This lecture provides an overview of early Mesopotamian civilization between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. It discusses the geography and climate of the region, known as the Fertile Crescent, which allowed for the development of irrigation-based agriculture and urban settlements. Sumerians were the first to settle the region around 5000 BC, developing dams, canals and cities like Uruk and Ur. Writing and other innovations emerged as cities grew in size and complexity between 3500-3000 BC. Social classes and kingship developed, with temples becoming important religious and administrative centers marked by ziggurats.

1. Abhishek K. Venkitaraman
Assistant Professor
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE
LECTURE 2
Mesopotamian

4. Ea rl y H um a n Mi grati on out of A f ri ca
Earliest Homo Sapien
fossils have been
found in Ethiopia
Africa West Asia Europe
East & South
Asia
North America South America
Australia

6. natural determinants
topography (location)
climate
natural resources, building materials and technology
man-made determinants
trade
political power
religion
defense
mobility

8. EARLY CIVILIZATIONS

9. L ocati on of A nci e nt Me s opota m i a n Ci vi l i zati on

10. L ocati on of A nci e nt Me s opota m i a n Ci vi l i zati on
This civilization rose in the valleys
between the Tigris and Euphrates
rivers (source in Turkey).
Mostly dry desert climate, except in
the region between 2 rivers
The rivers flood every year and leave
behind a thick bed of silt
It is termed as the Fertile Crescent –
dense network of cities and villages,
grain- bearing valleys

11. Alluvial soil plain between 2 rivers
Mesopotamia – In Greek mesos = middle, potamos = rivers
Northern part is known as Akkad and south as Sumer
South west – Arabian desert, South east – Persian gulf,
North – Zagros mountains
Natural defense boundaries were absent
Arid landscape in which farming was impossible without
irrigation
A network of canals, irrigation channels and levees was
developed
Rivers caused floods seasonally – April and May
Since 4000 BCE, the coastline has shifted outwards by 100
miles in the southern plain of Iraq
Shi f ti ng of the Coa stl i ne

12. ANCIENT
MESOPOTAMIA
Oldest known
civilization
Cradle of Human
Civilization
Ziggurat
Hanging gardens

15. FIRST SUMERIANS
Sumerians first arrived in region around 5000 BC
◦ Typical Paleolithic people motivated by search for
game
◦ Settled in region and took up farming
◦ Built dams, dikes, and short canals to use water from
the Euphrates
◦ Grew barley and dates and raised sheep and goats

16. SUMERIAN AGRICULTURE
Each was crisscrossed by irrigation
system of major canals and minor
channels
◦ Designed to bring water from Euphrates to
farmland
Farmland divided into square and
rectangle-shaped plots
◦ Farmers worked land with plows, seed-drills,
and stone hoes and received yield of 40:1
Other areas set aside as gardens and fruit
orchards
Carts pulled by donkeys and boats on the
canals took produce to the urban center
itself

17. SOCIAL CLASSES
Establishment of a social hierarchy where some
people had more power, wealth, and privileges than
others
Equality originally prevailed in Sumerian city-states
◦ But divisions soon appeared
◦ First group to claim special privileges and status were
priests
◦ Gave up working and began to live off work of others
◦ Temples given huge tracts of land which priests
rented in small parcels to farmers
The King
The
Governors
The
Aristocracy
The
Peasantry

18. SLAVERY
Originated with practice of men selling
themselves and/or their families to pay
off debts
◦ Supplemented by using prisoners of
war as slaves

19. Demand for slaves increased as
civilization progressed
◦ Advance of civilization did not bring
same benefits to everyone
◦ Some benefited a great deal
◦ Others saw a deterioration in their situation
Civilization brought important benefits
but it also introduced inequality,
exploitation, taxes, and slavery

20. The Beginnings of Writing
Farmers needed to keep records.
The Sumerians were very good farmers. They raised
animals such as goats and cows. Because they needed to
keep records of their livestock, food, and other things,
officials began using tokens.
Tokens were used for trade.
Clay tokens came in different shapes and sizes. These
represented different objects. The number of tokens
began to be pressed on the outside of the clay balls. Many
experts believe that this is how writing on clay tablets
began.
A system of writing develops.
The earliest form of writing dates back to 3300 B.C.
People back then would draw "word-pictures" on clay
tablets using a pointed instrument called a stylus.
These "word-pictures" then developed into wedge-shaped
signs. This type of script was called cuneiform (from the
Latin word cuneus which means wedge).
Who used cuneiform?
Not everyone learned to read and write. The ones that were
picked by the gods were called scribes. Boys that were
chosen to become scribes (professional writers) began

23. Geography
This civilization rose in the
valleys between the Tigris
and Euphrates rivers.
Some say this Fertile Crescent
was the real Garden of Eden.

