Illustrations of Ancient Mesopotamia (2017 Image Salvage)
Bronze age Mitanni pictures were included since parts of their territory encompassed northern Mesopotamia. Urartu (ancient Armenia) has been included as a bonus, the reason of which should be evident in the pictures displaying strong Mesopotamian influences, besides constant wars between the highland Urartians and the lowland Assyrians. Most Urartu art are by talented artist Rubik Kocharian (born 1940), a treasure hoard of fine illustrations for an age and culture usually skimmed over.
Since most etchings and drawings from the 19th century are well known and well-circulated, they were not included in this collection. It's recent art shared across the Internet that's in peril, plus some peripheral older pieces not widely known yet made accessible online nevertheless.
A few historical fantasy pieces made it into this collection. Likewise, the Biblical depiction of the prophet Jonah in Nineveh (a comic tale of a failed prophet) and the Biblical depiction of Nebuchadnezzar II have been included where artists have been reasonably accurate with dress or architecture. For flow, the Biblical illustrations were kept together, bar that of Abraham smashing idols. All Nebuchadnezzar II depictions have been included in the Biblical illustration section.
For the best experience, you might want to listen to HBO Rome Intro Music (1 hour loop) while looking through these images, or something similar, for that atmosphere. Or perhaps this one, for the whiplash sounds?
And speaking of videos:
Thorsteinn Gislason's Images of the Ancient Near East, parts 1, 2 & 3.
The city of Ur
The city of Babylon
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Enter the cradle of civilization.
Enter a realm of mysticism and sun-baked clay, of mud and sun, of irrigation canals and lush grain fields, of kings and slaves, of twin rivers and a maelstrom of tribes and cities vying for control of a rich land that was the envy of the world.
Enter a world of dazzling beauty and crudeness, of learning and labour, of family and cruelty, of gods and demons.
Enter a world of wars, endless wars, where cities are sacked and their charred ruins remain abandoned forever in the blowing desert sands.
Enter ancient Mesopotamia.
http://i.imgur.com/b1tlJNe.jpg
Sumer
http://i.imgur.com/Onmdt1a.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/VwqDlQ5.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/8ufOnnW.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/ha6Pzw3.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/6oj9iGo.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/BHYMr4A.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/eJGGjCW.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/quOKSrC.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/x6Bsk8J.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Gzvsath.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/syjfzgT.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/ClyK3Po.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/NGPI37s.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/5oi8D40.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/r107lj9.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/QnHLzwZ.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/0tHKF42.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/54xtgIg.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/CJhlQKR.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/cVWxN9n.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/5yaNSre.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/TvVVUnv.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/9pTaCgr.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/6fbeR3Q.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/8ntkbTF.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/XCAxVBu.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/GBEMs9T.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/wrXo4Hx.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/fM31m9P.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/z6uGPFO.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/4DNPNnx.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/UMFLWWq.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/QWpbOo7.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/LOMjZh5.jpg
Scribes
http://i.imgur.com/BEJudcY.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/q4IpuAo.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/1Jy1paF.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Lkl2KRv.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/KpZAD5Z.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/gIskn2S.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/L3bnBfC.jpg
Akkad
http://i.imgur.com/Z3QyPKE.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/90JlGNH.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/bFBj92P.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/T2Lqkhq.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/WeMX7J1.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/56oqcwB.jpg
Mitanni
http://i.imgur.com/KVv8gEL.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/JhI5FbB.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/MeMHQqL.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/D5NC1Ii.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Dtdi1FD.jpg
Urartu
http://i.imgur.com/r3gHgWo.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/XaKNeaf.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/yt0epBg.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/C6FznEn.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/0KRsehs.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/qJtMwjm.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/kokKN8N.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/rgyER1f.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/S68VwOU.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/wkdkxUM.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/7DZTfzw.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/9jXhd7D.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/wWApuDP.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/qUpp7co.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/PE7rDC2.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/VpQ3Dfi.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/6ohFI3R.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/YBohkgh.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/nXZmRvj.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/qZeqKWC.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/WUGOPV7.jpg
...
Re: Illustrations of Ancient Mesopotamia (2017 Image Salvage)
Thanks for this huge gathering of images. I will surely try to use as much of them as i can.
Re: Illustrations of Ancient Mesopotamia (2017 Image Salvage)
Thanks for these beautiful images
They inspired me to make and upload two videos today about ancient Middle-Eastern Civilizations
Re: Illustrations of Ancient Mesopotamia (2017 Image Salvage)
Re: Illustrations of Ancient Mesopotamia (2017 Image Salvage)
Wow, great work Thorsteinn! Evocative impression. I'll spread this on.
