Week 3: The Ancient Near East:
Overview
Our study of the Ancient Near East focuses mainly on the region known as the Fertile
Crescent, which runs north along the Lebanese Mediterranean coast toward north modern
Turkey, curves in a crescent shape through the land between the Tigris and Euphrates
rivers, near the borders of Turkey, Syria, and Iraq, and continues downward through the
Zagros Mountains in present-day Iran.
Mesopotamia, which means “land between the rivers, is the name the Ancient Greeks gave
to the region that lay between the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers- Iraq, today. Al-Jazira is the
traditional Arabic name for the area of northeast modern-day Syria and northwest modernday Iraq which covers northern Mesopotamia. Al-Jazira means island or peninsula and is
also used to refer to land between river banks. The people of Sumer, the original inhabitants
of the land, called it Kalam, which in their language meant simply land.
Mesopotamia is often called the “cradle of civilization”, and its magnificent legacy includes
monumental architecture, an advanced system of writing- which means we are now in
history proper, systems of law, and the first example of epic literature (Gilgamesh). Ancient
Mesopotamian culture and civilization is also a story of great empires from Sumer to Assyria
to Babylonia, and finally to Persia, where Alexander the Great will put an end to it all.
Objectives
Upon completing this lesson, you will be able to:
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discuss the use of lamassus as a political display of power.
explain the development of the Fertile Crescent.
examine the development of agriculture and the emergence of specialized skills.
list the reasons why the people of Jericho fortified their city.
name the steps needed to form large city-states.
explain the reasons why Chatal Huyuk was simple to defend.
list the types of art that flourished in early cities.
discuss the development of the Sumerian culture in southern Mesopotamia.
list the “firsts” achieved by the Sumerians.
recognize the writing of cuneiform.
discuss the use and construction method of the ziggurat.
recognize the Sumerian Votive Figures as artistic and religious representations.
describe the registers of The Great Lyre with Bull’s Head.
discuss the uses and artistic achievement of the Sumerian cylinder seals.
recognize the copper alloy Head of a Man as a hollow-cast sculpture.
recognize the stele of Naram-Sin as a historical document.
recognize the images of Gudea.
discuss the importance of iron to the Hittites.
explain the importance of the Assyrian palace complex.
assess the Neo-Babylonians as patrons of architectural construction.
explain the Persian contribution to coinage.
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Reading
Stokstad: Chapter 2: Art of the Ancient Near East
Handouts (articles on the role of women in ancient Mesopotamia, on the destruction of art
and artifacts in Iraq, and excerpts from Hammurabi’s Code)
Study Guide
This is a dense chapter, but it is also a fascinating one. Don’t try to remember everything at
once, but keep your focus on the amazing innovations and developments of the period.
It might help to make your own timeline so that you can appreciate the differences between
let’s say, Neolithic architecture in Europe (Skara Brae) and Neolithic architecture in the
Ancient Near East (Jericho, Chatal Huyuk). Comparisons are a very useful way to keep what
you are learning in perspective and to reveal other levels of significance. You could ask why
one geographic area develops at a different rate than another and look at the factors that
might contribute to that development, such as a more favorable climate.
As we learn about the art and architecture of the Ancient Near East, I would like to address
the very important question of cultural heritage, which lies at the heart of something like
“Art History”. So much of what we know comes from archeological study and the excavation
of artifact and material remains. Western museums have a long history of acquiring objects,
and the circumstances under which those acquisitions have been made are often
questionable. Sadly and tragically, the war in and occupation of Iraq provides us with too
many examples of the destruction and theft of a nation’s cultural property. If you have the
3rd edition of the textbook, the box insert Art as spoils of war- protection or theft?
found on page 31 of the chapter is a good introduction to this topic. If you have an older
edition, just read the handouts that I provide; they cover the same topic- or go read the
textbook that is on reserve in the BHCC library.
