Ar.

Febina D
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1

 UNIT III ANCIENT RIVER VALLEY CIVILIZATIONS:

MESOPOTAMIA
Urbanization in the Fertile Crescent Sumerian, Babylonian,
Assyrian and Persian culture
evolution of city-states and their character law and writing
theocracy and architecture evolution of the ziggurat palaces.
Ziggurat of Ur, Urnamu Palace of Sargon, Khorsabad Palace at
Persepolis

The Fertile Crescent is the region in the

Middle East which curves, like a quarter-moon
shape, from the Persian Gulf, through modernday southern Iraq, Syria, Lebanon,
Jordan, Israel and northern Egypt
FERTILE CRESENT
NORTHEAST- ZARGOS MOUNTAINS
SOUTH-semi-circle, with the open side toward
the
WEST END AT THE SOUTH -east corner of
the Mediterranean,
CENTRE -directly north of Arabia
EAST -north end of the Persian Gulf.

GEOGRAPHY

THE WEST ASIATIC CIVILIZATION IS LOCATED IN THE FERTILE LANDS OF 2 RIVERS

TIGRIS
EUPHRATES
MESO-BETWEEN POTAMIS- RIVERS
MESOPOTAMIA CONSIST OF 2 PARTS:
AKKAD
SUMER

CLIMATIC FACTORS:
EXTREME HOT SUMMERS AND COLD WINTERS
LESS OF RAINFALL EXCEPT IN NORTHERS DISTRICTS
REFLECTED IN ARCHITECTURE TO PROTECT FROM HEAT IN THE FORM OF
COLUMNED HALLS AND PORTICOES
HIGH PLATFORM, DADOES (LOWER PART IS DECORATED WITH A DIFFERENT MATERIAL FROM THE UPPER PART)
PROVIDED IN ALL BUILDINGS TO PROTECT FROM FLOODS IN THE TIGRIS AND EUPHRATES DUE TO THE MELTING OF SNOW
IN THE ARMENIAN MOUNTAINS IN SUMMER
HARNESSED RIVERS IN THEIR COURSES WITH USE OF CANALS
BUILDINGS OF ALL TYPES:
ARRANGED AROUND LARGE AND SMALL COURT
NARROW ROOMS
THICK WALLS.

CLIMATIC FACTORS

MESOPOTMIA MEANS - THE LAND BETWEEN 2 RIVERS

GEOGRAPHY

They both have large riversystems,Nile river runs

through Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea is in the north
part of Egypt, the Euphrates and Tigris rivers run
through Mesopotamia. They also have flooding and hot,
sunny climate. They have their own alphabet, Egyptians
used Hieroglyphics and the Mesopotamian s used
Cuneiform.

What did egyptians Mesopotamian society have incommon?

 Known as the Cradle/birthplace of Civilization,

humans settle in these regions and domesticate plants and animals.
domesticationfarming and grazinglure increasingly greater human and animal
migration to these spaces.
rise to the social and political economic formations that characterize the ancient urban
spaces and states of Mesopotamia.
These elements are tied to the growth of commerce and broader cultural interaction.
The structures of these civilizationsthese empires, states, citiesdid not stop the
interaction and the flow of goods, people, and ideas.
IT resulted in the earliest formations of what has been called the Afro-Eurasian Old
World the interaction between the Indus, Mesopotamian, and Nile river systems.
agriculture, urbanization, writing, trade, science, history and organized religion

URBANIZATION OF THE FERTILE CRESENT

first populated c.10,000 BCE

9,000 BCE the cultivation of wild grains and cereals was wide-spread
5000 BCE, irrigation of agricultural crops was fully developed
4500 BCE the cultivation of wool-bearing sheep was practiced widely
The first cities -Eridu, followed by Uruk
From 3400 BC - the priests were responsible for the distribution of food and the
careful monitoring of surplus for trade.
2300 BCE, soap was produced from tallow and ash and was in wide use as personal
hygiene .
human beings created as help-mates to the gods and so should make themselves
presentable in the performance of their duties
Sargon of Akkad (Sargon the Great) ruled over the first multicultural empire in Mesopotamia, allowing for the growth of great building projects, art
works and religious literature
2000 BCE,Babylon controlled the Fertile Crescent and the region saw advances in law
literature ,religion ,science and math.

