MESOPOTAMIA

 Fertile Crescent; present day Iraq;

 From the Greek word mesos and potamas, meaning “middle river.”
 Refers to the fertile plain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

SUMERIAN (5000-2000 B.C.)

 Architecture developed by the Sumerians.

 Characterized by monumental temples of sun-dried brick faced with burnt or glazed brick, often built
upon the ruins of the predecessors.

Ziggurat – stepped structures constructed with outside staircases and a temple of shine at the top for
worshiping the gods of nature.

 Ziggurats were built of mud bricks made of dirt mixed with water
and straw. The mud was poured into wooden molds and left to dry
in the sun (or baked in kilns).
 Its four corners were oriented towards the cardinal points.
 Priests conduct ceremonies at the fire altar on top.

EXAMPLE

Ziggurat of Ur
Tell el-Muqayyar, Iraq.
A temple dedicated to the moon god built by the Sumerian ruler, Ur Nammu, and his
successors around 2125 B.C.

BABYLONIAN (2000 – 1600 B.C.)

 The last great Mesopotamian city-empire of the ancient age.

 Architecture characterized by mud-brick construction, had walls articulated by pilasters and recesses,
sometimes faced with burnt and glazed brick.
 Palaces and temples were decorated with enameled brick friezes of bulls and lions.

EXAMPLES
Tower of Babel
Lucas van Valckenborch, 1594

As described in the Bible, this structure may have been built in Babylon around
600 B.C. by King Nebuchadnezzar II to “rival heaven.”
Herodotus rcorded that the ziggurat had 7 tiers covered in glazed tiles. The tower
may have risen to a height of 300 feet and may have been used as a temple for
worshipping Marduk, the god of the city of Babylon.
 Hanging Gardens
One of the “Seven Wonders of the Ancient World”

A royal palace constructed of mud brick walls were covered with glazed, colored
tiles decorated with animal reliefs. Legend says that the sumptuous palace was
terraced with lush gardens that were irrigated by water pumped from the
Euphrates.

Ishtar Gate
Reconstructed, Pergamon Museum, Berlin
Large, four-storey portal dominating the processional avenue through the city. It was
covered in glazed bricks, colorful tiles, and decorative figures of bulls and dragons.

ASSYRIAN (900-700 B.C.)

 Palaces took precedence over religious buidings.

 Architecture was characterized by mud-brick buildings. Stone was used for carved monumental
decorative sculptures.
 External walls were plainly treated, but ornamented with carved relief sculpture or with polychrome
bricks.
 Interior courts were all large, and filled with columns.

EXAMPLES
Dur-Sharrukin
Palace of Sargon, Khorsabad, Iraq. Sargon II.
Squarish parallelogram city, with the palace, temples, and government buildings
compressed within the walls. Palace, public reception rooms, inner court, and
harem. Temple with 7-staged ziggurat. Stables, kitchen, bakery, and wine cellar.

Apartments in an Assyria Palace

Seraglio, palace propert
Haram, private chamber
Khan, service chamber

*View of palace compound of Dur-Sharrukin

(Khorasabad).
PERSIAN (500-331 B.C.)

 Characterized by a synthesis of architectural elements of surrounding countries, such as Assyria,

Egypt, and Ionian Greece.

EXAMPLES
Persepolis
Fars Province, Iran, Darius.
Darius designed his own capital city, Persepolis – “the city of Persians,”
as the Greeks called it - located 10 kilometers to the southwest and
closer to the fertile lands along the coast.

Apadana, a great audience hall.

Throne room, “Hall of a hundred columns.”
Palaces of Darius and Xerxes I
Harem
Council Hall
Store rooms
Hillside tombs

No shrine or temple has been identified.

Plan: Palace complex at Persepolis

1) Staircase at Persepois;
2) Part of the Palace complex. (Assyrian and Greek influences).

QUICK RECAP: MESOPOTAMIAN

 Sumerians: mud-brick; Ziggurat of Ur
 Babylonians: mud-brick with glazed tiles; Tower of Babel, Hanging Gardens
 Assyrians: mud-brick with stone monuments; Palace of Sargon/Dur Sharrukin ■
 Persians: hybrid of influences; Persepolis