This document provides an overview of ancient civilizations in Mesopotamia and the Near East, including Sumerians, Akkadians, Assyrians, Babylonians, and Persians. It discusses the rise of cities, innovations like writing and new technologies, as well as religious and imperial developments. Major sites discussed include Uruk, Ur, Nineveh, Babylon, and Persepolis, and important rulers mentioned are Sargon of Akkad, Hammurabi, and Darius. The art and architecture of these civilizations, including ziggurats, victory steles, and palace reliefs, are also summarized.

1. Art of the Ancient Near East

2. Mesopotamia
“Land between the Rivers””

3. The Ancient Fertile
Crescent
“The Cradle of Civilization”

4. Effects of cities
• Cities bring massive changes to human life
• Alter physical environment (agricultures, slash and burn, ziggurats)
• New means of transport (wheel, sailboat) need generated by lack
of natural resources
• Metallurgy new use for metals (tools, weapons): the beginning of
Bronze Age
• Human organization and structure changes (governments)
• Division into social classes (royal, religious, landholding)
• Specialization (scribes, artisans, traders, warriors, farmers)
• Record keeping needed lead to development of language and writing

5. Mesopotamian Civilizations
• Sumerian*
– 5000 - 3000 B.C.E.
– Gilgamesh, Ur, Uruk [Southern Iraq]
• Akkadian
– 2400-2100 B.C.E.
– Sargon I aka Nimrod, Babylon, Ninevah [central]
• Assyrian
– 2000-1500 B.C.E. / 1500-1000 B.C.E. [Northern]
• Babylonian*
– 1800-1300 B.C.E. / 700-500 B.C.E.
– Hammurabi to Nebuchadnezzer [Central Iraq]

7. Santa Anna Never Baked A Nutty Pancake
• Sumerian
• Akkadian
• Neo-Sumerian
• Babylonians
• Assyrian
• Neo-Babylonians
• Persians

9. Rise of Sumer
• Migration of Sumerians to Mesopotamia (4000 B.C.E.)
• Opportunity and need combine to create city
• Challenges of river valley (floods and farming create need for
irrigation)
• Lack of natural resources encourages long distance trade
• Need for protection and aggression results in disputes over
resources
• Age of warring cities (Ur, Uruk, Lagash, Nippur) 3300 - 2350
B.C.E.
• Creation of the first empires (control of other lands and people)
• Eventual creation of city-states and unified empires

10. Sumerians

12. Ziggurat at Ur
 Temple
 “Mountain
of
the Gods”

14. Sumerian Religion -
Polytheistic
Enki Innana
Anthropomorphic

15. Mesopotamian
Trade
“The Cuneiform
World”

16. Cuneiform: “Wedge-Shaped”
Writing

17. White Temple and Ziggurat at Uruk, c. 3200-3000 BCE

18. use of mud brick/ desire for monumental
architecture/ celestial orientation/ cella

19. Ziggurat at Ur
(modern day Iraq),
c.2100-2050 BCE

20. Statuettes from the Temple of Abu at Eshnunna
(Tell Asmar), c. 2700-2600 BCE, gypsum
stylization of physical types/ hypnotic gaze

21. Above: Impression from a
Sumerian cylinder seal,
c.2500 BCE
Left:Seated Statuette of
Urnanshe, from the Ishtar
temple at Mari
(modern Tell Hariri, Syria),
c. 2600-2500 BCE, gypsum

22. Left: Soundbox of a Sumerian lyre (Ur,
Iraq), c. 2600 BCE
Below: Lyre from Sumerian Royal
Cemetery (Ur, Iraq), c. 2600 BCE

23. Standard of Ur (Ur), c. 2700 BCE
Contrast between war and peace/ use of registers to depict a
narrative/ discoveries from royal Sumerian graves/ depiction of
human figures/ lapis lazuli (Blue Stone)

24. “War side” of the Standard of Ur

25. “Peace side” of the Standard of Ur”

26. 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, 8” x 1’ 7”.

28. Peace side of the Standard of Ur

31. Sumerian Innovations
• Wheel [from pottery wheel]
• Cuneiform
• Astronomers
• Arithmetic base of 10 and 6
• Clock of 60 seconds, minutes, 12 hours, 12 months
• Military formations
• Codified law /administration [govt]
• Agriculture and irrigation
• Wheat, barley, sheep, cattle

32. Akkadian Empires
The First Empire

33. Sargon of Akkad:
The World’s First Empire [Akkadians]

34. Head of an
Akkadian ruler,
from Nineveh
(modern Kuyunjik),
Iraq, ca. 2250–
2200 BCE. Copper,
1’ 2 3/8” high.

35. Victory stele of
Naram-Sin,
from Susa, Iran,
2254–2218 BCE.
Pink sandstone,
6’ 7” high.

36. use of a stele to commemorate
a victory/ Sargon of Akkad
and Naram Sin/ hierarchical
proportion/ organization of
figures/ incorporating
landscape