24. The layout of cities:
There is not enough at the lower levels of explored mounds to give us a total image of
the Mesopotamian city before the Early Dynastic Period. By then a dozen or so cities
containing from 10,000 to 50,000 people prospered, both in lower Mesopotamia or
Sumer and further north in Babylonia.

25. SUMERIAN
CITY-STATES
City-states gradually emerged over next
1000 years
◦ Ur, Uruk, Lagash, Nippur, Kish, Umma, etc.
◦ Larger than Neolithic settlements and
displayed evidence of economic
specialization and strong political
organization
Included the urban center plus
surrounding countryside
◦ Each was also an independent political unit
Lagash
In the city-state (or state), kin and tribal loyalties are, by definition, subordinated
and replaced by political ties.

26. Due to the fertile soil in Mesopotamia, farming was very successful.
In fact, people were able to grow a surplus of food.
This meant that some people could stop farming and begin doing
other things
As cities began to develop, people began to worry about others who
might come and invade their city.
They wanted to protect themselves from enemies, so people in
Mesopotamia built walls around their cities
Why di d the s e ci ti e s deve l op?
Inventions -
Writing
Wagon wheel
Potter’s wheel
Number system, demarcation of time

27. Re l i gi ous Be l i efs - Z i g gurats
Through daily rituals, attention to the deities, proper funeral practices and simple civic duty, the people of
Mesopotamia felt they helped maintain balance in the world and kept the forces of chaos and destruction at bay
•The Mesopotamian thinking - instruction for the layout and design of temple precincts
came directly from the gods – in the form of a mysterious dream
•Position of king was enhanced and supported by religion
•Each god had control of certain things and each city was ruled by a different god
•The belief that gods lived on the distant mountaintops gave rise to Ziggurats
•The word ziggurat comes from the Assyrian for ‘raised up’ or ‘high’. Ziggurats were built in
the centre of the city
•Connection between heaven and earth
•Stepped pyramid – Temple complex

28. Historical and Analytical account of cities in
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia means “land between rivers”.
Four broad segments of chronology
Protoliterate Period, from ca.3500 to 3000 B.C.
Early Dynastic Period, from 3000 to 2350 B.C.
Sumerian Period, from 2350 to 1600 B.C.
Assyrian Period, from 1350 to 612 B.C.

29. 2-Early Dynastic Period:
When the role of these leaders was retained in times of peace as well, kingship,
first elective and then hereditary, became established. With it raised the
monumental palace, an administrative center which employed a large retinue of
bureaucrats and entertainers & occupied itself with raising and supplying an army
and maintaining the defensive system of the city.
1-Protoliterate Period:
During this time , the towns, which had
probably evolved from agricultural
villages, acquired their battlements
of ring walls; and the temple and the
ziggurat began to gain architectural
definition. Political authority resided
in an assembly of male citizens that
selected short-term war leaders.
Uruk: a substantial ceremonial hub by 3500
B.C.

30. This period saw the rise of
empire, the collective rule of
several city-states through
the might of a sovereign king.
The first part of the period is
dominated by the Third
Dynasty of Ur whose
prodigious building activity
includes the Ziggurate of Ur-
Nammu, the high point of that
building type.
4-Assyrian Period:
The northern region of the two rivers now flourishes at the expense of
lower Mesopotamia. The Assyrian by their imposing state reliefs and their
palaces, like the one at Khorsabad.
Ziggurat of Ur
Nammu

31. Timeline in Mesopotamia 3500-2000
B.C. (5500-4000 B.P.)
3500 B.C. Cities growing across Mesopotamia
3200 B.C. Pictographic record keeping
3000 B.C. Signs used to write Sumerian
2800 B.C. Legendary rulers like Gilgamesh
2600 B.C. Royal Tombs of Ur
2400 B.C. Signs become cuneiform
2300 B.C. Sumerian cities united by King Sargon
of Agade (Akkad)

