Chapter 5: Near East HOA-1 PDF

Chapter 5: Near East  Chapter 5: Near East INFLUENCES: GEOGRAPHICAL ❑ Comprising the countries of the Arabian Peninsula, Cyprus, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Israel,...

Chapter 5: Near East  Chapter 5: Near East INFLUENCES: GEOGRAPHICAL ❑ Comprising the countries of the Arabian Peninsula, Cyprus, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestinian territories, Syria, and Turkey. ❑ Started Villages on the flat between Tigris and Euphrates rivers – “Mesopotamia” ❑ MESOPOTAMIA (Greek – Mesos = Middle + Potamos = River). “Between Rivers” Chapter 5: Near East INFLUENCES: GEOLOGICAL ❑ Alluvial district of thick mud and clay deposited by the two great rivers, Tigris and Euphrates. ❑ No stone was found and no trees would grow. ❑ Materials: - Bricks (sun-dried or kiln-dried) - Glazed bricks of different colors - Bitumen used as cementing material  Chapter 5: Near East INFLUENCES: CLIMATIC ❑ Except for the humid Black sea and Caspian Littorals, most of the Near East is subject to extremes of temperature between winter and summer, the prevalence of heat or cold being determined principally by altitude. ❑ In much of the highland zone, winter is longer than summer. ❑ The MEGARON with its entrance at the end rather than in the long side, was thus suited to the climate of the climate of the Anatolian plateau, and perhaps too dry, exhilarating air of the Iranian plateau – Persepolis stands at an altitude of 1,800 m (6,000 ft). ❑ May account for the frequency of light, columned halls and porticoes in the Persian royal buildings. Chapter 5: Near East ❑ PERSEPOLIS – was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (c. 550–330 BC). ❑ Persepolis is derived from the Greek, Persepolis, a compound of Pérsēs and pólis together meaning "the Persian city" or "the city of the Persians". To the ancient Persians, the city was known as Pārsa- karta (Old Persian) which is also the word for the region of Persia. Ruins at Persepolis ❑ UNESCO declared the ruins of Persepolis a World Heritage Site in 1979. Chapter 5: Near East ❑ MEGARON – principal room of an Anatolian house. Consisting of an open porch, a vestibule, and a large hall with a central hearth and a throne. ❑ PORTICO – colonnaded porch or entrance to a structure, or a covered walkway supported by Portico regularly spaced Megaron columns. Chapter 5: Near East INFLUENCES: HISTORICAL, SOCIAL & RELIGIOUS a. MESOPOTAMIA – Sumerians, an “Asianic” people had been occupying the land from the first settlement of Eridu, by historical tradition and material evidence the oldest city of Sumer before Sargon. The cities of Mesopotamia had been ruled by individual governors. ❑ Often referred to as the cradle of civilization because it is the first place where complex urban Ruin at Eridu center grew. ❑ Among the Mesopotamian architectural accomplishments are the development of urban planning, the courtyard house, and ziggurats.  Chapter 5: Near East INFLUENCES: HISTORICAL, SOCIAL & RELIGIOUS b. ANATOLIA, LEVANT & IRAN – The archives of the Hittite Capital Hattusas are the main source of knowledge of the history and civilization and the Hittite State in the second millennium B.C. ❑ A major disruption occurred with the invasion of the sea peoples, bringing the Philistines to occupy part of the land which ahs ever since retained their name Palestine. c. PERSIAN EMPIRE – from relatively small state in south – west Iran, Cyrus the Great founder of the Acheamenian Empire, established the basis of his power by the defeat of his grandfather, Astyages the Mede. The rule of the Persians was not harsh, customs and religious of the conquered people were respected. Chapter 5: Near East INFLUENCES: HISTORICAL, SOCIAL & RELIGIOUS ❑ CUNEIFORM – one of the oldest forms of writing known. It means “wedge-shaped,” because people wrote it using a reed stylus cut to make a wedge-shaped mark on a clay tablet. ❑ The earliest writing we know of dates back to around 3,000 B.C.E. and was probably invented by the Sumerians. ❑ Cuneiform writing was used to record a variety of information such as temple activities, business and trade. Cuneiform was also used to write stories, myths, and personal letters. Chapter 5: Near East INFLUENCES: HISTORICAL, SOCIAL & RELIGIOUS ❑ CODE OF HAMMURABI – is a Babylonian legal text composed circa 1755-1750 B.C., found at the site of Susa (Iran). ❑ It is the longest, best organised, and best preserved legal text from the ancient Near East. ❑ It is written in the Old Babylonian dialect of Akkadian, purportedly by HAMMURABI, 6th King of the First Dynasty of Babylon. ❑ The primary copy of the text is inscribed on a basalt or diorite stele 2.25 m tall. ❑ The top of the stele features an image in relief of Hammurabi with Shamash, the Babylonian sun God and God of justice. ❑ Modern scholars responded to the code with admiration at its perceived fairness and respect for the rule of law. Chapter 5: Near East HISTORICAL CONDITION: The ancient architecture of West-Asiatic developed FROM 3000 BC TO 330 BC. in the following period. (a) Early Sumerian (3000—2000 BC) (b) Old Babylonian (2016-1595 BC) ---NEO Babylonian (626-539 BC) (c) Assyrian (1859—626 BC) (d) Persian (750—330 BC)  Chapter 5: Near East SUMERIAN ARCHITECTURE ❑ The transition from prehistory was made around 4500 BC with the rise of the Sumerian civilization. ❑ The major cities of the Sumerian civilization were Kish, Urukand, Ur. ❑ The Sumerian were the first civilization to make a conscious attempt of designing public buildings. ❑ Mud was their building material and was formed into brick, sun dried and built into massive walls. ❑ Walls were thick to compensate the weakness of mud and were reinforced with buttresses. ❑ Spaces were narrow because of the walling material ❑ Facade of buildings were white washed and painted to disguise the lack of attraction of the material.  