Latticework and niches can be seen. Many of these figures...

This is a sculpture found in the Konarak Sun Temple, Odisha state, India. It shows a rampant lion standing upon a crouching elephant, the whole sculpture being supported on a pedestal. Though covered with plaster, the original colour of the...

A drawing of a 3rd century CE Sasanian rock relief in Naqsh-e Rustam, Iran. The relief shows on the right Ardashir I (r. 224-241 CE) and on the left the supreme Persian and Zoroastrian god Ahura Mazda. The god is giving the king his ring...

A Tower of Silence, Yazd, Iran. These structures are used in Zoroastrianism when the dead are exposed to scavengers.

A few items from the British Crown Jewels. The St. Edward's Crown (1661), the Sovereign's Sceptre with the Cullinan I diamond (1685, diamond added in 1911), the Sovereign's Orb (1661), Queen Mary II's Sceptre with dove (1689) and the Sovereign's...

A c. 1661 portrait by John Michael Wright of Charles II of England (r. 1660-1685) wearing his royal regalia. The orb and sceptre have been used in English/British coronation ceremonies ever since and are part of the British Crown Jewels...

Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, originally constructed in 691-692 CE in the reign of Caliph Abd al-Malik.

Map of the Old City of Jerusalem.