A report on Medes

The Apadana Palace, 5th century BC Achaemenid bas-relief shows a Mede soldier behind a Persian soldier, in Persepolis, Iran

Excavation from ancient Ecbatana, Hamadan, Iran

Rhyton in the shape of a ram's head, gold – western Iran – Median, late 7th–early 6th century BC

The neighboring Neo-Babylonian Empire at its greatest extent after the destruction of the Neo-Assyrian Empire

Protoma in the form of a bull's head, 8th century BC, gold and filigree, National Museum, Warsaw

The Ganj Nameh ("treasure epistle") in Ecbatana. The inscriptions are by Darius I and his son Xerxes I.

Apadana Hall, 5th century BC Achaemenid-era carving of Persian and Median soldiers in traditional costume (Medians are wearing rounded hats and boots), in Persepolis, Iran

Ancient Iranian people who spoke the Median language and who inhabited an area known as Media between western and northern Iran.

- Medes

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Achaemenid Empire

23 links

Ancient Iranian empire based in Western Asia that was founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. It reached its greatest extent under Xerxes I, who conquered most of northern and central ancient Greece.

The Achaemenid Empire at its greatest territorial extent under the rule of Darius I (522 BC–486 BC)

Map of the expansion process of Achaemenid territories

Cyrus the Great is said, in the Bible, to have liberated the Hebrew captives in Babylon to resettle and rebuild Jerusalem, earning him an honored place in Judaism.

The tomb of Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid Empire. At Pasargadae, Iran.

The Achaemenid Empire at its greatest extent, c. 500 BC

The Persian queen Atossa, daughter of Cyrus the Great, sister-wife of Cambyses II, Darius the Great's wife, and mother of Xerxes the Great

Map showing events of the first phases of the Greco-Persian Wars

Greek hoplite and Persian warrior depicted fighting, on an ancient kylix, 5th century BC

Achaemenid king fighting hoplites, seal and seal holder, Cimmerian Bosporus.

Achaemenid gold ornaments, Brooklyn Museum

Persian Empire timeline including important events and territorial evolution – 550–323 BC

Relief showing Darius I offering lettuces to the Egyptian deity Amun-Ra Kamutef, Temple of Hibis

The 24 countries subject to the Achaemenid Empire at the time of Darius, on the Egyptian statue of Darius I.

The Battle of Issus, between Alexander the Great on horseback to the left, and Darius III in the chariot to the right, represented in a Pompeii mosaic dated 1st century BC – Naples National Archaeological Museum

Alexander's first victory over Darius, the Persian king depicted in medieval European style in the 15th century romance The History of Alexander's Battles

Frataraka dynasty ruler Vadfradad I (Autophradates I). 3rd century BC. Istakhr (Persepolis) mint.

Dārēv I (Darios I) used for the first time the title of mlk (King). 2nd century BC.

Winged sphinx from the Palace of Darius in Susa, Louvre

Volume of annual tribute per district, in the Achaemenid Empire, according to Herodotus.

Achaemenid tax collector, calculating on an Abax or Abacus, according to the Darius Vase (340–320 BC).

Letter from the Satrap of Bactria to the governor of Khulmi, concerning camel keepers, 353 BC

Relief of throne-bearing soldiers in their native clothing at the tomb of Xerxes I, demonstrating the satrapies under his rule.

Achaemenid king killing a Greek hoplite. c. 500 BC–475 BC, at the time of Xerxes I. Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Persian soldiers (left) fighting against Scythians. Cylinder seal impression.

Color reconstruction of Achaemenid infantry on the Alexander Sarcophagus (end of 4th century BC).

Seal of Darius the Great hunting in a chariot, reading "I am Darius, the Great King" in Old Persian (𐎠𐎭𐎶𐏐𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁𐎴 𐏋, "adam Dārayavaʰuš xšāyaθiya"), as well as in Elamite and Babylonian. The word "great" only appears in Babylonian. British Museum.

Achaemenid calvalryman in the satrapy of Hellespontine Phrygia, Altıkulaç Sarcophagus, early 4th century BC.

Armoured cavalry: Achaemenid Dynast of Hellespontine Phrygia attacking a Greek psiloi, Altıkulaç Sarcophagus, early 4th century BC.

Reconstitution of Persian landing ships at the Battle of Marathon.

Greek ships against Achaemenid ships at the Battle of Salamis.

Iconic relief of lion and bull fighting, Apadana of Persepolis

Achaemenid golden bowl with lioness imagery of Mazandaran

A section of the Old Persian part of the trilingual Behistun inscription. Other versions are in Babylonian and Elamite.

