Ancient Near East

The Ancient Near Eastc. 3200 BCE-330 BCE

Lecture II

Ancient Near EastDates and Places: • 3500-330BCE• “Fertile Crescent” of

Mesopotamia

Map Mesopotamia (Ancient Near East) 3500-2000 BCE

People:• City-states and empires• Agriculture• Specialized labor and

social hierarchies• Writing system• Complex religions• No one unifying language

or government system

Ancient Near EastHistory:• Mesopotamia

translates as “land between two rivers”

• Area referred to as the “fertile crescent”

• Rich land promoted agricultural lifestyle

• Agricultural activities support growth of first cities including Uruk, Ur, Kish, Nippur, and Lagash

Map Earliest Mesopotamian Cities 3500-2000 BCE

Ancient Near EastExample:•Importance of commerce leads to invention of writing, arithmetic, written law codes, and coining money (begun c. 7th cent. BCE•Convention of placing portrait of king on money begun under Persian King Darius I who ruled turn of 5th cent. BCE

Coin minted under Darius I of Persia, c. 4th century BCE

Ancient Near East: SumerExample:•Sumerians first of Mesopotamia’s earliest civilizations

•Predate birth of Christ by 4,000 years

•Self-ruling city-states

•Contributions include:– Develop system of writing c. 3000

BCE• Writing established as form of inventory

for agriculture and donations to gods

– Establish lunar calendar– Devise mathematical computation

system, medical and scientific discoveries, and architectural innovations Ziggurat at Ur, modern day Iraq ca. 2100

BCE.

Ancient Near East: SumerThemes:• Offerings• Gods• Warfare and hunting• Rulers

Forms:• Mud brick construction• Natural and conceptual treatments of

figures• Registers of space• Hierarchy of scale White Temple and ziggurat, Uruk, ca.

3200-3000BCE.

Ancient Near East: SumerExample:• Ziggurat platform

• Monumental mud construction

• Axial alignment

• Temple for god on top

• Cella for priests• “Waiting room”

• Votive offerings placed inside

• Hierarchy of space

Nanna ziggurat at Ur, modern day Iraq, ca. 2100 BCE.

Themes:• Offerings• Gods

Forms:• Natural and conceptual

treatments of figures• Sculpted from marble• Abstraction of features• Emphasis on eyes• Similar poses, upright stance

Statues of worshippers, from the Square Temple at Eshunna, Iraq c. 2700 BCE.

Gypsum inlaid with shell and black limestone, tallest figure (male) 2’ 6” high.

Ancient Near East: Sumer

Ancient Near East: SumerExample• Cella for priests• Votive offerings placed

inside• Various sizes and designs

for sale• Symbolic devotion• Eternal wakefulness• Names of donors and god

with prayer(s)Statuettes worshippers, ca. 2700 BCE. From Abu Temple, Tell Asmar, Iraq.

Marble, largest c. 30.”

Ancient Near East: SumerThemes:• Offerings• Gods (over 3,000 known deities) • Warfare and hunting• Rulers

Forms:• Narrative• Natural and conceptual treatments of

figures• Registers of space• Hierarchy of scale Warka Vase ca. 3200-3000BCE. Alabaster, 3 ¼” high.

National Museum of Iraq.

Warka Vase ca. 3200-3000BCE. Alabaster, 3 ¼” high. National Museum of Iraq.

Ancient Near East: SumerThemes:•The decoration tells the story of the annual festival celebrating the sacred marriage of two fertility deities, Inanna (also Ishtar (pronounced Easter) goddess of chaos and love, associated with fertility the moon, and the planet Venus, goddess of War and Queen of Heaven) and Dmuzi (also Tammuz god of vegetation, fertility, and the underworld)

Detail The Marriage of Inanna and Dmuzi (, Warka Vase, c. 3200-3000 BCE. Alabaster, 3’

¼” high.

Themes:•One of the longest lasting Goddesses from the ancient world is Sumer’s Inanna, who was revered in the Middle East for over 4,000 years•Her imagery include the lunar crescent horns and the 8-pointed star, the rosette, which represents the planet Venus, the egg and bunny •Her headgear consists of a horned crown enclosing a cone, which is symbolic for the sacred mountain

Detail Inanna Receiving Offerings, Warka Vase, c. 3200-3000 BCE. Alabaster, 3’ ¼” high. National

Museum of Iraq.