URBANIZATION OF THE FERTILE CRESENT

1900-1400 BCE trade with Europe, Egypt, Phoenicia and the Indian sub-continent ,
resulting in the spread of literacy, culture and religion to these regions.
600 BCE the Assyrians controlled the Fertile Crescent
580, the Neo-Babylonian Chaldean Empire under Nebuchadnezzar II ruled the
region.
Alexander the Great invaded the area in 334 BCE, it was ruled by the Parthians,
Rome in 116 CE
After the short-lived Roman annexation and occupation, the region was conquered
by the Sassanid Persians
finally, by the Arabian Muslims in the 7th century CE.

URBANIZATION OF THE FERTILE CRESENT

grew up beside the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

had long been disseminated throughout the ancient world but the cities themselves
were mostly in ruins through the destruction caused by the many military conquests
in the region as well as natural causes such as earthquakes and fire.
Rampant urbanization and the over-use of the land also resulted in the decline and
eventual abandonment of the cities of the Fertile Crescent.
The city of Eridu, considered to be the first city on earth,
built and inhabited by the gods, had been abandoned since 600 BCE, Uruk.

URBANIZATION OF THE FERTILE CRESENT

10

Ancient Mesopotamia - Contributions to Technology

One of the most important contributions to technology achieved by the sumerians was the ability
to control the tigris and euphrates rivers.

The sumerians learned to build levees.

They were no longer dependent on the yearly floods and had a stable year-round food supply.
This resulted in the first civilization because people didn't have to be nomadic.
It also resulted the first basic forms of government called city-states.
Each city-state consisted of a temple and public buildings at its center.
There were social classes such as merchants, farmers, politicians, and priests. Each city-state
governed itself.
wars between neighboring city-states was common.

Evolution of city states

11

With the development of a city-state and government came the first

major architectural structure called a ziggurat.

One of the other most important technological contributions made by

the sumerians was the first system of writing.
These city-states were independent of one another and were fully
self-reliant centers,
each surrounding a temple that was dedicated to god or goddess
specific to that city-state.
Each city-state was governed by a priest king
Sumerian language as a form of communication,
battlES for control over water supplies and the fertile land.
A typical Sumerian city was well fortified with thick tall walls, which
the king was responsible for maintaining.

ZIGGURAT

CUNIFORM

Evolution of city states

12

Within a Sumerian citys walls were avenues that were used for
religious processionals, and high, stepped temples know as
ziggurats.
Sumerian cities often had several ziggurats, each dedicated to
a different god or goddess.
king of a Sumerian city lived in a luxurious palace, most of his
people lived in very small thatched houses that were crowded
together and separated by narrow alleyways.
This was evidence of a distinct social system that was in place
in Sumer..
The majority if a city-states people were considered the lower
class, and that class was made up mostly of farmers.

The Sumerians saw most of their wealth and

success from trade.
The fertile land (the area was known as
the Fertile Crescent) upon which they lived
provided a successful agriculture industry as
well.

Each city-state consisted of a

temple and public buildings at
its center. There were social
classes such as merchants,
farmers, politicians, and
priests. Each city-state
governed itself.

Evolution of city states

13

 Farmers, Artisans, and traders began

gathering in specific areas in the villages in
order to buy and sell their products.
The farming villages turned into small
centers of trade and later grew into Cities,
as more people began settling there.
In Mesopotamia, each town and city was
believed to be protected by its own, unique
deity or god.
The temple, as the center of worship, was
also the center of every city.

