Baghdad: Did you mean...?

Dur-Sharrukin (modern Khorsabad, Iraq) was a city built by Sargon II of Assyria (r. 722-705 BCE) as his new capital between 717-706 BCE. The name means Fortress of Sargon and the building project became the king's near obsession as soon as...

Nikephoros II Phokas was Byzantine emperor from 963 to 969 CE. Known as “White Death of the Saracens,” Nikephoros was a fearsome commander who conquered Crete, Cilicia, and much of Syria. While he is known as a great military commander, he...

This is the finest among all lyres found at the Royal Cemetry at Ur and was given to the Iraq Museum; the other lyres were divided between the British Museum in the UK and the Penn Museum in the USA. The head of this bull is a replica and...

Constantine V, also known as Constantine the Dung-named by his enemies, was emperor of the Byzantine empire from 741 to 775 CE. He enjoyed military successes in the Middle East and Balkans but his reign is chiefly remembered for his systematic...

Nikephoros I ruled as emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 802 to 811 CE. A former finance minister who did much to improve the state economy, Nikephoros was not particularly popular with the empire's overtaxed peasants and overregulated...

This statue weighs about 150 Kg and is made of pure copper, a more difficult casting that requires a much higher temperature than that of bronze. The diameter of the rounded pedestal is about 67 cm and the height of the surviving statue is...

This alabaster stele (with different registers) was fragmented when originally found and only three fragments have survived; two are in the Iraq Museum in Baghdad and one is in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA. The stele commemorates...

This small marble figurine was found at Tell es-Sawwan. Probably, it represents a mother goddess. The eyes are inlaid with shells set in bitumen. Tell es-Sawwan is an ancient archaeological site in Saladin Province (about 110 Km north of...

This terracotta lion was found at the entrance to the Dagan Temple at Tell Harmal (ancient Shaduppum), in the eastern outskirt of Baghdad. The temple was dedicated to Nisaba (goddess of the grain and writing) and her consort, Haja. The...

Two terracotta lions found at the entrance to the Dagan Temple at Tell Harmal (ancient Shaduppum), in the eastern outskirt of Baghdad, Old Babylonian period, c. 1800 BCE. The temple was a typical Old-Babylonian one, with a short staircase...