Images

The Apadana (audience hall) of the Palace of Darius in Susa (Iran) was a large hypostyle room of 36 columns. Measuring 109 metres (357 feet) on each side, it was very similar to that of Persepolis in plan and dimensions with distinctive Persian...

The foundations of the Palace of Darius the Great at Susa (Iran), the capital of Elam and of the Achaemenid Empire. The palace was built on a 12-hectare (29.6 acres) artificial platform and occupied five hectares (12.3 acres). It consisted...

Saint Mary Magdalene by Gregor Erhart around 1515-1520 CE. Sculpted in Linden wood, this statue shows the naked Mary Magdalene repenting her sins in the Grotto of Sainte-Baume (France), where she died and was believed to have been transported...

A metal armlet or anklet from Hausaland, northern Nigeria. Hausaland was composed of a group of city-states which flourished from the 15th to 18th century CE. Length: 16 cm. (British Museum, London)

The early-15th century CE minaret of Gobarau in Katsina, northern Nigeria. The city was one of the city-states of Hausaland (15-18th century CE).

This coin was issued by the Maukhari king Ishanavarman (c. sixth century CE). It shows a diademed bust on one side, with a crescent on the diadem, probably representing the king himself. The other side has a peacock with its head turned left...

This is an inscription of the Maukhari king Sarvavarman (c. sixth century CE) found in the fort at Asirgarh, north of the city of Burhanpur, in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is in Sanskrit with the upper part showing many emblems—a...

The army of Saladin (1137-1193), illustration from a French manuscript of Histoire d'Outremer (History of the Outremer) by William of Tyre, 1337. National Library of France, Paris.

Three marble sculptures of “Venus” (left to right): Venus of Arles (194 cm, ca. late 1st cent. BCE; Louvre inv. no. Ma 439), proper right arm and lower left arm are modern restorations; Venus of Milos (202 cm, 100-50 BCE; Louvre inv. no...

A gold sceptre used by the kings of the Kingdom of Kongo (14-19th century CE). 17th century CE (?). (Royal Museum of Central Africa, Brussels, Belgium)