The Mesopotamians believed that these

pyramid temples connected heaven and
earth.
THEY ALSO BELIEVE THAT everything
that occurs is preplanned by the gods

Evolution of city states

14

Sumerian CULTURE.
the most important aspect of Sumerian culture was the innovation of the
Sumerian system of writing.
The Sumerians writing system is called Cuneiform, or, "wedge shaped"
writing.
The roots of Sumerian writing come from financial transactions.
To keep track of financial transactions, the ancient Sumerians used little
clay figurines, representing a certain amount of a commodity, such as sheep
or corn. They would group say, five sheep tokens with three corn tokens in a
ball of clay to represent a transaction.
On the outside of the ball of clay they would impress the tokens in the clay
to make an imprint, making the contents of the ball (transaction) known.

Evolution of city states

15

First civilization were the sumerians.

Lived in political units called CITY STATES.
The sumerians were polytheistic, they
believed in many God and Goddesses.
Gods and Goddesses were closely tied to
nature.
Ziggurats large pyramid like temples in
which people could climb steps to reach a
shrine at the top
Keeping Gods happy was important to the
city states.

civilization

16

Each city state had a ruler who held political power and was chief servant to the Gods.
SOCIETY IN ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA WAS PATRIARCHAL-MALE DOMINATION.
BASIC STRUCTURE OF MESOPOTAMIAFREE PEOPLE
SLAVES
PRIEST AND KINGS WERE THE HIGHEST RANK PEOPLE IN MESOPOTAMIAN SOCIETY.
MIDDLE CLASS-WARRIORS AND TRADESMEN, EDUCATED BUREAUCRATS.
LOW CLASS- PEASANTS, FARMERS , ETC.,

SOCIAL STRUCTURE:
1. RULING FAMILY
2. GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, PRIESTS
3. MERCHANTS, ARTISANS
4. PEASANTS

Government and social structure

17

 BUILT THE FIRST WHEELED VEHICLES

DEVELOPED IRRIGATION SYSTEMS AND CANALS
EXPLORED MATHEMATICS, ESPECIALLY ALGEBRA AND
GEOMETRY

Invented the system of writing.

CONTRIBUTION

18

ECONOMY WAS BASED ON AGRICULTURE AND FARMING

AGRICULTURAL PROSPERITY ENABLED THEM TO DEVELOP CRAFTSWORK AND
TRADE.
THEY TRADED NATURAL RESOURCES LIKE JEWEL AND PRECIOUS STONES, AND ALOS
POTTERY, SLAVES, ARTWORK
TRADE LED TO THE INVENTION OF MONEY.

money
trade
craftwork
Irrigated agriculture
Stock farming

ECONOMY

19

RELIGION DOMINATED LIFE

SUMER
GODS OF TRIADS
SHAMASH-SUN GOD
NANNA-MOON GOS ASOCIATED WITH HURICANES
ISHTAR- GODDESS OF PASSION
ALSO WORSHIPPED HEROES AND DEMONS
HORNED DRAGONS- SYMBOL OF WARRIOR GOD MARDUK
BULLS- SYMBOL OF ADAD- GOD OF THUNDER
EAGLE- ANZUBIRD- FAVOURITE GENIE OF UR
GODS THOUGHT TO RESIDE IN THE HOLY MOUNTAINS OR ZIGGURATS
HENCE TEMPLES WERE BUILT FOR THEM ON ELEVATED PLATFORMS KNOWN AS ZIGGURATS
(HOLY MOUNTAINS)
THE SHRINE WAS AT THE TOP WITH A HUGE FLIGHT OF APPROACH STEPS
EACH CITY HAD ATLEAST ONE ZIGGURAT (TOTALLY 30 ZIGGURATS WERE PRESENT)
ASSYRIAN GODS:
ANU- SKY GOD
ANLIL- EARTH GOD
EANNA- WATER GOD
ASHUR- NATIONAL DEITY

religion

BABYLONIAN Gods:

Marduk- warrior earth god

20

Mesopotamian religious practices varied through time and

distance, it was basically characterized by polytheism.
Gods represented places and powers in ancient
mesopotamia.
Priests were an important part of the mesopotamian social
structure. Temples could be found anywhere in the city.
There were hundreds of thousands of deities.
Each god had priests, temples and followers.

religion

The primary god of mesopotamians who was the

god of heavens. Mesopotamian religion was not
only polytheistic, but also henotheistic, where
certain gods are viewed superior to others.
Later period that the mesopotamians began
ranking the deities in order of importance.
They saw gods as high masters who were to be
obeyed and feared.

