Clockwise from top left: Excavated from Nineveh (Najaf), is a finely carved relief showing the winged monster Timat fleeing the wisest of gods Marduk (right) armed with a thunderbolt (Drawing by Faucher-Gudin); Stalwart Assyrian archers and spearmen in relief, from the Palace of Assurbanipal; A fine example of Assyrian relief sculpture in the reign of Assurbanipal shows a lion hunt (above), one of 10,000 priceless Sumerian, Babylonian and Assyrian works of art in the National Museum of Baghdad, which includes spectacular treasures from the royal tombs of Ur; A modern gate of Babylon (photo: Khaled El-Fiqi)