Key images
Human-Headed Winged Lion, Colossal gateway figure from the Palace of Assurnasirpal
II, Mesopotamia, Assyria, Kalhu, 883-859 BCE, Alabaster; height 10’ 3 ½” (3.11 m), The
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (fig. 2-1)
Human Figure, Ain Ghazal, Jordan, c. 7000-6000 BCE, Fired lime plaster with cowrie shell,
bitumen, and paint; height approx. 35” (90 cm), National Museum, Amman, Jordan (fig. 24)
The Warka Head, Uruk, c. 3300-3000 BCE, Marble; height approx. 8” (20.3 cm), Iraq
Museum, Baghdad (fig. 2-6)
The Uruk Vase, Uruk, c. 3300-3000 BCE, Alabaster; height 36” (91 cm), Iraq Museum,
Bagdad (fig. 2-7)
Votive Figures, The Square Temple, Eshnunna, c. 2900-2600 BCE, Limestone, alabaster,
and gypsum; height of largest figure approx. 30” (76.3 cm), The Oriental Institute of the
University of Chicago (fig. 2-8)
The Great Lyre with Bull’s Head, Ur, c 2550-2400 BCE, Wood with gold, silver, lapis
lazuli, bitumen, and shell, reassembled in modern wood support; height of head 14” (35.6
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cm), University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia (fig.
2-10)
Head of a Man known as Akkadian Ruler, Nineveh, c. 2300-2200 BCE, Copper alloy;
height 14 ⅜” (36.5 cm), Iraq Museum, Bagdad (fig. 2-13)
Stele of Naram-Sin, Sippar, c. 2220-2184 BCE, Limestone; height 6’6” (1.98 m), Musée
du Louvre,
Paris (fig. 2-14)
Votive Statue of Gudea, Girsu, c. 2090 BCE, Diorite; height 29” (73.7 cm), Musée du
Louvre, Paris (fig. 2-15)
Ishtar Gate and Throne Room Wall, c. 575 BCE, Glazed brick; height of gate originally
40’ (12.2 m), Vorderasiatisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Preussischer
Kulturbesitz (fig. 2-21)
Air View of the Ceremonial Complex, Persepolis, Iran, 518-460 BCE (fig. 2-22)
Darius and Xerxes Receiving Tribute, Detail of a relief from the stairway leading to the
Apadana, Persepolis, Iran, 491-486 BCE, Limestone; height 8’4” (2.54 m), The Oriental
Institute of the University of Chicago (fig. 2-24)
Important places to identify:
Fertile Crescent
Tigris River
Euphrates River
Nimrud
Mesopotamia
Jericho
Ain Ghazal
Chatal Huyuk
Uruk
Babylon
Important terms from the chapter to define:
Assyrians
lamassus
city-state
Inanna
Ishtar/Ishtar Gate
Akkadians
obsidian
cuneiform
stylus
Epic of Gilgamesh
ziggurat
register
phonograms
votive figure
lyre
sistrum
iconography
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Persia
Darius I
Alexander the Great
Nebuchadnezzar
Hammurabi
Ashurnarsipal II
cylinder seal
stele
Naram-Sin
Gudea
hieratic scale
diorite
Amorites
Code of Hummurabi
citadel
palace complex
glaze(d)
crenellations
crenels
mushhushshu
daric
Assignments
In your class notebook: Then and Now: The Legacy of Mesopotamia
After you’ve read the chapter and all the supporting material, please briefly answer one of
the following questions in your class notebook:
1) The Sumerians are credited with many “firsts” in the history of the world. What are some
of these “firsts,” and how do we utilize them today?
2) How does Hammurabi’s code compare to contemporary codes of law and notions of
justice (read the excerpts from Hammurabi’s code that I have given you)?
3) Read the article on The Role of Women in Mesopotamia. How does the life of a
woman in ancient Mesopotamia differ from what you expect in your own culture? Is there
anything that remains the same?
In-class discussion topic: The Spoils of War
Please read the articles that I have given you and come to class prepared to discuss the following
questions:
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What are your reactions to the destruction and looting of artifacts from the Iraqi National Museum?
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Who is most to blame when artifacts are looted? The people who steal from their own cultural
heritage or the international buyers (museums, private collectors) who “acquire” the objects.
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How do you feel about the fact that the American and British troops destroyed significant
areas of ancient Babylon?
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