Mesopotamian Arts

Mesopotamia

Literally means “The land between the twin rivers”Euphrates and Tigris, an area which is today in Iraq, Turkey, and Syria

roughly comprises modern Iraq and part of Syria

The most ancient civilizations known to man first developed there writing, schools, libraries, written law codes, agriculture, irrigation, farming and moved us from prehistory to history.

reputation of being the cradle of civilization.

Mesopotamia

In ancient times, this region passed through a succession of historical periods, involving numerous groups, among whom were the Sumerians, Akkadians, Assyrians, Amorites, Kassites,

Elamites, Hammurabi, Mitanni, Chaldeans, Aramaeans, Persians, Greeks, Parthians, and Sassanians.

All of these powers passed this land to the Arabs who reside in Mesopotamia today

Mesopotamia

In a region that gets little rainfall, access to the water from these two rivers has always been crucial.

About 3500 BCE, the rivers having flooded every year, people were building dams and growing increasing quantities of food in the area's rich soil. 

Mesopotamians built canals to distribute water throughout the land, uniting thousands of villagers.

People raised cattle and sheep. The plough was invented here, and the potter's wheel

evolved into the wheels that let carts transport goods to markets, and to carry officials in ceremonial processions.

Mesopotamia

The Mesopotamians' need to control the water for these uses gave strength to their political leaders, and led to the development of the city-state — among them were Ur, Ashur, Ninevah, Nimrud, Emech, Kish, Umma, Erech, Lagash, Tello, Nippur, Larsa, and Babylon.

Mesopotamian Art

Sumerian Art (2400 BC)

From Sumerian have come examples of fine works in marble, diorite, hammered gold, and lapis lazuli.

Some of the portraits are in marble, others, such as the one in the Louvre in Paris, are cut in gray-black diorite.

Sumerian art and architecture was ornate and complex. Clay was the Sumerians' most abundant material. Stone, wood, and metal had to be imported.

Art was primarily used for religious purposes.

Painting and sculpture was the main median used.

Sumerian Sculpture:

Marble Statues

Sumerian Painting: Warka Vase

Sumerian Architecture:White Temple and Ziggurat, Uruk (Warka), 3200 -

3000 B.C

White Temple and Ziggurat, Uruk (Warka), 3200 -3000 B.C

This temple was erected at Warka or Uruk (Sumer), probably about 300 B.C.It stood on a brick terrace, formed by the construction of successive buildings on

the site (the Ziggurat). 

Sumerian Architecture: Ziggurat, Ur (2100 B.C.)

Sumerian Architecture: Ziggurat, Ur (2100 B.C.)

Akkadian Arts (2900 to 2350 BC)

The ideology and power of the empire was reflected in art that first displayed strong cultural continuity with the Early Dynastic Period.

When fully developed, it came to be characterized by a profound new creativity that marks some of the peaks of artistic achievement in the history of the ancient world.

A new emphasis on naturalism, expressed by sensitive modeling, is manifested in masterpieces of monumental stone relief sculpture.

Although little large-scale art of the period remains, a huge corpus of finely carved Akkadian seals preserves a rich iconography illustrating interactions between man and the divine world.

Akkadian Arts (2900 to 2350 BC)

But in other ways Akkadian art was very different from Sumerian art.

Akkadian rulers used artists to help them stay in power. The artists carved images of the Akkadian kings. Sometimes they showed the kings on their own, just to remind people who was in charge.

Sometimes they showed the kings conquering their enemies, or they showed how much the gods loved the king.

The Akkadian kings wanted art to remind the conquered people how impressive and important the kings were, so they wouldn't try to revolt.

Sargon of Akkad's (reigned c. 2334-c. 2279 BC) unification of the Sumerian city-states and creation of a first Mesopotamian empire profoundly affected the art of his people, as well as their language and political thought. The increasingly large proportion of Semitic elements in the population were in the ascendancy, and their personal loyalty to Sargon and his successors replaced the regional patriotism of the old cities. The new conception of kingship thus engendered is reflected in artworks of secular grandeur, unprecedented in the god-fearing world of the Sumerians.

Victory Stele of Naram-Suen

(also transcribed Narām-Sîn, Naram-Sin), ca. 2254–2218 BCE short chronology, was the third successor and grandson of Sargon of Akkad; under Naram-Suen the Akkadian Empire reached its zenith.

He was the first Mesopotamian king to claim divinity ("Sin" refers to god) for himself, and the first to be called "King of the Four Quarters".

Victory Stele of Naram-Suen

(also transcribed Narām-Sîn, Naram-Sin), ca. 2254–2218 BCE short chronology, was the third successor and grandson of Sargon of Akkad; under Naram-Suen the Akkadian Empire reached its zenith.

He was the first Mesopotamian king to claim divinity ("Sin" refers to god) for himself, and the first to be called "King of the Four Quarters".

Babylonian Arts(612 to 539 BC)

The tremendous wealth and power of this city, along with its monumental size and appearance, were certainly considered a Biblical myth, that is, until its foundations were unearthed and its riches substantiated during the 19th century.