37. Victory Stele of Naram-Sin
(from Susa, Iran), 2254-2218
BCE, pink sandstone

38. Votive disk of Enheduanna,
from Ur, Iraq, ca. 2300 – 2275 BCE.
Alabaster, diameter 10”.

39. Head of an Akkadian ruler
(Ninevah, Iraq), c. 2250-2200
BCE, copper
balance of naturalism and
stylization/ introduction of cast
sculpture/ Akkadian concept of
imperial power

41. Akkadian Innovations
• Given credit for the world’s first empire
• Sargon of Akkad aka Nimrod
• Multiethnic centrally ruled empire
• Euphrates River to Mediterranean with
parts of modern-day Iran,Syria, Anatolia,
and Arabian Peninsulas
• Continuation of Sumerian civilization and
innovations

42. Neo-Sumerian Empires
Phase Two

43. Seated Statue of
Gudea
from Lagash
Neo-Sumerian
c. 2100 BCE

44. Right: Votive statue of Gudea,
c.2120 BCE, diorite
The ensi
Gudea/ image of piety for the
god Ningirsu/ use of diorite

45. Top: Relief of
Assurnasirpal
II Killing Lions
(Nimrud, Iraq)
c. 850 BCE
Below: Drawing
of the citadel
and palace
complex of
Sargon II
(Khorsabad,
Iraq)

46. Lion Gate (Boghazkoy, Turkey), c.1400 BCE, limestone

49. Assyrian Empires
“A land bathed in Blood””

50. The Assyrian Empire
©2004Wadsworth,adivisionofThomsonLearning,Inc.ThomsonLearning™isatrademarkusedhereinunderlicense.

51. Assyrian Military
Power
Assyrian soldiers
carrying away
the enemy’s
gods.

52. Assyrian Lamassu from
the Citadel of Sargon II
(Khorsabad, Iraq) c. 720
BCE
Reputation of the
Assyrians/ royal citadel
of Sargon II/ lamassu/
sculptor’s viewpoints

53. Assyrian reliefs from
the palace
of Ashurbanipal
(Ninevah, Iraq) c.
650 BCE

54. depiction of a wild beast/
bas relief carving/
demonstration of the
king’s power

56. Dying Lioness, Assyrian relief from the Palace
of Ashurbanipal (Ninevah, Iraq) c.
650 BCE

57. Lamassu (winged,
human-headed bull)
R: from the citadel of Sargon II,
Dur Sharrukin (modern
Khorsabad), Iraq, ca. 720–705
BCE. Limestone, 13’ 10” high.
L: from the
palace of
Assurnasirpal II,
modern Nimrud, Iraq,
883–859 BCE.
Alabaster,
10’ 3 ½" high.

58. 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.

59. Assurbanipal and His Queen in the
Garden, The Palace of Assurbanipal,
Nineveh (modern Kuyunjik), Iraq, ca. 647
BCE. Gypsum, 21” high.

60. Ashurbanipal hunting lions, relief from
the North Palace of Ashurbanipal,
Nineveh (modern Kuyunjik), Iraq, ca. 645–
640 BCE. Gypsum, 5’ 4” high.

61. Historical and current range of the Lion (Time 8/23/04)

62. Babylonian Empires
Hammurabi to Nebuchadnezzer

63. Stele with law code of Hammurabi
(Susa, Iran), c. 1780 BCE, basalt

64. use of law to
establish a central
government (talion
law)/ god (Shamash)
and ruler linked

65. Ishtar Gate
(Babylon, Iraq),
c. 575 BCE

66. Neo-Babylonian Period/ King Nebuchadnezzar/
Ishtar and Tammuz/ bulls, lions, and the mususu/
the “hanging gardens”

68. Ishtar Gate and throne room,
Babylon, Iraq, ca. 575 BCE.
Reconstruction drawing
of Babylon in the
6th
century BCE.

69. 69
Ishtar Gate
(restored),
Babylon, Iraq,
ca. 575 BCE.

70. Persian Empire
A Brief Overview

71. Royal Audience Hall (apadana) at
Persepolis of Darius I (Iran), c. 500 BCE
Darius III and Alexander the Great/
elevation of platform/ apadana with bull capitals/
loose groupings of buildings/ satrapies

72. Reliefs at Persepolis

74. Reliefs at Persepolis

76. Left: Layout of
Persepolis Below: Bull
Capital from the royal
audience hall of the
palace of Artaxerxes II
(Susa) c. 375 BCE

77. Persian Rhyton with forepart of a
winged lion, 5th
century BCE

78. Persepolis (apadana in the background),
Iran, ca. 521–465 BCE.

79. Processional frieze (detail) on the terrace of the apadana, Persepolis,
Iran, ca. 521–465 BCE. Limestone, 8’ 4” high.

80. Darius and Xerxes Receiving
Tribute, relief on the
stairway, Persepolis, Iran, ca.
521–465 BCE. Limestone, 8’
4” high.

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

82. Art of the
Ancient Near
East