Themes:•Inanna’s origins are very very old and date back well into the Neolithic age. It is believed that the Goddess-revering Al ‘Ubaid culture brought Her imagery with them when they settled in the region south west of the Euphrates river as early as the 6th millennium BCE, i.e. 8,000 years ago. Her earliest temple was discovered in Uruk (Erech), Inanna’s main and longest lasting place of worship, and dates back to about 5,000 BCE.

Queen of the Night or The Queen of Heaven, Babylonian goddess, southern Iraq, c. 1800-1750

BCE. Painted terracotta plaque, height approx. 19 ½.” British Museum, London.

Plaque and reconstruction. British Museum, London.

Warka Vase as recovered (6/12/03)

• In recent years, the Uruk Vase has faced many obstacles. In 2003, the vase was stolen from the National Museum of Iraq along with many other priceless works of ancient Mesopotamia. Eventually the vase was returned to the museum but it had been shattered into over fourteen pieces. Currently the museum is in the process of restoring the vase.



Example:•Registers of space•Anthropomorphic figures•Composite view/twisted perspective of figures•Instructional component•Interpreted as “fantastic realm of the dead”

Bull-headed harp with inlaid sound box, from the Royal Cemetery, Ur (modern Tell Muqayyar), Iraq, ca. 2600-2400 BCE. Wood, lapis

lazuli, and shell, 3/6.” University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology


Example:•Epic of Gilgamesh, world’s first epic

– Recorded Sumer late 3rd millennium BCE, possibly chanted or sung with harp accompaniment

– Tragic story of love, jealousy, and revenge

– Attempt to come to terms with death and nonbeing

Bull-headed harp with inlaid sound box, from the Royal Cemetery, Ur (modern Tell Muqayyar), Iraq, ca. 2600-2400 BCE. Wood, lapis lazuli, and shell, 3/6.” The University of Pennsylvania Museum of

Archaeology and Anthropology

Ancient Near East: SumerExample:• Burial good (uncertain

function)• Historical narrative on

two sides• Offerings and ritual• Warfare • Registers of space• Hierarchy of scale

Standard of Ur, ca. 2600 BCE. Wood inlaid with shell, lapis lazuli, and red limestone, 8” x 1’ 7.”

British Museum, London.

Ancient Near East: SumerExample:• Social order

• Evidence of trade

• “War” side and “Peace” side

• Visual text of class divisions and royal authority

• Simplified, abstracted, repetitive, and stylized design

• No interior model, little sense of space Standard of Ur, ca. 2600 BCE. Wood inlaid with

shell, lapis lazuli, and red limestone, 8” x 1’ 7.” British Museum, London.

Ancient Near East: SumerExample:•Seals were most often made of stone but also sometimes of bone, ivory, faience, glass, metal, wood, or even sun-dried or baked clay

•A recessed inscription was carved onto the cylinder, which produced a raised impression when rolled on a clay tablet or envelope

•Cylinder seals were used to protect vessels, clay envelopes and storeroom door latches from tampering

• They guaranteed authenticity, marked ownership, indicated participation in a legal transaction and protected goods against theft

Sumerian Cuneiform Cylinder Seal, Iraq, 3000 BCE. Smith College.

Ancient Near East: The Hebrews

History:•Migratory tribal people called habiru or Hebrew

•Origins traced to Sumer, c. 2000 BCE

•Establish monotheistic religion based on covenant with God

•Abraham of Ur signals beginning of Hebrew history

– Patriarch leads Hebrews west across Fertile Crescent to Canaan

Ark of the Covenant and sanctuary implements, Hammath near Tiberias, 4th c. Mosaic, Excavated

1961-1962.

Ancient Near East: The Hebrews

History:•Located on the shore of the Sea of Galilee•Inscriptions found in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek•Includes zodiac images•Much of what is known is found in Bible•Hebrew God transcends nature and natural phenomenon

Ark of the Covenant and sanctuary implements, Hammath near Tiberias, 4th c. Mosaic, dimensions unpublished.

Excavated 1920-1921.

Ancient Near East: Akkad

Themes:• Offerings

• Gods

• Warfare and hunting

• Rulers

Forms:• Natural and conceptual treatments of

figures

• Registers of space

• Hierarchy of scale

• Mutilated in antiquityHead of an Akkadian ruler, Iraq,ca. 2250-2200BCE. Copper, 1’ 2 1/8”

high. Iraqi Museum, Baghdad possibly looted?)