Chapter 5: Near East SUMERIAN ARCHITECTURE ❑ Buttresses and recesses also relieve the monotony of the plastered wall surfaces. ❑ Temples was their major building type. ❑ Cities were enclosed in walls with Ziggurat temples and palace as centers of the city. ❑ Fabric of the city is made up of residences mixed with commercial and industrial buildings. ❑ The houses were densely packed with narrow streets between them. ❑ Streets were fronted by courtyard houses of one story high. ❑ The houses streets were usually punctuated by narrow openings that serve as entrance to houses. ❑ Temples were the principal architectural monuments of Sumerian cities. ❑ Temples consist of chief and city temples.  Chapter 5: Near East ❑ Uruk was a major Sumerian city by 3300 BC and built around 3000 BC. also known as warka in Arabic. ❑ IT is an example of earliest development of Sumerian temples and Ziggurat. ❑ The temple is place on a great mound of earth called Ziggurat, rising more than 12 meters above ground. ❑ The ziggurat and temple are built with mud bricks and rectangular in shape. ❑ Temple walls were thick and supported by buttresses. ❑ In the inner part of the temple was a long sanctuary, that contains an alter and offering table. ❑ Series of staircases and stepped levels lead worships to the entrance of the temple. WHITE TEMPLE (URUK) ❑ The temple was plastered white externally, making it Digital reconstruction of the White Temple visible for miles in the landscape. and ziggurat, Uruk (modern Warka)  Chapter 5: Near East ❑ It was constructed of mud bricks reinforced with thin layers of matting and cables of twisted reeds. ❑ The Great Ziggurat was located as part of a temple complex. ❑ The king was the chief priest of the temple and lived close to it. ❑ The temple sits on a three multi-tiered Ziggurat mountain. ❑ The temple is usually accessed only by the priest, where gods are believed to come down and give instructions. ❑ The people believed that climbing the staircase of the ziggurat gives a holy experience. GREAT ZIGGURAT UR ❑ The chief temple was also used as a last line of built around 2100 B.C.E. by the king Ur- defense during times of war. Nammu  Chapter 5: Near East BABYLONIAN ARCHITECTURE ❑ After the fall of Nineveh in 612 BC and the end of the Assyrian civilization, focus of Mesopotamian civilization shifted to old Babylon. ❑ A new dynasty of kings, including Nebuchadnezzar, revived old Babylonian culture to create a Neo-Babylonian civilization. ❑ Old Sumerian cities were rebuilt. The capital old Babylon was enlarged and heavily fortified. ❑ The capital old Babylon was enlarged and heavily fortified and magnificent new buildings were built. ❑ The traditional style of Mesopotamian building reached its peak during the period. Traditional building was enhanced by a new form of facade ornament consisting of figures designed in colored glazed brick work. Chapter 5: Near East CITY OF BABYLON ❑ The city of Babylon is shaped in the form of a quadrangle sitting across and pierced by the Euphrates. ❑ The city was surrounded by a fortification of double walls. ❑ These had defensive towers that project well above the walls. ❑ The walls also had a large moat in front, which was also used for navigation. ❑ The length of the wall and moat is about five and a quarter miles. ❑ The city had a palace located on its northern side on the outer wall.  Chapter 5: Near East ❑ From the palace originated a procession street that cuts through the city raised above the ground to the tower of Babel. ❑ The procession street enters the city through the famous Ishtar gate. ❑ The Ishtar gate is built across the double walls of the city fortification. ❑ The gate had a pair of projecting towers on each wall. ISHTAR GATE enormous burnt-brick entryway located over the main thoroughfare in the ancient city of Babylon (now in Iraq). Chapter 5: Near East ❑ All the facades of gates and adjoining streets were faced with blue glazed bricks and ornamented with figures of heraldic animals-lions, bulls, and dragons. ❑ These were modelled in relief and glazed in other colors. ❑ None of the buildings of old Babylon has survived to the present age. Chapter 5: Near East ❑ King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had the gardens built as a gift to his wife Semiramis, a Persian princess, to ease her homesickness for the green forests of her homeland. ❑ Nebuchadnezzar’s palace covered a land area of 900 feet by 600 feet. ❑ It had administrative offices, barracks, the king’s harem, private apartment all arranged around five courtyards. ❑ The palace is also praised for its legendary hanging garden. Hanging Gardens of ❑ This is recorded as one of the seven wonders of the Babylon ancient world, but exact knowledge of the nature of this garden is not known.  