32. Cities 3000-2300 B.C.

33. Timeline
2200 B.C. Agade Empire expands and declines
2100 B.C. Ur becomes the capital of a new empire
2000 B.C. Ur destroyed by Elamites & Amorites

34. Agade Empire 2250 B.C.
Empire united by King Sargon of Agade (Akkad)

35. Kingdoms 1800 B.C.
1800 B.C. Hammurabi unites much of Mesopotamia

36. 1500 B.C.
1500 B.C. Mitannian Empire controls north Mesopotamia
Kassites control south Mesopotamia

37. 1200 B.C.
1300 B.C. Assyrians conquer much of Mesopotamia
1100 B.C. Aramaean and Chaldaean tribes become important

38. 650 B.C.
1000 B.C. Assyrians begin reconquest of Mesopotamia
Babylon rebuilt by Nebuchadnezzar II

39. 550 B.C.
The Neo-Babylonian Empire

40. 500 B.C.
Mesopotamia becomes part of the Achaemenid Persian empire

41. A Sumerian City
Sumerian city streets
were so narrow that you
could hardly get a cart
through them.
Sumerian houses faced
away from crowded
streets. Instead, they
faced onto courtyards
where families ate and
children played.
Narrow Streets
Courtyard Area
On hot nights, people
slept outdoors on the top
of their house’s flat roof.

42. CITY CHARACTERISTICS
Each city surrounded by walls
◦ Permanent garrisons of soldiers
stationed in towers and at each gate
Wide boulevards crossed city, lined
by houses of the wealthy
◦ Rest of city made up of narrow, twisting
alleys surrounded by small, flat-roofed
huts
◦ Homes of farmers, and small craftsmen

43. 9000 BCE - Neolithic Agricultural Community
A nci e nt town of Je ri cho

45. • Basic building material – Mud and Timber
• Mud was mixed with reeds and laid in horizontal courses to make wall
• Houses had rectilinear rooms – Each side measuring 1.5 to 2m.
• Interior wall surfaces were decorated with gypsum plaster
• Rock Gypsum was found in northern Iraq and Syria – Used locally and also exported as a trade commodity
A nci e nt Me s opota m i a n H ous e s ( 3500 BCE )

46. • Complex social system – Existence of Social classes
• Kings and Priests were on top
• Earlier village- based civic loyalty to local chieftains
• Akkadians came to dominate Mesopotamia- King Sargon brought the
concept of Kingship – loyalty to a ruler
• New idea of an administrative center
• Vast Palace, offices, libraries, storage places
• 2150 BCE – Akkadian dynasty was overthrown; Sumerian kingdom
established
• The realm of Kings of Ur was established
Soci a l Syste m – A k ka di a n Pe ri od

47. 3 social classes – Nobility, Free Citizens and Slaves
Women enjoyed nearly equal rights – own land, own business &
trade
Kings were stewards of God
Priests- Managers of city’s economy and infrastructure,
interpretation of omens for all activities
A pantheon of Gods – Patron deities, smaller ones
Life after death was portrayed as sad – Burial architecture was rare
Wrote myths (Epic of Gilgamesh – 2100 BCE)
Expanded trade with other cities
City states which developed - Ur, Uruk, Lagash, Nippur, Kish, Umma
Construction was done by slaves conquered from other lands
Soci a l Syste m – Sum e ri a n Pe ri od

48. City of Warka
Around 3000 B.C.E

49. •The city of Uruk (present day Warka in Iraq) was a large city with a
possible population of 50 thousand
•Dependent on a single economy of agriculture
•Wheel was used and a system of weights was developed
•Dedicated to God Anu – The God of sky
Ci ty of Wa rka ( a nci ent U ruk )
• Surrounded by walls on all sides – 6 miles length and 50ft. high in
places
• At the centre of the city was a pyramid built of mud bricks with a
platform on top for the temple of the City God
• There are 17 layers of temples at Warka – constant elaboration
• Earlies temples were simple boxes with an altar at the back and an
oven at the front
• Evolved an became larger – older temples were filled to create a
mound on which new temples were built

50. •The temple of God Anu – White Temple
•It rested on top of a broad terrace on top of a tall
artificial mountain rising 13m above the plain
•Access was by a stairway on the North Eastern face
•It was a flight of narrow steps leading to the shrine
•The shrine (18 m long) had an offering table and a
hearth for fire
Ci ty of Wa rka – T he Whi te Te m pl e

