Search

Ancient Near East

Mesopotamia, the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (in modern day Iraq), is often referred to as the cradle of civilization because it is the first place where complex urban centers grew. The history of Mesopotamia, however, is inextricably tied to the greater region, which is comprised of the modern nations of Egypt, Iran, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, the Gulf states and Turkey. We often refer to this region as the Near or Middle East.

Reconstruction drawing of Nimrud, the site of an ancient Assyrian palace, by James Fergusson for Sir Henry Layard, published in 1853. — From physical models to virtual reality, reconstructing ancient sites and objects can help us understand the past.

Archaeological reconstructions

by Sebastian Hageneuer

Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Tower of Babel, 1563, oil on panel, 114 × 155 cm (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna) — Artists have depicted the Tower of Babel throughout the ages, a symbol of the extraordinary—but it did exist.

Towers of Babel

by The British Museum

The Liver Tablet, tablet, Old Babylonian, Sippar — What do the 60-minute clock and the zodiac have in common? The answer lies in ancient Babylon.

The Babylonian mind

by The British Museum

Bull Capital from Persepolis, Apādana, Persepolis (Fars, Iran), c. 520-465 B.C.E. (National Museum of Iran) (photo: s1ingshot) — The soaring audience hall of the Achaemenid Persian kings was an imposing space, designed to impress.

Persepolis: The Audience Hall of Darius and ...

by Dr. Jeffrey A. Becker

These records tell us a great deal about the ancient world, with topics ranging from receipts to school assignments.

Cuneiform Tablets

by UCLA Library

Writing Cuneiform, a video from The British Museum — Unlike modern writing, cuneiform wasn’t written in ink—but was instead pressed into the surface of clay.

Writing Cuneiform

by The British Museum

Cylinder seal and modern impression (detail) — See an ancient cylinder seal used 4000 years after it was made, and learn about its dynastic symbolism.

Cylinder seal with a modern impression

by The Metropolitan Museum of Art

, The Standard of Ur, 2600-2400 B.C.E., shell, red limestone, lapis lazuli, and bitumen (original wood no longer exists), 21.59 x 49.53 x 12 cm, Ur © Trustees of the British Museum — Intentionally buried as part of an elaborate ritual, this ornate object tells us so much, but also too little.

Standard of Ur and other objects from ...

by The British Museum

Standing Male Worshipper (detail) — One of a group buried in a temple almost 5,000 years ago, this statue’s job was to worship Abu—forever.

Standing Male Worshipper (Tell Asmar)

by Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris

Winged human-headed bull (lamassu or shedu), Neo-Assyrian Period, reign of Sargon II (721-705 B.C.E.) Khorsabad, ancient Dur Sharrukin, Assyria, Iraq, gypseous alabaster, 4.20 x 4.36 x 0.97 m, excavated by P.-E. Botta 1843-44 (Musée du Louvre) — Winged, human-headed bulls served as guardians of the city and its palace—walking by, they almost seem to move.

Lamassu from the citadel of Sargon II

by Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker

Capital of a column from the audience hall of the palace of Darius I, Susa, c. 510 B.C.E., Achaemenid, Tell of the Apadana, Susa, Iran (Musée du Louvre, Paris) — This massive capital is very different from those of Greece, and suggests the frightening power of the Persian Empire.

Capital of a column from the audience ...

by Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris

Lion Hunts of Ashurbanipal (ruled 669-630 B.C.E.), c. 645 B.C.E., gypsum,Neo-Assyrian, hall reliefs from Palace at Ninevah across the Tigris from present day Mosul, Iraq; excavated by H. Rassam beginning in 1853 (British Museum) — Only the king was permitted to kill lions—and doing so signified his power and ability to keep nature at bay.

Ashurbanipal Hunting Lions

by Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris

Naram Sin — Naram-Sin leads his victorious army up a mountain, as vanquished Lullubi people fall before him.

Victory Stele of Naram-Sin

by Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker

Country: Iraq Site: Babylon Caption: View towards reconstructions from Hussein Palace, from southeast Image Date: June 22, 2009 — Even today with international tourism waning in the face of military threats, Iraqis regularly visit this famous site.

Visiting Babylon

by Dr. Beth Harris, Lisa Ackerman and World Monuments Fund

Ishtar Gate and Processional Way (Reconstruction), Babylon, c. 575 B.C.E., glazed mud brick (Pergamon Museum, Berlin) — “I, Nebuchadnezzar … magnificently adorned them with luxurious splendor for all mankind to behold in awe.”

The Ishtar Gate and Neo-Babylonian art and ...

by Dr. Senta German

Top level: Mesopotamian Gods in symbolic form, second level: animals and deities playing musical instruments (detail), "Unfinished" Kudurru, Kassite period, attributed to the reign of Melishipak, 1186–1172 B.C.E., found in Susa, where it had been taken as war booty in the 12th c. B.C.E. (Louvre) — The Kassites controlled Babylonia for 400 years—now all that remains are these carved boundary stones.

Kassite art: Unfinished Kudurru

by Dr. Senta German

Law Code Stele of King Hammurabi, basalt, Babylonian, 1792-1750 B.C.E. (Musée du Louvre, Paris) — Law is at the heart of modern civilization, and is often based on principles listed here nearly 4,000 years ago.

Law Code Stele of King Hammurabi

by Dr. Senta German

Digital reconstruction of the White Temple and ziggurat, Uruk (modern Warka), c. 3517-3358 B.C.E. © artefacts-berlin.de; scientific material: German Archaeological Institute — A gleaming temple built atop a mud-brick platform, it towered above the flat plain of Uruk.

White Temple and ziggurat, Uruk

by Dr. Senta German

Ziggurat of Ur, c. 2100 B.C.E. mud brick and baked brick, Tell el-Mukayyar, Iraq (largely reconstructed) — The great Ziggurat of Ur has been reconstructed twice, in antiquity and in the 1980s—what’s left of the original?

Ziggurat of Ur

by Dr. Senta German

Perforated relief of Ur-Nanshe, king of Lagash, limestone, Early Third Dynasty (2550–2500 B.C.E.), found in Telloh or Tello (ancient city of Girsu). 15-¼ x 18-¼ inches / 39 x 46.5 cm (Musée du Louvre) — More than 4,000 years ago, Ur-Nanshe, the chief priest and king, displayed his piety and power by building a temple.

Perforated Relief of Ur-Nanshe

by Dr. Senta German