Chapter 5: Near East ASSYRIAN ARCHITECTURE ❑ The principal cities of Assyria were Nineveh, Dun, Khorsabad, Nimrudand Assur. ❑ The Assyrians were great warriors and hunters, and this was reflected in their art. ❑ They produced violent sculptures and relief carving in stone that was used to ornament their houses. ❑ During the Assyrian periods, temples lost their importance to palaces. ❑ Palaces were raised on brick platforms, and their principal entrance ways were flanked by guardian figures of human headed bulls or lions of stone. ❑ Their halls and corridors were lined with pictures and inscriptions carved in relief on stone slabs up to 9 feet high. ❑ The interiors were richly decorated and luxurious. ❑ The walls of cities were usually strengthened by many towers serving as defensive positions. Chapter 5: Near East ❑ The palace is approached at ground level through a walled citadel. ❑ Within the citadel is found the main palace, two minor palaces and a temple dedicated to Nabu. ❑ The main palace was set on a platform located on the northern side of the citadel. PALACE OF SARGON AT KHORSABAD ❑ All the buildings within the citadel were arranged around courtyards. Chapter 5: Near East ❑ The palace was arranged around two major courtyards about which were grouped smaller courtyards. ❑ The palace consisted of large and smaller rooms with the throne room being the largest. ❑ The building was decorated with relief sculpture and glazed brick. PALACE OF SARGON AT KHORSABAD  Chapter 5: Near East ❑ In the second millennium B.C., the Assyrian state had to struggle for its existence. ❑ Polychrome ornamental brickwork, introduced by the Assyrian, had its origins in these early centuries. ❑ Temples both with and without Ziggurats were built in Assyrian. ❑ In the reign of Ashurnasirpal II (883-859 B.C.), the use of high plinths or dadoes of POLYCHROME BRICKWORK – is a style of architectural brickwork wherein bricks of great stone slabs placed on edge and different colors are used to create decorative usually carved with low relief sculpture patterns or highlight architectural features in the appeared. walls of a building.  Chapter 5: Near East PERSIAN ARCHITECTURE ❑ Their architectural solutions were a synthesis of ideas gathered from almost all parts of their empire and from the Greeks and Egyptians. ❑ Their materials of construction was also from different locations. ❑ Material included mud-brick from Babylon, wooden roof beams from Lebanon, precious material from India and Egypt, Stone columns quarried and carved by Ionic Greeks. ❑ Despite sourcing materials and ideas from different areas, their architecture was original and distinctive in style. Chapter 5: Near East The palace consisted of three parts: 1) An approach of monumental staircases, gate ways and avenues. 2) Two great state halls towards the center of the platform. 3) The palace of Xerxes, the harem, and other living quarters at the south end of the site. Chapter 5: Near East ❑ Their capital combine Greek motifs with Egyptian palm leaf topped by an impost of paired beast. ❑ Another famous aspect of the palace at Persepolis was the throne room also known as hall of a 100 columns. ❑ The columns in the room were 37 feet high, with a diameter of only 3 feet. ❑ They were spaced 20 feet apart or seven diameters from axis to axis. The slim nature of the column created room and spacious feeling in the room when compared to the audience hall. Chapter 5: Near East ❑ The monumental entrance to Persepolis is also one of the unique aspects of the Palace. ❑ The monumental gateway ensure a dramatic entry to the Palace. ❑ It was heavily adorned with relief sculpture ornamenting its stairway. ❑ The relief structure addresses different themes relating to the role of Persepolis as the capital of the Persian Empire. ❑ In some places, the sculpture shows delegates from the different parts of the PALACE OF PERSEPOLIS VIEW OF STAIRWAY Persian bringing gifts and rare animals to the king during celebrations. Chapter 5: Near East APADANA PALACE ❑ Darius I built the greatest palace at Persepolis on the western side of platform. The King of Kings used it for official audiences. The work began in 518 BC, and his son, Xerxes I, completed it 30 years later. ❑ The palace had a grand hall in the shape of a square, each side 60 metres (200 ft) long with seventy-two columns, thirteen Ruins of the Apadana, of which still stand on the enormous Persepolis platform. Each column is 19 metres (62 Bull capital at ft) high with a square Taurus (bull) and Persepolis plinth.  Chapter 5: Near East NIMRUD ❑ An ancient Assyrian city located in Iraq, it was a major Assyrian city between approximately 1350 BC and 610 BC. LAMASSU ❑ A Assyrian protective deity. ❑ Initially depicted as a goddess in Sumerian times, when it was called Lamma, it was later depicted from Assyrian times as a hybrid of a human, bird, and either a bull or lion— specifically having a human head, the Winged Deity, Nimrud body of a bull or a lion, and bird wings, Palace Gate of Nimrud under the name Lamassu. The Historical Timeline of Architecture Pre-Columbian America