51. Ci ty of Wa rka – T he Whi te Te m pl e

52. City of Ur
A millennium later… Around 2100 B.C.E

53. • Development of Urban Planning
• Courtyard houses
• Ziggurats
• Mud plaster, adobe construction (Earth, Water, Straw/dung), glazed bricks, bitumen
• Buildings were regularly destroyed, levelled and rebuilt on the same spot; level raised (Tel – Arabic word for hillock)
Materials:
• Earth plaster used to seal and finish exterior and interior spaces of common residences
• Lime plaster used to seal and finish exterior and interior spaces of wealthy residences, places, and temples
• A type of terrazzo used as flooring (Burnt lime + clay + natural colour pigment)
• Terracotta panels used for decoration
• Bitumen used to seal plumbing
Fe ature s of Ci ty a nd Bui l ding Mate ri a l s

54. •Ur, the capital city of ancient region of Sumer (now
south- eastern Iraq) stood on the Euphrates river near
the Persian gulf.
•It was the commercial centre and port, from about
3500- 1850 BCE
•Between 3000- 2000 BCE, Ur served as the capital of
the 3 major ruling families.
•Third of these families, founded by King Ur-Nammu
(2100 BCE) controlled a large empire that extended from
Assyria in the north-west to the Elam in the south- east.
Ci ty of U r
SURROUNDING
FIELDS AND
VILLAGES

55. • The city of Ur was oval in shape, with Euphrates
flowing along its side
• Partly planned, partly organic
• Harbours on north and west sides – Temple
complex was between them and formed the focal
point in the city
• The sacred complex had a rectilinear layout and
was in the north- west to catch the breeze
• Surrounding walls to protect and impress
• The city was surrounded by cultivated fields and
villages outside the walls
• Gates to enter within the city walls were had huge
towers and decoration
Ci ty of U r
Late Babylonian
Quarter

57. Cities began to emerge in
Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) around
4500 years ago. Ur, the capital of
ancient Sumeria, was the world’s first
city. It supported a complex and
sophisticated society.
Ur(Iraq):
• The cities were closed by a wall
and surrounded by suburban
villages and hamlets.
• The two monumental centers
were the Ziggurat complex with
its own defensive wall,
overseen by a powerful
priesthood, and Palace of the
king.
• Lesser temples were sprinkled
here and there within the rest of
the urban fabric, which was a
promiscuous blend of residential
and commercial architecture.
• Small shops were at times
incorporated into the houses.
• In the later Sumerian period at Ur,
an example of a bazaar was
found.
Ur, the capital city of
Mesopotamia

58. • Hierarchy of Streets - Main wide boulevards ; narrow, twisting alleys
• Streets varied from narrow lanes to 2-3 m wide
• Streets were used as passageways and also to dump garbage
Re s i de ntial Q ua rte rs of U r - D om e sti c A rchi te cture
• Houses were built of sun-baked mud bricks
• Windows were rare
• Accumulation of garbage led to an increase in the
elevation of the street – door threshold had to be
raised
• Roofs were made of mud layered on mats which
were placed on wooden rafters
• The processional road leading to the sacred temple
precinct was the only planned passageway

59. Re s i de ntial Q ua rte rs of U r - D om e sti c A rchi te cture
• House quality depended upon the wealth of the occupant
• Houses had rooms organized around small courtyards
• Better houses – baked brick foundation walls
• The principal room was opposite to the entrance - used for meals and reception

61. Traffic along the twisted network of unpaved streets was mostly
pedestrian. At Ur, one sees on occasion a low flight of steps against a
building from which riders could mount, and the street corners were
regularly rounded to facilitate passage.
Street width at the very most , would be 3 meters (9 feet) or so, and that
only for the few principal thoroughfares that led to the public buildings.
These would be bordered with the houses of the rich.
Poorer folk lived at the back ,along narrow lanes and alleys.
Once walled the land became precious, and the high value of private
property kept public space to a minimum. Ample squares or public gardens
were very rare.
The houses were grouped into congested blocks, where partition walls
were common.

62. Ur, residential area southeast
of the royal mausolea in the
twentieth century B.C.;Plan
The houses were , for the most part, one-
storey structures of mud-brick, with
several rooms wrapped around a central
court. There were usually no outside
windows, no attempt to contribute to a street
architecture.
The wealthier classes of Ur lived in
ample hoses of dozen or so rooms,
arranged on two storeys, and
whitewashed inside and out.

