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Ancient Middle East


Oriental Antiquities.



2,022 photos
Kudurru, Babylonian, 978-934 BC. It records a legal settle- ment of the title to an estate near the city of Sha-mamitu, ancient Mesopotamia. Nineteen divine symbols protect the document, with a snake on the right. Nabumukin-apli, king of Babylon, and Arad Sibitti and his sister, to whom the property had belonged, are mentioned in the document. The estate passed through marriage to the family of Burusha, the jewel-worker, but the claim to the land was contested. Burusha's family then paid 887 shekels of silver and secured ownership of the land. ANE 90835
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Kudurru, Babylonian, 978-934 BC. It records a legal settle- ment of the title to...

Stone tablet of Nabu-apla-iddina, from Sippar, southern Iraq, Babylonian, around 870 BCE. On the top are 13 symbols of the gods designed to protect the legal document. Both the king, wearing the typical Babylonian royal hat and the priest whose hand is raised in salute, have labels on the obverse side to identify them. The stone tablet is a copy of a deed recording the restoration of cerntain lands by the king to a priest of the same name. ANE 90922
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Stone tablet of Nabu-apla-iddina, from Sippar, southern Iraq, Babylonian, aroun...

Black obelisk of Shalmaneser III, Neo-Assyrian, 858-824 BCE Black limestone obelisk with reliefs glorfying the achieve- ments of the king and his chief minister. It lists their military campaigns of 31 years and the tribute exacted from their neighbours, including camels and an elephant. The obelisk was erected as a public monument in 825 BCE in Nimrud, the ancient Assyrian capital. For details see 08-02-01/41-44 ANE 118885
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Black obelisk of Shalmaneser III, Neo-Assyrian, 858-824 BCE Black limestone obe...

Stela of Shamshi-Adad V. from Nimrud, Mesopotamia, northern Iraq. The king extends his right hand, with forefinger outstretched in the typical Assyrian gesture of respect and supplication towards the gods. He wears a large Maltese cross on his chest as an alternative symbol of Shamash, god of the sun and justice. ANE 118892
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Stela of Shamshi-Adad V. from Nimrud, Mesopotamia, northern Iraq. The king exten...

Stone prism of Esarhaddon, Neo-Assyrian, 680-660 BCE. The small stone monument records the restoration of the walls and the temples of the city of Babylon by king Esarhaddon. The cuneiform inscription is written in archaic characters to suggest antiquity and authenticity. ANE 91027
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Stone prism of Esarhaddon, Neo-Assyrian, 680-660 BCE. The small stone monument...

Map of the world, probably from Sippar, southern Iraq, Babylonian, 700-500 BCE. This tablet contains both a cuneiform inscription and a unique map of the Mesopotamian world. Babylon is shown in the centre, the rectangle in the top half of the circle and Assyria, Elam and other places are also named. The central area is ringed by a circular waterway labelled "Salt-Sea". ANE 92687
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Map of the world, probably from Sippar, southern Iraq, Babylonian, 700-500 BCE....

"The Dying Lion", a stone panel from Ninveh, northern Iraq, Neo-Assyrian, 645 BCE. Small alabaster wall panel showing a lion struck by one of the king's arrows; blood gushes from the lion's mouth, veins stand out on his face.Lions sym- bolized everything that was hostile to urban civilization and there was a long tradition of royal lion hunts in Meso- potamia. From the North Palace of King Ashurbanipal in Ninveh, northern Iraq. ANE 1992-4-4,1
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"The Dying Lion", a stone panel from Ninveh, northern Iraq, Neo-Assyrian, 645 BC...

Terracotta head of a ewe, Late Prehistoric period, 3.300-3000 BCE. Sheep played an important part in the ancient Sumerian economy. Woollen textiles were sometimes produced in large factories, employing hundreds of women, and probably exported throughout the region. Images of sheep were especially common at this time. ANE, 132092
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Terracotta head of a ewe, Late Prehistoric period, 3.300-3000 BCE. Sheep played...

Statue of a bearded man, Early Dynastic period, 2.600-2,500 BCE. This broken statue was probably deposited in a temple as a votive offering. Figures of men and women were set up in temples in ancient Mesopotamia to symbolically represent their donor in prayer before a god. ANE, 91667 (1854.4-1.31)
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Statue of a bearded man, Early Dynastic period, 2.600-2,500 BCE. This broken sta...

Stone mould, Old Babylonian Period from Ninveh, northern Iraq, 18th BCE. The mould shows a bearded god wearing a high hat and a goddess with an elaborate necklace. Both deities wear a flounced garment often depicted on cylinder seals. The dowel holes and the pour-channels indicate that this was a closed mould, but one half is missing. ANE 92666
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Stone mould, Old Babylonian Period from Ninveh, northern Iraq, 18th BCE. The mou...

The Sargon Vase from Nimrud, northern Iraq. Neo-Assyrian, 8th century BCE. A cuneiform inscription on it reads:"Palace of Sargon King of Assyria". An engraved lion occurs often with inscriptions of Sargon II (722-705 BCE) and is probably an official mark that the article derives from or belongs to Sargon's palace or treasury. ANE, 90952
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The Sargon Vase from Nimrud, northern Iraq. Neo-Assyrian, 8th century BCE. A cu...

The Rassam obelisk from Nimrud, Mesopotamia, northern Iraq. Neo-Assyrian, 883-859 BCE. This fragment of a stone relief formed part of an obelisk discovered by archaeologist Hormuzd Rassam. The obelisk decorated one of the central squares in Nimrud, the site where King Ashurbanipal II chose to build his new administrative centre of the Assyrian Empire. This panel shows the king watching treasure being weighed on a pair of scales. ANE, 118800.
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The Rassam obelisk from Nimrud, Mesopotamia, northern Iraq. Neo-Assyrian, 883-85...