Ancient Near East: AkkadThemes:• Royal portrait (possibly Sargon, but

cannot be verified)

• New concept of absolute monarchy (theocratic monarch)

Forms:• Skilled casting, polishing, and engraving

• Balance of naturalism and abstract patterns

• Life-size

• Geometric clarity

• Use of contrasting textures

• Sensitivity to formal pattern

Head of an Akkadian ruler, Iraq, ca. 2250-2200BCE.

Copper, 1’ 2 1/8” high. Iraqi Museum, Baghdad possibly

looted?)


Example:• Evidence of women’s power

• Enheduanna, Sargon’s daughter, moon priestess

• She is the world's oldest known author whose works were written in cuneiform approximately 4300 years ago

• Two of her known works are hymns to the goddess Inanna, The Exaltation of Inanna and In-nin sa-gur-ra

• A third identified work, The Temple Hymns, addresses the sacred temples and their occupants, the goddess or god to whom they were consecrated

Disk of Enheduanna, c. 2300 BCE. Calcite, approx. 10” diameter, 3” thick. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and

Anthropology


Example:• Shape probably meant to represent

the full moon, as it features the high priestess of the moon god, Nanna.

• Found in the temple of Nanna’s consort, Nin-gal (Great Lady)

• Broken in antiquity, but most of the pieces were recovered on excavation and the whole has been restored

• back of the disk bears an inscription, a dedication from Enheduanna to the moon god

Back of restored disk showing inscribed dedication to the moon god and the name of

Enheduanna herself.


Victory Stele of Naram-Sin, from Iran, ca. 2254-2218BCE. Pink sandstone, 6’ 7” high. Louvre, Paris

History:Rule established 2334 BCELocation of city still unknownIntroduce new concept of royal power based on loyalty to king“King of the Four Quarters”

Ancient Near East: AkkadExample: • Divine kingship and its attributes

• Political propaganda

• Warfare

• Relief sculpture

• Hierarchy of scale

• Composite view

• Organization versus disarray

• Landscape

• Symbolism Victory Stele of Naram-Sin, from Iran, ca. 2254-2218BCE. Pink sandstone, 6’ 7” high.

Louvre, Paris

Shamash and Ishtar

Ancient Near East: BabylonExample:• Law code• Akkadian Cuneiform• King Hammurabi and god Shamash• Symbols of authority• Composite view with some

foreshortening• New conventions including

diagonal lineLaw Code Stele of King Hammurabi,

basalt, Babylonian, 1792-1750 B.C.E. Basalt, 7’ 4 ½” x 25 ½.” Musée

du Louvre, Paris

Ancient Near East: Babylon

Example:• Earliest source of law codes,

predates Ten Commandments, (may be possible source)

• Over 300 specific laws governing Babylonia– Codifies Mesopotamian law

– Effort to unify different peoples

– Outlines actions and punishments

– Specific guidelines by social status and gender

– Laws are divine, from gods

• Develops legacy

Law Code Stele of King Hammurabi, basalt, Babylonian, 1792-1750 B.C.E. Basalt, 7’ 4 ½” x

25 ½.” Musée du Louvre, Paris

Law Code of King HammurabiSample laws covered the subjects of:•One of the most well known of Hammurabi's laws is:

– Ex. Law #196. "If a man destroy the eye of another man, they shall destroy his eye. If one break a man's bone, they shall break his bone. If one destroy the eye of a freeman or break the bone of a freeman he shall pay one mana of silver. If one destroy the eye of a man's slave or break a bone of a man's slave he shall pay one-half his price.”

•Religion– Ex. Law #127: "If any one "point the finger" at a sister of a god or the wife of any one, and can not prove it, this

man shall be taken before the judges and his brow shall be marked. (by cutting the skin, or perhaps hair.)”

•Slavery– Ex. Law #15: "If any one take a male or female slave of the court, or a male or female slave of a freed man,

outside the city gates, he shall be put to death." [24]

•Thievery– Ex. Law #22: "If any one is committing a robbery and is caught, then he shall be put to death.”

•Food– Ex. Law #104: "If a merchant give an agent corn, wool, oil, or any other goods to transport, the agent shall give

a receipt for the amount, and compensate the merchant therefor. Then he shall obtain a receipt from the merchant for the money that he gives the merchant.”

•Hammurabi had many other punishments as well. If a boy struck his father they would cut off the boy's hand or fingers (translations vary

Ancient Near East: BabylonExample:•Recovered some time between 1878-1883

•Reconstruction of tablet revered by King Nabopolassar, between 625 and 605 BCE

•The tablet has serrated edges like a saw, which was the symbol of both Shamash and Saint Simon Zelotes in later tradition

The Seated Giant from the Tablet of Shamash Sumerian tablet, 888-855 BCE. Stone, 11 ½” x 7.”