A copy of the Behistun inscription in Aramaic on a papyrus. Aramaic was the lingua franca of the empire.

The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven wonders of the ancient world, was built by Greek architects for the local Persian satrap of Caria, Mausolus (Scale model)

Reconstruction of the Palace of Darius at Susa. The palace served as a model for Persepolis.

Lion on a decorative panel from Darius I the Great's palace, Louvre

Apadana Hall, Persian and Median soldiers at Persepolis

Lateral view of tomb of Cambyses II, Pasargadae, Iran

Plaque with horned lion-griffins. The Metropolitan Museum of Art

From this region, Cyrus rose and defeated the Median Empire—of which he had previously been king—as well as Lydia and the Neo-Babylonian Empire, following which he formally established the Achaemenid Empire.

Iran

15 links

Country in Western Asia.

Inscription of Ardeshir Babakan (r. 224–242) in Naqsh-e Rostam: "This is the figure of Mazdaworshiper, the lord Ardashir, Shahanshah of Iran..."

An Ashrafi Coin of Nader Shah (r. 1736–1747), reverse:"Coined on gold the word of kingdom in the world, Nader of Greater Iran and the world-conquerer king."

A cave painting in Doushe cave, Lorestan, from the 8th millennium BC

A bas-relief at Persepolis, depicting the united Medes and Persians

Tomb of Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid Empire, in Pasargadae

The Achaemenid Empire (550 BC–330 BC) around the time of Darius the Great and Xerxes I

The Parthian Empire (247 BC–224 AD) in 94 BC at its greatest extent, during the reign of Mithridates II

Tomb of Hafez, a medieval Persian poet whose works are regarded as a pinnacle in Persian literature and have left a considerable mark on later Western writers, most notably Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Henry David Thoreau, and Emerson

Venetian portrait, kept at the Uffizi, of Ismail I, the founder of the Safavid Empire

A portrait of AbbasI, the powerful, pragmatic Safavid ruler who reinforced Iran's military, political, and economic power

Statue of Nader Shah, the first Afsharid ruler of Iran, at his Tomb

A map showing the 19th-century northwestern borders of Iran, comprising modern-day eastern Georgia, Dagestan, Armenia, and the Republic of Azerbaijan, before being ceded to the neighboring Russian Empire by the Russo-Iranian wars

The first national Iranian Parliament was established in 1906 during the Persian Constitutional Revolution

Reza Shah, the first Pahlavi king of Iran, in military uniform

The Allied "Big Three" at the 1943 Tehran Conference.

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and the Imperial Family during the coronation ceremony of the Shah of Iran in 1967.

Ruhollah Khomeini's return to Iran on 1February 1979

An Iranian soldier wearing a gas mask on the front-line during the Iran–Iraq War

The Green Movement's Silent Demonstration during the 2009–10 Iranian election protests

The 2017–18 Iranian protests were initiated on 31 December 2017 and continued for months.

Mount Damavand, Iran's highest point, is located in Amol, Mazenderan.

Persian leopard, listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

Iran's syncretic political system combines elements of an Islamic theocracy with vetted democracy.

Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, meeting with his counterpart, China's paramount leader Xi Jinping on 23 January 2016. Iran and China are strategic allies.

Ali Khamenei voting in the 2017 presidential election

Iranian former President Hassan Rouhani meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Iran and Russia are strategic allies.

The Islamic Consultative Assembly, also known as the Iranian Parliament

Protest against U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel. Tehran, 11 December 2017.

Sophisticated indigenous long range missile system Bavar-373 paraded in Tehran.

Iran's provinces by their contribution to national GDP (2014)

A proportional representation of Iran exports, 2019

More than a million tourists visit Kish Island each year.

Iran holds 10% of the world's proven oil reserves and 15% of its gas. It is OPEC's second largest exporter and the world's 7th largest oil producer.

Literacy rate of Iran's population plus 15, 1975–2015, according to UNESCO Institute of Statistics

Sharif University of Technology is one of Iran's most prestigious higher education institutions.

The production line for AryoSeven at the Iranian biopharmaceutical company of AryoGen

Iran's provinces by population density (2013)

Iron Age gold cup from Marlik, kept at New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art

Kamal-ol-Molk's Mirror Hall, often considered a starting point in Iranian modern art

Tomb of the 10th-century Persian poet Ferdowsi, author of Šāhnāme, the classical Persian composition of the Iranian national epics, in Tus

Zoroaster, the founder of Zoroastrianism, depicted on Raphael's The School of Athens

Karna, an ancient Iranian musical instrument from the 6th century BC, kept at the Persepolis Museum

The Roudaki Hall, constructed between 1957 and 1967 in Tehran

Reproduction of the 3rd-millennium BC goblet from southeastern Iran, possibly the world's oldest example of animation.

