Elephant symbolism: Did you mean...?

Mesopotamia (from the Greek, meaning "between two rivers") was an ancient region located in the Near East (Middle East) bounded in the northeast by the Zagros Mountains and in the southeast by the Arabian Plateau...

The Sumerians were the people of southern Mesopotamia (modern-day southern Iraq) whose civilization flourished between circa 4000 and 1750 BCE. Their name comes from the region, which is frequently – and incorrectly...

Details of what chariots, war elephants and cavalry would have looked like in the 5th century BCE. In all probability, this is how the Magadhan soldiers looked. Details taken from the “War over the...

Architrave of seven kings laying siege to Kushinagara, photograph by Biswarup Ganguly, 2013. Located in Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh, India, at the Sanchi Stupa Buddhist complex, this architrave depicts seven kings...

A 16th century CE painting depicting the Battle of Zama between Rome and Carthage in 202 BCE.

This is a silver tetradrachm coin. Reign of Seleucos I Nicator, 305-281 BCE. From Seleucid Syria. Donated by the Bank of England. (The British Museum, London).

An artist's impression of what an attack by Carthaginian war elephants may have looked like during the Punic Wars of the 3rd century BCE.

A recreation of the Battle of Thapsus in 46 CE, by Seán Ó’Brógáín. The Battle of Thapsus was an important battle during Caesar's Civil War (49-45 BCE), and was one of the last engagements where elephants were used...

A Flemish tapestry of The Triumph of Fame over Death made for the Bishop of Soissons (Septmonts, c. 1500-1530 CE; MMA acc. no. 41.167.2).

A Mughal painting showing mythical winged beasts surrounded by elephants. Line drawing with coloured wash, about 1610 – 20, Mughal. Museum no. IM.155-1914. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London