In the early days of the Achaemenid empire, the kings came to realise that, if they were to be able to administer the vast mass of land...

The Sasanian Empire (also spelled Sassanian, Sasanid or Sassanid) was the last pre-Islamic Persian empire, established in 224 CE by...

In the year 330 BCE Alexander the Great conquered the Persian capital city of Persepolis, and after looting its treasures, burned the...

Persepolis is the Greek name (from perses polis for 'Persian City') for the ancient city of Parsa, located seventy miles northeast of...

Cyrus the Great King of the Kings. Persian King of Iran. Cyrus the Great (Persian: کوروش بزرگ, Kūrosh-e-Bozorg) (c. 600 BC or 576 BC...

The Persian Wars refers to the conflict between Greece and Persia in the 5th century BCE which involved two invasions by the latter in...

East of the Zagros Mountains, a high plateau stretches off towards India. While Egypt was rising up against the Hyksos, a wave of...

Persepolis is one of the oldest and most famous historical sites that stands in Iran and is definitely one of the most impressive. During...

Stele of the protective goddess Lama Period:KassiteDate:ca. 1307–1282 B.C.Geography:Southern MesopotamiaCulture:KassiteMedium:Gypsum...

The first thing I noticed was the ancient ruler Gudea’s large headed and calm disposition, I misread the wall label. It said he was a...

The Standard of Ur, named by archaeologist Sir Leonard Wooley upon discovery, as it was thought by him to be a royal standard. It is...

A Sumerian Gypsum Alabaster Head of a Woman, Early Dynastic II/III, circa 2700-2500 B.C. from a large votive statuette, her oval face...

This is a detail of the so-called "War Scene" of the Standard of Ur. This detail is part of the left half of the middle register. Here,...

Upper part of a gypsum statue of a Sumerian woman. The hands are folds in worship. The eyes would have been inlaid. A sheepskin garment...

A SUMERIAN GYPSUM STANDING WORSHIPPER EARLY DYNASTIC, CIRCA 2550-2250 B.C. Standing with his elbows bent acutely, his hands clasped in...

he “Standard of Ur” is a small trapezoidal box (8.5 Inches high by 19.5 Inches long) whose two sides and end panels are covered with...

Foundation Nail of Gudea, about 2100 BC, Neo-Sumerian, probably Lagash, copper alloy, Cleveland Museum of Art

A SUMERIAN MARBLE CYLINDER SEAL EARLY DYNASTIC, CIRCA 2600-2400 B.C. With a contest scene of six figures, a nude hero with spiky hair...

Stele of Ushumgal Period:Early Dynastic IDate:2900–2700 B.C.Geography:Mesopotamia, probably from Umma (modern Jokha)Culture:SumerianMediu...