Abbas Kiarostami (1940–2016), an acclaimed Iranian film director

Behrouz Vossoughi, a well-known Iranian actor who has appeared in more than 90 films

Haft-Seen, a customary of Nowruz, the Iranian New Year

Chelow kabab (rice and kebab), one of Iran's national dishes

The Azadi Stadium in Tehran is West Asia's largest football stadium.

An Iranian tea tray served near Garden of Mausoleum of Omar Khayyam in Nishapur

The country is home to one of the world's oldest civilizations, beginning with the formation of the Elamite kingdoms in the fourth millennium BC. It was first unified by the Medes, an ancient Iranian people, in the seventh century BC, and reached its territorial height in the sixth century BC, when Cyrus the Great founded the Achaemenid Persian Empire, which became one of the largest empires in history and has been described as the world's first effective superpower.

Cyrus the Great

13 links

Cyrus II of Persia (c.

The four-winged guardian figure representing Cyrus the Great or a four-winged Cherub tutelary deity. Bas-relief found on a doorway pillar at Pasargadae on top of which was once inscribed in three languages the sentence "I am Cyrus the king, an Achaemenian." Scholars who doubt that the relief depicts Cyrus note that the same inscription is written on other palaces in the complex.

"I am Cyrus the King, an Achaemenian" in Old Persian, Elamite and Akkadian languages. It is known as the "CMa inscription", carved in a column of Palace P in Pasargadae. These inscriptions on behalf of Cyrus were probably made later by Darius I in order to affirm his lineage, using the Old Persian script he had designed.

Painting of king Astyages sending Harpagus to kill young Cyrus

Detail of Cyrus Hunting Wild Boar by Claude Audran the Younger, Palace of Versailles

Victory of Cyrus over Lydia's Croesus at the Battle of Thymbra, 546 BC

Croesus on the pyre. Attic red-figure amphora, 500–490 BC, Louvre (G 197)

Ancient Near East circa 540 BC, prior to the invasion of Babylon by Cyrus the Great

Achaemenid soldiers (left) fighting against Scythians, 5th century BC. Cylinder seal impression (drawing).

Queen Tomyris of the Massagetae receiving the head of Cyrus

Tomb of Cyrus in Pasargadae, Iran, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (2015)

Cyrus the Great is said in the Bible to have liberated the Jews from the Babylonian captivity to resettle and rebuild Jerusalem, earning him an honored place in Judaism.

Cyrus the Great (center) with his General Harpagus behind him, as he receives the submission of Astyages (18th century tapestry)

Painting of Daniel and Cyrus before the Idol Bel

Statue of Cyrus the great at Olympic Park in Sydney

17th-century bust of Cyrus the Great in Hamburg, Germany

The Cyrus cylinder, a contemporary cuneiform script proclaiming Cyrus as legitimate king of Babylon

The reign of Cyrus lasted about thirty years; his empire took root with his conquest of the Median Empire followed by the Lydian Empire and eventually the Neo-Babylonian Empire.

Iranian peoples

11 links

The Iranian peoples or Iranic peoples are a diverse grouping of Indo-European peoples who are identified by their usage of the Iranian languages and other cultural similarities.

The Bistun Inscription of Darius the Great describes itself to have been composed in Arya [language or script].

Archaeological cultures associated with Indo-Iranian migrations (after EIEC). The Andronovo, BMAC and Yaz cultures have often been associated with it. The GGC (Swat), Cemetery H, Copper Hoard and PGW cultures are candidates for the same associations.

According to Allentoft (2015), the Sintashta culture probably derived from the Corded Ware culture.

The Andronovo culture's approximate maximal extent, with the formative Sintashta-Petrovka culture (red), the location of the earliest spoke-wheeled chariot finds (purple), and the adjacent and overlapping Afanasevo, Srubna, and BMAC cultures (green).

Scythian horseman, Pazyryk, from a carpet, c. 300 BCE

Extent of Iranian influence in the 1st century BCE. The Parthian Empire (mostly Western Iranian) is shown in red, other areas, dominated by Scythia (Eastern Iranian), in orange.

