The document summarizes early cultures in Mesopotamia between 2500-2000 BCE. It describes the Great Bath of Mohenjo-Daro and its ritual and social importance. It discusses the early lower Mesopotamian cities like Eridu, Ur, Uruk and Lagash that formed economic networks. It outlines the rise of the Akkadian empire under Sargon, the first successful ruler, and his concepts that replaced rural allegiance with allegiance to the ruler. Finally, it summarizes Mesopotamian religious beliefs centered around temples, gods like Anu, Enlil, and Ea, and the importance of ziggurats like in the city of Ur.

1. History andTheory of Architecture (1) - 0902241
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Lecture 5 part 2
University of Jordan
Faculty of Engineering
Department of Architecture

2. Early Cultures 2500 BCE
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3. The great bath of Mohenjo-Daro
- Located at the Intersection of major streets
- The social center of the city
- 12 by 7 meter open to the sky pool lined by burned bricks
- Two symmetrical stairs
- Surrounded by a narrow deep water channel
- Series of rooms and a well
- wooden second floor
- controlled access from the south
- Was connected to a Ritual concerning ashes
- The dominance of water in their ideology was known because of
this bath
- The large platform to the west formed by a group of 27 blocks of
brickwork and ventilation channels
- Eventually rivers dried up and cities were abandoned, so the bath
was converted into a workshop
_ what actually happened to the people there and the act of
abandonment hasn’t been cleared yet. 23/12/2022
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4. Early Lower Mesopotamia
With the evolution of commerce and trade developing
toward India to the south; toward Sialk, a metal-producing
city on the other side of the Zagros Mountains; as well as,
of course, toward points northward.
This formed a larger economic environment consisting
of Eridu, Ur, Uruk, Lagash, and, farther to the east, Susa,
which lay on the Karun River.
In Lagash, the remaining parts of a storage facility
were found, which contained supplies of grain and figs as
well as vessels, weapons, figures, and various different
articles associated with the utilization and organization of
royal residence and temples. This alongside Memphis in
Egypt was one of the largest cities in the world in spite
of the fact that it's not that large compared to modern
cities. The economy of the Sumerians was along these
lines twofold: a northward-looking Mesopotamian-based
one, and a southward-looking exchange economy with
the proto-Persians and Indus River urban areas.
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5. Early empires of Mesopotamia
In order for the payment of irrigation
costs to be fulfilled, a community should
have a complex and centralized social
system, so in spite of the fact that
settlements in the upper reaches of the
Furat area date way back, but without
the social system this cannot be
achieved. Sumerians were the first to
achieve this but were soon followed by
akkadians. No one knows when the
Akkadians began to sneak To the center
of Mesopotamia, nor their origins, but by
2300 BC the akkadians were dominant
in the vicinity of modern Baghdad and
farther north along the rivers.
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6. - With the rise of Sargon, who ruled from about 2334 to 2279 BC, the Akkadians came to dominate Mesopotamia-
- Sargon's Center was the first successful center
- His capital, Agade, is located on the Euphrates River
- His concepts had an impact on the culture of Mesopotamia
- Rural allegiance to the village was replaced by allegiance to the ruler
- The statue of the head that expressed the concept of loyalty to the governor, in Nineveh
- Architecturally, the idea of the administrative center was expressed in a vast palace
- To get an idea of Akkadian architecture, Tell Brak was studied. There we find a giant building heavily fortified with
a series of very large courts, which has the purpose of controlling the southern entrance of the city. (Example of
large administrative buildings)
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7. The Palace of Naram-Sin
The head statue
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8. - The survival of Mesopotamia was suddenly dependent on the kingdoms of the Sumerian south when
tribes from the mountainous north-east who descended into the plains overthrew the Akkadian
dynasty
- Unification under the kings of Ur (2112–2004 BCE), who accepted the innovations of Sumerians
- To the east, there was a parallel kingdom of Elamites, known for its mineral skills, which developed
urban and religious practices similar to those of the Sumerians
- Initially, the Euphrates and Lower Plateau regions were almost equal, but the Sumerians had a huge
advantage: river wetlands between the Tigris and the Euphrates.
