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Chapter 2 – Near East
Neolithic Revolution
• Human, no longer a hunter gatherer
• Now a farmer and herder
• Mesopotamia – core of a region called
• Turkey, Syria & Iraq
• Humans learned how to use the plow and wheel
• Three BIG faiths emerged Judaism, Christianity & Islam
Sumerian Gov’t Layout
• City States
• Each state is under the protection of a different Mesopotamian Deity.
• City planning and Religion- Sumerian City Plan reflected role of local god in the daily life of the occupants
Uruk – White Temple • Sumerians built towering stepped
platforms of mud bricks called Ziggurats w/ a temple on a 50 foot man made mound with a city around it
• Could not hold many worshippers• Central hall was set for deity• The Sumerian idea that gods reside
above the world of humans is central to most of the worlds religions
•
White Temple and Ziggurat – Uruk – Iraq 3200-3000BCE
Inanna? Uruk Iraq 3200-3000 BC
Goddess of Love & War• Hard stone• Possibly attached to
wood• Probably had more
items attached to her head- a wig, jewels and fabrics
Warka Vase – Alabaster – Hard stone 3200-3000BCE
• Depicts a religious festival to honor a goddess
• Blessing from deity• Crops, water, male,
female• Frieze ( 3 sections)• Communicates a point,
showing Conceptual Representation
Statuettes of Two Worshippers from the Square Temple @ Eshnunna – Iraq – 2700 BCE
• Found under the floors• Praying• Man and woman• Waiting for a deity to
appear• Child like• Simple forms, cylinders,
inlaid eyes with shells • Approx 3 feet high• Eyes larger than hands
Standard of UR- War & Peace 2600BCE
• Spoils of War and success in farming, brought considerable wealth to some of the city – states in ancient Sumer
• Historical Narrative• 3 Horizontal bands reads from left to
right
• War side – Donkeys • Stripped soldiers, prisoners• King figure centralized
• Carrying booty – victory and celebration
Cylinder Seals
Akkadian/ Neo Sumerian/ Babylonian & Hittite Art
• Saragon of Akkad• Copper Head – 2250-
2200BCE• Deliberate mutilation• Gouged eyes• Slashed ears• Naturalism and
abstract patterns
Naram- Sin – 2254- 2218
• Godlike sovereignty of Akkaid – Victory stele
• Grandson of Sargon – • Grandson leads his
victorious army up the slopes of a wooded mountain
• Routed enemies fall, die and beg for mercy
• King is alone and larger• Naram -sin scaling ladder
to heavens
Ziggurat – 2100BCELargest Ziggurat of UR-
• Mud brick solid mass• Lad in bitumen –
sticky substance binds together
• Temple stairs • Resurgence of Sumer
Seated – Gudea 2100BCE
• Seated or standing• Dressed in a long
garment• Diorite
Law Code of Hammurabi- 1780BCE
• Sumer Resurgence – short lived
• Centralized gov’t formed – Mesopotamia, Babylon.
• Hammurabi, famous for his conquests and his Law code
• Penalties for everything• Black Basalt stele• Hammurabi is with
Shamash the sun god• Fore shortening- god at a
angle
Babylon Empire sacked by Hittite
• Babylonians leave Hitties then leave behind strong city walls behind
• Very different from the brick arch that was common in Babylonian art
• Lions = guardians (7 ft)
• Trend of protecting area with a magical beast or monster( like in Egypt, Greece)
Middle Elamite and Assyrian Art
• This city is state in the bible (Elam)
• Elamites take the Hammurabi and Naram – sins steles, re-erect them in city of Susa – King Ashurbanipal destroys Elamin 641Bce
• Elamin would rise again as Persian empire
Statue of Queen Napir- Asu – 1350Bce
• Queen wife of powerful Elamite kings
• Cost• Bronze• Curse written on statue• Characteristics• -cylindrical• Strict frontality• Firm crossed hand • Feminine softness
Assyrian Fortress Palaces-Citadel of Sargon II 720-705BCE
• City walls – fears of outsiders
• 25 acres- 200 courtyards• Giant figures of the king• Guard rooms, service
quarters, 7 stories?, ramp spiraled around building
• Built -2000 yrs after Temple of Uruk
Lamassu – 720Bce
• Winged man -headed bulls ward off kings enemies
• Monster has 5 legs• A quarter view • Conceptual not
optical• High relief, partially in
the round
Assyrian archers pursuing enemies – relief from the NW palace of Ashurnaisrpal II – 875 -
860bce
• Archers and hunting were depicted in art to display an important part of power and piety
• Battlefield victories and slaying of wild animals
Ashurbanipal Hunting lions – Iraq –@ Ashurnasirpal II Palace
645-640BCE
• Clear story telling
• King, hunting – Why?
• http://www.ancientreplicas.com/ashurbanipal-hunting.html
Ishtar Gate
• Glazed bricks, molded reliefs of animals
• Real and imaginary
• Nebuchadnezzar II – restored Babylon to its rank of a great city
• Hanging gardens and enormous Ziggurat ( Tower of Babel) were created
Conclusion
• Birth of civilization/urban life
• Temples
• Monumental art, portraits of rules, etc