Sargon of AkkadThis bronze head, with elaborately worked hair and beard, might portray the great conqueror Sargon of Akkad (though his name does not appear on it). The eyes were originally inlaid with jewels, which have since been gouged out. Produced around 2300 B.C.E., this head was found in the ruins of the Assyrian capital of Nineveh, where it had been taken as loot. (INTERFOTO/Alamy)