- The kings of Ur believed that kingship was a god given gift to one city at a time, where they viewed
themselves as a gift to guide and protect the people.
- The priests, in essence, were the managers of the city's economy and infrastructure
- Thus, the political structure was a kind of social theocracy (religious ruling) in which all citizens work
in their various capacities in the service of the state.
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9. Scientific and religious texts reveal that there were more than three
thousand gods and other demons that govern even non-living objects
such as temples and brick molds in Mesopotamia
-Anu- Chief god
-Enlil- the god of the earth or the storm
-Ea- the god of the waterfront in the "Eredo."
-Nana- the moon god who ruled in Ur, was among a group of gods at a
slightly lower level. ( measured time and gave fertility)
Senior Pentionians were the patron goddesses of individual cities,
while the gods of lesser rank were associated with small urban
centers.
Some of these gods were common in some areas; some were part of
local communities.
Temples were also considered as the actual places of gods rather
than just a place to pray and connect.
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10. Zigurat in Ur
The religion of Mesopotamia was heavy in superstitions and secondary behavior. Life after death has
been described as a sad and curable state.
Burial was rare even though they had rituals to appease the dead.
The manufacture of customary statues was a duty, as the connection to gods was stronger by the
fulfillment of duties and constant vigilance.
Then the person carves into the statues and writes his name on it. He is then asked to bring the statues
he has made to his house for the ritual purification. In temples, a charged eye environment was created,
with the eyes of the applicant seeking to establish a connection between the profane and the sacred.
Returning from the other direction were silent commands of the gods, translated into words by priests.
This exchange was trading in the Ziggurats.
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11. These ziggurats also served as conjugal sites in Ur, which was associated with a small temple dedicated to the
mother god Nincorsag. She was represented by the Cow, while Nana, the moon god who ruled over Ur, was
sometimes referred to as the Ox.
Once a year the lady of the mountain is brought to the top of the zigurat as a statue by the priest to celebrate her
marriage.
There are similar ideas in Hinduism and ancient Greece, with the celebration of Sufi marriage
The Zegurat building in Ur was one of the most impressive buildings of the time, and its remains are still present in
Tel Al Muqarrar in Iraq.
Some reconstruction drawings show that they are a self-contained object similar to the Egyptian pyramid. It was
surrounded to the east by walls which had a large sanctuary in the form of a square dedicated to Nana's divine wife,
Nigel inside. Eventually its entire collection of defensive walls was closed.
The city of Ur was almost elliptical, with the Euphrates River wandering aroundThe two sides. There were ports on
both the northern and western sides. The surrounding walls, as in all the cities of Mesopotamia, were meant for
astonishment and protection.
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12. Some reconstruction drawings show that they are a self-contained object
similar to the Egyptian pyramid. It was surrounded to the east by walls which had a
large sanctuary in the form of a square dedicated to Nana's divine husband, Nigel
inside. Eventually its entire collection of defensive walls was closed.
The city of Ur was almost elliptical, with the Euphrates River wandering around
The two sides. There were ports on both the northern and western sides. The
surrounding walls, as in all the cities of Mesopotamia, were meant for astonishment
and protection
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14. The zeggurats were measured 65 meters at a distance of 100 meters at their
base, and their height was 21 meters, consisting of three terraces with the Holy
Shrine on one top.
Three huge ladders rose up to the north-eastern side Then there's the central
staircase to the 2nd level and then to the third. The entrance to the court was not
from the front but from the gate at one of its corners.
The bricks were stamped with the inscription : "Ur Namo, King of Ur, who built the
temple of Nana"
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15. The sides were folded together smoothly and painted to serve as a visible key to the cosmological
narrative, the main person who was (Abso), the primitive water god who was considered the father of
earth and paradise. Despite its importance, it was defeated and killed by the (EIA), which turned Abso into
stagnant groundwater.
The lowest balcony was painted white representing (abso). The next balcony, was black, (EIA) . The top
level was red, representing the sun and air. The blue sky above the earth was represented by the blue
tiles found on top. Here, the geographical simulation was replaced by architectural abstraction.
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