21

A ziggurat was a temple standing on

a base, similar to the early Egyptian
pyramids. Ziggurats were constructed
of bricks made from dried mud.
Priests were the only ones allowed
inside the holy ziggurats.
This made the priests an upper
member in social standing.

ziggurats

22

The earliest language written in Mesopotamia

was Sumerian
Akkadian came to be the dominant language
during the Akkadian Empire and the Assyrian
empires
cuneiform script was invented for the Sumerian
language. Cuneiform literally means "wedgeshaped", FORMED BY PRESSING A PEN LIKE
INSTRUMENT CALLED STYLUS, WITH TRIANGULAR
TIP INTO SOFT CLAY TABLETS.

The standardized form of each cuneiform sign

appears to have been developed from
pictograms.

Writing was developed because the city-states needed a way to keep records, DOCUMENTS AND LITRARY
WORKS. The sumerians developed a writing system called cuneiform writing. Cuneiform means wedge
shaped. It was called this because cuneiform writing was made up of many pie shapes that represented
individual words. Clay tablets were used and then left to dry in the sun to become permanent records

LITREATURE AND WRITING

23

CUNIFORM SCRIPT..
1ST- PICTOGRAPHIC: each symbol was a picture that represented a word which was
quiet similar to it.
2nd- IDEOLOGY: the symbols and their combination represented concepts. Eg: man +
crown = king.
3rd- phonetics: each symbol corresponded to a sound or syllable.

LITREATURE AND WRITING

24

The first code of laws that we have any records of are those of a Sumerian king of Ur known
as Ur-namma who ruled from 2112 BCE to 2095 BCE. (By the way, historians no longer use
BC and AD to denote years. The usage is now BCE for Before the Current Era and
CE for Current Era.) Ur-Namma forthrightly declared the reason for his laws:
In other words, the purpose of the laws was to protect the weak from the powerful.

Here are some of the laws in his code:

1. If a man commits a homicide, they shall kill that man.

2. If a man acts lawlessly, they shall kill him.
3, If a man detains another, that man shall be imprisoned and he shall weigh and deliver 15 shekels of
silver.
6. If a man violates the rights of another and deflowers the virgin wife of a young man, they shall kill that
male.
7. There is also a group of laws that impose fines for the following crimes of violence:
cutting off the foot: 60 shekels
shatters a bone: 60 shekels
cuts off the nose: 40 shekels
knocks out a tooth: 2 shekels

8. If a slave woman curses someone acting with the authority of her mistress, they shall scour her mouth
with one sila of salt.

If a man rent a boat to a sailor, and the sailor is careless, and the boat is wrecked or goes aground, the sailor shall give the
owner of the boat a new boat as compensation.
If a builder build a house for someone and does not construct it properly, and the house which he built fall in and kill its
owner, then that builder shall be put to death

law

25

Materials used: adobe bricks

Invented- the arch , the dome(cupola)
important buildings:
Palaces
Ziggurats: temples in the shape of a terraced pyramid with successively smaller
levels, the last one was a sanctuary

Architectural achievements

26

MAIN BUILDIBNG MATERIALS:

CLAY BRICKS-BRICKS MADE OF CLAY
SUN DRIED FOR ORDINARY WORK
KILN DRIED FOR SUPERIOR WORK
BRICKS WERE LAID IN LIME MORTAR, BITUMIN, STONE AND TIMBER SCARCE
COLOURED GLAZED TILES WERE USED FOR DECORATIVE PURPOSES.
ALABASTER A WHITE TRANSPARENT FORM OF MINERAL GYPSUM OFTEN CARVED
INTO ORNAMENTAL WORKS
WOOD AND SILVER FROM ANATOLIA ND LEVANT
GOLD AND INCENSE FORM ARABIA
WOOL USED BY WOMEN
LINEN WOVEN AND USED BY THE RICH
TIN AND LAPIS LAZULI(A BRIGHT BLUE ROCK FROM THE HILLS OF IRAN AND
CAUCASUS)