From Sippar, southern Iraq. British Museum, London.

Ancient Near East: Assyria

Example:• First Iron-Age empire

• Citadel complex, 25 acres

• Palace elevated 50 ft.

• Home to king and court

• Fortified and elevated

• Monumental gateway

• Audience hall (apadana)

• Relief sculpture of processions

Schematic map and reconstruction drawing of the citadel and palace complex of Sargon II, Dur Sharrukin

(modern Khorsabad, Iraq). c. 721-706 BCE

Ancient Near East: Assyria Example:•Guarding the citadel were Lamassu (Akkadian for ''protective spirits'')

•Lamassu were powerful mythological creatures with the wings of an eagle, the crowned head of a man, and the body of a bull or lion

Gate of Sargon II's citadel excavation, Khorsabad. Excavated by Paul-Émile Botta 1842-1844

Ancient Near East: Assyria Example:High relief partly in the roundFacial features of monarchLife-like detail and stylized patterningSymbolism

Bull= virility• Lion= physical strength• Eagle= predatory agility

Conceptual representation Lamassu guarded Assyrian citadels by frightening away the forces of chaos at the city gates and palace doorwaysThe imposing presence of lamassu served as clear reminder of the king's ultimate authority over all who entered his domain

Lamassu, from Sargon II's citadel at Dur Sharrukin (Khorsabad), Iraq, 8th century

BCE. Alabaster, approx. 14' h. Louvre, Paris.


Example:• Low relief sculpture• Palace citadels• Narrative scenes• Political propaganda• Naturalism• Warfare and hunting

to show ruler’s power

• Period of constant warfare Detail Ashurbanipal besieging an Egyptian city,

c. 667 BCE with reconstruction of palace walls. Alabaster,


Example:• Low relief sculpture

• Palace citadels

• Unusual single scene

• Naturalism

• Controlled hunt (in inscriptions he claims to have killed a total of 450 lions)

• Warfare and hunting to show ruler’s power

• Period of constant warfare

King Ashurnasirpal II killing lions, from Royal Palace of King Ashurnasirpal II, Nimrud, c. 883-859 BCE. Stone panel from the

North-West Palace of Ashurnasirpal II (Room B, Panel 19) Alabaster relief, 3’3” x 8’ 4.” British Museum, London.

Ancient Near East: AssyriaExample:• Low relief sculpture,

previously brightly painted

• In palace citadels• Narrative scenes• Naturalism• Controlled hunt• Warfare and hunting to

show ruler’s power• Period of constant

warfare Ashurbanipal hunting lions, Iraq, ca. 645-640BCE. Gypsum hall relief from the North Palace, Ninevah, , 5’ 4” high. excavated by

H. Rassam beginning in 1853 British Museum.

Ancient Near East: Achaemenid Persia

History:•First Persian Empire

•Founded 6th c. BCE by Cyrus the Great

•Takes name from king Achaemenes, who ruled Persis (southwestern Iran) between 705 BC and 675 BCE

•First multicultural civilization of ancient world

•Persepolis capital and ceremonial center

East stairway of the Audience Hall of Darius and Xerses. ca. 500 BCE. Persepolis, Iran


Example:• Persians establish monotheistic

religion based on teachings of the prophet Zoroaster (c. 628-c.551)

• Ahura-Mazda (“Wise Lord”) sole god

– Demanded good works, good thoughts, and good deeds

– Existence=cosmic struggle between light and darkness, good and evil

• Zoroastrianism influential on Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

East stairway of the Audience Hall of Darius and Xerses. ca. 500 BCE. Persepolis, Iran


... I will not tolerate that the weak shall suffer injustices brought upon them by the mighty. What is just pleases me.... You, my subjects, must not assume what the powerful undertake as sublime. What the common man achieves is much more extraordinary.

– Darius the Great (522-486 B.C.)

Relief sculpture of Darius the Great fighting evil from Audience Hall of Darius and Xerses. ca. 500 BCE. Persepolis, Iran


Persepolis, ca. 521 465BCE.

Example:• Citadel complex• Home to king and court• Fortified and elevated• Monumental gateway• Audience hall (apadana)• Relief sculpture of processions• Influence of Greek art through trade• Destroyed by Macedonian Alexander the Great

Ancient Near East

Education

ancient near east example

ancient near east dates

ancient near east history

bce writing

bce people

bce coin

bce convention

millennium bce