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2 The Ancient Near East

Sumer
When humans first gave up the roles of hunter and gatherer for the more predictable life of farmer and gatherer, this revolutionary change in daily life-this Neolithic Revolution as it is known,-first occurred in Mesopotamia, a Greek word that means the "land between the [Tigris and Euphrates] rivers The ancient near east rediscovered: As the region that gave birth to three of the world's great modern faiths-Judaism, Christianity, and Islamthe Near East long has been of interest to history and religion students.

The first city-states: Ancient Sumer was not a unified nation but was made up of a dozen or so independent city-states. Each was thought to be under the protection of a different Mesopotamian deity. City planning and religion: The Sumerian city plan reflected the central role of the local god in the daily life of the of he city-states occupants. The temple was not only the focus of local religious practive but also an administrative and economic center. Uruk s White Temple: The Sumerians built towering stepped platforms of mud bricks called ziggurats, with a temple on the summit. Usually only the foundations of early Mesopotamian temples can be recognized. The White Temple is a rare exception. 2-2: White Temple and ziggurat, Uruk (modern Warka), Iraq, ca. 3200 3000 BCE.

Akkad and The Third Dynasty of Ur

SUMER The Sumerians occupied the lower valley between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now southern Iraq. They established urban communities and developed the earliest known writing system. Beginning around 3200 BCE, the Sumerians constructed ziggurats and produced small-scale sculptures and objects carved from alabaster, gypsum, lapis lazuli, limestone, marble, and wood. Details and decorative elements were often inlaid using shell, lapis lazuli, red limestone, black limestone, and gold. 2-1: Hammurabi and Shamash, detail of the Stele of Hammurabi (FIG. 217), from Susa, Iran, ca. 1780 BCE.

2-3: Reconstruction drawing of the White Temple and ziggurat, Uruk (modern Warka), Iraq, ca. 3200 3000 BCE (after S. E. Piggott).

A marble-and-gold Inanna?: A lifelike head of a woman carved from imported white marble originally had inlaid eyes and eyebrows and other attachments such as a wig.

The eunuch of Mari: Another group of Sumerian votive statuettes comes from the Temple of Ishtar at Mari. Of particular 2-4: Female head (Inanna?), from Uruk (modern Warka), Iraq, ca. 3200 3000 BCE. Marble, approx. 8" high. Iraq Museum, Baghdad. interest is the figure of Urnan she depicted beardless but with straight hair to his waist, suggesting he was a eunuch. 2-7: Fragment of the victory stele of Eannatum (Stele of the Vultures), from Girsu (modern Telloh), Syria, ca. 2600 2500 BCE. Limestone, full stele Gifts for a goddess: A vase divided into three registers shows animals, a procession of naked men, and a "priest-king" bringing offerings to a female priestess or goddess. 2-5: Presentation of offerings to Inanna (Warka Vase), from Uruk, Iraq, ca. 3200 3000 BCE. Alabaster, 3 1/4" high. Iraq Museum, Baghdad. Eshnunna s perpetual worshipers: Statuettes show standing men and women of varying size with large eyes and tiny hands clasped in a gesture of prayer or holding a small beaker. Another statuette shows the seated figure of the court singer Urnanshe in prayer. 2-6: Statuettes of worshipers, from the Square Temple at Eshnunna (modern Tell Asmar), Iraq, ca. 2700 BCE. Gypsum inlaid with shell and black limestone, tallest figure approx. 2 6" high. Iraq Museum, Baghdad. 2-9: Peace side of the Standard of Ur, from Tomb 779, Royal Cemetery, Ur (modern Tell Muqayyar), Iraq, ca. 2600 BCE. Wood inlaid with shell, lapis lazuli, and red limestone, approx. 8" x 1 7". British Museum, London. War and peace: The spoils of war as well as farming and trade brought considerable wealth to some of the citystates of ancient Sumer. 2-8: War side of the Standard of Ur, from Tomb 779, Royal Cemetery, Ur (modern Tell Muqayyar), Iraq, ca. 2600 BCE. Wood inlaid with shell, lapis lazuli, and red limestone, approx. 8" x 1 7". British Museum, London. approx. 5 11" high. Louvre, Paris.