Achaemenid Empire at its greatest extent under the rule of Darius I (522 BCE to 486 BCE)

The Eastern Iranian and Balto-Slavic dialect continuums in Eastern Europe, the latter with proposed material cultures correlating to speakers of Balto-Slavic in the Bronze Age (white). Red dots = archaic Slavic hydronyms

Archaeological cultures c. 750 BCE at the start of Eastern-Central Europe's Iron Age; the Proto-Scythian culture borders the Balto-Slavic cultures (Lusatian, Milograd and Chernoles)

Silver coin of the Indo-Scythian king Azes II (reigned c. 35–12 BCE). Buddhist triratna symbol in the left field on the reverse

Nowruz, an ancient Iranian annual festival that is still widely celebrated throughout the Iranian Plateau and beyond, in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

The ruins at Kangavar, Iran, presumed to belong to a temple dedicated to the ancient goddess Anahita.

Bronze Statue of a Parthian nobleman, National Museum of Iran

A caftan worn by a Sogdian horseman, 8th–10th century

Tat men from the village of Adur in the Kuba Uyezd of the Baku Governorate of the Russian Empire

Kurdish people celebrating Nowruz, Tangi Sar village.

Population genomic PCA, showing the CIC (Central Iranian cluster) among other worldwide samples.

The ancient Iranian peoples who emerged after the 1st millennium BCE include the Alans, the Bactrians, the Dahae, the Khwarazmians, the Massagetae, the Medes, the Parthians, the Persians, the Sagartians, the Sakas, the Sarmatians, the Scythians, the Sogdians, and likely the Cimmerians, among other Iranian-speaking peoples of Western Asia, Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Eastern Steppe.

Neo-Assyrian Empire

18 links

The fourth and penultimate stage of ancient Assyrian history and the final and greatest phase of Assyria as an independent state.

Approximate map of the preceding Middle Assyrian Empire at its height in the 13th century BC

Assyrian borders and campaigns under Ashur-dan II ((r. undefined – undefined)934–912 BC), Adad-nirari II ((r. undefined – undefined)911–891 BC) and Tukulti-Ninurta II ((r. undefined – undefined)890–884 BC)

Annals of Tukulti-Ninurta II ((r. undefined – undefined)890–884 BC), recounting one of his campaigns

Stele of Ashurnasirpal II ((r. undefined – undefined)883–859 BC)

Depiction of Shalmaneser III (right) shaking hands with the Babylonian king Marduk-zakir-shumi I (left)

Stele of Shamshi-Adad V ((r. undefined – undefined)824–811 BC)

Stele of Bel-harran-beli-usur, a palace herald, made in the reign of Shalmaneser IV ((r. undefined – undefined)783–773 BC)

Partial relief depicting Tiglath-Pileser III ((r. undefined – undefined)745–727 BC)

20th-century illustration of Tiglath-Pileser III's capture of Damascus

The Neo-Assyrian Empire at the start (purple) and end (blue) of Tiglath-Pileser's reign

Relief depicting Sargon II, founder of the Sargonid dynasty

20th-century reconstruction of Sargon II's palace at Dur-Sharrukin

Line-drawing of a relief depicting Sennacherib ((r. undefined – undefined)705–681 BC) on campaign in a chariot

19th-century reconstruction of Nineveh, made capital under Sennacherib

20th-century illustration of Sennacherib's destruction of Babylon

Esarhaddon ((r. undefined – undefined)681–669 BC), as depicted in his victory stele

20th-century illustration of the Assyrians capturing Memphis, the Egyptian capital

Relief depicting Ashurbanipal ((r. undefined – undefined)669–631 BC) in a chariot, armed with a bow

The Diversion of an Assyrian King (1876) by Frederick Arthur Bridgman

Impression of a seal possibly belonging to the eunuch usurper Sin-shumu-lishir ((r. undefined – undefined)626 BC)

20th-century illustration of the Battle of Carchemish

20th-century illustration of the Fall of Nineveh

Line-drawing of a relief from Nimrud depicting a Neo-Assyrian king

Seal of Hama, queen of Shalmaneser IV ((r. 783 – 773) BC)

Provinces and vassal kingdoms of the Neo-Assyrian Empire at its height in the 7th century BC

Glazed tile from Nimrud depicting a Neo-Assyrian king, accompanied by attendants

Neo-Assyrian relief depicting eunuchs carrying booty from a war

Relief from Sennacherib's palace at Nineveh depicting two Assyrian spearmen

Line-drawing of a Neo-Assyrian relief showing soldiers forming a phalanx

Neo-Assyrian relief from Nimrud depicting a tribute-bearer

Line-drawing of a Neo-Assyrian relief depicting a family of deportees leaving a captured Babylonian city in an ox-cart

