Images

Small marble jar which was found at Tell es-Sawwan, Iraq. Tell es-Sawwan is an ancient archaeological site in Saladin Province (about 110 Km north of Baghdad) and is associated with the Samarra culture. 6000-5800 BCE. On display at the Iraq...

This pottery bowl contains earth and some bones of a human being and found at Tell es-Sawwan. Tell es-Sawwan is an ancient archaeological site in Saladin Province (about 110 Km north of Baghdad) and is associated with the Samarra culture...

This small marble figurine was found at Tell es-Sawwan. Probably, it represents a mother goddess. The eyes are inlaid with shells set in bitumen. Tell es-Sawwan is an ancient archaeological site in Saladin Province (about 110 Km north of...

Large pear-shaped and single-handed jar. The rim is decorated with geometric motifs. From Tell Fara (ancient Sharuppak), southern Mesopotamia, Iraq. 5000-4000 BCE. On display at the Iraq Museum in Baghdad.

Fired clay statuette of an unidentified hybrid goddess. There are two triangular defects at the sides, reminiscent of prehistoric incense burners. Probably from Abydos, Egypt. First to second Dynasty, 3100-2700 BCE. (The Neues Museum, Berlin...

The cuneiform inscription on this clay tablet (VAT 12890) narrates part of the Epic of Gilgamesh (written c. 2150 - 1400 BCE). The obverse of this tablet relates the second dream of Gilgamesh on the journey to the Forest of Cedar, and part...

This papyrus is written in Aramaic and mentions the story of Ahiqar (the Words of Ahikar) who was a chancellor to the Assyrian kings Sennacherib (r. 705-681 BCE) and Esarhaddon (r. 681-669 BCE). This papyrus came from Elephantine in Upper...

A painting of the aftermath of the Battle of Indus (1221 CE), from the Chinggiskhannama. The painting depicts Jalal al-Din Mingburnu (1199 - 1231 CE), the last ruler of the Khwarazmian dynasty, crossing the Indus River to escape the onslaught...

A painting of Mongol ruler Kublai Khan (r. 1260 - 1294 CE) by the Nepalese astrologer and artist Araniko (1245–1306 CE). Although the portrait depicts Kublai Khan as he appeared at the beginning of his reign, it was actually painted after...

A wagon yurt or khibitkha. This type of yurt (or ger), used by nomadic Asian steppe peoples like the Mongols, was permanently mounted on a wagon so that it could be easily moved from camp to camp.