Detail of the Standard of Ur, showing chariots and soldiers, southern Iraq, about 2600-2400 BC.

Detail of the Standard of Ur, showing four-wheeled chariots and soldiers, from a Royal tomb at Ur, southern Iraq, about 2600-2400 BC. The main panels are known as 'War' and 'Peace'. The 'War' panel shows one of the earliest representations of a Sumerian army. Inlay of shell, red limestone, and lapis lazuli in Bitumen on a hollow box. From the British Museum's collection. (Photo by CM Dixon/Print Collector/Getty Images)