Relief from the time of Ashurbanipal, depicting Babylonian prisoners under Assyrian guard

Neo-Assyrian cuneiform tablet from the Library of Ashurbanipal listing synonyms

Line-drawing of a relief depicting Neo-Assyrian scribes recording the number of enemies slain by soldiers

Line drawing of an Assyrian lion weight once belonging to the king Shalmaneser V ((r. undefined – undefined)727–722 BC). The inscriptions on the weight are in both Akkadian (on the body) and Aramaic (on the base).

Reconstruction of the Library of Ashurbanipal

Relief depicting the gardens of Ashurbanipal in Nineveh (left) with a color reconstruction (right). As can be seen on the right side of the relief, the garden featured sophisticated irrigation aqueducts.

A giant lamassu from Sargon II's palace at Dur-Sharrukin

Egyptian papyrus from c. undefined 500 BC containing the Story of Ahikar

Great Semiramis, Queen of Assyria by Cesare Saccaggi

The Defeat of Sennacherib by Peter Paul Rubens

1861 illustration by Eugène Flandin of excavations of the ruins of Dur-Sharrukin

1849 illustration of a relief from Dur-Sharrukin by Eugène Flandin

1852 illustration by Austen Henry Layard of excavations at Nineveh

Portrait of the Assyrian archaeologist Hormuzd Rassam c. undefined 1854

Chart depicting the ideological translatio imperii, i.e. supposed transfer of the right to universal rule, from the Neo-Assyrian Empire to (rival) early modern states claiming the same right

Relief of Sennacherib, depicting an Assyrian soldier beheading a prisoner

Relief of Ashurbanipal, depicting Elamite chiefs having their tongues removed and being flayed alive

Relief of Ashurbanipal, depicting the beheading of the Elamite king Teumman

Despite being at the peak of its power, the Neo-Assyrian Empire experienced a swift and violent fall in the late 7th century BC, destroyed by a Babylonian uprising and an invasion by the Medes.

Babylonia

16 links

Ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq) and parts of Syria.

Hammurabi (standing), depicted as receiving his royal insignia from Shamash (or possibly Marduk). Hammurabi holds his hands over his mouth as a sign of prayer (relief on the upper part of the stele of Hammurabi's code of laws).

Cylinder seal, ca. 18th–17th century BC. Babylonia

The extent of the Babylonian Empire during the Kassite dynasty

Prism of Sennacherib (705–681 BC), containing records of his military campaigns, culminating with Babylon's destruction. Exhibited at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.

Babylonian prisoners under the surveillance of an Assyrian guard, reign of Ashurbanipal 668-630 BC, Nineveh, British Museum ME 124788

Panorama view of the reconstructed Southern Palace of Nebuchadnezzar II, 6th century BC, Babylon, Iraq

Stele of Nabonidus exhibited in the British Museum. The king is shown praying to the Moon, the Sun and Venus and is depicted as being the closest to the Moon.

Babylonian soldier of the Achaemenid army, circa 480 BC. Relief of the tomb of Xerxes I.

Old Babylonian Cylinder Seal, hematite. The king makes an animal offering to Shamash. This seal was probably made in a workshop at Sippar.

Man and woman, Old-Babylonian fired clay plaque from Southern Mesopotamia. Sulaymaniyah museum, Sulaymaniyah. Iraq

Medical recipe concerning poisoning. Terracotta tablet, from Nippur, Iraq, 18th century BC. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul

He led a powerful coalition of peoples also resentful of Assyrian subjugation and rule, including Elam, the Persians, Medes, the Babylonians, Chaldeans and Suteans of southern Mesopotamia, the Arameans of the Levant and southwest Mesopotamia, the Arabs and Dilmunites of the Arabian Peninsula and the Canaanites-Phoenicians.

Assyria

10 links

Major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and then as a territorial state and eventually an empire from the 14th century BC to the 7th century BC.