Animal actors: A bearded bull's head decorates the sound box of a Sumerian lyre. Other imaginary composite creatures decorate a panel on the sound box itself. 2-10: Bull-headed lyre (restored) from Tomb 789 ("King s Grave"), Royal Cemetery, Ur (modern Tell Muqayyar), Iraq, ca. 2600 BCE. Gold leaf and lapis lazuli over a wooden core, approx. 5 5" high. University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

Sumerian art in miniature: A man and a woman sit and drink from beakers in a banquet scene carved in miniature on a cylinder seal. 2-12: Banquet scene, cylinder seal (left) and its modern impression (right), from the tomb of Pu-abi (tomb 800), Royal Cemetery, Ur (modern Tell Muqayyar), Iraq, ca. 2600 BCE. Lapis lazuli, approx. 2" high. British Museum, London.

Second Millennium BCE

AKKAD AND THE THIRD DYNASTY OF UR The first near eastern kings: In 2334 B.C., Sumeria came under the domination of the Semitic ruler Sargon, whose city, Akkad, gave its name to the language and the culture. The art of this time focuses on exhibiting the status and power of male rulers. Their victories in war and laws are recorded on upright stone slabs. Imperial majesty in copper: A life-size, hollow-cast copper head with inlaid eyes 2-11: Soundbox of the lyre from Tomb 789, Royal Cemetery, Ur (modern Tell Muqayyar), Iraq, ca. 2600 BCE. Wood with inlaid gold, lapis lazuli, and shell, approx. 1 7" high. University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. 2-12: Head of an Akkadian ruler, from Nineveh (modern Kuyunjik), Iraq, ca. 22502200 B.C. COPPER, 1' 2 3/8" HIGH. IRAQ MUSEUM, BAGHDAD. (now lost) and a curly beard show a high level of skill in metalworking.

A god-king crushes an enemy: A stone marker carved in relief commemorates the victory of a king and his army in the wooded Iranian mountains. 2-15: Ziggurat (northeastern fa ade with restored stairs), Ur (modern Tell Muqayyar), Iraq, ca. 2100 B.C.

2-13: Victory stele of Naram-Sin, from Susa, Iran, 22542218 B.C. PINK SANDSTONE, APPROX. 6' 7" HIGH. LOUVRE, PARIS.

Gudea's diorite portraits: The most conspicuous, preserved sculptural monuments of the Neo-Sumerian age portray the ensi of Lagash, Gudea. 2-16: Seated statue of Gudea holding temple plan, from Girsu (modern Telloh), Iraq, ca. 2100 B.C. DIORITE, APPROX. 2' 5" HIGH. LOUVRE, PARIS. Hammurabi and the

2-14: Votive disk of Enheduanna, from Ur (modern Tell Muqayyar), Iraq, ca.2300 2275 BCE. 2-17: Stele with law code of The resurgence of Sumer: When Akkadian domination ended, Sumerian culture was revived. The new Sumerian kings built a huge stepped ziggurat with long ramp-like stairways at the royal city of Ur. The Neo-Sumerian ruler Gudea had numerous statues carved in his image. Hammurabi (upper part), from

rise of Babylon

A stone pillar features a relief carving at the top and text inscribed below.

Susa, Iran, ca. 1780 B.C. BASALT. LOUVRE, APPROX. 7'4" HIGH, PARIS.

Ishtar grants power to a new king: A mural survived from a royal palace destroyed by Hammurabi in 1757 B.C. A hittite fortress in Turkey: The Hittites in Anatolia built a city fortified with stone walls and towers with a pair of carved stone lions at the main gateway. 2-18: Lion Gate, Boghazk y, Turkey, ca. 1400 B.C. LIMESTONE, APPROX. 7' HIGH.

Assyrian fortress-palaces: The Assyrians undertook ambitious building projects, such as the citadel of Sargon II, which was decorated with large-scale stone sculptures of lamassu and with relief carvings illustrating the king's prowess in war and hunting. 2-20: Reconstruction drawing of the citadel of Sargon II, Dur Sharrukin (modern Khorsabad), Iraq, ca. 720705 BCE (after Charles Altman).