The Word "Babylon“ is Akkadian "babilani" which means "the Gate of God(s)" and it became the capital of the land of Babylonia.

The etymology of the name Babel in the Bible means "confused" (Gen 11:9) and throughout the Bible, Babylon was a symbol of the confusion caused by godlessness.

The name Babylon is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Babel.

Stele with Law Code of Hammurabi

c. 1780 BCHammurabi, King of Babylon reunited Mesopotamia and instituted the Code of Hammurabi, a comprehensive set of laws addressing nearly all aspects of both civil and criminal offenses.

Hammurabi is portrayed receiving the laws directly from Shamash the sun god. (a parallel to Moses can be made here). Shamash is the dominate figure—he is seated on his throne, wears a crown composed of four pairs of horns, holds a ring and staff, and has flames issuing from his shoulders. Although Hammurabi is subservient to the god he still makes a powerful authority statement by addressing the god directly. Even though he has his hand raised in reverence he shows that he has a personal relationship with the gods while mere mortals do not.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, also known as the Hanging Gardens of Semiramis, near present-day Al Hillah, Babil in Iraq, is considered one of the original Seven Wonders of the World.

They were built by Nebuchadnezzar II around 600 BCE. He is reported to have constructed the gardens to please his sick wife, Amytis of Media, who longed for the trees and fragrant plants of her homeland Persia.

The gardens were destroyed by several earthquakes after the 2nd century BCE.

The Ishtar Gate, one of the eight gates of the inner city of Babylon, was built during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II (604- 562 BC).

It was built in about 575 BC, the eighth fortified gate in the city. It is one of the most impressive monuments rediscovered in the ancient Near East.

The Ishtar gate was decorated with glazed brick reliefs, in tiers, of dragons and young bulls. The gate itself was a double one, and on its south side was a vast antechamber.

King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon dedicated the great Ishtar Gate to the goddess Ishtar. It was the main entrance into Babylon.

Gate of Ishtar

Ishtar is the Assyrian and Babylonian counterpart to the Sumerian Inanna and to the cognate north-west Semitic goddess Astarte.

Ishtar is a goddess of fertility, love, war, and sex. In the Babylonian pantheon, she "was the divine personification of the planet Venus"

Assyrian Arts(1500 – 612 BC)

The characteristic Assyrian art form was the polychrome carved stone relief that decorated imperial monuments. The precisely delineated reliefs concern royal affairs, chiefly hunting and war making. Predominance is given to animal forms, particularly horses and lions, which are magnificently represented in great detail.

Human figures are comparatively rigid and static but are also minutely detailed, as in triumphal scenes of sieges, battles, and individual combat. Among the best known of Assyrian reliefs are the lion-hunt alabaster carvings showing Assurnasirpal II (9th cent. B.C.) and Assurbanipal (7th cent. B.C.)

Guardian animals, usually lions and winged beasts with bearded human heads, were sculpted partially in the round for fortified royal gateways, an architectural form common throughout Asia Minor.

Relief of Ashurbanipal Stabbing Lion With Sword

King Ashurbanipal is seen plunging his sword into an attacking lion, which has already been shot in the head by one of the king's marksmen.

The theme of the lion hunt was very popular in Neo-Assyrian royal art.

Relief of Tiglath-Pileser III in Chariot (detail), alabaster, Nimrud, c. 730 BCE

From the Neo-Assyrian Period, 1000 BCE - 612 BCEFound in Nimrud

In this relief, king Tiglath-Pileser III (744-727 BCE) rides in his chariot, while a eunuch holds a protective parasol (seen as a royal symbol in Assyrian art), and a charioteer holds the reigns. The king raises his hand as if in a gesture of triumph.

Sculpture of Hero Grasping Lion, gypsum, Khorsabad, Neo-Assyrian, 721-705 BCEFrom the Neo-Assyrian Period, 1000 BCE - 612 BCEFound in KhorsabadCovered in lecture on Apr 15th, 2005Sculpture was used extensively to decorate the palaces of

Relief of King Ashurbanipal on Horseback Hunting Onagers With Attendants,

alabaster, North Palace of Ashurbanipal (668-627 bce), Nineveh

From the Neo-Assyrian Period, 1000 BCE - 612 BCE

Winged human-headed bulls from the city gates of the capital of Sargon II at Khorsabad.

Winged human-headed bull colossus from Khorsabad

Sculptures of this type were set up in doorways to provide protection against malevolent supernatural forces.

Relief from Ashurnasirpal II's palace at Nimrud of a winged genius with an eagle's head. It is also referred to as lamassu, shedu and "kuribu", very similar to the Hebrew Cherubim.

The Assyrian god Nisroch was depicted as an eagle-headed deity with wings and exaggerated muscles. In this sculptured relief from Nineveh he is sprinkling the sacred tree with water. He is holding a water vessel in his left hand and a fir cone (sponge) in his right. It was to this god that Sennacherib, king of Assyria was praying when he returned from his campaigns in Israel. The previous verse reveals that the Angel of the Lord routed the Assyrian army. 

PREPARED BY: JC DE EGURROLAJEELCHRISTINE@I .PH

THE END