BUILDING MATERIALS

27

City of UR- SUMERIAN CULTURE

FOUND ON THE EUPHRATES RIVER
THE FAMOUS MESOPOTAMIAN KING UR NAMU HAS ERECTED THE HOLY ZIGGURAT- HOLY MOUNTAIN
COSTUMES: IT WAS SIMPLE
KINGS WORE SHEEPSKIN, BARE WAIST UP
ROYAL WOMEN WORE ELABORATE HAIR DRESSES.
TEMPLE COMPLEX:
CONTAINS STORE HOUSES AND WORKSHOP
A NO. OF MUD BRICK VAULTS TO POCCESS VALUABLES LIKE GOLD AND SILVER.
ROYAL TOMBS THROW LIGHT ON MASS SACRIFICE WAS CARRIED OUT.
ENTIRE CITY WAS SURROUNDED BY CANAL WHICH ACTS AS MOAT.
CHARACTERISTIC FEATURE:
STREETS WERE NARROW
HOUSES SINGLE STORIED
CENTRAL COURTYARD
RICH HOUSES WERE DOUBLE STORIED
UPPER CLASS OF SCRIBES FORMED THE TOP ADMINISTRATIORS HEADED BY THE KING
CITY OF UR HAD TRADE LINKS WITH ARABIA, INDUS VALLEY
IMPORTANT WAREHOUSING CENTRE
UNDER 3RD DYNASTY UR NAMMU ACHIEVED HIGhEST GLORY.
DECLINE:
THE EUPHRATES SUDDENLY CHANGED ITS COURSE AND STARTED RUNNING 14KM EAST OF THE CIY.
CANALS DRIED
LOST SHIPPING TRADE
LOST ITS VALUE

Mesopotamian architecture-sumerian culture

28

dressing

29

Ziggurats
Temples were originally built on platforms.
During the third millennium B.C., these were made higher and bigger.
Eventually it was decided to build even higher temples on platforms
which were stepped.
These stepped towers called ziggurats.
By 2000 B.C. mud-brick ziggurats were being constructed in many
Sumerian cities.
Later, ziggurats were constructed in Babylonian and Assyrian cities.
They are part of temple complexes.

ZIGGURATS

30

The question of the origins and function of the ziggurat is still a matter of controversy among the
specialists.
the raised structure served the practical aim of protection against floods, or whether the platforms
served primarily as a place for the deities with a shrine,
a place to house the god or goddess,
located on the top and, therefore, it served as a way of contact and communication with
the celestial gods.
What seems to be certain is that its form, after a more or less extended period of development,
was consolidated in Ur, and disseminated afterwards in the Mesopotamian area across time and
across cultures.
The idea that the form of the ziggurat evolved from the ritual destruction and reconstruction of
existing structures which served as foundations for new constructions that were, in this
manner, systematically and progressively raised higher and higher, has been proposed (based
also on examples from Neolithic practices, Meso-American cultures and also Egypt. As well as
different interpretations of its symbolic meaning.

Evolution of ziggurats

31

The ziggurat is a kind of artificial mountain emerging in the Mesopotamian flatlands.

It was part of an architectural complex that may have included also,
among other structures, temples and other public buildings, different civic and commercial spaces,
etc.
Access to the ziggurat was probably restricted and controlled as a space for the performance of
specific rituals under the direction of priests.
In its architectural form, size, technological aspects, labor force organization and employment,
the ziggurat embodied and expressed the unified and unifying power of new social-historical
structures.
It expressed the profound identity of worldly and sacred powers,
the unity of religion and politics which characterized the ideology proper to the initial forms of the
State that emerged as functional specialization,
and related social stratification processes and structures developed and were consolidated in the citystates of Mesopotamia: from more or less humble beginnings to its culmination and diffusion in
the pioneer civilization of the Sumerians.

