COURSE CODE : AR 1109

COURSE TITLE: HISTORY THEORY & CRITICISM - I

Prepared by
Lakshmy Menon
Assistant Professor- Senior Scale
B.Arch, M.Arch (Advanced Design)
UNIT – I
MESOPOTAMIA
General settlement pattern, geographic and climatic influence, socio-political background,
construction technology, material influence and design principles of the cities and its built
form.
Focus:
a) Sumer : City of Uruk & City of Ur
b) Babylon : City of Babylon
 MAP OF ANCIENT CIVILIZATION

Notable and first civilizations formed on

the bank of the river Ref: Ancient Mesopotamia : Civilization & Society, timemaps.com,
courses.lumenlearning.com, historyhaven.com
 MAP OF ANCIENT CIVILIZATION - MESOPOTAMIA

Cradle of civilization - human race

Ref:ancient-middle-eat-Mesopotamia,history.com First cities built out of mud bricks
TIMELINE - ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIAN CIVILIZATION
5000-3500 BC First city-states gradually develop in southern Mesopotamia.
This is the achievement of the Sumerian people.
Sumerian culture
3500 BC Explored WRITING .
Firstly – pictogram
Later – cuneiform script evolved
2100 BC City of UR – centre of the powerful Mesopotamia.
Fall / decline of Sumerian.
Nomadic people , Amorites, starts moving to the region
1792-49 BC King Hammurabi (Babylon) conquers the region
Law code issued by him
Decline / FALL AFTER HIS DEATH
1530 BC Babylonia conquered by Kassites . Hittites existed .
1500 BC Indo-Eurappeans (Mitanni) conquered the norther region.
Kingdom of Assyria wins back. Assyrian culture
From 1100 BC Nomadic people (Arameans, Chaldeans).
Neo-Babylonian culture followed by Persian culture.
Kingdoms of Babylon & Assyria declined.
Ref: Ancient Mesopotamia : Civilization & Society, timemaps.com
W hy d i d t h e s e c i t i e s d eve l o p ?
 Re l i g i o u s Be l i e fs

 Each god had control of certain things

and each city was ruled by a different
god

 The belief that gods lived on the distant

mountaintops gave rise to ZIGGURATS

 The word ziggurat comes from the

Assyrian for ‘raised up’ or ‘high’. Ziggurats
were built in the centre of the city

 Connection between heaven and earth

 Stepped pyramid – Temple complex

A N C I E N T M ES O POTA M I A N T Y P I C A L H O US ES ( 3 5 0 0 B C E )

• Basic building material – Mud and

Timber
• Mud was mixed with reeds and
laid in horizontal courses to make
wall
• Interior wall surfaces were
decorated with gypsum plaster
• Rock Gypsum was found in
northern Iraq and Syria – Used
locally and also exported as a
trade commodity

Ref: Photograph - History>Ancient Mesopotamia – historyonthenet.com

 Location: southern region of
Mesopotamian
 Name indicates
o land of the civilized kings
 First cities in the world rose in Sumer.
o Evolved concept of CITY.
 Invented – wheel, writing (cuneiform), SUMER
sail boat, agricultural process /
irrigation.
S O C I A L SYST E M –
S u m e r i a n Pe r i o d
City of URUK (WARKA)
During 3000 BC, Uruk probably had
50,000-80,000 residents living in 6 km
sq. of walled area; making it the
largest city in the world at the time
City of URUK (WARKA)
WHITE TEMPLE
City of URUK (WARKA)
WHITE TEMPLE
City of UR
• The city of Ur was oval in shape, with Euphrates
flowing along its side
• Partly planned, partly organic
• Harbours on north and west sides – Temple
complex was between them and formed the
focal point in the city
• The sacred complex had a rectilinear layout
and was in the north- west to catch the breeze Late Babylonian
Quarter
• Surrounding walls to protect and impress
• The city was surrounded by cultivated fields
and villages outside the walls
• Gates to enter within the city walls had huge
towers and decoration
City of UR
City of UR
City of UR
City of UR
Present day restorations
City of UR
City of UR
S T R E E T L AY O U T
• Hierarchy of Streets - Main wide boulevards ; narrow, twisting alleys
• Streets varied from narrow to 2-3 m wide lanes
• Streets were used as passageways and also to dump garbage

• Houses were built of sun-baked mud bricks

• Windows were rare
• Accumulation of garbage led to an
increase in the elevation of the street –
door threshold had to be raised
• Roofs were made of mud layered on mats
which were placed on wooden rafters
• The processional road leading to the
sacred temple precinct was the only
planned passageway
City of UR
Residential Quarters
City of UR
Residential Quarters
• House quality depended upon the wealth of the occupant
• Houses had rooms organized around small courtyards
• Better houses – baked brick foundation walls
• The principal room was opposite to the entrance - used for meals and
reception
City of UR
TEMPLE PRECINCT
 City of UR The Great Ziggurat

• Located as part of a temple complex

• Material - mud bricks reinforced with thin layers of

matting and cables of twisted reeds.

• The complex comprised of

• the ziggurat

• court and a secondary court attached to it

called the court of Nannar

• The king was the chief priest of the temple and

lived close to it.

The Great Ziggurat at Ur (Plan of Precinct)

Ref: Sir Banister Fletcher
 • The ZIGGURAT - free standing
City of UR structure

• Base – 100m X 65m; Height – 21m

• 3 terraces with the sacred shrine

on the highest one

• 3 monumental staircases on the

North-East side, converging into a
canopied vestibule at the top of
the first platform

• From there, a central stair

continued to the second stage
and the third

• Main lines were built with slight

curves to correct optical illusion
Temple at top – Blue; Represented heaven above earth
Third terrace – Red; Representing the Sun
Second terrace – Black; Representing Ea – creator and protector of
humanity
Lowest terrace – White; Representing Apsu – the God of Waters
City of UR
ZIGGURAT (TEMPLE STRUCTURE)
ASSIGNMENT- 1

• Prepare poster – geographic, social and religious influence on Mesopotamian

Architecture (along with relevant sketches with labelling).

• Mode Of presentation:
• A3 sheet/s
• Bold sketches with labelling. Use skills of Architecture representation –
Rendering.
• Use bullet points for write-up.