Map showing the ancient Assyrian heartland (red) and the extent of the Neo-Assyrian Empire in the 7th century BC (orange)

Head of a female figure, dating to the Akkadian period (c. undefined 2334–2154 BC), found at Assur

Ruins of the Old Assyrian trading colony at Kültepe

Partial relief of Tiglath-Pileser III ((r. undefined – undefined)745–727 BC), under whom the Neo-Assyrian Empire was consolidated, centralized and significantly expanded

Detail of a stele in the style of the Neo-Assyrian royal steles erected in Assur in the 2nd century AD (under Parthian rule) by the local ruler Rʻuth-Assor

Line-drawing of a royal seal of the Old Assyrian king Erishum I ((r. undefined – undefined)c. undefined 1974–1934 BC). The seated ruler is thought to represent the god Ashur, with Erishum being the bald figure being led towards him.

Stele of the Neo-Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II ((r. undefined – undefined)883–859 BC)

Ruins of one of the entrances of the Northwest Palace at Nimrud (Assyrian capital 879–706 BC), destroyed by the Islamic State in 2015

Stele of Bel-harran-beli-usur, a palace herald, made in the reign of the Neo-Assyrian king Shalmaneser IV ((r. undefined – undefined)783–773 BC)

Stele of Ili-ittija, governor of Libbi-ali, Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta, Ekallatum, Itu, and Ruqahu, c. undefined 804 BC

20th-century illustration of a Neo-Assyrian spearman

Neo-Assyrian relief depicting some Assyrian individuals in a procession

Relief depicting Naqi'a, mother of Esarhaddon ((r. undefined – undefined)681–669 BC) and one of the most influential women in Assyrian history

Old Assyrian cuneiform tablet from Kültepe recording the repayment of a loan, impressed with four different cylinder seals

7th-century BC relief depicting Ashurbanipal ((r. undefined – undefined)669–631 BC) and two royal attendants

Old Assyrian cuneiform tablet containing an account of a caravan journey

9th-century AD piece of papyrus with Syriac language writing

19th-century reconstruction of Nineveh (Assyrian capital 705–612 BC)

20th-century illustration of decorative patterns found in ancient Assyrian reliefs and garments

Tablet from the Library of Ashurbanipal containing a portion of the Epic of Gilgamesh

Early 20th-century archbishop of the Assyrian Church of the East with entourage

Statue of a praying woman, 25th century BC

Wall relief probably depicting Ashur, 21st–16th century BC

Cylinder seal and impression, 14th–13th century BC

Temple altar of Tukulti-Ninurta I, 13th century BC

Glazed tile depicting a king and attendants, 9th century BC

The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III, 9th century BC

Statue of Shalmaneser III, 9th century BC

Portion of the Lion Hunt of Ashurbanipal, 7th century BC

The Assyrian Empire fell in the late 7th century BC, conquered by a coalition of the Babylonians and Medes, who had lived under Assyrian rule for about a century, and the Medes.

Elam

17 links

Ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of modern-day Iran, stretching from the lowlands of what is now Khuzestan and Ilam Province as well as a small part of southern Iraq.

Kneeling Bull with Vessel. Kneeling bull holding a spouted vessel, Proto-Elamite period, (3100–2900 BC)

Proto-Elamite (Susa III) cylinder seal, 3150–2800 BC. Louvre Museum, reference Sb 6166

Polities during the Old Elamite period, and northern tribes of the Lullubi, Simurrum and Hurti.

Silver cup with linear-Elamite inscription on it. Late 3rd millennium BC. National Museum of Iran.

Seal impression of King Ebarat, founder of the Sukkalmah Dynasty (also called Epartid Dynasty after his name). Louvre Museum, reference Sb 6225. King Ebarat appears enthroned. The inscription reads "Ebarat the King. Kuk Kalla, son of Kuk-Sharum, servant of Shilhaha".

An ornate design on this limestone ritual vat from the Middle Elamite period depicts creatures with the heads of goats and the tails of fish (1500–1110 BC).

Stele of Untash Napirisha, king of Anshan and Susa. Sandstone, ca. 1340–1300 BC.

The Chogha Zanbil ziggurat site, built circa 1250 BC.

Elamite archer fighting against the Neo-Assyrian troops of Ashurbanipal, and protecting wounded king Teumman (kneeling), at the Battle of Ulai, 653 BC.

Ashurbanipal's campaign against Elam is triumphantly recorded in this relief showing the sack of Hamanu in 647 BC. Here, flames rise from the city as Assyrian soldiers topple it with pickaxes and crowbars and carry off the spoils.

Relief of a woman being fanned by an attendant while she holds what may be a spinning device before a table with a bowl containing a whole fish (700–550 BC).

Elamite soldier in the Achaemenid army circa 470 BC, Xerxes I tomb relief.

Âššina, one of the last kings of Elam circa 522 BC was toppled, enchained and killed by Darius the Great. The label over him says: "This is Âššina. He lied, saying "I am king of Elam.""