Evolution of ziggurats

32

The Sumerians, as we know, established the early cultural matrix, including writing and literature,
architecture and the arts, religion, political forms and ideologies, etc pointing the way to many of
the essential future developments in the region. The ziggurat and White Temple at Uruk (ca. 32003000 BCE) and the partially reconstructed large ziggurat of Ur ( ca 2100 BCE) are two examples of
the accomplishments of the Sumerians in architecture.
A famous ziggurat in the Ancient World was the monumental Etemenanki ("temple of the foundation
of heaven and earth") dedicated to the god Marduk in Babylon in the 6th century BCE, the period of
the Neo-Babylonian dynasty. It is associated with the biblical narrative of the Tower of Babel

Evolution of ziggurats

33

Ziggurat of Ur (ca 2100 BCE), Tell Muqqayar,

Iraq
Reconstruction of Ur-Nammu's ziggurat

Ruins of White Temple at Uruk, Iraq

Evolution of ziggurats

34

Very old
Extensively remodeled by URNAMMU
(2125 BC) founder of III DYNASTY
& his Successors
The complex consists of
The Ziggurat
Court
Secondary court
3 great Temples
All these stood on an Rectangular
Platform
At the heart of an Oval shaped
Walled city6.1m above the plain
Dedicated to the Moon God Nanna
The patron deity of the city of the city
Of Ur

REMAINS OF THE ZIGGURAT OF URNAMMU

BRICKWORK

ARCHITECTURE

ZIGGURATS AND PRECINTS AT UR

35

DETAILS:
62m x 43m at the base
21m high
The Temple was at the summit
Oriented to the cardinal points

COURT OF
NANNAR

Had a solid core of Mud Brick

Covered with a skin of burnt brickwork 2.4m thk.
Laid in bitumen
With layers of matting at intervals to
improve cohesion

PRECINCT

ZIGGURATS OF URNAMU

36

DETAILS
Sides were convex
Giving an added effect of mass
Broad shallow corner Buttresses
Approached by 3 flights of steps leading to the
Entrance Gateway for the 1st platform,
2 flights of steps to the 2nd platform
1 flight of steps to the 3rd platform with the Temples
Weeper holes through the brickwork allowed for
Drainage and slow drying out of the interiors
Trees were planted on stages of Ziggurat as the
sacred mountain & required watering

ZIGGURATS OF URNAMU

37

At the top stood the Temple of Nanna where

sacred ceremonies took place annually
There was a huge courtyard around the base surrounded by
Shrines for Cult worship
Temple had courtyards surrounded by a no. of rooms for
Animal sacrifice
Cooking
Workshop
Storeroom for grain, Oil, fruits, cattle
MAUSOLEUM OF KINGS OF POWERFUL III DYNASTY OF UR
Close to the Ziggurat Precinct at Ur
Rooms were
Corbel vaulted in kiln fired bricks
Approached by long flight of steps
The floors were raised to avoid flood water
No proof the kings were buried in the city

MESOPOTAMIAN ARCHITECTURE

38

p
Atrium type
Living quarters grouped around an open court
Over hanging II floor balcony supported on palm logs
Walls up to 2nd floor kiln fired
Above mud bricks
Faade plain & not decorated
The lower floor had
Kitchen, servants quarters, guest rooms
Water privy under stairway
The higher floor
Duplicated layout below
Occupied by owners

Private house ur sumer

39

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER
2nd millennium, Old Assyrian, Middle Assyrian Periods
Polychrome ornamental bricks
High plinths , dadoes
Stone slabs used on edge
Carved with low relief work
Introduced in the reign of ASHURNASIRPAL II( 883-859BC)
TEMPLES with and without Ziggurats
Late Assyrian Period(911-612 BC)
Palaces were numerous and important
Emphasis on the central role of monarchy
Brick barrel vaulting revealed from excavations

ASSYRIAN ARCHITECTURE (1859 539 BC)

40

Built by SARGON II and abandoned

At his death
Square planned
Defensive perimeter
Covered nearly 1 sq. mile but not
Totally occupied by buildings
There were 2 gateways in each
Serrated wall
Except in the NW wall housing the
Citadel enclosure
Comprised of
Palace for the kings brother
Temple to NABU
Official buildings
Palace of Sargon

