| ELAM | Ancient civilization located in modern-day Iran |
| ELAMITES | Members of an ancient civilisation in modern-day Iran, also known as Susiana after its capital, Susa (8) |
| PERSIA | Historical name of the region that is modern-day Iran (6) |
| CARTHAGE | Ancient city founded by Dido, located in modern Tunisia (8) |
| TROY | Ancient city located in modern Turkey, famous for a 10-year siege by the Greeks (4) |
| PHOENICIAN | Relating to an ancient civilisation that developed primarily in modern day Lebanon (10) |
| ARCHAEOLOGY | One of the major innovators in modern Arab art, Dia al-Azzawi graduated from Baghdad University with a degree in this field, which put him in direct contact with ancient civilizations of the Middle Ea |
| RIYADH | Each day Iran backed capturing foreign capital |
| SUMER | Ancient region of SW Asia that later became Babylonia, located in the southernmost part of Mesopotamia in modern-day Iraq (5) |
| INCA | ___ Empire (ancient civilization in Peru) |
| CANADIAN | North American princess in ancient civilization (8) |
| ATLANTIS | Ancient civilization doomed by greed, in myth |
| ETRUSCAN | An ancient civilization in old Italy |
| MAYA | Advanced ancient civilization in the Americas |
| HITTITE | Member of an ancient people of Anatolia who settled in modern-day Turkey in the early second millennium BC (7) |
| UTICA | Ancient Phoenician and Carthaginian city in modern-day Tunisia (5) |
| SMYRNA | Ancient city in modern-day Turkey, now called Izmir |
| MOAB | Ancient kingdom in modern-day Jordan |
| EDOM | Ancient kingdom in modern-day Jordan |
| EGYPT | Tadesse Mesfin's work fuses colours connected to his native Ethiopia and inspiration from this ancient civilization in North Africa. |