Monstrous guardians:

Assyria
MIDDLE ELAMITE AND ASSYRIAN ART The Elamite Empire lasted until 641 BCE, when its capital city, Susa, was destroyed by the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal. Elam at its height: To the east of Sumer, Akkad, and Babylon, in what is western Iran today, a civilization flourished that historians refer to by the Biblical name Elam. Napir-asu's immovable portrait: A statue cast, weighing 3,760 pounds, features a solid bronze core and an outer surface of hollow-cast copper. 2-19: Statue of Queen Napir-Asu, from Susa, Iran, ca. 1350-1300 BCE. Bronze and copper, 4' 2 3/4 high. Louvre, Paris.

Guarding the gate to Sargon's palace were colossal limestone monsters. 2-21: Lamassu (winged, human-headed bull), from the citadel of Sargon II, Dur Sharrukin (modern Khorsabad), Iraq, ca. 720-705 BCE. Limestone, approx. 13' 10 high. Louvre, Paris.

Chronicles of great deeds: For their palace walls the Assyrian kings commissioned extensive series of narrative reliefs

exalting royal power and piety. The degree of documentary detail in the Assyrian reliefs is without parallel in the ancient Near East. 2-22: Assyrian archers pursuing enemies, relief from the Northwest Palace of Ashurnasirpal II, Kalhu (modern Nimrud), Iraq, ca. 875-860 BCE. Gypsum, 2' 10 5/8 high. British Museum, London.

century BCE and became part of the great Persian Empire. The Persian kings built a fortified royal palace at Persepolis. Wondrous Babylon: King Nebuchadnezzar II, restored Babylon to its rank as one of the great cities of antiquity. The cities *hanging gardens* were counted as among the Seven Wonders of the ancient world and its enormous ziggurat was immortalized in the Bible as the Tower of Babel. 2-24: Ishtar Gate (restored), Babylon, Iraq, ca. 575 BCE. Glazed brick. Staatliche Museen, Berlin.

Noble animal adversaries: Two centuries later, sculptors carved hunting reliefs for the Nineveh palace of the conqueror of Elamite Susa, Ashurbanipal. 2-23: Ashurbanipal hunting lions, relief from the North Palace of Ashurbanipal, Nineveh (modern Kuyunjik), Iraq, ca. 645-640 BCE. Gypsum, 5' 4 high. British Museum, London.

Imperial Persepolis: The most important source of knowledge about Persian art and architecture is the ceremonial and administrative complex on the citadel at Persepolis. It was built between 521 and 465 BCE by Darius I (r. 522-48:6 BCE) and Xerxes (r. 486-46:5 BCE), successors of Cyrus. 2-25: Persepolis (royal audience hall in the background), Iran, ca. 521*465 BCE.

Neo-Babylonia and Persia

With the collapse of the Assyrian Empire, Babylonian kings reestablished their power in the south. The city of Babylon became one of the greatest cities of antiquity, famous for its "hanging gardens" and its enormous ziggurat. The city gate was faced with blue-glazed bricks and glazed bricks molded into reliefs of animals. The city was captured in the 6th

2-26: Ambassadors bringing gifts to the Persian king, reliefs on the terrace of the royal audience hall (apadana), Persepolis, Iran, ca. 521*465 BCE.

2-328: Triumph of Shapur I over Valerian, rock-cut relief, Bishapur, Iran, ca. 260 CE.

The Persian Empire was defeated by Alexander the Great in 330 BCE. A new Persian Empire ruled by Sasanian kings was established in 224 CE. The new Persian empire: With the conquest of Persia by Alexander the Great in 330 BCE, ancient Near Eastern history becomes part of Greek and Roman history. Shapur and Ctesiphon: The son and successor of Artaxerxes, Shapur I (r. 24127:2), succeeded in further extending Sasanian territory. 2-27: Palace of Shapur I, Ctesiphon, Iraq, ca. 250 CE.

Sasanian splendor: A silver head thought by many to portray Shapur II (r. 310 - 379), suggests the splendor of Sasanian court life.