Golden statuette of a man (probably a king) carrying a goat. Susa, Iran, c. 1500–1200 BC (Middle Elamite period).

Cylinder seal and modern impression- worshiper before a seated ruler or deity; seated female under a grape arbor MET DP370181

A carved chlorite vase decorated with a relief depicting a "two-horned" figure wrestling with serpent goddesses. The Elamite artifact was discovered by Iran's border police in the possession of historical heritage traffickers, en route to Turkey, and was confiscated. Style is determined to be from "Jiroft".

$Indus round seal with impression. Elongated buffalo with Harappan symbol imported to Susa in 2600–1700 BC. Found in the tell of the Susa acropolis. Louvre Museum, reference Sb 5614<ref>{{cite web |title=Site officiel du musée du Louvre |url=http://cartelfr.louvre.fr/cartelfr/visite?srv=car_not_frame&idNotice=13556|website=cartelfr.louvre.fr}}</ref>$

$Indian carnelian beads with white design, etched in white with an acid, imported to Susa in 2600–1700 BC. Found in the tell of the Susa acropolis. Louvre Museum, reference Sb 17751.<ref>{{cite web |title=Site officiel du musée du Louvre |url=http://cartelfr.louvre.fr/cartelfr/visite?srv=car_not_frame&idNotice=13589 |website=cartelfr.louvre.fr}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Guimet |first1=Musée |title=Les Cités oubliées de l'Indus: Archéologie du Pakistan |date=2016 |publisher=FeniXX réédition numérique |isbn=9782402052467 |pages=354–355 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-HpYDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA354 |language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Art of the first cities : the third millennium BC from the Mediterranean to the Indus. |page=395 |url=https://archive.org/details/ArtOfTheFirstCitiesTheThirdMillenniumB.C.FromTheMediterraneanToTheIndusEditedByJ }}</ref> These beads are identical with beads found in the Indus Civilization site of Dholavira.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nandagopal |first1=Prabhakar |title=Decorated Carnelian Beads from the Indus Civilization Site of Dholavira (Great Rann of Kachchha, Gujarat) |publisher=Archaeopress Publishing Ltd |isbn=978-1-78491-917-7 |url=https://www.academia.edu/37860117 |year=2018 }}</ref>$

$Indus bracelet made of Fasciolaria Trapezium or Turbinella pyrum imported to Susa in 2600–1700 BC. Found in the tell of the Susa acropolis. Louvre Museum, reference Sb 14473.<ref>{{cite web |title=Louvre Museum Official Website |url=http://cartelen.louvre.fr/cartelen/visite?srv=car_not&idNotice=13532 |website=cartelen.louvre.fr}}</ref> This type of bracelet was manufactured in Mohenjo-daro, Lothal and Balakot.<ref name="FeniXX réédition numérique"/> It is engraved with a chevron design which is characteristic of all shell bangles of the Indus Valley, visible here.<ref>{{cite book |title=Art of the first cities : the third millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus. |page=398 |url=https://archive.org/details/ArtOfTheFirstCitiesTheThirdMillenniumB.C.FromTheMediterraneanToTheIndusEditedByJ }}</ref>$

Indus Valley Civilization weight in veined jasper, excavated in Susa in a 12th-century BC princely tomb. Louvre Museum Sb 17774.<ref>{{cite book |title=Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus |date=2003 |publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art |isbn=9781588390431 |pages=401–402 |url=https://archive.org/details/artoffirstcities0000unse |url-access=registration }}</ref>

A 4.5 inch long lapis lazuli dove is studded with gold pegs. Dated 1200 BC from Susa, a city later on shared with the Achaemenids.

Elamite reliefs at Eshkaft-e Salman. The picture of a woman with dignity shows the importance of women in the Elamite era.{{Opinion|date=October 2019}}

Assyrian sources beginning around 800 BC distinguish the "powerful Medes", i.e. the actual Medes, Persians, Parthians, Sagartians, Margians, Bactrians, Sogdians etc..

Tehran

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City in Tehran Province and the capital (most important city) of Iran.

A portrait of Qajar ruler Agha Mohammad Khan, at London's V&A Museum

The Triumph of Tehran: Sardar Asad II and Sepahsalar e Tonekaboni conquering Tehran in July 1909

Urban sustainability analysis of the metropolitan area of Tehran, using the 'Circles of Sustainability' method of the UN Global Compact Cities Programme.

The left image shows Tehran on a day-off during the Nowruz holidays, and the right one shows it on a working day.