64. Architects
designed perfect
house plan,
rectangles
divided neatly
into orthogonal
rooms around a
central living
space. But the
reality of living
town played
havoc with the
conceptual order
of the architect.
The building lots
were not of
uniform size.
Each house was
compelled to fit
into a
predetermined
space.
1. Courtyard
2. Entry Vestibule
3. Reception Room
(Liwan)
4. Private Chapel
5. Kitchen
6. Lavatory
7. Stair case
8. Drain
9.Shop
Ur, Residential quarter between the Ziggurat precinct
and the West Harbor , Plan
1.
1.
3.
8.
4.
2.
3.
1.
9.
1.
1.
4
.
5.6.
7.

65. Re s i de ntial Q ua rte rs of U r - D om e sti c A rchi te cture
• Courtyard – Need for privacy, climate
• If there were any windows facing the street, they were in the
upper storey
• There was a step sown from the vestibule to the central court
• The central court was brick paved and slopes toward a central
drain
• The stairs and the lavatory were opposite to the guest room
across the courtyard
• The first flight of this stair leading to the second floor is very high
to permit headroom in the lavatory
• The family lived on the second level in a layout essentially
duplicating the ground floor

68. There were two
ways in which this
temple differed
from others in the
city. It stood on a
tremendous
platform called the
ziggurat, and
being free of the
pressures of
density in its
ample precinct, its
form could afford
to be both regular
and open.

69. Uruk

70. For thousands of years,
Nippur was the
religious center of
Mesopotamia.
According to Sumerian
religion, it was at Nippur
where Enlil, the supreme
god of the Sumerian
pantheon, created
mankind.
Although never a capital city,
Nippur had great political
importance because royal
rule over Mesopotamia
was not considered
legitimate without
recognition in its temples.
Thus, Nippur was the
focus of pilgrimage and
building programs by dozens
of kings including
Hammurabi of Babylon and
Ashurbanipal of Assyria.

71. Z i g gurat of U r - Na m m u
• One of the most impressive structures of that time
• It was located in a Temple Complex of Nanna (the Moon God)
• Innovative structure – For the first time the elements were united in a dramatic architectural design

72. • Structure – Highly axial; Axis did not continue into surroundings
• Access to the court was diagonally from a gate at one of the corners
Z i g gurat of U r - Na m m u

73. Z i g gurat of U r - Na m m u
• The Ziggurat was a free standing structure
• Base – 100m X 65m; Height – 21m
• 3 terraces with the sacred shrine on the highest one
• 3 monumental staircases on the North-East side, converging
into a canopied vestibule at the top of the first platform
• From there, a central stair continued to the second stage and
the third.
• Main lines were built with slight curves to correct optical
illusion
• Mud bricks reinforced with reeds

74. Ci ty of U r – P re s e nt day re storati ons

75. Sumer, 3200-2350 B.C. Sargon’s Empire, 2350-
2320B.C.
The Dynasty of Ur, 2100-
2000B.C.
The Amorite invasions, 2100-1900 B.C. Reign of Hammurapi of Babylon, 1792-1750
B.C.

76. Khorsabad:
The city was a royal Assyrian foundation, begun in 706 B.C., and
abandoned, unfinished, shortly afterward.
It covered 2.5 Sq.Km. (almost 1 Sq.mile).
There were two arched gates on each side of the square, guarded by stone
demons in the form of human-headed bulls.
On the North-West side one of the gates had been replaced by a bastion
that served as a platform for the royal place.
The Royal place:
The administrative court of honor is at the top of the plan, with the
great Throne Room on the left.
The entrance court is associated with a number of temples grouped
along the west side. They were all served by single ziggurat that was no
other example of this Mesopotamian building type.
KHORSABAD

77. 1. Citadel wall
2. Entrance court
3. Court of honor
4. Unexcavated
Khorsabad (the ancient Dur Sharrukin, Iraq),
Assyrian city founded by SargonII (721-705 B.C.),
Plan
2.
3.
4.

78. Entrance
Court
Court Of
Honor
Temple
Un-
excavated
Citadel WallKhorsabad, citadel with royal palace

79. Khorsabad, citadel with royal palace