CITY OF KHORSABAD (722 705BC)

41

COMPLEX OF:
Large & small courts
Corridors
Rooms
Totally covering 23 acres
Each building raised on a Terrace
The Palace Terrace reached the
level of the town walls
Approached by broad ramps
Main entrance to the Palace Grand Court
Flanked by great towers
Guarded by winged bulls 3.8m high
Supporting a semi circular arch decorated with
brilliantly coloured glazed bricks
Had 3 main parts each abutting
the ground court
Left group of 3 large & 3 small Temples
Right service quarters & administrative offices
Opposite Private, Residential apartment with State Chambers behind

Palace of khorsabad

42

Palace of khorsabad

43

Palace of khorsabad

44

Palace of khorsabad

45

State Chambers
Had own court as large as the first one
Around this were dado slabs over
2.1m high
Bearing relief of the
king and his courtiers
Throne room
Lofty 49m x 10.7m
Outermost of the suite that was planned around its own internal court
Had a flat timber ceiling although timber was expensive
Plastered walls bore a painted decoration of triple band of friezes
Framed in running ornamentation about 5.5m high overall, around the room
Above a stone dado or reliefs
Grand & Temple Court
Decoration by sunken vertical paneling on the whitewashed walls
Towers finished in stepped battlements above ,
Stone plinth below plain or carved

Palace of khorsabad

46

Drainage
Within the mud brick platforms of the palace
Jointed terracotta drains to carry away rain water
Joining of larger drains of burnt brick covered with
vaults which were slightly pointed
The brick course was laid obliquely to avoid wood centering
Temples
At the foot of the faade of the 3 chief temples were
High plinths projecting from the wall
Plinths faced with polychrome bricks portraying sacred motifs
Served as pedestals for high cedar masts
The wall behind paneled with a series of half columns imitation of palm
logs

Palace of khorsabad

47

Ziggurat
Only zig. Of the city is associated with the palace temples as at Nimrud
Not with the large Nabu temple nearby
Square base 45m
7 tiered
Rose to a ht. Of 45m including the shrine at the top
Ascended by a winding ramp 1.8m wide
Successive tiers were paneled and battlements on top were painted
In different colours on plastered surfaces
Structural
Peculiar mud bricks not left to dry in the sun
Laid in a pliable state with mortar rarely used
Indicates sense of urgency
Kiln fired bricks used lavishly for facings and pavements
Stone blocks upto 23 tons 2.7m long used for the palace platform
Cedar, cypress, juniper, maple- palace roofs and painted beams
Perimeter wall of city 20m thick using dressed stone
Footing of 1.1m and mud brick superstructure

Palace of khorsabad

48

ANCIENT RELIGIOUS AND NATIONAL CENTER

Administrative capital
Built on a high rocky crop above the Tigris
Strong defensive wall
An outer wall added in the 9th c. BC
Built along the Tigris river for 3km.
The first shrine in the city dedicated to Ishtar (early dynastic period)
The Ziggurat temple of Ashur restored by Tukulti-NinurtaI (1250-1210BC)
Double temple of Anu & Adad had twin Ziggurats
2 temples without Ziggurats
2 palaces
One for administrative purposes
OTHER EGS.
CITY OF NIMRUD ASHURNASIRPAL II (833-859BC)
CITY OF NINEVAH SENNACHERIB (SARGONS SON 705-681BC)

CITY OF ASHUR ( 1250-1210 BC)

49

CITY OF ASHUR ( 1250-1210 BC)

50

Persia was the mountainous plateau to the east of the lower Tigris-Euphrates Valley.
The Persian empire was larger than the Babylonian and Assyrian empires, extending eastward to
India and reaching westward to Greece.
Its capitals were Persepolis and Susa. As a world empire it lasted 200 years

PERSIAN ARCHITECTURE ( 538-331 BC )

51

The Persian Kings were:

Cyrus (538-529 B.C.) Conquered Babylon and
allowed the Jews to return.
Cambyses (529-522 B.C.) Stopped work on the
Temple.
Darius I (521-485 B.C.) Authorized completion of the
Temple.
Xerxes (Ahasuerus) (485-465 B.C.) Esther was his
Queen.
Artaxerxes I (465-425 B.C.) Authorized Nehemiah to
rebuild Jerusalem.
Xerxes II (424 B.C.)
Darius II (423-405 B.C.)
Artaxerxes II (405-358 B.C.)
Artaxerxes III (358-338 B.C.)
Arses (338-335)
Darius III (335-331 B.C.) He was defeated by
Alexander the Great (331 B.C.) at the famous battle of
Arbela, near Nineveh. This was the fall of Persia and
the rise of Greece.

PERSIAN ARCHITECTURE ( 538-331 BC )

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Started by king Darius I

Mostly executed by XerxesI
Finished by ArtaXerxes I
Various buildings stood on a
Platform
Partly built up
Partly excavated
Faced in well laid local stone
Bound with iron clamps
460m x 275m in extent
Rising 15m above the plain
At the base of the rocky spur
Approach:
On the NW
A magnificent flight
of steps 6.1m wide
shallow enough for horses to ascend

Palace of persepolis

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GATEHOUSE
Built by Xerxes
Had mud brickwalls
Faced with polychrome bricks
Front and rear portals guarded by
stone bulls

The original main entrance, with a large double

staircase leading to the terrace, seen from the
south
The southern faade of the palace

Palace of persepolis

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APADANA
Led by a doorway on the south
Grand audience hall
76.2m square
Had 36 columns
Walls 200 thick
Stood on its own terrace 100 high
Began by Darius
Completed by 2 of his successors
Had 3 porticoes
Double colonnades
stairways on N & NE
minor rooms in S
towers in 4 angles
Arranged in 3 tiers of
Relief sep. by a band of
Rossettes
Nobles, courtiers,
Guardsmen in a procession
As relief work
Deep jambs

Palace of persepolis

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PALACE OF DARIUS
Small in comparison
Lay immediately south of the Apadana
Near the west terrace wall

Palace of persepolis

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TRIPYLON
Terraced
Lay centrally among buildings
Acted as a reception chamber
And a guard room
For the more private quarters
Of the Palace grounds

Palace of persepolis

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THE TREASURY
Built by Darius
SE angle of site
Double walled
Administrative and store house
building
Had collumned halls of different sizes
Only a single doorway

BUILDING OF DARIUS
Arranged in the loose fashion of earlier times
Xerxes added his building in between

Palace of persepolis

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PALACE OF XERXES
Built near SW corner
Connected with the Harem
An L shaped womens quarter
Court formed by L shaped harem & Tripylon
Court enclosed south of Tripylon

Xerxes' Palace, almost twice as large as that of

Darius, shows very similar decorative features on its
stone doorframes and windows, except for two large
Xerxes inscriptions on the eastern and western
doorways. Instead of showing the king's combat with
monsters, these doorways depict servants with
ibexes.
Unfortunately, all the reliefs in this palace are far less
well preserved than those of the Palace of Darius.

Palace of persepolis

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HALL OF HUNDRED COLUMNS / THRONE HALL

Commenced by Xerxes
Finished by Artaxerxes
68.6m square(2250)
Columns 11.3m high
supporting a flat cedar roof
Walls were double except on the N
N-a portico
faced a forecourt
had its own gatehouse
separated from the Apadana
by a wall
Had 2 doorways
7 windows on the entrance wall
Matched on the other 3 sides except that
niches replaced windows
All framed in stone surrounds in 3.4m thick
brick wall

Palace of persepolis

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HALL OF 100 COLUMNS RUINS

Palace of persepolis

RELIEF AT JAMB
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HALL OF HUNDRED COLUMNS / THRONE HALL

Palace of persepolis

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Palace of persepolis

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Palace of persepolis

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TOMB OF ARTAXERXES

Palace of persepolis

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artefacts
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