Stele of Tiglath-Pilesar III (biblical Pul)
Zagros mountains, Western Iran
Neo-Assyrian Period, 745–727 BCE |
Relief inscribed in Greek depicting the god Mithra slaying a bull
Syria
Parthian Period, 2nd–3rd century CE |
Wall relief depicting a stylized date palm flanked by protective genies
Nimrud, Assyria
Reign of Ashurnasirpal II, 883-859 BCE |
Rock relief of Iddin-Sin, King of Simurrum
Zagros mountains, Northeastern Iraq
ca. 2000 BCE |
Plaque depicting Humbaba, guardian of the Cedar Forest of Lebanon
Babylonia (Iraq)
Old Babylonian period, 2nd millennium BCE |
Plaque depicting a wine goddess
Southeastern Anatolia or northern Syria
8th century BCE |
Amulet in the shape of the face of a goddess (Ishtar?)
Northern Mesopotamia (Iraq or Syria)
Middle Assyrian period, 2nd millennium BCE |
Bowl decorated with a female face probably representing a goddess
Luristan (northwestern Iran)
1000–700 BCE |
Plaque depicting Nergal, King of the Netherworld – god of war, plagues, and death
Mesopotamia
Old Babylonian period, 2nd millennium BCE |
Plaque depicting Nergal, King of the Netherworld – god of war, plagues,
and death
Mesopotamia
2nd millennium BCE |
Cylinder seal depicting a snake god worshiped in a temple
Akkad (Iraq) or Elam (south-western Iran)
Early Akkadian period, 3rd millennium BCE |
Cylinder seal depicting Amurru, the god of Amorite nomads, called Anmartu in the Sumerian inscription
Mesopotamia
2nd millennium BCE |
Plaque depicting a goddess flanked by two gods
Mari(?) (Tell Hariri, Syria)
2nd millennium BCE |
Plaque depicting a richly dressed goddess lying on a wedding(?) bed, probably Ishtar, the goddess of love and war
Babylonia
2nd millennium BCE |
Star-shaped ornaments to be applied to divine garments
Assyria(?)
1st millennium BCE |
Cylinder seal depicting upon a wheel the winged, hybrid image of Ahura Mazda, the main Achaemenid god
Persia (Iran)
5th century BCE |
Cylinder seal depicting Shamash, the sun – god of law, justice, and divination – emerging through a pair of mountains flanked by columns, perhaps heaven’s door
Akkad (Iraq)
3rd millennium BCE |
Medical prescription for treating a skin disease
Babylonia (Iraq)
2nd millennium BCE |
Figurine of a standing goddess, probably Cybele
Phrygia (central Anatolia, Turkey)
8th–6th century BCE |
Handle attachment of a large vessel, in the shape of a winged female deity
Phrygia (central Anatolia, Turkey)
8th–7th century BCE |
Vessel portraying a goddess holding date palms and a god subduing animals
Luristan (northwestern Iran)
8th century BCE |
Stamp seal depicting a winged disk-and-crescent representing Ashur, the main Assyrian god
Assyria (northern Iraq)
7th century BCE |
Vessel in the shape of a fish
Sumer (Iraq) or Elam (south-western Iran)
3rd millennium BCE |
Plaque portraying a goddess sitting on a throne
Mesopotamia
2nd millennium BCE |
Relief of the Sassanian King Shappur I the Great
Iran
|
Plaque depicting a copulating couple drinking beer
Babylonia (Iraq)
2nd millennium BCE |
Plaque depicting a copulating couple
Mesopotamia (Iraq)
2nd millennium BCE |
Fragment of a Hittite ritual text, written in cuneiforms
Anatolia (central Turkey)
Hittite period, 13th century BCE |
Sassanian bowl bearing an incantation against evil spirits, inscribed in Aramaic with alphabetic letters
Babylon? (Iraq)
4th–8th century CE |
Votive brick of King Untash-Naprisha, inscribed in Elamite, from the ziggurat of the god Inshushinak
Dur-Untash (Chogha Zanbil, Iran)
ca. 1250 BCE |
Figurine of a Sumerian in worship posture
Sumer, southern Mesopotamia (Iraq)
Early Dynastic period, ca. 2500 BCE |
Face from a figurine portraying an Assyrian
Assyria, northern Mesopotamia (Iraq)
Neo-Assyrian period, 900-700 BCE |
Plaque depicting the face of an Aramaean female sphinx
Syria
Iron Age, ca. 8th century BCE |
Upper part of a Phrygian figurine
Phrygia (central Anatolia, Turkey)
Iron Age, ca. 800-700 BCE |
Anatolian figurine of a naked woman
Western Anatolia (Turkey)
Chalcolithic Period, mid-5th millennium BCE |
Syrian figurine of a bearded man, seated and holding a curved sickle sword
Syria
Middle Bronze Age, first half of 2nd millennium BCE |
Male figurine typical of Byblos
Byblos, Lebanon
Early Middle Bronze Age, ca. 2000-1900 BCE |
Plaque depicting a Parthian manseated in banquet posture
Parthia (Iran)
Parthian period, 238 BCE - 224 CE |
Votive stele of a female bust representing Dhat Hamym, a local sun
goddess, inscribed in Qatabanian
Qataban, southern Arabian Peninsula (Yemen)
ca. 2nd century BCE |
Elamite figurine of a naked woman (a goddess?)
Susa, Elam (southwestern Iran)
Middle Elamite Period, second half of the 2nd millennium |
Fragment of a wall relief depicting the head of a Persian king’s guardian, from the Audience Hall (apadana) of Darius and Xerxes
Persepolis, Persia (Iran)
Achaemenid period, early 5th century BCE |