Entrance of the Khomeini Airport in 2008.

Water and Fire park at night, February 2010

The University of Tehran is the oldest modern university of Iran.

Ferdows Garden houses Iran's Cinema Museum.

Dizin, Iran's largest ski resort, is located near Tehran.

A scene from the 2016 documentary film Writing on the City, showing graffiti in Tehran's Sa'adat Abad

Jalili Square (Khaiyam) street in Tehran in 1930.

University of Tehran's Faculty of Law in 1939.

National Bank of Iran, Sabze-Meydan, in the 1940s.

Tehran and Mount Tochal in the winter of 2006.

Elahie, an upper-class residential and commercial district in northern Tehran.

Ekhtiarie, an old residential area in northern Tehran.

Hormozan Street in Qarb Town, northwestern Tehran.

Bucharest Street in Abbas Abad, north-central Tehran.

Tehran's Greek Orthodox Church of Virgin Mary

Saint Mary Armenian Apostolic Church, Tehran

St. Joseph Assyrian Catholic (Chaldean Catholic) Church, Tehran

Assyrian Church of the East of Mar Sarkis, Tehran

Hyperstar, Tehran's subsidiary of Carrefour

Kourosh Mall in Shahid Sattari Expressway

Kordestan Expressway interchange with Resalat and Hakim expressways

A view of the building of the City Theater of Tehran

Shemroon Cafe, in Tehran's Iranian Art Museum

In the Classical era, part of the territory of present-day Tehran was occupied by Rhages, a prominent Median city destroyed in the medieval Arab, Turkic, and Mongol invasions.

Ashurbanipal

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The king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 669 BC to his death in 631.

The victory stele of Esarhaddon, Ashurbanipal's father. The front side depicts Esarhaddon and the sides depict the two crown princes Shamash-shum-ukin (on the side shown here) and Ashurbanipal (on the opposite side)

A copy of the Zakutu Treaty, drawn up by Ashurbanipal's grandmother Naqi'a in 669 BC, imploring the populace of Assyria to swear loyalty to Ashurbanipal

Relief depicting Ashurbanipal's army attacking an Egyptian settlement, possibly Memphis, during the Assyrian conquest of Egypt.

The Rassam cylinder of Ashurbanipal, the most complete of chronicle of his reign, includes a description of the campaign of Egypt. Nineveh, 643 BCE. British Museum.

Set of reliefs depicting the 653 BC Battle of Ulai, between the Assyrians and the Elamite king Teumman

Relief depicting tongue removal and live flaying of Elamite chiefs after the Battle of Ulai

Assyrian spearmen depicted in a palace relief from Nineveh, 7th century BC

Stone monument depicting Shamash-shum-ukin as a basket-bearer

Confirmation of a land grant by Shamash-shum-ukin

Relief depicting Ashurbanipal in a chariot, inspecting booty and prisoners from Babylon

Relief depicting Babylonian prisoners under Assyrian guard

Relief depicting the Assyrians besieging the Elamite city of Hamanu in 646 BC

Relief depicting the Assyrians destroying Hamanu in 646 BC; flames rise from the city as Assyrian soldiers topple it with pickaxes and crowbars and carry off the spoils

Relief from Ashurbanipal's palace showing Assyrians fighting and pursuing Arabs on camelback

Relief from Ashurbanipal's palace showing fighting between Assyrians and Arabs

Inscription by Ashurbanipal written at some point after 646, concerning the restoration of a temple dedicated to Nabu

Bust of Pharaoh Psamtik I ((r. 664 – 610)), who peacefully restored Egyptian independence

Portion of the "Garden Party" relief, depicting Ashurbanipal (right) and his queen Libbali-sharrat (left)

Relief from Ashurbanipal's palace depicting corpses floating down a river

Cuneiform tablets from the Library of Ashurbanipal

Ashurbanipal depicted in the Lion Hunt of Ashurbanipal reliefs

Dream of Sardanapalus (1871) by Ford Madox Brown

The Death of Sardanapalus (1827) by Eugène Delacroix

Ashurbanipal's reliefs exhibited at the British Museum as part of the exhibition I am Ashurbanipal (2018–2019)

Ashurbanipal, a bronze statue by Fred Parhad in the Civic Center of San Francisco

Detail of a stone monument depicting Ashurbanipal as a basket-bearer

While the Assyrian forces were on campaign in Elam, an alliance of Persians, Cimmerians and Medes marched on Nineveh and managed to reach the city's walls.