This gallery contains the antiquities of three successive dynasties. The first is the Akkadian 2350-2159 BC. The Akkadians lived alongside the Sumerians, who were the inhabitants of the southern part of Iraq. During the mid third millenium BC., the Akkadians gained control of Mesopotamia under the leadership of the king Sargon. This ruler united the country and established his new capital city, Akkad. The Akkadian empire expanded into a vast empire. During this time the arts and architecture reached a level of great sophistication and skill. Many of the works presented here can be identified and dated because they bear written inscriptions.

The period referred to as the Neo-Sumerian era is best known for the rule of Gudea in the city of Lagash and Urnammu in the city of Ur. Urnammu united the country and during the Ur III dynasty when he reigned, Sumerian civilization developed in all respects cultural, religious and literary. The capital city, Ur fell in battle to the Elamites of Iran at the end of the third millennium BC. This was the end of the Ur III dynasty, a historical moment that is recorded in texts and poetry of the time as a great tragedy. But by the early second millennium BC the cities of Isin, Larsa and Babylon arose as powerful cities states in the south of Iraq, and Babylon would soon become the center of ancient political power and the development of the arts and sciences in the ancient world of the Near East and the Mediterranean.